You Are Important To Me!!

Since you guys are all important to me, i wanted to keep you guys updated with great occurrences in my life! This weekend I had two of them and so I thought I would share them with you!

1. on Saturday 10/8 I caught the biggest Largemouth Bass I have caught in my time fishing. This season is the first season that I have jumped into fishing as a hobby and I am well on my way. I have caught over 40 fish this season (since june) but nothing could have prepared me for the fish I caught this past saturday!


If there is a type of fish that I have enjoyed fishing this season, it would have to be the Largemouth Bass. Their size, fight, and delicious meat have really drawn me to that type of fish. This fish was a 20 inch Largemouth that put up a great fight and is not only the biggest Largemouth, but the biggest fish I have caught to date!!

2. Even though I have been a Niners fan since I was a kid, I had never been to a 49ers game even though they have been so close to me this whole time. Well this sunday I went to my first San Francisco 49ers game!!



This sunday i went to Candlestick park for the first time in my entire life and watched a 9ers game! They were playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and destroyed them with a score of 48-3! I'm glad I picked this specific game to attend!! The experience was well worth the price of the tickets. I had a blast!

Update on Life - 9/20/11

For some reason I just can’t bring myself to write much anymore. I will open up blogger and drown in my lack of inspiration. Next thing you know I am closing the window for another week. So what’s new since the least time I was here… way too much!
Ladies and Gentleman…
I AM AN ENGAGED MAN!!!!

Yes it is true on August 27th 2011, I became engaged to the love of my life, Yajaira. I’m not gonna lie, it was an emotional experience. Not only because of what was going on, but also because I felt like our relationship was approved of, created by and blessed By God. He provided everything I needed to make my girlfriends proposal into EXACTLY what she wanted!
So that’s the main news. Other than that I am doing different things at work. Starting different groups and taking on different objectives. I’m pretty excited about it all.
Adopt a block has had tons of changes and it is becoming a bit different but I still love everything that God is doing through that ministry.
I’m not going to lie, I had a bit of a hiatus from my weekly worship service. I continued to attend small group throughout, but I know that wasn’t enough. I am now attending again and experiencing the benefits of a weekly corporate gathering.
I have been fishing a lot. Angling is an exciting sport for which I have regained passion. I try to make it out to a body of water every weekend. I love it!
The 2011 Football Season is in full swing. I’m excited to see the niners play and I hope that this will be the first time I see an actual game.
I’ve been hanging out with some of my chico buddies a lot lately and it has been pretty refreshing. I used to hang with these guys about once a year but so far this year I have hung out with them twice with them this year with more plans for hanging in the future. Its been good hanging with the Chico buddies, especially my buddy Lee.
That is all for now. Not sure if anybody will read this.
Love ya folks!!

The Good Times

I went camping with my buddies this weekend. I had a blast. We fished all night, ate hot dogs, chopped it up with the boys, talked, joked around, laughed, and the end of the night we went catfish noodling, lol. As I sat there and talked to one of my boys, I realized he wasn’t fishing even though it was supposed to be a fishing trip. I asked him why and he said, “it doesn’t matter if I fish or not, I’m just here to hang out. Even if I don’t catch anything, I will always remember being here with you guys all night and having the time of my life.” It made total sense.

It might have been a quick weekend all night fishing trip but the memory will be with me forever. Everything from talking to my buddy lee about his relationship problems to trying catfish noodling for the first time ever at 5am will remain with me for the rest of my days.
It’s not about the duration of the moment but about the moment itself. It’s about the people that are with you, making the moment and sharing it with you. The moment may not make a huge impact, but it still changes you in a good way. It may all seem insignificant, even trivial, but it isn’t, not at all. It is those moments that remain with you for the rest of your life. They are what gets you through difficult times when nothing is clear. They are what make you smile when you’re having a bad day. A good time is more than just a momentary thing, it lasts a lifetime. So treasure the moments, they are what life is made of.

Update: 8/5/11

I guess i'll give you an update since I feel I haven't had much to write about lately.

- I have been saved for 10 years now.It's been a great ride
- I have been working at SADVC for 4 years going on 5 now.
- I'm only a few days away from my 7 year anniversary with my lady.
- I have been working with The Adopt-A-Block Ministry at my church for about 3 months now and I must confess that I absolutely love it! I love that God has given me this opportunity to bless his people and help them in any way that I can.
- I haven't been fishing in a few weeks, which sucks! I'm getting withdrawals! lol
- FOOTBALL starts in less than a week and I am pumped!
- Sept 15 I get to see Maroon 5 in concert for the first time ever!

That's about it for my life right now. how is yours?

Update on life!

I apologize for being so distant these past few days. I have been keeping busy. just wanted to fill you in on what has been going on in life.

- We had our Bennett hill Block Party/ Launch and it went great. i realize that there is a lot of need in this block and i thank God that I am part of a church that wants to meet those needs and love people. The launch was fun, we were able to talk to a lot of block residents, and everybody seemed to enjoy it. Adults seemed to be scarce, but hopefully over the next few months we will be able to develop more of a relationship with them. please keep us in prayer!

-I went fishing yesterday! I was finally able to get out on the river and fish a bit so it was a rather peaceful afternoon yesterday.

- I have been feeling sick lately. I've been kind of dizzy so I am going to the doctors today to try to figure out what is wrong with me.

- I finally found another small group! I kind of made a big deal with the last leader, so I'm not going to have any high expectations for this one. He seems like a good guy so hopefully we get along and he is a true leader.

- Work is going okay. I just had my performance evaluation and all went well except for a lady I don't talk to ratting me out on a mistake i made. I thought that was rather stupid considering that we never talk, but once a snitch always a snitch. I don't really care.

that's pretty much it for now! I will try writing a bit more throughout the next few days, as well as keeping up with everybody else's blogs. anyway, y'all take care!

Just Thinking...

Listening to some Kenny Chesney and for some reason I’m thinking about my future children. I’m wondering If I will worry the first time I see them, overwhelmed by the responsibility that comes with them or just cherish their existence. I’m wondering if they will look more like me, or their mom. I’m wondering if they will be good kids like their mom was or a terrible little one like I was. Either way, I will love them and always try to point them in the right direction.

I’m thinking that one day they will go through tough days, maybe even tough seasons in their life. I’m wondering if they are going to like to listen to Kenny chesney or Jack’s mannequin on those days like their old man, or if they are going to be into some weird modern music of their day that I won’t understand. I can’t wait to take them fishing or hunting and pour my heart, vision and encouragement into their lives as much as I can.

And a thought that comes to mind while writing all of this: That’s how God loves me too! I know he sees me when I’m going through tough times, and I know he gave Kenny and Andrew the ability to write the music that cheers me up on bad days. I know that he knew I would like fishing and hunting. But more than anything, I know he he can’t wait to pour His heart, vision and encouragement into me when I’m having a tough day or a good one.

…Sorry, I know that these thoughts are pretty random.

25 Things To Look Forward to in 2011!!!!

1. One year update on my other blog – shameless self promotion!
2. soundtrack to 2010!!
3. 500th post!
4. A new year...
5. change in my life…
6. Hangover 2!
7. Mystrength groups!
8. Infinite Photography… (Coming Soon!)
9. Strides in my journey towards the Call! (sounds like a good blog name... an idea is born!)
10. “The Town” on dvd (unless its out in which cas it will be my Christmas present! Lol)
11. Seeing my baby in January!
12. Seeing what Francis Chan is going to do next year…
13. Blue Like Jazz!
14. City Impact group at church!
15. Summer 2011!! – the summer of like!
16. The Adjustment Bureau!
17. New Music by Jack's Mannequin
18. Writing more in this blog next year!
19. The 49ers in the 2011 season! (hopefully with a new coach!)
20. MARCH MADNESS!!!!!!
21. NFL 2010 Playoffs!
22. The “Taking Punk To The Masses" Exhibition!
23. Fast 5!
24. Hunting and Fishing...
25. Living Life to the fullest!!!!!!

Thankful List for 2010

Here are 50 things that I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. hope you enjoy my list and make your own!

1. My salvation through Jesus Christ!
2. My awesome family even though we are like cats and dogs.
3. The most amazing woman in the world being my girlfriend
4. Football
5. Turkey
6. The Damnwells
7. Hunting with Shotguns
8. The ability to write
9. My job
10. My church
11. Driving with the windows open, arm hanging out, and good tunes playing
12. My calling as a pastor
13. My good sense of humor
14. The San Francisco 49ers
15. $5 pizzas at little Ceasars
16. Freedom!
17. 45 lb weight plates!
18. Skype so I can see my baby!
19. Francis Chan
20. IPods
21. Monterey, CA
22. Sherman Alexie, Tim O’brien, Dan Brown and other contemporary fiction writers.
23. Classic fiction writers! – Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fitzgerald
24. Pollo Encebollado.
25. Cold days
26. Chico, CA
27. Black Niner hats
28. The Church
29. Spoken word Poetry
30. Starbucks, Dutch Bros. and all coffee!
31. Mark Driscoll
32. Stair masters (even though I hate them!)
33. Dimple Records
34. Warm summers
35. The Double Western from Carl’s Jr.
36. Corona’s with salt and a slice of lime
37. Rachel McAdams! Lol
38. Community on NBC
39. My best friends
40. Hip-hop
41. The beach
42. The Bible
43. Las Vegas Nevada
44. My Durango
45. Good times with great friends
46. Filet Mignon
47. Rainy Days
48. Fishing
49. Chocolate
50. Feeling infinite!

25 random...

You know the rules: Write your own 25 random things. Pass it along! – Lets see if I can even do 25 of these

1) Depending on what type of mood I am in I will either be the loudest, craziest person you know… or the most quiet and guarded.

2) My favorite author is John Steinbeck

3) I have many pet peeves which would include slow drivers, conceded people, people that snap their fingers at me, whistle at me, loud chewers, bossy people, people that don’t keep in touch, people that hang up on me, nails tapping on a table, etc. lol

4) I once won a penmanship contest in 5th grade… but my handwriting never improved after that :(

5) My teams are the Niners and the Lakers!

6) I started writing rap at the age of 15, that developed into poetry, I stopped writing for a few years and now only write once in a while.

7) I used to drive very fast especially around the time that Fast & The furious came out. I also used to race in my sisters car (before I had a car), lol.

8) I used to be the biggest Makaveli (2pac) fan you will ever meet. In fact you ask me any question about him and I know the answer. lol

9) I can’t sit still, I have to be out and about!

10) I can’t wait to get the New Bruce Springsteen album, the new Fray Album, the two tongues album, and Nick And Norah’s Infinite playlist! lol

11) I haven’t been fishing in years but I want to go ASAP.

12) I fear no beer… oh sorry I meant bear, lol.

13) I am very bad with friendships. I think I care too much… or not enough, lol

14) I have a bucket list… with about 15 items on it. I want to add more onto it and get started on fulfilling them

15) This is my year…

16) I hate my job…. Well, I hate my work environment.

17) I think a short sleeve of tattoos on a girl is the hottest thing ever!

18) I over analyze EVERYTHING!

19) I think I’m too much of a gentleman and a nice guy… I should be more like the old me…lol!

20) I used to be able to climb a chain link fence in a matter of seconds… now I cant do it at all, lol.

21) My favorite color is brown.

22) I used to have my nose pierced… thought about getting my lip pierced for a while… and then realized I’m too old to have any piercings, lol

23) I love one tree Hill.

24) Something about driving calms me down.

25) I used to have a decent singing voice… now its all gone !

Randomness Wednesday morning Edition

1. I rarely remember my dreams.
2. Seethers old stuff isn't too bad. I should try newer stuff.
3. I need to go FISHING! lol
4. I take my coffee black!
5. I want to write more on my story. I have new ideas.It just might be good.
6. Pink Sucks! lol
7. Maybe true friendship does exist...
8. I hate Christmas music! except for Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC!
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind could quite be one of the best films ever made!
10. Good riddance to people that want nothing to do with me!
11. "I'm so happy, cause today I found my friends..."
12. My work associate just gave me a man bag, lol.
13. I dont think Ill make a resolution this new year. Lets just let it ride!
14. There are some sick people in this world...but what twisted things happened in their lives to make them that sick?
15. Getting unlimited text was the best decision I ever made, lol.
16. Rule #76: No excuses. Play like a champion. lol
17... Thats it. take care folks!

Fishing...

I haven't been fishing in years. Ever since it became illegal for me to fish without a license (we were ghetto, lol). I remember striper season coming around and being excited about it. We would always make sure that our poles were ready to go. Full of 75 lb. string just in case “the big one” was also a fighter. At the end of the string was a 6 oz. weight big enough to hit the center of the lake if you threw it hard enough. And if you did you were a real man, admired and complimented by the other guys with a simple yet meaningful, “ahi esta bueno.”

Size 4-5 hooks were perfect for catching big fish with anchovies as our bait, making sure that they were cut in half (as to release the scent of blood) and tied securely to the hook with string. We tested our poles all the time to make sure that they were up to par and ready for battle. Because it was a battleground out there, and any true fisher knows it.

I can recall wearing dirty old clothes almost as a uniform, no preoccupation with smelling or looking good because we weren’t there to get ladies; we were there to fish. We held on to whatever we could as we slid down the steep banks of the Sacramento River to arrive at our usual fishing spot. The rendezvous point was 5 miles outside of the city. Only the most skilled fisherman knew about that spot and that was my team. In my eyes, they were unstoppable.

As we prepared our poles, we raced to see who would be first to cast and who would be last. As a child I was always last, armed with my half-size Mickey Mouse fishing pole, but in adolescence, I learned to be one of the fastest and certainly one of the furthest to cast. Then it was a waiting game. All remained ritualistically quiet after the first cast. All questions were concise and answers could be one or two syllables at most. All was quiet until we all came to the humbling conclusion that we had to recast our lines in order to find a better spot.

Upon the second cast, talk became permitted; jokes began to spawn as our bonding time officially began. I can recall those fishing times used to be great bonding times for my dad and me. We used to talk a lot, now we hardly do. All the men would start joking about issues in their lives as well as asking advice in serious issues. All men would talk until the conversation was interrupted by the impressionable silent noise of movement, slight but noticeable. The Salvadorian phrase of “Perate, vos” would fill the air with a cautious silence and the concentration of one man would therapeutically be shifted from his problems, to the matter at hand, a fish bite. The first was almost always a double take. The second however would cause the mans body to be filled with adrenaline, so to the point of shooting up from his chair and grabbing the pole in a matter of microseconds.

The pole was picked up but not yanked until the second bite tugged on the string. At times the man would hesitate and wait for the third bite in which case it could have possibly been too late. If lucky the fish would continue to bite a fourth time but it was important to tug on the line with split-second timing as soon as the second bite was in process.
It was there that the battle began, especially if the fish was large. The man would begin to reel in the fish, as fast as possible. At times this was done slowly and if done so, it was evident that the person was dealing with a big one. If the fish was large, the job of the closest man would be to abandon his line, grab the net and stand as close to the edge as possible as to capture the fish in the net at sight. As the man would continue to reel the monster in, every inch of his being was filled with excitement and curiosity as to what was waiting on the other end of the line. Also there was always the possibility that the line would break, causing a silent fear in the man that kept him on edge.

Then, out of the murky waters came the silhouette of a beast seen only by the trained eye. It was majestic and beautiful, a trophy for the hard work that the man had spent in reeling it in. All the guys would continue to encourage the fisherman until the man with the net would enviously yet excitedly hold up the net containing a 21-35 inch striper, gleaming in the sun light, fighting for his life and injured from battle. The others would congratulate the fisherman and if it was you yourself that was holding up your prize catch then you were seen as king for the day. Many others felt pride as they often caught the first fish of the day, the most fish in a day, or the biggest fish in the day. We returned home with a sense of victory every time and the joy that comes from escaping your everyday routine to spend a day out on the river. I miss those days.