I have decided to do yet another redesign of my blog. While I'm working on the new one, I'll go ahead and use this Blogger-made template to remind me to get it done quickly. Word.

So here I am, working at the bank. Every few days, it occurs to several of us at the exact same moment that it is time to get something to eat. Since we can't all leave for lunch at the same time, occasionally we will all just get together and order some carryout and send one person to bring it back to us.

Yesterday was one such day.

We decided that we would have Mexican food, and that our restaurant of choice would be Hinton's own El Charro Mexican Eatery. So I sent an email out to the group of employees called "Hinton," which in theory contains all of the employees of the Hinton branch and not anybody else. The email simply said that we would be having El Charro and that anybody who would like to place an order could simply email me back.

Now, every email we send is accompanied by a little flag that sends a "read receipt" when someone has opened your message. Very handy for knowing when your emails are being read and when they are not.

After sending my email, I received read receipts from everybody at the Hinton branch who was at work that day. I also received receipts from the following people:

Dave (marketing guy, stationed in Oklahoma City)
Brad (computer guy, also in Oklahoma City)
Terry (executive guy, who is not only in Oklahoma City but has never in fact worked in Hinton)
My dad (also an executive guy, who is also in Oklahoma City)
Pepper (works in Binger)

Pepper emailed me to ask if I would deliver to Binger. I almost sent an email saying, "Yes, but it will cost you eight hundred dollars." But then I figured that was way too much to charge and decided to simply say, "No, but you are more than welcome to come pick it up." We shared a laugh. It was magnificent.

http://www.legacybank.com/winwin/

We're so awesome.

"God does not play dice with the universe: he plays an ineffable game of his own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players (i.e., everyone else), to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time."

-from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Best. Summer. Ever.

So I haven't said much (if anything) about it here, but I have been teaching myself to play the trapset/drumkit/drumset/whatever the crap you want to call it this summer. The story:

My old youth group at First Baptist Church of Hinton has had a pretty decent praise band going for the past year, thanks in large part to the amazing efforts of Jessica Boling (guitar player/bank teller/youth). In fact, forget the "decent" part. With the people available to her, Jessica has managed to put together a group that is downright impressive. However, there has been one hitch.

Their drummer became a bit unreliable towards the end of the school year, and as of the beginning of the summer he had practically disappeared entirely. He had a tendency to skip practice but still expected to be allowed to perform with the group. On a couple of the occasions when he wasn't there for practice or the performance, I decided to pull out the water jug/egg shaker combo and Jessica was kind enough to let me play with the group. This sound, however, simply was not a good match for the group as it had been assembled. The musicians were used to something with a little more edge than a makeshift djembe being played by a third-rate percussionist.

So I spent some time learning the trapset. And I like it. A whole lot. (random side note: I don't know why drummers are so hard to find; it's so much fun to play, you'd think everyone would want to) Obviously, I'm not that great at it; I can only do a couple of different beats and my fills are, at best, inconsistent. But at least I'm havin' fun.

Anyway, last week we went to Falls Creek (http://www.fallscreekok.org), and I got to play every stinkin' day of the week. That was so much fun.

So yes... I like to drum.

I have Texan friends. They are a proud little cult. They take pride in the fact that they are the second biggest state in nation, and they take greater pride in the fact that they were once a country that was so poor they were unable to issue currency. I do not understand the state pride of your average Texan.

And so it comes a very small surprise that every time I read a xanga, Facebook profile, or some other type of documentation regarding one of these friends that involves them leaving the state, one of the first things mentioned is "this is so much cooler than what we have in Texas" or "the weather here is so much better than Texas" or anything like that. I have learned that many Texans don't leave their state very often; several of my friends have, in fact, never left Texas, and still claim that it is the best place on earth. So I like seeing that the ones who do leave find the truth.

Texas is a good place. I like going to school there. But I don't think I'll ever be able to live there on a permanent basis. They have a superiority complex about their superiority complex; it grows tiring.

Iowa is awesome.

I am now going to encourage comment-posting. Don't everybody flee at once.

1. Where did we meet?:
2. Take a stab at my middle name:
3. How long have you known me?:
4. When is the last time we saw each other?:
5. Do I smoke?:
6. Do I believe in God?:
7. When you first saw me what was your impression?:
8. My age?:
9. Birthday?:
10. Color hair?:
11. Color eyes?:
12. Do I have any siblings?:
13. Have you ever been jealous of me?:
14. What's one of my favorite things to do outdoors?:
15. What's one of my fav. things to do indoors?:
16. Do you remember one of the 1st things I said to you?:
17. What's my favorite type of music?:
18. What is the best feature about me?:
19. Am I shy or outgoing??:
20. Would you say I am funny ha ha or funny sarcastic?:
21. Am I a rebel or do I follow all the rules?:
22. Would you consider me a friend, an acquaintance, or a good friend?:
23. Would you call me preppy, slutty, average, sporty, punk, hippie, glam, nerdy, snobby, or something else? :
24. Have you ever seen me cry?:
25. If there were one good nickname for me what would it be?:
26. Are my parents still together?:
27. If I had broccoli stuck in my teeth would you tell me?:
28. Do I drink and/or do drugs?
29. What is my worst fear?
30. Are you going to post this and see what I say about you?