This mountain was jetting into the cloads. It looked like a castle in the clouds 

We had some beautiful mountains to look at on our drive. 

This is the Arizona state line. Without us. How sad. 

Dad and I at the Arizona state line. Lookin' GOOD! 

Today we woke up around 7 am. Dad and I were pretty tired because we spent our New Years totally sleeping! WOOO! After a quick shower, we'll head down for breakfast then take off. Today we drive to Tuscon Arizona from Palm Desert California. It's approxmiatley 378 miles and should take about six or seven hours. Watch out I-10, here we come! 

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.

Time marches on.. So, here's the update since forever ago. The most important thing that's happened in my life is I asked Danielle, my girlfriend, to marry me on November 11th. We were at Hearst Castle in Cambria. My Mom, Dad, Step Mom, Step Dad, Sister, her boyfriend, Danielle's sisters and parents, and everyone else was there. The greatest part was everyone but Danielle knew that I was planning on asking her when did. I gave her my Great Grandmother's ring that she wore all her life. I had it polished and reset. The great thing was that Danielle had been praying all her life that her engagement ring would be: 1. An antique 2. A family heirloom 3. Set with a saphire Crazy, huh? More later

Time marches on.. So, here's the update since forever ago. The most important thing that's happened in my life is I asked Danielle, my girlfriend, to marry me on November 11th. We were at Hearst Castle in Cambria. My Mom, Dad, Step Mom, Step Dad, Sister, her boyfriend, Danielle's sisters and parents, and everyone else was there. The greatest part was everyone but Danielle knew that I was planning on asking her when did. I gave her my Great Grandmother's ring that she wore all her life. I had it polished and reset. The great thing was that Danielle had been praying all her life that her engagement ring would be: 1. An antique 2. A family heirloom 3. Set with a saphire Crazy, huh? More later

Today is day three of casting for our film, Graves Method, and I do have to say it's getting tiring. Althought I'm only sitting there, I find myself exhausted at the end of the day. We have a good pick of people for callbacks tomorrow. We'll take a look at what we have, then cast the sucker. Today Clay said "Enough auditioning, I want to cast this thing and start shooting." I am SO there with him. I'm really excited to get these people we picked into the callback. We set out the headshots today and looked at our picks and realized that our film rests on these actors shoulders. If we don't get the performances, or if they don't bring them, the film falls on it's face. There's no sex, violence, action sequences or blowing stuff up. It's all characters and acting. I do believe it's a well written script that tells a good story, and that will pull through. I also believe that Clay and I can direct this sucker. It's crazy working with Clay sometimes, we both think so similarly. The notes he gives for auditions are the same as mine 99% of the time. When we write, we're pretty much on the same wavelength as well. On another note, I got off the phone with the guys at Lakewood church today. Bottom line, they want me! They'll fly me out to look at apartments, pay to move me out etc. I should be getting a package in the mail next week with a formal proposal (I feel so GIDDY.), and other paperwork. It looks like I might be out there mid to late November. The film wraps on Nov. 5th. We might do some pickups, we may not. I love making movies. It's just so good.

Today we did a "table read" after Clay's acting class. A table read is where you get a bunch of actors together to do a reading of your script. Overall, I'd say it went very well. It was great to hear the dialog going back and forth. Nothing really stuck out at me as being bad, in fact I really enjoyed it. On another note, I've been sick the past three days. My throat has gotten ALL messed up. I'm at the point where I can't really talk at all. Danielle has done and amazing job of taking care of me. She's made tea, gotten me cough drops, and made me feel great when I don't feel so great. The amazing thing about her is that if I'm in a terrible mood I feel better just from being around her. Not only that, but she doesn't even metion the fact that I'm in a nasty mood, she just recognizes it and helps me get through it. Rock!

It's been a crazy couple of days. First of all, it looks like I'll be going to Houston Texas the weekend of the 25th to visit Lakewood Church. That's a very exciting thing. They're flying me out and everything! Golly gee! God blessed me with a Palm Zire 21 recently. The amazing thing is that Danielle, Clay and I were praying for God to help me get more organized in my life. The next day he provided the Zire! Awesome! Allready things are much better and I'm alot more organized. Just because of a stupid little PDA. Clay and I wrote for over 12 hours yesterday to finish our film. We'll be putting together a budget and production schedule this week. The great thing is that Maggie said she would help storyboard the movie. It'll be great to work with Maggie again. Thankfully, she's only in Long Beach and not Paso Robles. This script was 31 pages, which means the movie should be about 35-45 minutes. That's quite a leap from our first film. The first film was only 10 pages and was about 11 minutes. Awesome stuff. As I continue to develop films and work here in Hollywood I really have to consider if moving to Texas and working with Lakewood would be a good idea. I still feel peace about it, but alot depending on what I see and what they say when I visit. I don't want my creativity to be stifled. I would like continue to work on short films while at Lakewood. I do get the distinct feeling that they would hope I would express myself creativly, which is important. So many things to consider. I'll keep in prayer about it.

It's been a pretty eventfull since I last wrote. This week alone is going to be pretty crazy/sexy/cool. I got a call from John at Lakewood about this Thursday. Apparently the director of ministries, or something like that, is going to be in town and would like to meet with me. I'm waiting for a call back so I can find out exactly when they want to meet. That way I can ask for a certain part of the day off. This Friday I'm playing bass in the Stephen Petree Band. This will be my third gig with them so far, I think. I do play with Steve every Sunday at Overcomers church, though. I either play bass or drums. This Friday I'll be playing bass (my third instrument in the order of experience). The gig is at the Dream Center coffee house. They have a live band every Friday night and I really think we'll be one of the better ones to have played there. I also recieved a call from John at Lakewood (no, that's not his full name) saying that they want to fly me out in September. It looks like I'll be flying out the third weekend at this point. To me, this is a very good sign. I'm excited about the job and I'm also peacful about it at the same time. There are a few factors that are at play in this cornerstone in my life. One of the biggest is my relationship with Danielle. I have to consider how this will affect our relationship. Anna said something to me about long distance relationships and I'll sum up what she said with this: distance either deepens or dissolves a relationship. I really feel for Danielle. Many of her friends are leaving the Dream Center for different reasons within a very close proximity of time. That's got to be hard for her. Everyone she knows is here. I couldn't imagine getting off of work and not having someone to go to after a long day of dealing with crap. I must remember to pray for her. Danielle's family is going to be visiting in October. This is a very good thing. Her two sisters and Dad will be flying in. When her Dad arrives he will, apparently, hug her for a very long time, cry, then hug me. I'm really looking forward to meeting her family. I haven't talked with her Mom yet, but she sounds like a wonderful lady.

Today I met with John and a few of his associates from Lakewood church. But, let me back up a little bit. I received a phone call from John Wednesday afternoon saying he was going to be in Anaheim that day and Thursday. He wanted to know if I could meet with him while he was down. I told him I would work it out. After talking with Cliff and Craig they agreed I could meet with him Thursday morning at 7:30. There were a few problems associated with this descision. The first was I was doing a shoot Thursday afternoon at 1:30 pm. So that meant I had to get from Anaheim to Los Angeles by at least 12:30. Anaheim to LA is at least 40 minute drive without traffic, which means it's a 1 1/2 hour drive. The other was I would have to get up around 5:30 so that I would be at the hotel to meet John on time. Thankfully my Uncle Kevin lives in Anaheim and was kind enough to let me stay with him on very short notice. In fact, I met up with him at an Angels baseball game. We had a great time. They were very hospitable and it was all good. I arrived at the hotel about 15 minutes late because of traffic and parking (or lack of) at the Marriott. I assumed there would be a standard parking lot. But no, they have to have a parking structure or valet! Insane! So I park and rush to the hotel. They had allready eaten so I ordered a Denver omelet and ate about 5 of the potatoes orgaten. That was it for breakfast for me. I spent my with with John and his three associates talking about the job, my experience and life at Lakewood. In the middle of our conversation we were joined by a guy whose name was Decon I think. The reason I'm confused is because when he introduced himself his last name sounded like a first name so I got the two messed up. I later found out that Decon was the guy that gives the "OK" or "no" for my job. We had a great converstaion. After breakfast John asked if could go with them on their scouting trip. We visited Angels stadium again then "The Pond" in Anaheim. It was kind of strange because I was just in Angels stadium the night before. Weird. At the end of the day they gave me $100 to take care of my expenses going to Anaheim and back. Danielle was also kind enough to lend me $35 the night I had to leave. She also let the seam out of my pants so they were long enough. She is so amazing. All in all I felt really good about the meeting I've had with the guys at Lakewood and am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me.

My girlfriend, Danielle, is awesome by the way.

Over the past few weeks I've been talking with Craig Johnson at Lakewood Community Church. They are looking for a 20 something year old to fill a new position in their media department. The position would involve developing various media "teams" to produce events and videos for the various church functions. This person would work with the Youth and Children's ministries, as well as other ministries. So, I've had two very good conversations with Craig. The first one was to let him know that I heard about the opprotunity. The second was to talk with him and John. John does alot of the media work for the "main" service at the church. We had our second conversation today around 1 pm. John asked me a ton of questions and I answered all of 'em. I told him about my background in media as well as what I'm currently working on. They were both very impressed. As of now, things are looking quite good. They are going to call me later this week and discuss the position a little bit more. If in our next conversation they don't bring up having me come out I'm going to bring it up. I'll pretty much tell them I'd like them to fly me out so I can visit the church and get a feel for the enviroment I'm going into. We'll see what happens. The amazing thing is how awesome God has been through all of this. He's given me peace when I've asked for it and been gracious in my weakness. The hardest part is the WAITING! The waiting is driving me crazy. They'll call me by the end of the week. WHEN!? AHH!! I must know! It'll be ok, though. I have plenty of things to keep me occupied.