Bananas

Is it bad to put bananas in the refrigerator?

The Day We've All Been Waiting For

Ok I must admit that I'm rather excited today. If you are a movie fan at all then you are probably aware that Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith opened today. I've been a big fan of the Star Wars movies all my life so this is the culmination of that effort. I guess I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan out there since I don't choose to dress up like a Wookie or act out the scenes with all my friends, but I still derive a great amount of pleasure from watching the films. Hopefully this movie will far surpass the previous two which just couldn't quite match up to the original trilogy. I guess I will be finding out at 5 PM today. It sure is going to be hard staying focused at work though, that's for sure.

Welcome to The Village

Well, I'm all moved in and loving my new place. It's nice being a homeowner. Apparently though, the city of The Village decided as a housewarming gift to turn off my water. I must say I'm very excited about this. Especially since I just got through playing basketball. They are very thoughtful. Especially since I got the notice to call City Hall to establish my utilities on Friday late afternoon and I called at noon today. Since they aren't open on the weekends and close at 5 they sure give you lots of time to get things set up. I hope this happens every week since it really makes me leap for joy. THANK YOU VILLAGE CITY EMPLOYEES!!! At least 24 is coming on in 8 minutes....

UPDATE: Ok, I owe a sincere apology to The Village. It was actually OKC who cut off my water. So please direct all ill will toward them. I really love The Village and would not want to do anything to hamper our relationship. In fact, if The Village were a girl I would marry her.

Ameliorating My Living Environment

Wow. Lord willing tomorrow at this time I will knows as a true American homeowner. I've had many people ask me if I'm excited and they seem puzzled by my response of "I'm just ready to get it over." It's not that I'm not grateful and I'm not looking forward to owning my own home, but I just don't think 'excited' is the right word. It must be my frugal nature that sees all the dinero I'm putting down and realizes I've saved all these years and now, wham-o, I'm back to having little saved again. I hope that doesn't seem ungrateful, because believe me, I'm very grateful to God for blessing me in this. I guess it's just that part of me that draws a little security knowing I have enough money in savings to take care of myself in case of an emergency. Like I could ever have enough! Anyway, I digress. So I will be a homeowner. It will be very nice to be living in my own abode after being a nomad for two weeks. Nomadic life is nice in some ways because it causes me to change up that thing that I really hate but have succumbed to because a decent life demands it: routine. So I welcome the brief moments of flexibility to my normal schedule in order to keep things fresh and new-like the pants I wear to work for instance. I really wish I'd been wise enough to pack and extra pair before I stored all my stuff as this pair is very stale. Ok my diatribe is coming to an end. I'm not even really sure why I felt a need to post today. I was just in the mood, I suppose. I'm going to live dangerously and not even proofread it either!! I'm so daring....

Hebrews 11:13-16

The Dullest Blog in the World

I like dull blogs. Check out this one. I wish mine were this dull.

Homeowner Gambill

Or at least that is what I'll soon be. Yes, I have finally decided to take the plunge and purchase an abode to call my own. I don't close for another couple weeks which has created the nice burden of storing my possessions for two weeks since mom and dad have sold their house as of tomorrow. At least I know that I will have a place though. I should have much more to write as I need to keep record of my exciting last 5 weeks but that will have to wait until a more opportune time. Just remember, if you ever have the desire to go to Buenos Aires, I'd recommend staying longer than 37 hours....

Roll Call

In honor of Lezli from Levelland, Texas who read my blog but did not post, please post a comment if you actually read this. I'm VERY curious.

Your Hero,
Matt

Commonly Confused Word Test

Take this test! My results are below.

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 93% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 88% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even Ican't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 68% on Beginner You scored higher than 30% on Intermediate You scored higher than 48% on Advanced You scored higher than 96% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

Grace

God's grace is really amazing. It's so amazing that a perfect and holy God would desire to have a relationship with a sinful and weak person like myself. Intellectually I understand that grace exists but that concept is really so hard to truly grasp--that I can be forgiven simply because God will forgive me, and there is nothing I can do to earn it. I'm so thankful that God saw fit to give this gift before the creation of the world. I'm so thankful that God will forgive my sins time and time again even though He knows I will turn right back around and do it again. I'm so thankful that He has brought me so far in life and is so patient with me. I'm so thankful for the risen Jesus Christ who takes away the sins of the world. Praise God!

1 Pet 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you..."

I'm Back!!!!

I've successfully neglected my blog again for quite some time. I really wish I were more dedicated to writing but I just don't seem to take the time. Nothing really exciting is going on. I guess since I last wrote I've done a few things. Oh yeah, I did go to the Orange Bowl to witness the Sooners get massacred by the Trojans 55-19. This team just didn't seem to have the toughness it takes to win. It's pretty sad for all the talent we had. I'm finally starting to get over it and to get excited about next season. I'm sure not excited about the basketball team. I'm sick of watching 7 minute stretches of 5 guys standing around and calling that good basketball. Hopefully they'll get it turned around but I think I've decided with the "listen to the games on radio" philosophy so I don't have to watch the terrible mess.

As for things of real importance, I did have a good visit with Mom and Dad. They were here through mid-January and I must say it was odd living in the house with them. I don't think I ever thought I would live back here again, let alone back in my old room with the whole family around. It wasn't bad, just a little freaky.

Oh and Zac moved to Argentina. I think things are going well as I've talked to him on IM a few times. He sounds like he's been traveling a lot. I'm not really sure what else he's been up to. I must say it is a little odd to be the only one of my family to be living in OKC currently but I hadn't really thought about it until Zac asked me on Saturday. I guess it's not really that weird b/c I'm pretty busy but for the sake of the blog I'll mention it.

Other than that, life is pretty much normal. I've been teaching class for the Young Couples' at church. I've really enjoyed it too. They really have a lot of comments which makes it a lot more interesting on my end. I must say it is quite exhausting teaching for 5 out of 6 weeks but it is definitely worth it. I need that in my life. Hopefully as the years go by I will learn to be a much better teacher as well.

I guess Blogadocious can be satisfied now with this mini-biography. I'm sure I'll post again in another couple of months.

Now This is What I Call a Fan!!

Thanks to Adria for forwarding on this great article. I guess I'm not as big of a Sooner Fan as I'd like to believe.

I love my boys too much!

Q: What do you call a midget psychic who breaks out of jail?


A: A small medium at large!

ORANGE BOWL!!

Well it's official. We are headed back to the Orange Bowl to play USC for the (Mythical) National Championship. I had a great trip this weekend to Kansas City to watch the Sooners hammer Colorado for the Big XII crown. I felt very good about the game, but I didn't think we'd dominate to the tune of 498-46 in total yardage and 42-3 on the scoreboard. To top it all off it was a great night weather-wise. It was right around 50 degrees and no wind. I didn't even wear gloves!! That was in stark contrast to last years' freezing debacle that was a 35-7 blowout. I have to send out a special thanks to the parental guidance for not going this year so we could bring home the 'W'.

So now it's on to the Orange Bowl! I am so fired up about playing USC. I can still remember playing them back in 88 and 92 and getting beaten. Now with both programs back on top and undefeated, this game is going to be so exciting. I really like our chances, because for the first time this season, we finally put it all together. SC is stout and I don't by any stretch of the imagination think it will be a blowout one way or the other, but I like our chances to pull it out. I am already nervous about Reggie Bush even touching the ball, but that's what makes the games fun. I'm sure I'll have plenty more about the game in the upcoming weeks.

Oh and if anyone has any Orange Bowl tickets you're looking to give away then let me know and I'll find someone to take them off your hands!!

Exultate and Have a Good Time

I'm writing this from the toilet. Even though I'm used to technology, sometimes I just have those moments when it all hits. If you would've told me 10 years ago I would be able to blog while sitting on my porcelain throne, I would have thought you were talking about something altogether different than what I'm actually accomplishing at this moment. I guess I would've still been half right, but that's what I'm discussing here! ;-) Anyway, technology is just cool.

Right about now Mom and Dad and Zac are somewhere over the Atlantic or Europe on their way home. It will definitely be nice to see them, although I have a lot to do between now and tomorrow. I know it comes as a shock to many, but I haven't done any cleaning since I moved in. At least the shower is clean. It is definitely going to be weird with all 4 of us living in the same house for over a month. I really don't know what to expect. This is one thing that I thought would NEVER happen again, but that's exactly why you should never use the word never. Hopefully it will be a good time and we will all be able to avoid getting on each other's nerves, but something tells me there will be an argument at some point before January 7. At least the shower is clean.

Today I was thinking about how strange the English language really is. While singing the song Celebration by Kool and the Gang, I decided to substitute a different word that rhymes with "celebration" just to spice things up. This is actually one of my favorite pastimes. Today, for some reason, I inserted the word "exultation" into this anthem of the '80s and I actually found it to be a pleasantly enjoyable substitution. But when I happened up on the line "Let's all celebrate and have a good time...." I discovered something that made shudder (ok maybe not shudder but I stopped and thought "Hmm."). Whereas from the word celebration you derive the word celebrate, in the case of exultation there is no such word as exultate! I mean what is going on with our language! How can you have two words which rhyme like celebration and exultation but out of them you get two words that don't sound anything alike. I mean EXULT and CELEBRATE! Come on. Needless to say this didn't stop me from creating a new word for my musical vocabulary. Exultate will forever hold a special place in my heart. I just don't get this language sometimes. But at least the shower is clean.

I'm Not THAT Different

Just thought I'd share this article. I'm not even going to comment on the different reasons for not being married listed in this article (because I obviously disagree with living with someone or engaging in the "benefits" of matrimony outside of the union) BUT I thought I would just show you that statistically speaking, I'm a fairly normal 28 year old guy (in terms of marital status, of course) and I plan on staying that way for the foreseeable future.

Statistical Support

Bloglines

For the few of you who still read my blog, I thought I'd s hare this site with you. In case you aren't familiar with it, Bloglines is a site that allows you to subscribe to many different blogs and other feeds all from one place. It's free so you should check it out if you get a chance. Makes keeping up a lot easier. Click the link below if you're interested in checkingit out.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - To Be Sick!!

One thing I've always been able to tell about myself is that when I am sick, I feel just that--sick. Well last night I had a very delightful experience beginning at 2:40 AM. Yesterday I'd been feeling pretty achy and decided to come home right after work to sleep, yet I wasn't even sleepy once I got home so I just lay on the couch all night. At 8, I at the Papa John's pizza that had been delivered to me. I finished that off at 8 and continued to lay around until I finally fell asleep at 12:30 AM. Well, little did I know it was all just getting started. The next thing I know I am running through my house at around 2:40 yelling for someone to help me. I'm really not sure what I was needing help from or who I was asking since no one was here except that I seem to recall thinking I was choking. I then began to get that foreboding feeling that I was going to soon begin my favorite pastime of vomiting. It was the most odd feeling though because I didn't completely feel awful--I just felt strange and VERY disoriented. I then proceeded to dry-heave two times which especially caught me off-guard considering that I still felt pretty full from eating before and usually (at least I thought) dry-heaving comes from not having anything in your stomach. Apparently not.

Another interesting thing was how I then tried to go get a glass of water but I couldn't keep the water in the glass due to my hands shaking so badly. It was at this point that I really started to freak out (partly due to feeling bad and partly due to the fact that I was very disoriented and still slightly asleep) and I kind of felt like I may start choking--on what I have no idea, but that's what I thought. So I tried to call Kat and she didn't answer and then I called Thankins and she did. So I guess I got to freak her out pretty good because I think my jabbering was quite incoherent. I'm really not even sure why I called since I didn't really need anything but I was just losing it.

I finally managed to settle down but I couldn't lay down since when I did I felt like I was going to throw up, so I sat on my couch from 4 AM until 9 AM when I decided to lay down. Of course I emailed work early to let them know I wasn't coming in. I don't care how bad I feel, I always feel guilty about calling in sick. I'm not sure what it is. The whole morning I felt so guilty for not going in but when I would stand up I'd then realize why I didn't feel like going in. It was also interesting that even though I'd only slept about 3 hours the whole night, I still didn't manage to fall asleep until after 10 and then slept until 3.

[On a side note I'm about to go crazy from being in my house for over 24 straight hours so I finally got my butt up and just finished putting away the dishes and canned foods that have been sitting in boxes in my kitchen since the end of September. Don't even tell me I don't do things in a timely manner.]

Well I need to see if I can actually get some food down so I'm going to go see about that. You know something must be wrong if I take this long to post on my blog!!!

Thornton Knows Best

Workin on OK: Why Do I....

As I sit here on Sunday afternoon, I've really been in a funk lately. My life has been so empty and my walk with God has just sucked, to be frank. I go through these stupid ruts so often it seems like and it is just so frustrating. I don't even have the words to describe it....and then I came across Eric's blog which seemed to express what I've been feeling in a lot of ways. Granted I didn't go to a retreat and didn't speak to a group of adolescents but you get my meaning hopefully. Thanks Eric for sharing your thoughts....

Back off!!

Bats!!

Well I've been neglecting my blogadociously blodadocious blog but I thought I should unmute my thoughts and share with you this lovely picture of bats. I had the fortune last week of taking a tour of the Alabster Caverns in northwest Oklahoma. If you've never had the opportunity to visit the caverns you are definitely missing out, especially this time of year because of all the bats that take up residence to hibernate. I almost had one bat smash into my face, but due to his echolocation he noticed my noggin and darted away. It was so awesome. I had never almost been hit in the head by a bat.




I took the tour with a mother and son from Stillwater, Ann and Jim (pictured left), and it turned out to be really nice b/c our tour guide Kim (pictured right) was really laid back and we didn't have to fight with a lot of crowds--just bats. Have I mentioned I almost got hit in the face by a bat? Well if you get a chance to check out the caverns I'd hightly recommend it. I'd also hightly recommend my bed. I'm headed there now.