Paradise Found

I have been meaning to make this post for some time now. Katie is probably a little annoyed with me, but oh well, over a month later, here it is: my side of the engagement story!

December 29, 2008

First, let me start by saying the obvious, that this whole event had been in the works for several months. I met with Katie’s dad in early October to ask his permission to propose to Katie. Then I had to sit on that secret until the end of December. Man did my butt get tired (HA!) On top of that, I worked with my jeweler for a few months to put together the perfect engagement ring. The whole time Katie is becoming more and more suspicious and more and more inquisitive. But I was able to trick her into thinking that I was not coming to Hawaii.

My flight was scheduled to leave Denver at 11:30 AM, getting me into Maui at 4:00 PM. I was hoping for a sunset proposal. I arrived at DIA around 9:30 only to find my flight had been delayed until 1PM. Perfect, I thought, I am starting this day off with a change in plans already. I started to stress and found out the plane was on its way and would not be delayed anymore. I notified Katie’s brothers of the change, and they said don’t worry, we are on it. I also called the restaurant and pushed our dinner reservations back an hour. With nothing more for me to do, I waited, got on the plane and waited some more. A flight from Hawaii is long enough, but this flight seemed like an eternity. I had secured the ring in my jean pocket, but probably checked every ten minutes to make sure it was still there. After two movies, some reading, and a lot of thinking of exactly what to say to Katie, I finally landed in Maui.

Katie’s brothers and dad were waiting for me at the airport. They had already taken care of the delay, telling the girls their tee time had been delayed. They also had devised a genius plan, telling the girls they had vouchers for a free dinner at the restaurant Katie and I had reservations at. Perfect, everything was falling into place.

We drove to the restaurant, the Five Palms, which is on the beach. Actually, the restaurant is up on a lawn, and then there are some bushes, then the beach. I had a florist drop off some rose petals and a lea for me. I also brought same candles with me. In hindsight, it was for the best that the flight was delayed because candles really don’t work at sunset. So we arrived at the restaurant, grabbed the stuff, and went to work setting up. Katie’s brothers and dad helped me put the rose petals on the path to the beach and put the candles in the sand. Once everything was set up, they called the girls to tell them they were on their way to the restaurant. The plan was for the girls to meet them there. Then they took off and I waited.

I waited probably only five minutes, but it seemed like another eternity. From where I was standing I could see the parking lot, so I saw Katie the moment she arrived. The second I saw her it really hit me. “This is actually happening,” I thought to myself. Reality had finally set in, and so did the nerves. Time seemed to slow down as Katie walked down the path. I just waited behind the bushes, feeling kind of creepy.

The next thing I knew she was standing right in front of me. I had prepared something to say to her, but the moment she was there I couldn’t completely remember it. Even though I knew she was coming, she startled me a little bit. I took her hands, put the lea on her, told her some sweet things, and then got down on a knee. The ring box was a little bulky and did not slide right out of my back pocket like I had hoped. Oh well, engagements aren’t 100 percent smooth. Then I said “Katie, will you marry me?” and put the ring on her finger. She said yes, and then we kissed. She was in complete shock. She kept looking at the ring the looking at me then looking back at the ring. I told her that it was real, that I was really there and we were really getting married, but I think it took her a day or two to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming. After we celebrated for a bit, we walked down the beach, only to find her sister, sister-in-law and mom waiting. We celebrated with them for a bit. Then we had our first dinner together as an engaged couple and split a bottle of champagne. It was a perfect evening.

Hair Cut

Yesterday I got my haircut. I really like getting my hair cut. I used to hate getting my hair cut. Anyone who has known me for longer than 3 or 4 years can attest to the fact that I used to go as long as I could without scissors touching my hair. That has all changed now, I am clean cut and I get a trim about every four weeks.

I officially have a woman who regularly cuts my hair too. Well, she has only cut it twice, but I plan to keep going back to her for haircuts. A while ago I blogged about my life goal of having a place know what I like to eat for breakfast and how I had achieved that goal. I have no achieved another goal by having a regular stylist.

The real purpose of this post is to propose the question: does anyone else hate their hair the day after they get it cut? I mean seriously, I can never make my hair look as good the next day. It generally takes me a week to get my hair up to par. I pointed this out to my stylist yesterday and she agreed with me. Her theory was that it takes hair a few days to get over the shock of being cut. I am not sure about the legitimacy of the theory, but I like it. It is like a whole community of people on my head. I imagine it would be shocking if once every four weeks a giant pair of scissors mowed down everyone I know. But people lack to the ability to re-grow themselves like hair, so I guess the analogy breaks down there. Anyway, the bottom line is I got my haircut yesterday, so I will probably be looking like a goof on Christmas day, but I should be looking good by New Years.

Thoughts from the Desert

Recently I have been spending time in the Word every day. I usually struggle to commit time to reading my Bible. I am very good at making excuses and filling up my day so "I don't have anytime to read the Bible." But lately God has been speaking to my heart and I have a renewed commitment to following Him and reading His book. This post is not meant to be all "holier than though," but instead to share some things God has been teaching me.

I just finished reading part of Exodus, specifically where the Lord leads the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert (Exodus 1-16). God uses Moses and Aaron to lead the people, and the whole time the people complain. Their displeasure is especially evident after they cross the Red Sea and God crushes Pharaoh and his army. To the point God has proven on a number of occasions that He will provide for His people. Yet they refuse to acknowledge that God is looking out for them. They continue to complain to Moses. God hears the complaints of His people and provides them food in the desert. He provides manna in the morning and quail at night. And still the people refuse to trust the Lord, despite all He has provided for them.

My point here is not "oh, look at those stupid Israelites, always failing to place the trust in God." I am realizing is how much I am like the Israelites. God provides me with so many wonderful things in my life. I have a job, a college education, a loving family, a wonderful and loving girlfriend, amongst other things that are too numerous to list. And yet I constantly grumble with God for more: more stuff, more money, more everything. I am sad to confess that it isn't uncommon for me to think "if only I had _____ in my life, I would really be happy." Recently God has been putting it on my heart that He is all I need. Matthew 6: 25-34 especially speaks to this. God provides for the birds and the flowers, so why wouldn't He provide for me? Everyday that I take time to spend in prayer and in the Word, God blesses me in ways I did not expect. I serve an infinite God who is infinitely caring for His creation.

These truths are even more potent during the holiday season. This is the time of year when we stop to remember that God sent His only son to live and die as a man for our sins (or at least this is what we should thing during this time). In His infinite knowledge, God knew that His creation could only be redeemed through the sacrifice of One who was holy and blameless. That is infinite love. In my sinful state this is a truth that I need to remind myself of daily. When I lose sight of this ultimate truth, I start to fall back into my sinful ways. I have found by committing to spend time in the Word and talking with God helps me deny my sinful tendencies and serve the Lord in the way I was designed to. I need to remember the Israelites in the desert. God continually showed up and provided, but they failed to realize how much they were loved. In my sinful state I also fail to realize how much I am loved. God did the impossible in the desert, so why wouldn’t He show up and do the impossible in my life? It all starts with faith in His promise to provide for His creation. The moment you start to wholeheartedly believe in that promise is the moment His blessings flow out abundantly.

I Feel Like My House Is Burning Down

That's what my friend Ryan Zoradi told me over skype from El Salvador. I feel the same way. Tonight a wildfire swept through Montecito, destroying homes and parts of my college campus. I can't tell you how many memories were made on that campus, like my friend Lesley said in her blog, it is our other home. I go to sleep tonight with a very heavy heart and fear for the students who are spending the night on campus in the gym. I can't imagine a more terrifying scenario. I can't believe this is actually happening. Tonight my thoughts and prayers go out to Westmont and Montecito. I pray that God would protect the area and save what has not yet burned. I pray for the safety of the students, residents, and fire fighters. I am thankful that all my friends in Santa Barbara are safe and I pray the same if true for all those effected by this tragedy. If you read this, please pray.

Life Long Goal Complete

One of my dreams in life has been to show up at a restaurant and have the server say to me "the usual?" I always envisioned this dream would be fulfilled much later in life, after I had retired and moved to Florida or something. I would show up at the local diner for breakfast with a newspaper in hand and the waitress would say "goodmorning Dr. Brown, the usual?" And I'd say "yes" and sit there and enjoy my eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and coffee and grumble about how the world was going to pot.

Today I realized I can cross this goal off my life of things to do before I die a lot sooner than I had antcipated. I have been working in the emergency department at Littleton Advenstist Hospital since late August. For those of you who don't know, I work as a scribe in the ED. As a scribe, I assist the doctor in the documentation work, such as taking down notes on charts, entering orders, etc. Anyway, I usually work from 7:30-3:30. I have been making a habit of getting up a little earlier so I can get a hot breakfast at work. For a while I tried a couple things, but for the past two months or so I get the special omelet. It really is the perfect breakfast food because it hits all the major food groups. So I usually arrive around 7:10-7:20 so I can be a little early in the ED. For the past couple of weeks I have walked into the cafeteria and the woman working asks me if I want the usual. It is incredible. Being able to complete this life long goal so early in life is really exciting. Now I will have all kids of time later in life to complete other life long goals. Working in the ED has been a great experience so far, but the best part may be completing this life long goal, only time will tell.

A Minor Miracle

This past Thursday (October 30th), I decided to be spontaneous and book a flight to see Katie this coming weekend. Given some recent developments, I had to go see her. Side note: if anyone from the Menifee School District is reading this, which I doubt, you are bad people. Given your actions, I would not feel comfortable sending my child to any of your schools. Anyway, back to the point at hand. I jumped onto Southwest.com to look at prices. This was the first part of the miracle. I found a flight for this weekend under $200. I couldn’t believe it. If memory serves me correctly, the price of flights increase exponentially the closer the flight gets. I booked this flight 8 days out and got Southwest’s lowest price. Maybe the people at Southwest are just good people, or maybe I got lucky with the fares, either way, it was a miracle to get that price.

Now comes the second part of this minor miracle. This Saturday I had been planning on seeing a concert with my buddy Ky. We were pretty excited about this show. It featured Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, one of the greatest REAL hip-hop acts of all time. We were supposed to see A Tribe Called Quest perform earlier this summer at the Rock the Bells tour, but they cancelled last minute because another emcee from the group, Phife Dawg, was suffering complications from his diabetes. So this weekend’s show was going to slightly redeem last summer’s mishap. In addition to Q-Tip, the show featured the Cool Kids, a hot up-and-coming hipster rap group. We were fortunate to see the Cool Kids and Rock the Bells and they tore it up. They performed on one of the side stages, so they had a smaller set, but still were hot fire. So this Saturday’s show was going to be awesome. But once I made the decision to go see Katie, I was presented with a dilemma. Visiting Katie took priority over the show, regardless of how good it was going to be. However, I still had an extra ticket and felt bad for bailing on Ky. We spent about a half hour texting in an attempt to figure out what to do about the tickets. Literally within seconds of reaching a final solution, I received an email informing me the concert had been cancelled and I would receive a full refund for the tickets. I read the email several times just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. After confirming that it wasn’t a trick, it became obvious that God wanted me to go see Katie this weekend. There is no other explanation for the way things worked out so perfectly. I believe in miracles, but I don’t think I have ever experienced one so obviously. All this got me thinking, maybe I will try to visit Katie on short notice more often…

Why I hate Ticketmaster

Last night I received a text on my phone from the local radio station. "Beastie Boys and Tenacious D Nov. 3 @ the Fillmore, tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10AM" the text read. I was thrilled. I have been listening to the Beastie Boys since I was in middle school. I have always wanted to see them live and this was the perfect chance. Plus Tenacious D is really funny, so it was like an extra bonus. I discussed this information with my best friend Ky and we decided I would wake up and purchase the tickets. 9:50 rolled around this morning and I jumped out of bed with excitement. I had actually woken up at 8:50 because I was afraid I would sleep through the release of the tickets. I did that once before with Rolling Stones tickets and vowed never to do so again. So at about 9:52 I was on the ticketmaster website continually refreshing so I could get the tickets as soon as they were released. Ten o'clock happened and I had three tickets reserved. I would buy one for myself, one for Ky, and one for another friend or to sell for a little more money. I continued on to enter my credit card information. According to Ticketmaster I had six minutes and fifteen seconds to do so. I am pretty efficient with my computer, know my information, and had my credit card info in front of me, so I would guess that it took me about 3 or 4 minutes to get all my information in. Then I clicked the finalize button with much excitement. I was immediately filled with terror when I was told there was an error and to go back to the event page. The Beastie Boys are kind of a big deal with a huge fan base. On top of that, they rarely play concerts so I knew I was in trouble. By this point it was about 10:15. I went back to the event page on Ticketmaster and searched for new tickets, but found nothing. I lowered the number of tickets from 3 to 2 then to 1, nothing. Then I got angry. I realized I am not put in a position where I will have to pay a scalper a premium to purchase tickets. Already on craigslist people are asking for $100-$150 a ticket. Unbelievable.

Today I was reminded of why I hate Ticketmaster so much. If you want to buy tickets for just about any major event, from concerts to sporting events to Disney on Ice, you have to go through Ticketmaster unless you are willing to deal with a scalper. But Ticketmaster is the primary seller of tickets, and they are an absolute joke. First, they always charge a bogus convenience fee on all tickets they sell. The tickets I was trying to purchase today cost $38, which is a pretty good price to see the Beastie Boys. But then there is a $10 service charge. That's over a 25% mark up, ridiculous. Also, the customer service is well documented as being a joke. Today I was so angry I tried to write them a complaint. But being the big corporation that they are, their customer service system scanned the complaint I wrote and offered several pre-made responses. I know my complaint was futile, but I just wanted a human being to read it and understand how mad I am at Ticketmaster. Unfortunately, I really enjoy concerts and sporting events. If I didn't I would never use their service again. But because of the monopoly they have set up, I am forced to. Why didn't they get slammed for monopolistic practices back when Microsoft was being sued? Anyway, I am really mad. I will probably tell as many people about it as I can today and then forget about it tomorrow. But I will be reminded when I have to shell out some extra dough to see this concert. Anyway, I just had to get this off my chest. The moral of the story is that Ticketmaster is evil.