Supafly.com

My brother Paul came and picked us up this morning to drive us up into the mountains to Hiawassee. But before we drove off, we stopped at Waffle House for brunch. Waffle House is such a wild experience. It’s one of the few places in life where rednecks, thugs, and yuppies get along.

This afternoon was a lazy day of hanging around my parents house. My mom and dad were so happy to see me and Candyce. Their home is always so loving and welcoming. If I lived in Atlanta, I would drive up here almost every weekend. Dad has made the backyard the real showpiece of the house. It’s the kind of yard that comes about when a hard working man retires and doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his free time.

It feels so good to know that I have a full-time Intern coming in to Phoenix on Monday. I can actually leave town and not leave lifeteen.com in disarray. My hour-to-hour responsibilities at the studio directly effect thousands of people. It’s just a great feeling to know that someone now shares that responsibility.

Okay, it’s time to get off this computer and have dinner with the family.

Tonight was so awesome. I spent the afternoon playing with niece here at my sisters house. Then my brother Paul picked me up and we drove down to the airport to pick up Candyce. We were stuck in traffic, and I hated to leave here there waiting at the airport. Half of my life is spent waiting in an airport, and it’s something do not want to put anyone else through. She looked so pretty and dignified sitting there at the bench with her luggage and sunglasses. I felt like I was picking up a movie star.

Traffic was even worse going back into the city, so we had plenty of time to tell stories of missed flights and making the best of a bad situation. After coming back from the airport yesterday, Candyce met her youngest sister at her class’s field day at the beach. Then last night she had a good time hanging out with her other sister. That’s one thing that I love about Candyce, she loves the people she is with. She doesn’t delay loving because she’s in a place that she doesn’t like. Wherever she is and whoever she is with, you can be sure that everyone is filled with love. I am so lucky.

Once we got into the city we went to Doc Chey’s Noodle House for dinner. Although it’s quite hot and humid this time of the year in Atlanta, it was the perfect weather for sitting outside: 70 and breezy. (I never knew as a teenager that part of the “being cool” in the future would involve the living life in a city with good weather.) It was so special to have such a good dinner with my grown-up brother and my girlfriend. I had no choice but to buy dinner. When God is generous and gives you perfect moments like that, you have no choice but to turn and give more.

After dinner we drove through the Virginia Highlands neighborhood. This has been my favorite intown Atlanta neighborhood since I was a freshman at Georgia Tech. It’s quite, leafy, and all the houses are cool-looking and well-kept. It’s the kind of community that is just glowing with pride. I’m convinced that people walk their dogs on the sidewalks of that neighborhood just so people will think that they live there.

If l lived in Atlanta now, I would have to live in the Highlands. So as we winded through the streets, I picked up the fliers from the houses that were for sale. I was surprised to see that they have not gone up much since I left Atlanta four years ago.

While I was in college living in a dorm room, everybody else was owning a house that was increasing in price every thirty minutes. But looking back, it seems like prices hit a high my senior year. Meanwhile, I buy a house in the middle of the Arizona desert…a house that goes on to double in price in less than two years. Now how did that happen? It was just a cool feeling to know that I now have enough money to buy a house in the Highlands. It’s an unofficial dream come true.

Paul, Candyce, and I got a cup of coffee and Caribou near Piedmont Park then we walked around Midtown. It just meant so much to me to see my wonderful girlfriend walking and talking with my brother Paul. I love them both so much, and for the past four years, my Arizona life has been so separate from my Georgia life. I was also so proud of my brother for knowing things about Atlanta that I did not have to teach him.

We finished the night by spending an hour chilling out by Piedmont Park. It was fun just to sit on the benches near the lake and watch the sun drift behind the city skyline. What a perfect moment!; The only thing cooler was when we saw a Mocking Bird sing while perched on top of a sculpture built to free Nelson Mandela. It was so poetic to see a caged bird sing. I’ve never actually watched a Mocking Bird sing, but I was blown away by this little guy’s playlist. He must’ve flipped through ten songs before he flew away. It was amazing!

Now Candyce and I are here at my sister Katie’s house. It’s been a long day, and I should probably go to bed now. But I just can’t help but write a long journal entry because today has been such a wonderful day. I am not just on vacation; I am on an adventure with the people that I love.

I am on the flight from Phoenix to Atlanta, and Candyce is not on this plane. She’ll be spending another day at the beach because she got stuck in traffic this morning and missed her plane. All the flights are booked getting to Atlanta except for a few spots coming in tomorrow, and she be coming in tomorrow.

It’s not the end of the world when you miss a plane, but it sure does seem like it. Flying is a big deal that involves many complicated decisions. For the past five years of my life, me missing a flight would mean that an event on the other side of the country was going to fall apart and a lot of people would be disappointed. We have a few free days before I have to MC a week at summer camp, so Candyce getting in tomorrow is not that big of a deal.

I just don’t like making my girlfriend cross the country without me. She is a strong woman, but there’s something in my instinct that is uncomfortable with the fact that my girl is going through all the stress by herself. I just have to pray.

To be totally honest right now, I am a little scared. An Arab man just came through first class and went into the bathroom behind the cockpit. People in coach aren’t supposed to use the first class bathroom, so that is not right. But what worries me more is that he’s been in there for several minutes, and my heart is pounding hard. This is a terrible feeling.

…I just prayed the past couple minutes, and he came out of the bathroom. I know in a politically correct world, you are supposed to look a beyond skin color and all of that, but it’s a different story when you are at 30,000 feet and your life could be in danger. I have to change the subject or I’ll start panicking.

I am in first class because I was bumped up because I am a frequent flyer on; America West Airlines. It’s ironic, actually. I should’ve been flying first class on this airline three years ago, but they gave me a faulty frequent flyer number, and I lost 100,000 miles. So every weekend of traveling was spent packed in the back of the plane. Part of me wants to get mad b/c I earned the right to sit up here long ago, but I figure it’s God’s way of keeping my humble.

Well, our plane is landing now, and I feel pretty good. I just can’t wait to hear those wheels hit the ground and the engines roar until we stop. Thank you God, for getting us here safely.

Tomorrow morning Candyce and I are flying out to Georgia. Candyce is flying from San Diego to Phoenix, and together we are going to fly from Phoenix to Atlanta. It’s fun traveling with her b/c she’s a real adventurer. If things go wrong in traveling (because they always do) she handles it gracefully and with a good attitude. I know coaches said it all the time in high school, but it’s true: attitude is everything. Even in a dating relationship.

When I lived in an apartment, it was easy to leave for a week. I just made my bed and locked the door on the way out. But since I’ve owned a house, leaving is a big deal. Even though Carlos will be here while I’m gone to keep everything safe, I like to leave my house in perfect shape so when I come home from vacation, my life isn’t in disarray. So tonight I watered plants, cleaned the house, garage, and finished all of my laundry. That was a lot of work.

It was hot as hell today in Phoenix. The spring was long and beautiful: sunny and n the 70s. But summer has hit hard and fast. Everyday is over 100 degrees. Since it’s dry heat, it’s okay up to 100, but every degree over that is not fun at all. I’m excited to fly out of here and hide in the shade of the cool mountains of Georgia.

Yesterday was the first day of Life Teen summer camp out in Georgia. It’s so exciting to imagine the bus loads of students rolling into camp. It’ll be a powerful, life-changing week for them. I am the MC for next week’s camp, so I have to; work hard for the rest of the week to load lifeteen.com for the week that I am out of town.

The days of me freaking out about lifeteen.com while I am gone are coming to an end. I have a full-time intern coming in on Monday who that will work with me for a year. His name is Adam Robezolli, and he is a graduate from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Although he graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, he picked up Flash (motion graphics) a year ago, and he has gotten quite good at it. He’s a good match for us because he is young, cool, talented, and solidly Catholic.

I am super-excited about getting Adam into the studio because I have worked way way way too much since the new lifeteen.com launched in February of this year. People are hesitant to hire a full-time employee in a non-profit organization just because I predict that I might need more help. So the whole goal was to create the new lifeteen.com to be so big and beautiful, that our ministry had no choice but to hire somebody new. He’ll be able to help me maintain the site with fresh content, but more importantly, he’ll help me start new websites and online projects. We have to press forward.

Even though it’s been a very difficult spring at work, I am in a good place because I know that the day-to-day work goes directly to making a difference in the life of teenagers. The previous two years have been behind-the-scenes work to help lay the foundation for the site. Now that all the code, graphics, and writers are in place, every second of my time that I spend on the site is noticeable. If I want spend an hour and a half on the NewsBox (the news feed on the site), I know that 8000 people are going to read it by the end of the day. That’s a great feeling.