We really are having a good time... I swear.. What I'll be looking at the next four days Driving along the 101! Snow covered mountains Dad and I in Santa Maria before we leave

Today marks the first of four days on the road to Houston. Dad an I started out at 9 am from Santa Maria and have arrived in Palm Springs around 6 pm. I was amazed by the number of accidents we ran into along the way. I think I counted four total accidents. Everything was running really smoothly until we ran into the 126 / 5 south interchange. We didn't even get onto the onramp when the traffic stopped. After about five miles we came across the accident that everyone was slowing down to see. I was amazed to find that my car gets approximently around 30 miles per gallon. Dad doesn't think it's accurate, since the car is loaded down so badly. So, I probbably get better milage than that. I dont' even know what good milage is, so I'm happy with whatever as long as it's milage. The trip really wasn't very eventful except for right at the end. Dad had the idea to drop by a casino. I spent $20 and came out with $121!! Can you believe it?! I won $100 dollars on my first spin on a slot machine. After that I won $30 on another and told myself I wouldn't go below $20 on the payout. I really wanted to play poker but they didn't have the kind that I enjoy playing. More than anything I miss Danielle. I really wish that she was on the trip with me. Most people would cringe at the thought of driving four days with a significant other for some reason. But Danielle and I have been lost SO many times and haven't bitten eachother's heads off before. We would have tons of fun. I love the fact that I look forward to driving around and doing things that could possibly be really stressfull with her. She doesn't stress me out when it comes to difficult situations. Now, there are times when we are both heading to the same goal and we want to go different ways to get there, but thankfully we're both heading the same direction and we able to talk our way through it.

Only two days until I drive out of California and off to Texas. The last few days away from Los Angeles have been really nice. I've been to the Carlton about three times. Once to visit with friends, once with my Mom and finally again to visit with friends. It's beautiful inside. Finally, a nice place to go in Atascadero. I went to get my car checked out today for mechanical safety on the trip to Texas. Apparently I have about $1,000 worth of things to fix. I op'd for only $500 for a timing belt change. Thankfully my parents were able to help me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it. I'll do the rest of the changes once I can afford to do them one by one. I miss Danielle. She's in Kansas and I'm here in California. I know I'll see her for a few weeks in February, but it seems far away. I also know that she's going to be miserable at the Dream Center without her friends and without me. I'm going to be in Texas with a new job, a new place and the beginning of a new life. On the up side, Danielle will be leaving the Dream Center around the middle or end of February. One way or another, in April we'll be together forever and that's what matters. As the time draws near to leave and start anew I'm both excited and nervous. It's exciting talking with people about my new job especially if they know about Lakewood Church. It's also kind of nerve racking because I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing in Texas. It's a big job with lots of potential.

The moving company came today. Before they arrived Clay, Danielle, Lonwabo, Mz and I carried the various things to be moved up to the blacktop. I have to say that I am so blessed, I couldn't have done this without their help. Overall it was a really easy move. We really don't have that much stuff. I've been waiting for a quite a while to get the computer quote from Matt. It's kind of frustrating. I'll be leaving Los Angeles for Atascadero the 23rd. Danielle and I will leave the Dream Center and head for LAX. I'll wait with her at the airport until she finally gets on that jet plane. I don't think it'll be hard now but I know when I'm there with her it'll be really hard to say goodbye. Thankfully my Dad has graciously given her a round trip ticket to visit me, so she'll be out for two weeks in February. I leave with my Dad Dec 30th for Texas. This thought is absolutley crazy to me. Not that I'm leaving with my Dad, but that I'm leaving in general. Thankfully my Dad has all of the "legs" of our trip planned out. We'll have some 7 hour drives in there, but it's not anything we can't handle. I still don't know how I'm going to feel once I finally arrive in the city of Houston and check into the extended stay hotel. I know everything won't really sink in until I'm there for a little while. I don't even know what to expect. What will I be doing, exactly? Will I have meetings with tons of people regarding the new department? Will I meet Joel? Will he be involved in my department? It still continues to hit me that my God, they're pouring alot of money and time into me. I mean, this department rests on my shoulders. At the same time, it's very comforting that David said that if I hit a homerun that will be a very good thing for me. I'm going to hit a homerun, dammit.

On Monday the moving company comes to take all of my precious stuff away for storage and later retrieval! Thankfully Danielle and I don't have much to move and we have people to help us move us lack of stuff. Lakewood decided to have me drive out instead of fly out and have my car towed. This is a very good thing for a few different reasons. I'll have my car when I visit home, so that means no bumming rides from friends. I don't have to worry about someone else taking my car. The best part is that I'll be driving out with my Dad. We've made it into a four day ride. We'll go from Cali to Phoenix, from Phoenix to El Paso, El Paso to Sonora, and finally Sonora to Houston. This will be the longest amount of time I've spent with my Dad in a long time and I'm really looking forward to it. I know he'll be taking some awesome pics, I'll be taking some awesome pics, we'll be just drivin' along singin and weaving all over the road. Well, maybe not the last part but we'll have fun. The next few days will pretty pressure filled. Part of the reason is I'm getting "Senior-itis", meaning I'm gettng ichy to be done and get out of here. Tomorrow Clay and I will be shooting the end scene for "Graves Method". After that the moving company comes in the morning. Later that day (Monday), Clay and I will edit. Even later on Monday I'll be hanging with James for a little while. Tuesday we edit and Wednesday we'll edit. Thursday though I'll be taking off to home. Three more days. Throughout all of this Danielle and I are starting to realize that we won't be seeing each other for about four months, then we get married. Crazy, isn't it? I know it'll be ok though. Finally, it's starting to hit me that I'm going off to Houston for this new job. I got a call from Matt today regarding the total cost of the equipment list I put together. He said it come out to around $30,000. That's insane to me, but it's what it takes to put together the kind of work I'll be doing. Wow. I'm so blown away at how God has blessed me so much. Not because of the money, or the job or even Danielle. I never knew I would end up going where I'm going and doing what it is I'm doing. I never knew I would end up marrying who I'm going to marry. Amazing. Thank you Jesus.

Quantum Post

It's been far too long since I've written anything on here. I used to really enjoy blogging moments and memories from my life. Now that I write this, I realize that I still do. So let's get started. The biggest news of all is that Danielle and I are going to be married on April 16th! Last night we went to Target to register for our wedding. It was an awesome thing because most couples go nuts when they shop together, but not Danielle and I. Her taste matches mine and when I pick something out she very graciously says it's terrible. Just kidding. Be both agree on the things we would like to have in our house 99% of the time. I do have to admit that when we were scanning in various appliances and such I felt really weird about it. I mean, we were walking around the store basically going "I want that, and get me that.." I know that people want to get you presents for your wedding, but it still felt strange for some reason, wandering around asking for things. Secretly, I do hope we get what we asked for (we really need the stuff). On the other hand, what we were looking at was practical. Kitchen stuff, cleaning stuff, bedroom things. We didn't scan in MP3 players and lava lamps etc. I do have to say that our place is gonna friggin' rock. Today Danielle registered at Bed Bath & Beyond. So, we'll go gallivanting around BB&B scanning like crazy again. I'm actually looking forward to it because we'll be designing the look of our future place together. Fun stuff. I've heard some horror stories about wedding planning and wedding processes over the past few weeks from various people. I can't say enough how thankful to God that I am for the blessings in my life and Danielle's life. First of all, my parents have blessed us beyond measure. They've given us way above and beyond what we had expected. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have a wedding really. One amazing thing that happened was on our visit to Atascadero for the weekend a while ago, we secured 95% of the essentials for the wedding. Location, photographer, catering, flowers etc. We got such a hook-up from my buddy at Players restaurant in Atascadero, Glen. He totally came through for us. The location was exactly what she wanted too. My focus is that during this time Danielle doesn't get too stressed and that everything goes the way she wants it to. I've done enough weddings to know that if the bride, and the mother of the bride, are happy then everyone is happy. But it's also far beyond that for me. I just want her to be happy period. Not for the sake of everyone's enjoyment but so that we truly enjoy each other and the day. Finally, I've got so much to do before I leave. I have to get my stuff from Atascadero up to LA for the move to Texas. I have to edit as much of the film as I can. I have to register the rest of the stuff for the wedding. Get tuxedos fitted, finish the GCU video for Action House, figure out how the HECK I'm going to afford new auto insurance. It's crazy. At the same time, God has never left or forsaken me. I have never been in want or need. I serve a big God. It's going to be alright.