If you want to see some pics . . .

Hey people.

Still married. Still very cool. In fact it only seems to be getting better.

Interestingly, I was bringing Kristy to work a couple of days ago and, not thinking, I was about to bring her to the Gainey's old house (where she USED to live) . . . It was very odd to realize . . . "Wait a minute . . . You live with me now!"

Anywho, not much to say today, but if you want to see a couple of pictures of our wedding day (especially if you couldn't be there) go to this address:

http://home.earthlink.net/~desmondsmith/images/wedding-pics/

There are a couple of pictures there . . . hope you enjoy them. We were FREEZING trying to take them for you. Let me know what you think. I'll try to get our real pro-photos up once I get them.

Gotta go drink some coffee . . . mmmmm.

Things I've Learned This Weekend

They say married life changes you . . . I don't feel any different . . . but it's been 4 days now, and I have to admit that I've definitely learned a couple of things . . . things which I share with you now.

1. Two People are Better Than One - This is always true, or has been for the past 4 days. It's better going to sleep with another person in bed, it's easier to cook for two people instead of one, it's faster to clean up an apartment with two people. Two = good.
2. The fabric softener dispenser in my washer actually works - I always thought it was there for looks and/or to catch little pieces of stuff that washed out of my dirty clothes (lint, bubble gum wrappers, etc). Apparently there's a company called "Downy" or something, that makes stuff to go in there . . . And it helps your clothes be better. I'm all about the self-actualization of my clothing.
3. Decorative paper towels are great are beneficial for both practical and aesthetic reasons - Thank you bounty for making paper towels that coordinate with the seasons, and selling them under the guise of 'Big Roll' so that you can justify me paying $2.00 a roll to sop up my spilled coffee and wipe off my stove top.
4. I like being married - So far, so good. All new experiences, all fun, all good.

I'm sure I will learn more. Or that's what Kristy tells me anyway.

Thanks for all your prayers. Thanks to our families for all they did to make our wedding day spectacular. It really was so much more than we ever imagined.

Grace all.

It's Finally Here

I haven't been online much whilst at home . . . which explains why I've not been blogging. But, I've also been very busy completing my list of things to do, which I think I'm mostly through. Tim Horton's has experienced a fresh serge in business, as has most of the eastern Newfoundland economy (preparing for a wedding is expensive).

But, I'm sitting here, late on the night before printing our programs that we said we wouldn't wait 'til the last minute to to, and I'm realizing that tomorrow, my life changes.

Marriage is weird like that. Though, I guess that's a bit of an asumption on my part. But it's an anticipated change in your life. Most other dramatic things that happen in your life, forming type things, are unexpected . . . . but marriage you generally know is coming. So it's weird sitting here, knowing that things will change as of 13 hours from now.

There is still so much to do. I feel a little like I'm cramming for a final.

Mind you, a final that I will ace . . . in the sense that i'm not at all worried about the result.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

If we haven't seen you recently, we'll see you soon.

Grace.

Live Like You Mean It

So I'm very tired.

Backtrack . . . we were late leaving Charlotte . . . something to do with Chicago and delayed flights + rescheduling havoc = Kris and Des not getting to Newfoundland on time. We were literally going down the gateway to the plane when another Air Canada (THERE'S THE PROBLEM) agent was walking up saying that they had just taken the gate away from the plane.

"Luckily" Air Canada springs for a Hotel Room for both of us . . . note . . . 2 hotel rooms total, just in case you want to falsely accuse us. Not that you would. Anyway, the hotel. Wait, it wasn't a hotel. It was a dive comparable only to the castle of the King of Refuse and Putrescence.

So we get back on the plane this morning. Air Canada's programming, the En Route Journal (easily read in either french or english), showed a couple of things. So, even though the above problems were encountered, I had at least 3 insights that I will share with you now.

1. When I moved to North Carolina, I experienced a whole lot of horrible trauma in leaving Kristy. I honestly think I'm scarred for life. Here's why. Celine Dion has a song which has been adopted by Air Canada as a theme song and has put a montage of planes and airport scenes in the video for the song. The song is dumb, and corny. However, one scene that gets repeated is that of a couple saying 'goodbye' to each other in the airport. Like I said, very corny. Me . . . I can't watch it without tearing up
2. Live Like You Mean It: There was also an advert for a new channel called "Fine Living" which used "Live Like You Mean it" as it's tagline. Dont' know if I have been, but I want to. I want to live each and every day like I mean what I say . . . AND that I show that I want to live. It makes sense in my head. I don't want to exist or meander or stagnate. I want to live. And I want to act like I want to live. Spiritually, I want to live and act like I mean that commitment too. I've taken a very broad approach to analyzing this statement.
3. I'm finally here. Either way you look at it, I'm finally in Newfie-Land. And boy does it sure sound different. It's a very different world all around, but especially different sounding. Wow. I've missed the crazy accent though, and just general down to earth-ed-ness that this place has. There's definitely a different spirit here . . . and not necessarily a christian spirit; that's not quite what I mean this time. It's a mytique. It's a spirit of extreme perserverence in the face of hardships. A spirit of helping your neighbour because you know they need help. Down-to-earth, homey, friendly, funny Newfoundland. I've been a lot of places in my short time . . . no where touches this place when it comes to giving you a reality check, putting your life in perspective, helping your understand what's REALLY important in life . . . I love it. A Lot.

Sorry to bore you with that . . . but that's my material for today, what can I say. I can't wait for Saturday - can't say I'll be blogging much for the next little while after that. But I'll be back soon!

Grace.

My Home and Native Land

Greetings. Well, it's been an action-packed couple of days here for me. I've pretty much been on the road since Wednesday night, going to a school in Smithfield, NC (promoting a new brass program) then going to camp and setting up for our Music and Gospel Arts Festival, which was amazing! It went very well. Got to hang out on David and Julie's boat for a couple of hours in there . . . it's finally working . . . and it's fast.

TODAY, I GO TO CANADA! That's incredible to me. It still doesn't seem real. Perhaps because I'm not even started packing yet, and I leave in about 11 hours.

So here's a list of things I plan on doing in Canada, in no particular order:

• Drink real Tim Horton's Coffee - I have a real Tim's Percolator and it's tastes almost exactly like the in house coffee, but I want the aura too.
• Go stand by the ocean - I grew up a couple hundred feet from the ocean, I spent a lot of time on that cold, beach.
• Take Pictures - I'll try to take lots of pictures of lots of things and if you want to see them I'll show you.
• Eat All Dressed Chips.
• Eat Swiss Chalet - not really swiss . . . its rotisserie chicken . . . mmmmmm.
• Get Married - realistically, it's the whole reason for the trip.
• Drink more Tim's - If I don't have it every day, I'd be surprised.
• See people - people that I probably won't see again for a while.
• Hug my family - it stinks being so far away.
• Put money in my Canadian Bank account - Got student loans to pay you know. Stupid loans.
• Buy Atasol 30 - great pain killer with codiene in it . . . over the counter in Canada! Woo-Hoo. Please note that Desmond does not endorse the abuse of medication or drugs of any type and has no intention of taken said medication recreationally. It's a just-in-case scenario, and atasol is amazing. Granted, Pot is legal too . . . i won't take it. These statements have been made for humo(u)r purposes only.
• Sleep in at LEAST one day.

I'll add more if I think of any. But I guess I should go get ready for work. I'm only working a couple of hours today . . . got a few things to finish up. Then I've gotta pack.

Grace All, see some of you soon, some of you later.

Photo Art with Beef

I'm a big fan of cool photos. For my desktop, for example, I always need to find new exciting pictures to inspire me, whilst at work or play. I've had pictures of far away galaxies, majestic mountains, some creations of my own design . . .

Right now its "Cow Looking Sideways.jpg"

It's pretty amazing . . . a close-up of a black and white cow (front-right) looking off-screen to the left. She has a broken chain around her neck, and she stands against a back-drop of blue sky, white clouds, and green grass. The only other thing in the picure is a barbed-wire fence, in the direction that she's looking.

(Check out a scaled-down copy here)

I can't quite make out the premise of the picture . . . or at least I flip-flop according to my mood. On the one hand, I think she's looking back at what she's left behind; she's broken the chain, and avoided the fence and now simply turns for one last look before she continues in freedom.

On the other hand (a much more depressing hand), I don't see any signs that my heffer friend had to tackle any barbed-wire. She's almost standing there, daunted that she cannot defeat said fence. She's broken the chain, but even after all that effort she's still stuck inside her pen.

I've felt both ways many times. Neither of which are great I suppose. Jesus tells me I'm no good for service if I look back after I start my work . . . but he also tells me that not even barbed-wire can sustain his delivering power.

I just wish I knew what she was looking at.

Clean Clothes for Me

You will be relieved to know that i've bought a washer and dryer. No more stinky for me. No more stinky clothes, at least, for me.

Tonight I get to go to Orangeburg, SC where I will deliever a bass guitar to a corps, AND help out during their praise band rehearsal. It's cool to see that growth in the division and to be a part of it.

Other than that, I'm drinking coffee and writing lots of emails.

On a cool note, if you want to hear a cool little bass solo thing I did, go here and check out the All to Jesus link (It's about 3.5 megs, so you may not want to download it if you're on dialup). We just got this really cool USB recording thing at work so I've been having a little bit of fun with it.

Grace All!

DTV

You may know that i do a little bit of 'video work' for various events (i.e. i make little video segments for things like youth councils, other random things, etc). That's where the title comes from by the way . . . DTV, like Des Television . . . don't know if you picked that up or not.

Anyway, my lesson from my latest video (for our Music & Gospel Arts festival, themed "What is Your Offereing), can be found in this series of bible verses.

1. Psalm 96:8
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come to worship him.

2. 2 Corinthians 5:21
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

3: Hebrews 10:14
For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy.

My lesson -> i'm commanded to bring my offering. Why? because God gave up Christ for me . . . because all He had to do was give one offering to save the world. I should bring everything that I possibly can to worship him.

Other than that . . . i finally finished our invitations. yes. I'm aware there are only 2 weeks left before we get married. Don't rub it in. 2 Weeks is plenty of time for invitations to travel thousands and thousands of miles and inform people that i AM actually getting married and they ARE actually welcome to come.

And now, I'm making Chili.

Mmmm, chili.

Peace and Grace, and chili.

Discouragement Sucks (But $1200 is good)

So, i'm finding myself at a loss for words, to quote a great(ly overplayed) song. Not JUST to quote a great song, because i really am feeling that way. i wish the funny thing was that its ok; it's not. i wish my mind could process all of the baggage that comes along with church in such a way that i could make steps to squash it like a . . . squashed thing.

Pray for that please . . . pray for opening of minds, but especially hearts, in my church . . . it's a good thing i love Jesus. i'm not entirely sure i'd keep 'fighting' there if i didn't.

i won't dwell . . .

So, i've finally done it. The Jimmy has been sold. A friendly neighbourhood non-english speaking immigrant (i mean OTHER than me) was in need of a vehicle and found that need met in my Jimmy. So now, i think i'll buy a couch.

Good deal.

Other than that the only reason i haven't written much in the past few days is that nothing much has really happened. However, the count is now at 16 days. I go home in 11. That's incredible. It's all happening SO fast at this point. The faster it happens, the less i REALLY care; i really just want to be married. It's time.

i'll write again soon. Grace.

Random Ramblings

Sorry, i've been away. Not far, nor long, but away nonetheless.

So . . . now i'm playing catch up.

I was with the territorial band & songsters in Spartanburg, SC celebrating 100+ years of service there. i don't really want to dwell on that, just to let you all know where i was.

Now, in the meantime, it's always great to get talking to friends and not-so-friends from across the territory (which is made up of 15 states) and getting their perspectives on a bunch of things. We had an interesting discussion today (with 'friends' thankfully) about some of the things commonly happening in our corps . . .

Funny how things can be both very encouraging and very discouraging.

It's also funny how Satan whispers words of discouragement at almost the SAME TIME as God and others try to ENCOURAGE us. I've NEVER been more encouraged to continue what has been going on at Charlotte Temple . . . never ever.

AND I've NEVER EVER been as discouraged about the SAME thing. People complaining, people getting uptight, disunity in the body; it's ALL bad stuff that I'm not enjoying a whole lot. Satan wants us not to trust, and definitely not to love each other. I still love everyone, i think. The first part, i'm having some difficulty with. And i HATE that so much.

Anyway . . . that's been my life and my thoughts for the past few days.

On a much happier note, in 20 days, i will be a husband!