Back Home.

Lived it up in San Diego, here's a few pics, will have more later this weekend.

We swam and surfed and body boarded and went to Sea World and toured a aircraft carrier and ate a ton of candy and bought a hat, but of all these cool things we did I loved doing mundane, everyday tasks in a wetsuit and surfing with by buddy Tye.

Drinking coffee in a wetsuit.

Doing dishes in a wetsuit.

Cleaning the toilet in a wetsuit.

Tye waxing up his board.

Heading down to the beach.

Riding the ocean.

Tye catching a wave. Notice the massive death wave behind him, we avoided those.

Tye and I celebrating a nice long ride. Right after this was taken I crashed on my face.

Vacation food at its best. Breakfasts and lunches.

The Heart of a Man.

I have always heard that you can really get to know who someone is by watching them in a really stressful situation, like financial strain or being mistreated at work etc. Well, I think that is garbage. If you want to know who someone is deep in their heart watch them get stung by a bee.

Last Sunday I found out that at the core of who I am I must be a foul-mouthed little girl. Ray and I were coming out Wal-Mart and when I hopped in the Jeep I brushed something off my shirt with my thumb and then all of a sudden this hell-fire pain shot in the inside joint on my left thumb. When this happened I unleashed a high volume, high pitched swear word that I can't even post here (but it was 'F'oul, wink). It just happened, all reaction. It hurt so bad.

So I lived through my first bee sting (I think it was my first). Then today I was walking around camp closing up after a guest group and got stung again on my back, are you freaking joking me? however, I would like to say today I took the sting with more dignity and no obscenity. No swearing or yelling, just an understanding of what was going on. I hate bees now. Cheers.

Chris

Home Sick?

I'm really missing SA this week, I don't know why. Maybe its because I know my good friends are having a rough time or maybe just because I would love to have some All Gold tomato sauce or some biltong and Squiggly Pops from Fish Aways.

I was just looking at a satellite image of SA and followed the highways around and found different places I had been. Made me really miss it; the people, places, our house, my old job, Re:Verb, my old gym, rugby, Dros, cheap Menlyn movies, adventure camp, Donkerhoek (Mooi Plaas), the band shack, cool money, the metric system, Bafana Bafana, slow internet (just kidding). So many memories. Cheers.

Chris

Haha, awesome!

Jacques-Louis 8.27.08-09.09.08

My heart is so hurt by this news. I was in California for a few days without internet or cell coverage and I just got the news when we got home tonight. I don't even know how to communicate what I feel. I guess its just an extremely sadness for my really good friends that I love and care for so deeply.

Flaps and Amanda, if there is anything Ray or I can do for you please know we will do out best to do it for you. I love you guys.

Chris

Staff Retreat and Flaps.

Our staff is going to Forest Home camp in California for the next few days. Be back on Wednesday.

Please keep praying for Jacques-Louis. Flaps said that he is stable, but his kidneys are still not working right and his heart is still swollen and they can't close up the chest.

Please also pray for Flaps and Amanda, they are spending a fortune driving down to the hospital every day, plus other out of hospital expenses. If you would like to help them out financially email me and I will find out how to get it to them. Thanks.

Chris

Ron Burgundy: Discovered by The Germans in 1904, They Named it San Diego, Which of Course in German Means a Whale's Vagina.

Ray and I are going to San Diego with our friends, Tye and Jenn Jones, a week from Monday. They rented a beach condo and invited us to go party with them and you know what? When friends invite you to a beach......you go. We are so excited.

Ray and I have never been on a beach vacation since we've been married so its time. Tye and I will rent surfboards and spend all week in the water flopping around like shark bait and Jenn and Ray will spend all day getting sunburned. How much fun is that?

It can't come fast enough.

Chris

Another Flaps Post.

Flaps Van Der Merwe wrote at 2:34pm

OK - we just heard from the hospital today - both today and tomorrow they tried to start closing up his chest slightly. And both times they tried this Jacques-Louis did not take it well and they had to stop. We really need people to pray for him to get through this stage.

I honestly all the thousands praying for him helped him get to this point - but we need to get him further.

Please let people know they still need to pray - our little boy is not home and dry yet.

He will be!

But for now he needs your support.

Thank you.

I know, I know.....I'm Shallow.

Call me shallow, I don't care, Sarah Palin is goooood loooookin'.

Baby Update.

Heres an update from Flaps' blog.

Flaps Van Der Merwe wrote at 12:57pm

This mornings visit went GREAT. Riccardo and Maria joined us. Though Riccardo thought the hospital is just a nice mall. Jacques-Louis looks GREAT. They say his condition is as good as possible at this point. Very stable. They reminded me that it is still important that his hearts reduces in swelling and that closing up his chest goes smoothly.

Only thereafter are we out of danger. But they also said the fact that he got through the heart machine transition so smoothly is something to be thankful for! You’re telling me! I took a great video of his heart. You must see it! It should be up any time now.

People are supporting us from South Africa, America, Swaziland, UK, and all over - random people we don’t even know! Thank you so much! May our little boy bring the world much joy one day.

Here is a link to a video Flaps made in the hospital, its amazing. You can see Jacques-Louis' heart beating on its own. http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=716272149&ref=ts&pub=2719290516#/video/video.php?v=33380842149

Chris

Jacques-Louis is off the machines.

Here's what Flaps wrote on his blog about Jacques-Louis.

He made it! He is off the heart machine!

He’s heart is weak, struggling, to do it’s work, but it’s pumping…

Pray for his blood pressure to stabilize!

Pray that the platelets will do it’s job!

It is important that he does not bleed to much now!

Next 48-hours is crucial!

Let’s cover him with our prayers.

Chris

Jacques-Louis Update.

Flaps has posted new info on his sons blog here. He posted a video of Jacques-Louis, his heart is beating strong in the video which is really good. He says that the will be taking him off the machines and hopefully his heart will work nice and strong, Jacques-Louis was on only 15% machine help anyways.

Check the blog for updates if you are interested in whats going on with them.

Chris

Jacques-Louis

My friends, Flaps and Amanda, just had their second son a few days ago, but he needs your prayers. I am not sure of all the details (we are trying to get any info online that we can), but here is a blog that Flaps has set up for his son; http://www.13floor.net/jacques-louis/

Please be praying for Jacques-Louis. Cheers.

Chris

Christian Artist Talent Search.

Wow, what an amazing show, not (in my best Borat timing).

Its just another example of Christians trying to do something that the secular world does so well (American Idol), but doing it so poorly that it makes Christians look like complete morons.

Then the judges don't say anything negative or critical about them, because Christians have to be 'nice' all the time. I think it may be a greater sin to tell some tool box that he's a great singer, rather than telling him it may be better for him to go try a different career path, like pressure washing or dental assistant.

Whatever, I'm guilty of this too, but this show is so damn corny. Oh well at least their trying. I suppose it would be a nice show to perform on because nobody will say bad stuff about you. Thats nice. Cheers.

Chris

PS
They call the show CATS for short, that makes me angry.

Saturday Night.

Our church has 4 services through the weekend, 1 on Saturday night and 3 on Sunday. They are trying to get people to hand out after church on Saturdays to play volleyball, but it hasn't really caught on. So Ray and threw a post church volleyball party and it was a blast. We invited friends from UCYC, the bank and a couple that we met at the dog park and most people showed up. It was a blast. We made guacamole and a couple Ray knows from the bank make salsa and brought chips and sodas, it was great.

So next week we want to kick it up a notch and bring out some grills and have a fun volleyball party and try to meet some new people. Cheers.

Chris

Oh Sweet Guinness.

The dogs were out in their pen today and Rachel went out to bring them back in and when she got to the pen Guinness was wagging her tail and looking all proud. Then when Ray entered the pen she realized that Guinness had killed a chipmunk in her mouth. Its her first kill, we're so proud.

Link Fixed.

I fixed the link in the post from the other day to my get skinny blog, but here it is for all those interested. Chrisandchadgetskinny.wordpress.com

Time to Change.

I will continue to use this blog, but my friend Chad Brown and I have opened a new one to document our attempt to become skinny.

The site is chrisandchadgetskinny.wordpress.com We will document our transformations (hopefully) and you can marvel at how sexy and smooth we both have become. Cheers.

Chris

Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Theres Just Something about California.

There's just something about California.

I remember the first time I flew to California. It was 2002 and Traveling Mercies went to Palm Springs to perform at a Believe conference. It was such an awesome experience to be on the west coast for the first time. We flew into Ontario airport and drove a rented vehicle out to Palm Springs. What I remember most were the huge windmills, there are huge! Plus on the way back to the airport we stopped for In N Out......life changing.

After that show there were several other trips to California, each memorable in its own way. Jay Leno (where's that pic?), touching the Pacific for the first time, Flaps getting kicked out of a hotel, driving the length of Cali on route to Portland, California Mike, surfing, fish tacos, Rodeo Drive, freaking Knotts Berry Farm, RV catching fire (or something), watching the 2004 election in an RV park, the G Ride, Roscos Chicken and Waffles, hanging with DSM, Alfie, Walk of Fame, seeing the Hollywood sign from the RV window, filming in San Diego.

But, with all the trips and memories there were always staples.....In N Out and that feeling you always get in California that something rad could be just around the corner.

There's just something about California.

We visited a camp yesterday and had a great day. David, Aaron and I Flew out of PHX early into Burbank, drove up north an hour or so to Ojai Valley camp (or something like that). Its a cool place, laid back vibe, beautiful trees, carpet ball. We walked around, talked to some staff and campers and left. From the camp we went to the beach where we would surf and have a 'beach day', its near the Ventura pier if that means anything to you. I would have loved to have gone to the beach for camp when I was in high school, I mean you sign up for surf lessons as an afternoon rec activity. Sweet.

So we walked the beach, ate some sword fish and drove back to Burbank to catch our flight home. It was a really long day, but well spent. I think we will have a great high school week of camp there next summer.

When we were flying out I was looking down at all the houses and apartments and tried to imagine how many people were out there trying to 'make it' in the biz. I envied them a little, they had the guts to go for something that so many people fail at, but there's just something about California that makes people want to try to do something amazing. Cheers.

Chris

Off to Cali.

I am at a friends house in PHX because we flying out in the morning to visit a camp in CA tomorrow, but right now his wife pulled out their wedding video. Its a nice video, but its still their wedding video. I really can't believe we are doing this right now. Aarons wife is getting all emotional, this may be one of the silliest things ever in my life. They are dancing right now in the video, its pretty bad. Oh, now its time for the best man speech. What a crappy speech. Its still going, cake cutting included, oh how cute.....they are smashing cake in each others faces.........precious.

I get home late tomorrow. Cheers.

Chris

End is Near.....On to New Things.

This summer is quickly coming to a close, 1 1/2 weeks to go. We have had week after week of camp, thousands of students, tons of food, quit a few stitches, its been a great summer. For me it has been really good because now I understand what we do so much more. It was so hard planning something that I have never done, but I really look forward to next summer with a year of experience under my belt.

As we are finishing summer we are working on our winter camps for Jan 2009. We are doing something new with all of our age groups and I think its going to be brilliant. So I hope we have much of that completed within the next 6 weeks so we can start working on next summers program. Things are exciting around here.

Cheers.

Chris

Jeep in Sedona.

We have these awesome new friends named Shaun and Melissa that we met at the dog park several weeks ago. Since then we have gotten to hang out a lot and they are awesome. A couple of fun things about them:

1-They are our age, not super exciting, but still fun.

2-Shaun works in banking, so he and Ray always have a ton to talk about. Its funny because they were at competing banks so I aways hope they get in a big fist fight over interest rates or credit card reward programs or some other bank related topic, however its hasn't come to that yet. Oh I wish up on a star.

Sooooo this past weekend they rented a Jeep up in Sedona and invited us to come with them to do a little 4 wheelin'. We had a blast. We drove Soldier pass and Broken Arrow and we drove over some huge obsticles. It was great!!!

I have some pics, but my laptop is broken so I will post them later this week....hopefully. Cheers.

Chris

Back on the Horse.

I went on my first mtb ride in a few weeks and it was great. I have just been so exhausted from camp going a hundred miles an house that I have not had any energy to get up at 5:00 to go riding. Oh, it was like reuniting with an old friend. Cheers.

Chris

So Sorry.

Hey Guys,

I am so sorry that I haven't been blogging lately. I have been so tired with long camp days that I have nothing creative to say. However, a lot of cool things have been going on and I will report soon. Cheers.

Chris

Sucks.

I just found out today that a friend of mine in SA was diagnosed with cancer. He was on our touring team last year and is only 19 or 20. He has a surgery on Tuesday to cut out what they can find and see where else it has spread. Please pray its not bad and that he will be ok, such an amazing guy. I hate cancer, it ruins lives.

Chris

Week In Week Out.

Weeks of camp are funny because one week can be so different from the week before or after. The teens, the sponsors, the weather, whatever it is there can be a zillion things that make weeks of camp completely different experiences.

Our first week was marked by trips to the hospital. There had to be more stitches that week than ever in the history of camp, unless it was like a samurai sword fighting camp.

The second week was marked with less blood and the kids were way more laid back than the first week. They weren't as competitive in games and just were really low key all week.

This week has been different because we have high schoolers. So when they arrive they are all cool and tough, but when you get down to it they are great students to hang out with. They are mad competative at sports (which I love) and they are all about hanging out and building relationships. Honestly, we could plan very little and they would just hang out and talk and have a great time without us, thats high school students.

So this week has also been great in that there had been no injuries....until today. I spent quite a bit of time hanging in the ER this afternoon with some of our students and pastors. We had several things happen like a peanut allergy to a concussion to a broken foot to a shoulder issue to a case of heat exhaustion/dehydration to a potentially broken collar bone. It was chaos. A nurse in the ER joked with me, when I was checking in on our wounded, and asked, "can we get camp t-shirts for spending so much time with your kids?" I thought that was hilarious.

So that was today. Everyone is fine and back at camp (except that broken foot, his mom fetched him and took him home) and it has been a tremendous week of camp, I'm really sad to see these guys go tomorrow. I know that many of them have really had some great encounters with God while here at camp and I believe the different churches are going to go home tighter and more relational than ever. I love camp. Cheers.


Chris

High School.

We only have 1 high school week of camp during the summer at our facility (we lead another week in SoCal going on this week also) and the students are so much fun. The teens are cool, the sponsors are cool, everyone is great to hang with and I am having a great time. Cheers.

Chris

Our 6th Anniversary.

I feel so lucky to have a great marriage to such a great woman. Rach and I were talking today about how we have done so much together in our 6 years of marriage and that we feel like some of the most blessed people on Earth. We may not have a lot to show for it, but we have seen some amazing places, met some amazing people and done more amazing things that I ever thought I would ever get to do. Its definitly been an adventure and I know it will continue.

Growing up I heard people say that they loved their wives more now than the day they got married and I always thought that was dumb, how could you love them more than on your wedding day. However, now I totally get it. Through the years my love for Ray and just grown and grown and we are in a place in our relationship now that is beyond words. I am so in love with my wife and love that I get to spend the rest of my life with her. Happy anniversary Ray. Cheers.

Chris

The New Face of UCYC.

We play a game in the mornings called Bumper Soccer and its freakin' awesome. Everyday there is potential for injury and that makes for a great week of camp. Cheers.

Chris

Oh Yeah.

I am sorry to everyone in the rest of the world who doesn't have the fortune of living in a town with perfect weather. If you are in the mood to be a little depressed you can click this link and check the 10 day forecast for old Prescott, AZ.

As a Jeep owner this is heaven. Cheers.

Chris

I Love the Camp Kids.

Tonight is the first night of our 2nd week of camp and I LOVE IT!

The kids are so stoked to be at camp and during the session we all dance and yell and have a great time, its so great to see their excitement. Cheers.

Chris

Its Here.

Camps here. We have 250ish people here for our first week and I am so stoked. Everything came together tonight for the first session and I believe we are going to have a great summer and that lives are really going to be changed.

We have a great lineup. Josh Finklea is our speaker and DSM is our band for the week. Tonight was great and they both did an awesome job.

I am so stoked its summer, its like we have been working so long for this and its great that its here. Cheers

Chris

Demetrius, Damar, MMA, Camp.

Demetrius

I told you the other day about Demetrius being in the hospital in Phoenix after a bad head injury. Well, he is out of the ICU now and should be out of the hospital within a few days. I am so glad that he will make a recovery.

Damar

We almost lost Damar today. Heres what happened. Yesterday I came home from work and she had thrown up in the living room. She ended up throwing up a few more times and we were getting concerned because she couldn't keep anything down. We ended up taking her to the vet and they said that she needed emergency surgery or she would die in a few hours.

Apparently she had eaten something that she wasn't supposed to and it was obstructing her bowels. Be cause of that she ended up getting gas bloating her stomach and it was getting twisted up and flipped upside down. She should be fine the doctor said after the surgery. We will be able to get here on Monday or Tuesday.

MMA

CBS broadcasted the first MMA event on network TV tonight. I think that is cool and will end up being really good for the sport.

Camp

Camp starts tomorrow. I think we are good to go, I am sure we will find a ton of little things that need to be worked on, but it will be fine. We have 211 people showing up tomorrow afternoon for the jr high week and I am not sure how many kids are coming for junior camp. This means I will be busy until August. Cheers.

Chris

Prayer.

Hey Guys,

If you all could please pray for a couple of our guys that would be great.

Last night several of our summer staff were hanging out and started playing ultimate frisbee with a glow in the dark frisbee and one of our summer staffers, Demetrius, collided head to head with one of our executive directors sons, Cameron and it was pretty bad.

Cameron chipped 3 teeth, but Demetrius was knocked really hard. The ambulance came and got him and with any serious head trauma here in Prescott they fly them via helicopter down to Phoenix so they can get the best treatment. I wasn't there, so I don't have all the details, but please pray that he is ok, it was really bad.

As of now Demetrius is in the hospital in PHX and we haven't heard anything today. Please pray for no complications, for no permanent problems and a full recovery. Thanks.

Chris

Here we go Again.

Well it seems a small group of christians are ruining it for the rest of us. A group is calling for a boycott of Starbucks because of the use of an old logo they used when the company first opened.



They are claiming it inappropriate and they are also saying her legs are spread like a prostitute (why prostitute, why not like an Olympic gymnast?).

So, I checked out their site and really looks like its more of a publicity stunt to sell a book that they are coming out with (which I imagine is so freaking crappy). Either way, I love that fact that now christians look like morons.... again...woohoo.....awesome.....yay.

Just so you know, I will not be boycotting Starbucks just because they are using a new (old) slutty logo. I guess that if they were to make me take may shirt off and wear mermaid fins when purchasing a pound of Espresso Roast then I would consider not going, not because of inappropriateness, but rather the hassle of it all. Cheers.

Chris

PS
I got a mug from the original Starbucks when we were in Seattle and it has the slutty logo on it and I think its cool. Its on my desk right now....oh no....sin.

PPS
I still don't have a phone. Oh, well.

Ring Ring Ring.

This past weekend the weather was perfect so we took the doors and top off the Jeep for the first time. It was great, I don't know we ever drive it any other way.

So Saturday morning I was taking the doors off and putting them in the garage and while I was carrying one of the doors my phone fell out of my pocket. I thought, "no big deal, I'll get it on the way out". Well, if you know anything about me you know that I get distracted easily. I forgot the phone. I finish with the doors and go to breakfast, after breakfast I drove home and guess what, I ran over my phone in the driveway.

So now I have a crushed celly (as BeanTown would say). I will hopefully get my new one this week, I'm glad I got the insurance. If you need to call me you can call me on Rays phone at night or the office number during the day. I have no idea what either of those numbers are though, go to UCYC.com for the office number and call Rachel's sister to get her number, however, I don't know that one either, sorry. Cheers.

Chri

Oh Yeah!

So New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) are back together. I have mixed emotions.

On one hand I am really excited because I was a fan (weren't we all) and while traveling with Traveling Mercies Ray and I carried our footware in a yellow NKOTB duffel bag with pink straps, so there is a connection.

However, on the other hand I am sad because this means the world is more ridiculous that it was yesterday. I mean seriously, this is one of the lamest things ever in the history of the earth. As I type this I am trying to think of something lamer to compare it to`, but I can't. Its impossible. I think if even Pope Benedict XVI put out an album of Bobby Brown remixes, it would still be cooler that Jordan Knight wearing those aviator sunglasses and singing in the rain. Hangin' Tough.

Chris

May Bread and Wine

My May post for The Bread and Wine is online today.

Its a short ditty about sin. You can read it here. Cheers.

Chris

On the Trail.

Today we went and did an adventure field trip for the 4th graders at Taylor Hicks Elementary. The kids did kayaking, slack lining, first aid, knot tying and hiking. I got to lead the hiking section and had a blast with the kids. The kids climbed on rocks and played in a creek, it was fun hanging out with them. It was a nice break from the hectic summer planning. Plus, I got in about 4 hours of hiking today so thats nice. Cheers.

Chris

The Face of Hope.

This was the face of hope for runners this morning

The Whiskey Row Marathon was this morning and we worked Water Station #2 and had a great time.

Before my shift at Water Station #2 I went for a ride with Mike and I couldn't do anything. I tried a new pre-ride food, I had a Clif Bar and it turned out to be a bad choice. We had barely ridden anything and I felt like I was going to hurl. It wasn't the greatest moment of my life. I eventually made it home. Cheers.

Chris

Fatty.

There is a blog called Fat Cyclist that I love. The author is a guy named Elden and he lives in Utah and started this blog a couple of years ago as he was trying to shed a few pounds. Well, that guy is so funny and if you are into cycling at all you will find this site great. I suggest going back and start reading all the archive stuff, I did while we were in Africa and it was great entertainment when I didn't want to watch Zulu soap operas.

On a serious note, he wrote a while back about how his wife has been battling cancer and how she was fighting hard and things were looking good. Well in the past couple of days they have received some really bad news about is wife and its not looking good.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to going through what their family is going through. Rachel is sleeping in our bedroom and I can't imagine her dealing with what Elden and Susan are dealing with. Its really making me enjoy every moment I get to spend with Ray, she means the world to me. I just want to savor our time we get to spend together.

Please pray for a miracle, its seems at this moment thats all that can help their situation. Cheers.

Chris

Bittersweet.

Ray and I went to Scottsdale for my birthday and stayed in a hotel and did some shopping. The trip was great, however there was one thing that was kind of bittersweet.

For my birthday Rach planned on getting my guitar fixed (repaired, not neutered). See, its been all over the world and has been thrown in trailers, vans, RV's, busses, cars, truck tool boxes and airplanes and has been played for hours and hours and hours and it has started buzzing when you play it. I assumed that it was just needing a new fret board.

So Rach was surprising my for my b-day by getting my guitar fixed (one of the best birthday presents ever) and when it was taken to the repair shop she found that its almost beyond repair. There is something funky in the neck and the guy said it would cost at least $500 and there was no guarantee that it will completely fix it, THAT SUCKS SO BADLY.

To me this is more than just a faded/scratched/played out guitar, this is MY guitar. I learned how to play on this guitar, I've played for church, schools, bars, camps, conferences, Americans, Africans, Mexicans, Bosnians, Croations, friends, family and strangers with this guitar and to know I can't fix it hurts me (I get teary thinking about it and I am not one to cry often).

The really tough thing is that Pat gave it to me. For you who don't know, Pat is my aunt and she pretty much raised me. I moved in with her when I was in middle school and she was the world to me. She was like my best friend and even when I moved out for college we spoke all the time. When I was touring here in the states we spoke on the phone every day as I was driving the RV. She was the best.

However, Pat died a few years ago from cancer and as silly as it sounds this guitar was kind of that last close connection I had with her. I don't mean like I see her face in the faded finish or it says her name when I play a bar chord, but just that it means more to me than any other object on Earth. I planned on playing this guitar forever.

Cheers.

Chris

Good Stuff.

I have gotten into Flight of the Conchords on HBO and I think its great. Its about these 2 musicians from New Zealand that live in NYC and they write these super quirky songs that I think are funny, worth checking out.



The Whiskey Row Marathon is tomorrow and UCYC works a water station as the runners run by our camp. We were hoping to go get some fun retro sports clothes from the t'h'rift store and got this pic of the delivery truck. Cheers.

Chris

29.

My Birthday is tomorrow. I imagine lots of you are sitting around wondering what you could get me for my birthday so I will post an entry for Fat Cyclists site. He has a lot of great ideas.

50 Gift Ideas for Cyclists

11.20.2006 | 2:32 pm

Last year, I made the case that if you want to get your favorite cyclist a present, you should forget being creative and buy her/him the stuff s/he’s always having to buy anyway.

I still think that’s a good idea. I don’t think you can go wrong with buying a cyclist any of the following:

1. Tubes: Find out what kind of tubes the cyclist uses, and buy a bunch of them. It’s really nice to have a stash of tubes sitting in the garage whenever you need one. This isn’t all that great of an idea if your cyclist friend has switched to tubeless.

2. Genuine Innovations’ Microflate: An inexpensive, sturdy, tiny, easy-to-use threaded CO2 (or propane, as it turns out) cartridge valve. I really don’t understand why anyone would use anything else.

3. CO2 and Big Air! canisters: Make sure that the canisters you buy are compatible with the valve your friend uses.

4. Sports food / Sports Drink / Gel: If you know what they eat, drink, or ingest (I have to say “ingest” when talking about gels, because neither “eat” nor “drink” is the correct word), buy them a bunch of it. Be careful you know the correct brand and flavors, though. As an innovative twist on this theme, maybe try giving them some Matisse & Jacks Bake-at-Home Energy Bar Mix. They work as well as store-bought bars, are easy to make, and taste an order of magnitude better. For now, you get free shipping if you buy five or more boxes, which seems like a good number to give as a gift.

5. Helmet: This is something many cyclists replace too rarely. Be sure to get the right size.

6. Messenger Bag: Everyone needs a messenger bag. My good friends at Banjo Brothers make great ones for an excellent price

7. Entry fee and commitment for support at a race: If your cyclist races, this is a very nice gift indeed

8. Smartwool Socks: Several pair of the same kind, so that as the cyclist wears them out, they’ve still got matching socks.

9. Lube: Be sure to get the kind your cyclist has settled on. It’s nice to have a year’s supply of lube sitting in the garage, just like it’s nice to have a year’s supply of tubes in there.

10. Shoe cleats: Do you know what kind of pedals your cyclist uses? Buy a new pair of cleats for those shoes. Most cyclists go through a couple pair of these per year, so they’re nice to have.

11. A Floor Pump: When getting started with cycling, most cyclists pick out a cheap floor pump. Then they regret it. But while those cheap floor pumps never quite break — allowing cyclists to discard them in good conscience — they never really work great, either. Go to your local bike store and ask the mechanic what pump they recommend for someone who uses a pump every day (road cyclists in particular pump their tires up before practically every ride), and you’ll give a surprising, exciting gift. I am not kidding. Cyclists love a great floor pump.

So thats that. Ray and I have been planning on going to Scottsdale to do some shopping since we don't have great stores here in Prescott. We are going to go down tonight, stay at a hotel and then spend tomorrow shopping. I am stoked, I think we are going to have fun. Plus there is a whirlpool in our room at the 3 Palms so thats fun. Cheers.

Chris

PS
4 8 15 16 23 42 are from Lost and the new episode was airing last Thursday night. So thats what they were if you were one of the few who didn't know.

Cali Trip.

We got back yesterday from our quick trip to California to film a couple of dramas for our 5-6 grade camps. We had a great time and hopefully got everything we need to make some nice videos for the kids.

We left at 4am on Monday morning and headed to Glamis to shoot on the dunes for our desert scenes. It was freaking hot and hard to walk around in that soft sand. One of our cameras fel over in the sand and not until later did we realize it wasn't working right. I hope we can salvage the footage from that camera or thats going to put a damper on our video. I think I have enough footage from the camera I was using so we'll see how it goes.


Heres Jarred jumping off a dune.



Here I am trying to be the "super cool director/camera guy". If you noticed I went with the thin long sleeve shirt matched with the white running shirt over the hat to protect me from the sun, it work wonderfully.


This pic was taken of on top of a dune, we call it "Digital Moses".

After we shot in the desert we hopped in the rental mini van (which was awesome for this trip) and drove to my new favorite place, San Diego. We got to the beach by late afternoon and scouted out our location for the next morning.

On Tuesday we left a little after 5 to get to the beach for a "fake evening/low light" shot. We were a little rushed at the beach because every minute that went by more people were walking by and ruining our "derserted beach" look. I was a job to keep all the condos and soccer moms out of the shot, but I think we did really well.


Heres J-rad and I walking down the beach.


Heres the dead seal that washed up on the shore while we were filming. I told a Parks and Rec guy and they came and scooped him up in a bull dozer and put him in the back of a dump truck.


Left to Right: Shellnut, J-Rad, Sexy Guy and Phoenis.



J-rad in the sand.

Chris

Today, Tomorrow, Whatever.

Ray and I spent the afternoon together and had a great time. We took the dogs back to the dog park, which is becoming a Sunday tradition, and we all seemed to enjoy it. Both the dogs pooped, I picked up Damar's and Ray picked up G's, if you were curious.

We decided to have a really unhealthy/fun dinner tonight. So we went with the Kraft Mac and Cheese/Oreo meal. We've been trying to eat as healthy as possible so tonight was a splurge. We were considering adding an appetizer of chips and queso, but opted out. While I was boiling the water for the Mac and Cheese and I burned the bag of chips. Thankfully I noticed before I burned down Prescott. Heres the bag and my "oh crap, I almost burned down the southwest".



I am off to Cali for few days for video shoots.



We are leaving at 4 in the morning to get to the desert by 8 and hopefully be able to get everything done in less than 5 hours. Then we shoot over to San Diego for a beach shoot on Tuesday. If we aren't too wiped out we will drive back to AZ, but if we are zonked we will come back on Wednesday, it would be nice to get home. Cheers.

Chris

Who knew?

My post Thursday was titled:

4 8 15 16 23 42

Since then I noticed that some people didn't know what that meant. I am a curious person, so I want to know if you knew what the numbers meant or not?

Please post a comment on this post whether or not you know what 4 8 15 16 23 42 is. I'll reveal for those who don't know later. Cheers.

Chris

4 8 15 16 23 42

Oh yeah.

Shoot.

We (me, Phoenis, J-Rad and Shellnut) went to Sedona today to shoot a video for our kids summer camp. Its a video that goes a long with the skits that were written for each session.

I think it went went well, we'll see when everything gets put together. We are shooting in Flagstaff in the snow on Thursday and then taking a trip to Cali to shoot in the desert and on the beach next week. We are going to be beat. Cheers.

Chris

Dog Park and Church.

Hey peeps,

Dog Park

Yesterday Ray and I went to Church and had a great time and then we decided to take the dogs to the dog park. I was a little worried about it, Guinness hasn't been known to be the most social dog in the world. So we show up and Ray and I are both nervous about what might happen, but she (Guinness) did great.


Heres Ray playing with the toys at the dog park.

There was only one incident when a young black Lab male tried to get a little friendly and she kind of attacked him. We hear this noise and Guinness was on top of him growling and protecting her innocence. I need to figure out how I can teach my daughters that trick, it works.

Church

We live in a strange environment in the sense that we all work together and live on the camp together. However, one thing that is cool is that I think we get to live a little of what the church is supposed to look like. A bunch of people living life together in the name of Jesus, pretty cool.

Well, today I felt like crap. I felt (feel) feverish, pukey, sore, just pretty nasty and when Ray was leaving to go to work she realized we had a flat on the Jeep. So all day I was not looking forward to walking home and fixing the tire, but when I finally got to the Jeep I realized somebody fixed it for me. They took it to the shop and got it patched and everything. Thats church. Thanks to whoever fixed my tire, it saved me from taking care of it in a crappy state. Cheers.

Chris

Maiden Voyage.

I took the 29er out on a quick ride this morning before church. I got the bike Friday evening from UPS and the living room became a bike shop for while (there still a bike stand in the living room, which I think is a nice accessory, better than a plant). Yesterday, I fiddled with the brakes all day and haven't gotten then perfect yet, but good enough. What a dude thing to say "hey....the brakes don't really work......but, thats cool, I'll be alright.....".



So I threw the bike in the Jeep and headed up to Thumb Butte Park for a quick ride. I did the 392-326-367 route (which we only call 392, but for your sake I named all the trails and added little arrows on the map to show you how we ride it, your welcome).

On the map you will see where I parked and road up the road to catch the trail. The first half of the loop is pretty much all climbing, the snail marks the switchbacks that make you feel like you are going to have a heart attack. The new bike climbed well, but the sitting position is a bit different than what I am used to so that was a little strange plus the saddle was really digging into my downstairs/taint/tweenis/tweener/undercarriage really badly so I need to make a few adjustments.

At the top of 392 its all downhill and the bike handled great. I don't know if it was the bike or the lack of brakes, but I rode that section better than ever. Awesome.

So that was the first trip, it was fun and there will be plenty more fo' shizzle.
Cheers.

Chris

Obligation and Christmas.

Obligation


Sometimes in live you may not be overly enthusiastic about something, but you still have to do it. At times this will be your job, you don't want to go, but you have to in order to provide for your family. Other times it may be your marriage, you aren't stoked about it at that moment, but because of your commitment you work through it as a couple.

Well, this morning I had one of these moments, with going mountain biking. I had zero (0) desire to get out of bed, drag myself out in 30-something degree weather and pedal my (the camps) bike around on dirt and rocks in the hope of having fun and become thin. But, out of obligation to Coyne I did. See, we made plans last night to ride and I knew nobody else was going (Gregs running a marathon soon and has taken time off of riding, Kris is sick, the Jones are filming something for camp, Jarred's a puss, Mike doesn't ride unless its over 40 degrees, Fisher is racing this weekend and won't ride today) so I had to go.

We ended up having a good time. He took me on some trails I had never ridden and that was cool to learn some more of our trail system, in some case "trail" would be an over statement, it was more like "dried up creek full of rocks and branches that were washed down stream in the snow melt". So, I didn't end up riding very well, but it was still fun.

Christmas

Heres the latest news concerning my bike from UPS.

Your Tracking Information
Status: IN-TRANSIT
Last Scan: 4/18/2008 4:35:00 AM IN TRANSIT TO PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ US
Carrier: UPS
Expected: 4/18/2008
UPS Tracking Number: 1Z30VR960336728809
Scan History:

4/18/2008 4:35:00 AM IN TRANSIT TO PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ US
4/18/2008 4:34:00 AM DEPARTURE SCAN PHOENIX, AZ US
4/18/2008 12:26:00 AM LOCATION SCAN PHOENIX, AZ US
4/17/2008 8:19:00 PM ARRIVAL SCAN PHOENIX, AZ US
4/16/2008 12:46:00 AM DEPARTURE SCAN MESQUITE, TX US
4/15/2008 11:02:00 PM LOCATION SCAN MESQUITE, TX US
4/15/2008 9:44:00 PM ARRIVAL SCAN MESQUITE, TX US
4/15/2008 2:24:00 PM DEPARTURE SCAN JACKSON, MS US
4/15/2008 12:11:00 PM ARRIVAL SCAN JACKSON, MS US
4/15/2008 8:03:00 AM DEPARTURE SCAN MONTGOMERY, AL US
4/15/2008 2:27:00 AM LOCATION SCAN MONTGOMERY, AL US
4/15/2008 12:57:00 AM ARRIVAL SCAN MONTGOMERY, AL US
4/14/2008 9:00:00 PM DEPARTURE SCAN FT. WALTON, FL US
4/14/2008 8:09:00 PM ORIGIN SCAN FT. WALTON, FL US
4/14/2008 7:13:00 PM BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED US

NOTE: The times listed in the scan details are local time.

Status as of Friday, April 18, 2008 7:00:01 AM Pacific Standard Time

If you notice that its in transit to Prescott Valley, well Prescott Valley (PV as the locals call it) is our little sister town and that means I will get my bike today. Its like Christmas without the Bailey's. Cheers.

Chris

Live Performances.

I got to see a couple of live shows on TV tonight.

First, Ben Harper. I love Ben Harper. I want to see him in concert so badly.

Second, Justin Timberlake. I am not a huge JT fan, however I appreciate that he is a great performer and his live show looked awesome. I imagine if you were a young lady or Chad Brown it would have been a great event to be at. The mix of music, lights and dance was really amazing. Plus, I didn't know that he was a piano player, he was playing with the band at one point and was really good. Pretty cool.

I Love Music. Cheers.

Chris

The Bread and Wine.

My buddy Mynhardt started a project called The Bread and Wine. The idea is to get different people to contribute to a blog that posts everyday about the being a follower of Christ in today culture. My first post went up today. Check it out here. Cheers.

Chris

What Can Brown Do For Me?

Brown

I'm super stoked about getting my Gary Fisher 29er any day now. The guy I bought it from dropped it at the UPS a few days ago and the website says I should expect in on Friday, we'll see. Here is the tracking info I gathered off of upsstore.com.

4/15/2008 8:04:00 AM IN TRANSIT TO MESQUITE, TX US
4/15/2008 8:03:00 AM DEPARTURE SCAN MONTGOMERY, AL US
4/15/2008 2:27:00 AM LOCATION SCAN MONTGOMERY, AL US
4/15/2008 12:57:00 AM ARRIVAL SCAN MONTGOMERY, AL US
4/14/2008 9:00:00 PM DEPARTURE SCAN FT. WALTON, FL US
4/14/2008 8:09:00 PM ORIGIN SCAN FT. WALTON, FL US
4/14/2008 7:13:00 PM BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED US

So it was just outside of Dallas earlier this morning. (Side Note: When I was a kid I used to watch the rodeo on tv and they were located in Mesquite, TX. Don't know why I remember that. )
I think it could make it here before Friday.

Nerves

I was a bit nervous buying this bike for several reasons.

1. It was on eBay so I hope it wasn't stolen.

2. It's used so I hope it works right and I don't have to get the thing fixed before I even get a chance to break it.

3. I am not very good at spending money on myself. I wish I could enjoy getting stuff for myself, but I was raised to not buy stuff for myself because its selfish or something.

4. I've never ridden a 29er except once down the alley behind a bike shop, it was a good ride and the it was this particular bike, it felt a bit heavy, but the size was nice. Plus, I've done a ton of reading on the 29er issue and figured that worse case I could resell it. You can read a little about it here. Plus I think they look wicked cool.

But, it will be great having my own bike again. I haven't owned one since I gave my MTB and road bike away at a MARTA station in ATL, another story for another time.

So "Brown" (not Zoid, UPS) I look forward to you delivering my bike on or before Friday so I can (hopefully if the things not crap) ride Granite Basin on Saturday, perfect. Cheers.

Chris

Damar. The Store Not the Dog.

Ray's dad used to have a photo store in Savannah called Damar (the inspiration for our dogs name). Well, we were watching Forces of Nature tonight (Ray was watching it, I was wishing that we were watching cagefighting) and there is a scene shot outside his shop and you can see the big Damar sign, pretty cool. Cheers.

Chris

The Last Straw.

Before you jump to conclusions, no, I was not fired.......yet.

A Little Background

The first morning that Ray and I were in AZ we were invited to the staff meeting at the camp to meet people and discuss the new health coverage. When the meeting started Greg Mengarelli, the big boss (being the new guy I have somewhere between 8 and 27 bosses), talked about how bad the economy was and that he hoped he would not have to lay anyone off. Thats a great thing to hear when you just sold everything (again) and spend thousands of dollars to move 12000 miles to a new job and have been living in your new home for around 13 hours. So since then every time something with the camp comes up I expect them to tell me that I'm fired.

To make matters worse, right after arriving, UCYC hired a consultant, Barry (B-Rock as I call him), to tell us how we can improve as a camp. If you have seen Office Space you know how this scenario is supposed to play out. B-Rock shows up, has lots of interviews with the staff and then "consults" Greg to go on a Trump like firing spree. Well, nobody, that I know of, has been fired. I hope that doesn't change.

The Straw That May Brake the Camels Back.

Within the contex of our working/living environment on the camp property we have a saying; God, Family, UCYC. Its a reminder to not ruin your family just to do well at work. However, for several of the staff there are 2 words that aren't included in the cute little phrase and perhaps should be, Mountain Biking. Its kind of an important thing here.

So I am new to this living/working/biking/cute phrase developing world and I'm trying my darndest to understand how everything works, but today I failed and I hope there is grace for me.

Every Tues and Fri we ride at 5:45 from Greg's house. Heres how it works, we wake up, get dressed, ride up to his place, pretend its not cold and continue to discuss whether its really cold or just mildly cold. (For anyone interested, its always cold, you can't always say its cold or you'll be called a puss or something, but believe me its always so freaking cold). We ride up to the trails, ride trails, laugh at me and how slow I am, ride home. Thats it.

Well, Yesterday, OB-K (Obese Kris) informed me that we were going to drive up to the mountain at 5:15 so we could do a longer bit of trail and ride with a guy named Joe. So I thought this meant that we were all informed of this change in routine. So later in the day David, another one of my bosses, asked if I was riding. I told him I was riding with OB-K at 5:15, assuming this was a UCYC sanctioned ride. Well as we pitch up to leave this morning I realized that Greg, the big boss, wasn't invited to ride.

There are only a handful of things that can get you fired around here, but not inviting the boss on a ride is up there.

So as we are driving everyone decides its my fault that Greg wasn't invited. So I hope I still have a job, we'll see.

Dear Mr Mengarelli,

Thank you again for the chance to work in such a beautiful environment with such a great group of people and an even more wonderful group of bosses. I appreciate the way my family and I were accepted into the UCYC family and you are an excellent example of what it means to be a leader and overall perfect man, thank you.

I would like to apologize for the misunderstanding this morning concerning the MTB ride that you were not invited to join. I completely understand if you are furious with me, a humble servant, but I would like to defend myself.

My only life of defense is this, I think the blame for this travesty should not lie on me, but on your brother, OB-K. I am new to The Way Of The Bikers and didn't know that OB-K will not always participate in the routine 5:45 morning rides and that he will venture off, like the prodigal son, to ride with other members of our Prescott community. This was one of those times.

I was approached by your brother not knowing that you were being left out of the picture (a picture that is incomplete without in it). If I had known, I would have contacted you via phone or text to inform you of our cycling plans.

Please accept this letter as an apology and a promise to inform of you of any further malicious actions of your brother. I am sorry from the very bottom of my heart, that deep part that aches only when puppies die.

Please don't fire me.

Your servant,
Christopher Brian Holohan

On a Brighter Note

I bought a bike yesterday. I have been riding one that I stole from the camps stash of bikes, but not for too much longer. It is being shipped today.



Its a Gary Fisher Cobia 29er. Its used so hopefully everything works well on it, we'll see. Cheers.

Chris

Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

Ray's out tonight with some of her girlfriends. I am so excited that she is making good friends out here. So I'm baching it tonight, a couple of danes, a couple of homemade tacos, a Guinness and some cagefighting on tv, not that bad. Cheers.

Chris

Great Weekend.

This was such a great weekend for me. I feel ready for work this next week and I also feel like I didn't just bum around the house and waste a couple of days.

This morning we went to church and really enjoyed it. We are loving getting to go to church.

When we got home from church and a lot of the staff ate in the dining all for lunch today so it was cool hanging out with friends.

After lunch I came home and just chilled for a bit. Ray had her first piano lesson today with Kris' daughter Karis. Ray really enjoyed teaching her, we are thinking that when we have children this could be something she could do as a job until the kids are out of the house, we'll see.

Once I was sufficiently "chilled" I went for a long uphill bike ride. I posted a while back about driving the Jeep up to the Prieta overlook in the snow, well I rode the same route today on my bike. It's steep and tough. It took an hour to make it up to the overlook. I had to make a few rest stops on the way up and I also realized I really need some cycling shorts, they offer much needed padding in your undercarriage, if you know what I mean.

Then after relaxing for a few minutes I flew back down the road, the descent only took 14 minutes and change. It was a great workout on a Sunday afternoon.

Great weekend. Cheers.

Chris

Date Day.

Ray and I have been working conflicting schedules with work so we haven't had a bunch of time to hang/chill/kick it so we had a date day.

The day started off with us driving to a very romantic location, Wells Fargo, so Ray could finish up something she didn't finish on Friday. OK not romantic, but at least together and thats what matters.

So after the trip to the bank, I asked Ray what she wanted for lunch and she said Baskin Robins. You know shes a health nut.



Here's Ray with her lunch, a milkshake half the length of her torso.

After the milkshake incident we headed over to the Freedom Station for a round of mini golf. We tied.

We took a moment from the heated competition for classic mini golf photos.



Here's Ray Ray doing the old "swing the golf club like a baseball bat", perfect.


And here I am using the golf club as a pimp cane while showing what color ball I'm playing with, classic.

After the golf we walked over to the Harkin and watched 21, a new movie about black jack. I like it, any movie shot in Vegas is fun.



So it was a good day.

Now we are just hanging at the house waiting for supper in the dining hall here at camp, a great perk. Cheers.

Chris

Day on the Trail.

Pictured above: Phoenis, Shellnut and Reuben.

One new thing that we are working on is building a mountain bike/hiking/whatever trail.

We thinking that it will end up being a few miles long when we are done and it will follow around the perimeter of the property. We as a staff we are working on it on Friday afternoons and will be getting groups to help us work on it.

Its gonna be cool this summer for camp not having to drive the students off campus to mountain bike. That will save us a bunch of gas money and time. Stoked. Cheers.

Chris