Supafly.com

I can’t believe one week from today is Good Friday. I know I am obsessive/compulsive about my spiritual life, and I always give myself a hard time about what I am doing right and wrong. This is a trap because I spend more time sorting-out my sins when I should be looking to God for grace.

The sun is rising earlier each day, and it’s getting hotter in the tent. Before I left for New Orleans, I turned on my sprinkler system to get the grass started right for spring. It scared the hell out of me this morning because my tent is five inches from a broken sprinkler. The little head popped out of the grass and then vomited water all over the side of my tent.

We got back from week away in New Orleans last night. To be clear, I did not sleep in a tent while I was out of town. The first night we stayed at the W Hotel in New Orleans. They just completed the hotel when I lived there, and I knew I loved it as soon as I walked into the lobby. You just feel like you are in your own rock video. It’s just too cool! Ever since then, I’ve been waiting for an occasion to spend that much money for just one night.

Since I was back for my unofficial five-year-anniversary of doing “The Real World”, I couldn’t resist staying at the W Hotel. It was kinda sexy booking a hotel room with my hot girlfriend standing next to me. The hipster gal behind the counter frowned when she looked at the computer screen, then she looked up to me and explained, “I’m sorry, we do not have a room with a king-sized bed. But we do have one with two beds.” I smiled and told her it sounded right. What I wanted to say was this:

“See this hotty? This is my girlfriend Candyce. She and I are waiting until we are married to have sex. It’s not easy, but we’re doing just fine. So let all of your rock-star coworkers know that this reality-show graduate kept his morals!”

I did keep my Lenten sacrifice though. It’s easier to sleep outside on the dirt than it is to sleep in a bed by yourself when your girlfriend is five feet away.

Now that I am back in Phoenix, I can sort out the memories from the past week in New Orleans. It meant so much to me to be back in the city where we filmed the “Real World”, and to be there with someone who loves me. This trip has brought a sense of peace and closure to the whole MTV experience.

Since not much of the city of New Orleans had changed, it was almost like going back in time. It was so comforting to know how much I’ve done since the show. I’ve been to so many places and met so many people. I do think I’ve helped make the world a little better.

As crazy as the last five years have been, God has been faithful to me and taken care of me every day. It’ s such a wonderful way to experience life. Life to it’s fullest.

We picked up Candyce’s brother Johnny from the airport this afternoon and gave him a one-day tour of New Orleans. It was fun to see Candyce enjoy the town the first time around, and but it was even cooler for her to give the tour to her brother. It was three people having a great time.

We were walking around the corner when the rain started. This was the first time on the whole trip that the whether was not perfect…and oh did it come down. It’s the classic situation where you try to stay dry, but in the end, you just get soaked. So you just enjoy it.

We drove back through the foggy swamp to Houma. Tonight the five of us went out to a crazy Cajun restaurant. I’ve never eaten so much boiled seafood. It was the perfect food in the perfect atmosphere with the perfect people.

It’s meant so much to me to spend time with Candyce away from the dramas of our lives in Phoenix. I’m getting to the point where I am tired of taking on the world with a list of 100 tasks. I’ve pushed myself hard the past five years since the show, and I don’t want to keep up that pace. It’s not worth it to get so emotionally battered each day.

“Life comes at you pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around, you just might miss it.” -Ferris Bueler

Candyce and I met Paul for lunch at his office. He works for the Vocations Office for the Catholic Diocese of Houma-Tibbideoux. He does a lot of things around town, but mostly leads prayer groups and Bible studies. He’s an impressive guy.

After lunch, Candyce and I hurried along backroads to find the swamp tour. The pontoon boat had already left us, but they were nice enough to turn around and pick up the stragglers. The only other people on the boat were two college girls and an Asian couple that didn’t speak English.

It’s still early in the spring, so not many of the gators were out. But there were enough to make the tour fun. The raccoons put on a good show, and the owl was stately. A swamp tour is one of those stupid things you just have to do when you get to Louisiana. When it was all over, the tour guide let me hold his tiny pet gator. It was like pre-school lesson for becoming a wild man.

Paul and Gretchen put the kids to be early tonight, and the three of us had a nice dinner of red beans and rice. They are such a cool couple. It was an intimate moment to sit next to Candyce during dinner. It’s been a great night.