Supafly.com

Game 3

Last night was a fun night of being a Suns fan. Johnny & Ally and Candyce ;I;went downtown to watch the game from Majerle’s. We lost–which sucked–but that was no reason to stop us from having fun. So we walked down the street and snuck into the arena to see what we could find.

We walked right down to the court and saw TNT filming their post-game show with Magic Johnson, EJ, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. I’ve watched these guys after every game for the past month, so it was quite a thrill to see them record a show twenty feet in front of me. There were about 200 other people who stayed in the arena to watch the same thing. Most of them held up their camera phone and snapped photos. Others walked around to the other side of the court to flail their arms so their friends at home could see them.

Then we walked back outside to the parking deck where the players drive out. It was fun seeing Shawn Marion roar out in a 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS. It’s good to know that everyone doesn’t have to drive an Escalade. It was fun to cheer for them even though they lost the game. A loss at home is tough, and it’s good to have people support you. I know it matters to me when people cheer me up after a bad day.

On our walk to the car, I spotted EJ from TNT walking out with his family. I introduced myself and said hello. He smiled but was quick to get his family across the sidewalk and into the car. We met up with his car again at the corner, and I yelled out his name as they drove off. (By the time we got back to the house, I realized that I called him by the wrong name. I was calling Kenny Smith by the name of EJ. He must’ve thought I was a drunk fan and wanted to get his family away from me. We had a good laugh.)

Smell the Roses

I enjoy the entertainment that comes from being a Suns fan, because very little of the last five years of my life was entertaining. But in the bigger picture, it’s great to become more aware of other’s talents and success. When I worked 60 hrs in a week then left for the weekend, there wasn’t much time to admire other people’s talents. They say you have to stop and smell the roses. Well God gave roses beauty, and he gave beautiful talents to many others. It’s just so awesome to have all this beauty around me.

Career of Simplicity?

Late last night Matt Maher, Paul George, Ennie Hickman, and I had a talk in my living room. Each of these guys has such tremendous talent in ministry. Their brains are always running wild with new ideas.; I couldn’t jump in on the conversation because I didn’t know how. My heart just isn’t in it anymore.

I told them that this will be my last year working in youth ministry.; I want to get this youth minister website off the ground and then find and train a staff to maintain all three of the websites. These sites will really help the organization be more efficient and effective for the next five years. But I’ve given up on the organization being innovative. Maybe it’s better that way. Maybe ministry was never meant to be big. It was never meant to be cutting edge. Ministry is simple. I can’t be have a career of simplicity.

It’s important to me to always take risks. It’s what makes life more interesting. Whenever life feels predictable and unexciting, I start to look around and find a risk worth taking. I win sometimes. I lose sometimes. But in the end, it’s always more fun than doing nothing at all.

After almost a month of stressful remodeling, I’ve enjoyed every minute of the past four days of rest. Now that I’m rested, I’m feeling antsy again.

My house remodel is finally finished. Carlos came over on Sunday and took some nice photos of the house. He really did a fantastic job. Here’s my labor of love:

The front of the house has cleaned up landscaping, and some fresh paint. The shutters I put on in the fall of last year.

I put in the dry creek bed in the fall of last year. There was a monster tree on the left that I took down because it hid the house and it scared neighborhood children.

I hoped the vines would’ve grown up and over the trellis by now, but plants take their time.

This is the South side of my house where the sun hits the hardest. So I designed it to be drought-tolerant and still pretty. Soon the Bougainvillea on the wall (on the right) will grow up and over the arch like it is on the left. The Mesquite tree on the right will grow to give a thick canopy of shade for all the space this side of the wall.

This is a big back yard for Arizona. The covered patios keep the sun from directly hitting any window. This keeps it bright inside but not too hot.

These chairs sit on a brick patio that Dad and my brother Pete helped me finish last fall. This is a shady spot where everybody likes hanging out. On the far side of the yard is low-water landscaping that took me pretty much a year.

Before: This whole south side of the backyard struggled to grow grass. The sun beat down, making it next to impossible to grow anything. The sprinklers stained the block wall.

After: The only thing from before is the fruit tree in the distance. After preparing the raw earth, I put in the brick pathway, the gravel, boulders, rocks, cactus, mounds, watering system.

Although you can’t see it that well, there is a full brick patio at the end of the path. Through the gate is the golf course.

This is the new travertine tile, expensive appliances, new sink, painted cabinets, etc.

I took down cabinets to the left and right of the ventilation hood so that the living room and kitchen are more connected. Now when you work in the kitchen, you can watch TV or enjoy the view of the backyard. The stove is pretty sweet.

You can really appreciate the new tile and paint in this photo. Before it was worn-out blue carpet and scuffed white walls. The French doors lead to the backyard. Through the door on the right is the kitchen.

Last night Candyce and I picked up Johnny from the airport and drove downtown to watch the Suns play from a sports bar with some friends.; It was a big game with the series tied 3-3 against the LA Clippers and we wanted to be downtown to enjoy game seven.

We waited for about an hour at Majerle’s, a rowdy place owned by a Dan Majerle, a Phoenix Suns player from the mid-90’s.; Right as the hostess was about to put us in the perfect booth to watch the game, Dan Majerle’s family took our seats. This was funny more than anything.

I never imagined that I would wait for over an hour to get a seat at a sports bar. I’ve always understood the idea of a sports bar, but I’ve always been too preoccupied to experience it myself. But when your team is playing that well, spending time with others from your city is as fun as it gets. Everyone in downtown Phoenix was having a good time and I was happy to be there for the party.; Especially since we won.

After the game, Candyce, Johnny, and I ventured down to the parking deck where the players drive out. I was a little hesitant to be that much of a fan, because I’d never done anything like that. But it was exciting to see the players up close after watching them on TV for the whole season. I feel like I really know those guys. Most of them had their windows rolled down so they could wave and smile. What a crazy moment. They are champions; who are livin’ large, but their egos weren’t so big that they didn’t get a little bashful to have us their cheering them on.

The most animated player was Shawn Marion. He had his sound system bumping. He had his window rolled down and bobbed his head with an exaggerated victory dance. He put on a good show. Steve Nash had a big smile and a wave. It was just fun.

So far today, almost everyone who I’ve told about last night wants to go back downtown with us for the next home game. It’s been awhile since I’ve had this much fun.

For most of the past five years, my day is neatly divided into life work and life at home. There is a 40-minute commute that separates the two worlds that allows me to let go of one life and prepare myself for the other. But the past couple weeks have been an around-the-clock mix of remodeling my house, working on the website from home, and watching the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs.; Sometimes I do all three at once: I wait for my grout to dry as I write a new article on my laptop while I sneak peeks of the Suns game.

Regardless of what job I’m working on, I have an NBA playoff game on in the background. Unlike a movie or a TV show, you don’t have to pay attention to every detail of the game to know what’s going on. You can jump in at any point and get into it. Traveling over the past five years has kept me from following any team, so it’s a lot of fun to become a fan again. I think about the Suns all the time. Literally, every other minute a Suns thought will pass through my mind. I caught the fever.

Finding Refuge
It’s only when my life changes that I am more compassionate and understanding with other people. I mean, I assume most people come to this coffee shop (where I am now) because coffee shops are cool and it’s a fun place to go. Those are the biggest reasons I’ve sat here so many days before. But I’m here today because there is no concrete dust, no wet paint, and nothing to trip on. Everything is where it should be. I can only appreciate these things because my life has changed. I’m sure some people come through that door and find refuge in different ways.

Stuff
I’ve spent more time and money at Lowes, Home Depot, and Ikea than I care to admit. Yesterday I spent 35 minutes sitting on a bench at Ikea waiting for them to bring out my furniture and cabinets. There was nothing to do but stare out the window at the parking lot, waiting for them to call my number. How boring is that? If this would’ve happened on any Saturday at home in the past five years, it would’ve sent me into an anxious panic because there were too many things to do. But yesterday I just leaned my head against my cart and prayed a rosary. I’m glad I don’t panic anymore.

So I bring home thousands of pounds of stuff to make my house more livable and; luxurious. After long day of manual labor, walk into the backyard and I lay down on a thin sleeping pad and a sheet and I go to sleep. The fresh air at; night is a healthy; contrast; to the dust inside, plus it’s been unseasonably cool. Sleeping under the stars is the way to go. If I wake up up in the middle of the night, I don’t; first look at the glowing alarm clock and get frustrated. I look at the stars. Birds sing to me through the whole night.; Sometimes they’ll even be on the ground next to me when I wake up. The the best part is that the sun wakes me up gently. It’s great.;

Johnny’s Harley
Johnny decided about a month ago that he wanted to buy a Harley Davidson. I had no doubt that he would buy one, but I didn’t expect him to get one so fast. Two weeks after he mentioned it, he bought a Sportster in Huntington Beach off of eBay.; A couple days ago, his dad brought picked it up and drove it across the desert out here to Phoenix. So I went over his house and he gave me a ride around the neighborhood. What a rush!; His girlfriend is moving out here in a couple weeks, and I’m really excited for the two of them. They’re going to have a lot of fun.