Tag: san diego

  • Take me home

    There is no glamor in business travel. I would never want anyone to think that I don’t genuinely love my job or meeting so many cool people, because I totally do. And I am always fully aware that a ton of people would die to do what I do every day… God continues to grant me undeserved favor. Yet, there is nothing quite as wonderful as knowing that today is the day I am going home.

    Home.

    Romeo people will jump on that. It is true, San Diego is now where I think of as home. Forget that idea that “home is where you hang your hat.” Well, it is true if by hat you mean my wife and kids! It’s not like I hung Kristen, Megan, and Paul on a hook and they just chill at the house waiting for me to come back. They are home doing stuff while I’m away… doing really fun stuff like going to the zoo, or a museum, or taking the dog to the vet. Their life doesn’t stop… it just carries on without me.

    Another thing about going home is that I need to take care of stuff. I’m sure hard core business travelers are better at this than I am. But when I’m away I always forget to pay my bills! While I think that is funny, something tells me that there are some companies kind of wishing I would send them some money.

    So, in just a couple hours I head back to Midway and fly home. Loved Chicago. Loved Planet Wisdom. Ready to get 10 days at home before Pittsburgh.

  • Photo post: New Children’s Museum

  • Photo Post: Padres Game

    I think he’s the 3rd base coach
    3rd Base Coach Talks to a Runner
    Everybody Dance!
    No idea who this is
    Synchronized dusting
    This is the sad part of the picture
    Full of nachos, lemonaide, and cotton candy the boy is out
    Down by 5, not sure the urgency

  • We’ve landed

    Yesterday Megan and I made it to San Diego with about an hour to spare. Our plan worked out perfectly! We were able to drop off all the stuff from the car at the new house just in time to head to the airport and pick up Kristen, Paul, and Lovely as they arrived from Detroit. From there we headed back to the house to do a little “nesting” and get everyone settled. Everyone is having a good time exploring their new surroundings.

    Personally, my surprise joy came when I went grocery shopping. It may sound like something silly to get excited about… but it was a blast! Since there are so many ethnicities in our community the grocery store is packed with new flavors and things to try. I think I came home with 20 different juices that we’ve either never had or have not had access to in a long time.

    The truck gets delivered later this afternoon. So we’ll have the weekend to unpack the truck and start getting organized. Yup, it feels really real now.

    One cool thing that happened yesterday is that we started meeting our neighbors. Although the house is a lot smaller I can tell we are going to like living here a lot.

    video update: It’s going to take me a few days to get all the videos online. We took so much video… getting days 4 & 5 of Travels With Stoney done is just going to take me a little bit. Plus, I’ve got a massive backlog of work!

  • Travels with Stoney: The Prelude

    travels with stoneyThe trip begins in just two hours. Everyone is still asleep at my in-laws house but I’m wide awake. Go figure. There are a couple pre-trip things I thought were worth mentioning.

    #1 Travels with Charlie. If you’ve never read the Steinbeck book which this trip is named after you should check it out. Travels with Charlie: In Search of America is a classic.

    #2 Participate in the journey. You can track our journey here. The best way to get in contact with us on the trip is by leaving a comment. Through the magic of mobile internet I’ll get your comment pretty soon. Feel free to ask Megan, Stoney, or Adam pretty much anything about our trip. We’ll either comment back directly on the blog or in a video. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer any emails during the trip.

    #3 Track our progress. Follow me on Twitter and I’ll be posting a lot about the trip in 140 characters or less. Also, I’ve started using Bright Kite. So if you use that you’ll want to friend me. But if you don’t, my Bright Kite updates appear on my Twitter feed. If we follow one another, just remember that the best way to contact me on the trip is to leave a comment. I’m going to try to minimize my “driving while twittering.” Twitpics are another story. I tend to do that while I drive.

    #4 Meet up. Check out our route. We’re still open to meeting up with people along the way. Again, a comment is a great way to make that happen. I’ll contact you via the email you leave in the comment dialogue.

    #5 Videos. Megan and I will be making daily videos of our travels. I can’t guarantee a regular broadcast schedule or anything like that. Nor can I guarantee what will be on them. But if you know me, you know they should be fun.

    #6 Today. In just a couple hours the first leg of our journey begins. This takes us out of Michigan, through the left half of Ohio, bisecting Indiana, and landing on the eastern shores of Illinois.

    Bon voyage!

  • Travels with Stoney: Blog Poll

    Megan and I are very actively planning our our trip. We’re still looking for a place to say in the greater Albuquerque area. We’ve also determined that we’ll be stopping at the memorial of the Oklahoma City bombings. Check out our trip and feel free to suggest a stop for us.

    One thing that is going to make our planning a little easier is for you to tell me how you’d like to follow out journey. Do you want me to write stories? Post a ton of pictures? Make daily video blogs? So take a second to vote and let Megan and I know. Stoney doesn’t care.

  • Vote for my Ocean of Wonder Picture


    Ocean Beach Surfer    I took this picture last week at Ocean Beach in San Diego and have entered it in a photo contest at Parade Magazine called “Oceans of Wonder.” 

    If you could take a second, please click on this link and vote for my picture.

    When the picture wins we get a trip to the Bahamas from TripAdvisor. If you’ve never checked out TripAdvisor, I highly suggest you do before you book your next trip. You can read/write reviews on thousands of local hotels, resorts, and other travel destinations. It’s a great way to get a heads up on where you are going.

  • Buyers market vs. Sellers market

    Yesterday was a bit of a shock to the system. It’s not until you leave the Detroit area that you see just how different it is from SoCal. In many ways, the area seems oblivious to the deep recession (I’d call it borderline depression. If not economically, definitely on the psyche of the area.) 

    Walking through store is funny. While I’m certain that there are many people on the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, the stores don’t seem to notice. Next time you’re in Target on 26 Mile notice the posture of shoppers. It’ll indicate the confidence level in spending money.

    Clearly the housing market is polar opposite. You wouldn’t believe the sales pitch this lady tried to give us on an apartment last night. Not only was the apartment sub-par (worn out, horrible location for a family) when we were done she just said, “We’ll wave the application fee if you give me $100 to hold the place. But we can’t get you in until August 25th.” That’s the hook for spending $2000/month in San Diego? We weren’t impressed.

    The general pitch I’ve gotten from renting a house (as opposed to renting an apartment in a complex) is “this house would sell for $500,000 so we don’t think what we’re charing for rent is a lot. Never mind the fact that the person has owned the property for years and probably bought it for under $200,000. For us… this is like Michigan pre-bubble when there is a massive difference between what a place is worth and what the market will sustain. 

    We know this is how it is here. We’re not in denial. And I’ll even admit that it’s a little refreshing. It’s fun to not hear every newscast or front page story be about the economy or gas prices. In some respects I understand the “Nation of Whiners” comment. I think most of what we’re feeling is that millions of people have to bite the bullet and start paying down their personal debts. Having less personal debt automatically makes you a more aggressive shopper. 

    More housing stuff later today. We’re pretty excited about the next one we’re looking at. 

  • Finding a church home: Pre-search thoughts

    Pre-search thoughtsThis week marks the beginning of a new era. For the first time in more than 10 years Kristen and I begin a search for a new church home. Sure, there were other searches before– but they were always tied to employment so that’s a little different. Now that I don’t have a church job we are looking for a new church from a whole new vantage point, and that’s kind of exciting!

    And so the search begins in earnest.

    What are we looking for? There’s no simple answer to that. I wish I were one of those people who could say, “I’m looking for a church of 350-500, a certain type of music, a certain program of discipleship, a certain set of theology, a certain demographic, and looking for families like ours.” But I’m not that kind of person and this isn’t that simple.

    So, here’s the deal. We’ll visit a church at least two weeks in a row before deciding if its worth more of our investment or not. It’s simply not fair to judge anything on one shot. (Well, unless the vibe is bad. Then we may not stay beyond the cup of coffee.) We’ll play the role of visitors. We’ll fill out the cards, chat with the people welcome team, etc.

    How will we chose the churches to visit? The old fashioned way. We’ll ask some friends. We’ll search the web. We’ll drive around where we live. Stuff like that. But we’d be open to a church marketing to us. Want us to check you out and play secret shopper? Leave a comment or send me an email. Here’s a family of four looking for a place to not only attend, but contribute… come and get us! San Diego, East San Diego County, bring it.

    The non-negotiables… because we do have some standards.

    – We’re looking for a church that teaches the Biblical truth.

    – We’re looking for a church where kids are important.

    – We’re looking for a church that expects us to jump in and get involved but will be patient enough to let us settle in.

    – We’re looking for a church that is practically passionate about reaching the community we live in.

    – We’re looking for a church that values its people, all of ’em.

    Other than that, we are open. It can be an old church or a church plant. A big church or a little one. One that has a pretty white steeple or meets in a store front. A church that is huggy… uh, better skip the huggy ones. Fast and loud music or soft and boring.

    Last Sunday during the service I looked at Kristen and said, “I’m ready for the next step.” She nodded in agreement. As much as we loved our time in Romeo, it is time.

  • Our Big Move

    our big moveThe last few weeks have been a whirlwind… literally. First, there was the crazy phone call that started it all. Then there was a lot of prayer. Then there was the trip out there. Then there was a lot more prayer. This was followed by some very tough conversations, more prayer, and a decision. Then some waiting, some finalizing details and finally here we are.

    What’s the scoop? A week and a half ago I met with the deacons of our church to formally tell them that we are leaving our beloved ministry in Romeo to accept a new calling on our life at Youth Specialties.

    Following that, we told our students and parents followed by an announcement to the congregation on May 11th. I’ll talk more about this later… but the people here in Romeo have been amazing to Kristen and I for the last 5 years. They are either truly excited for us or are really good liars. I’d like to think they are excited for us. If they aren’t, please let me believe they are!

    In the coming days I’ll begin to share a little bit more about my time here in Romeo and describe a little more about what I’ll be doing in San Diego.

    Kristen and I are just a mashed potatoes of emotion. We are sad to leave a place we love. We are thrilled by this door God has opened for us. We don’t want to move. We do want to live in San Diego. We don’t want to leave the security of our life here. We love a little adventure.

    The byline of my blog and subplot of my life is: Crazy enough to want to change the world. The last few weeks God has gotten up in my devotions and said, “Oh really? Wanna prove it?” I don’t know about the changing the world part… but this is the most exciting and craziest thing God has ever asked us to do.

    More to come…