I am such a tool

Well, from my last post we learned that my car's battery decided it wanted to go to a better place. Last night, we found out where that better place is going to be - K-Mart. We got a new battery for my car last night and I started to change the old one out. This is one of those batteries where the bolts go in the side of the batter instead of a connector to the top. So disconnecting them includes unscrewing the bolts to disconnect the wires. I got the negative bolt off with no problem and then started to work on the positive bolt.

I had a crescent wrench that is actually pretty cool -- it's like a monkey crescent wrench. But it didn't like that small bolt very much and started to strip the bolt. Then I went and grabbed a real monkey wrench and it stripped it more. So I quit for the night and went to look for a socket set in the morning. I thought I had mine down at the church, but it wasn't there. So I borrowed the church's set. I came home and tried to take off the bolt again. I sprayed it with some PB Blaster. I tried different sizes, but the bolt was stripped and wouldn't come out. So I went online and saw a pretty obvious thing -- try a pipe wrench. It worked and I was able to finish changing my battery -- which worked. I drove to work without being jumped this morning (which says a lot in San Bernardino. I hate being jumped -- especially when I'm broke anyway.)

But this whole thing got me thinking about something Trina and I were talking about last night while shopping for the battery. The fact that neither of us really have any close friends anymore outside of each other. The frustration of working but not developing the relationships needed to keep people involved and engaged in the ministry of the church. Going through all those tools this morning trying to change my battery makes me wonder if I am a tool in the wrong setting. My crescent wrench is a great tool that is good for changing tires, brakes, and bolts everywhere but on my battery. The monkey wrench is a good tool too. The socket set is probably the right tool until something goes wrong. The pipe wrench is an emergency stop-gap measure that shouldn't work but does. Am I the wrong tool for the right job right now? Am I the right tool in the wrong job because I've stripped the job of it's original integrity? Have I stripped others around me of their authority, the respect they deserve, or passion because I have been out of it for the last year?

Right now, everyone is talking about 7 years since the attack on the World Trade Center changed our lives. It didn't come to me until that last sentence in the last paragraph that it has been about a year since my twin towers crumbled -- the closure of the school and me going from full-time to part-time and the beginning quest of looking for a job -- which took 6 months and most of my self-esteem.

Anyway, back to being a tool. I've noticed relationships I had in the past have deteriorated to small-talk acquaintances. I do wonder if it's me, that some have seen the wrong side of me and figured they don't want to associate with me anymore, that I just am not interesting anymore. Then I wonder if it is the fact that we have a difficult group to be with as we have 4 kids under 7 and Micah can snap at any given moment to undesirable to everyone but our family. Is it that we seem too needy? Socially inept?

Maybe because I don't follow social norms as tightly (or at all) as some (or most) would deem necessary. Growing up, I used to just show up at certain people's houses all the time and hang out. That isn't looked on as an enduring quality now that I have a family and they have a family. I wonder how the Dunham's dealt with me. Maybe I'm just not a good friend. I can see that. I am horrible at communication. I am not too active. I don't know. Maybe my tool kit has gone bad and others are moving on with other tools that will help them build the lives they want. Maybe I have been left behind because I'm just the big kid who has turned a little too serious lately.

I am sure if I reread this post right now, I'd be depressed. Sorry for the sad emo-istic life story. In all reality though, I still see God at work in my life and in my family. I am just wondering if God may be closing things and causing discontentment to make it obvious when he opens something else -- but I am prepared to stay where I am. Whatever God does, He knows what He is doing better than I do.

The Verse:

Psalm 34:17-19

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all

I took Potpourri for $100

If you ever watched Jeopardy, one of the best categories is always Potpourri, because it is a catch-all category. It's like they researched so much on a subject and had more than 5 questions that they had to save the 6th question for the infamous catch-all category. So, this post, like the category, will be my potpourri post.

I'll take potpourri for $200 (Weird Al is now outdated with the new money amounts.)

Micah looks like he got punched in the eye and someone clubbed him in the knee. Trina had to take him to the hospital today and tonight. This morning, he eye was all swelled up (although he could see out of it still unlike tonight when it had swelled shut.) The doctor thought it was some kind of allergic reaction. Meantime, sometime between when I get home and about 7:30, Micah comes out of his room and his knee is all swelled up. So they took him back to the hospital tonight. Well, they just got back at 9:30 (a very short visit) and he's on benedryl and amoxacillan (both spelled wrong.) So pray for him to clear up soon. He missed school today and he'll miss it again tomorrow.

How about Potpourri for $400.

My car is falling apart. It's not the nice dent in the side. It's not the interior (although I could use a nice cleaning), it's the fact that the battery has officially died. I can drive for a while, then stop the car and almost immediately try to restart it, absolutely no charge. So it's time to buy a new battery -- as if we can afford it. But that's the fun part.

Potpourri for $600

Yes, Sarah Palin. People disparage her because she is good looking, because she has no national experience, because she is a conservative, because she's a mom of a down's syndrome kid, because she should be a mom and not a politician. How much was made of the guy standing up and yelling that Hillary needed to iron his shirt?
You know what, I like her. I like that she is a person of character. Character still does count. People complain about Bush because he does not waiver from what he sees is right even if he is seen as stupid, doing the unpopular thing, or going against public opinion. One of the reasons our government was made the way it is was to protect us from the whims of the plurality. Us being in Iraq is right. It may not be popular. In fact, it may be downright hated by most (some because they don't like seeing us succeed since we are pampered, some because they hate capitalism and think socialism or communism is better, and a minority because they want to protect our soldiers) but we are following a policy we have followed since the times of Teddy Roosevelt and beyond. The idea that we are the world police -- or more appropriately -- we are the good people who stand up and make sure that evil does not succeed.
But now back to Sarah Palin. I think she is the type of person who will stand against popular whims for what is right. She is articulate. She is good looking, but more importantly, she has a history of doing what is right. Everything I read about her, usually people complaining, tells me that politically, she is by far the closest to my ideology. I'm one of those people that the media was saying was revigarated by the Palin appointment.
What's funniest is the polls that are coming out right now saying McCain is ahead of Obama 50-46. I'm sure that's got some people scratching their head.

Potpourri for $800

DAILY DOUBLE! Let's make it a true daily double.

My mom calls me tonight and tells me that someone came by the church and told dad (he was there tonight) that the state controller owes the church some money and just asked for a 30% finders donation so they can continue to find people the state owes money to. So yeah, of course it's a scam. Not only does the state not owe the church money, but charging people for finding money the government owes them is illegal -- ignore all those become a federal money finder e-mails you get -- SCAM! So anyway, my mom goes to check on the church and decides to check for everyone she knows too. Well, apparently, Pac Bell owes me $90.92 for a deposit from an apartment we rented years ago. So good news there. I guess I have some paperwork to fill out since $90.92 will do us well in buying me Heroes Season 2 (I'm just kidding Trina.)

Potpourri for $1000

Like I said in my last post, I have been reading a book called "Raising a Modern Day Joseph." I've also been reading another book about leadership and team in a changing world. One of the things the leadership and team building book was talking about (I'm in chapter 1) is that the idea of a corporation is changing. Bureaucracy is shrinking. You can't do business the same way as was done in the 50's. But one of the things was that because of the shrinking size of corporations, they can't afford to do things twice. Everything needs to be done right the first time.
Well, we saw that in motion today at work. People need to take pride in their work and make it look the best they can in the time given. One of my co-workers was doing enough to get it done but it was really sloppy. After she left (I'm a secretary -- most people I work with are she's) we had to go back and fix it. We didn't have time and tomorrow morning we are going to have to push through it and work harder than should have been worked.
But my new supervisor came in today to just visit because she was doing paperwork downtown to make it official that she will by my supervisor. My pastor's wife applied for the job, but it's not her. But anyways, she seemed nice enough for 5 minutes we saw her. It will be nice to have the ultimate authority to give us some vision and direction that we know is not going to change next week (at least we hope.) We'll see when she gets to work.

Ok, so that's potpourri. I'm sure there is more, but we only have 5 answers so potpourri on potpourri may come later.