Reason for the Season

Merry Christmas!

Amy and I finished up a busy week right before Christmas, did some shopping just in time and were able to enjoy the festivities with a calm, put-together manner. Well, most of that is true.

Oh hey! We got a new van. Actually, its the newest van in the fleet. We went from a Chevy Astro van with over 190k miles on it to a great Ford Transit with just 18k. We have named our new van Jesse 3 (Yes, that's a reference to Duck Dynasty).

The bad news is that our next semester may not be in Texas as much as we thought. Its hard to say exactly what our second half will look like. I'm reluctant to predict anything. It seems to change every month. To follow up that thought, I think I'll give a short review of our first semester as Camfel Technicians.

August: Flew in to L.A. by the skin of our teeth (that is an odd expression). Trained. Got awesome. Drove off. Crossed the Rockies. Started our shows at Ft. Riley...in Kansas (check my facebook profile picture).

September: Bounced around what Camfel Productions calls "Midwest" (which would eventually include New Jersey, Georgia, South Dakota and almost everything in between). Got more awesome. Mastered public speaking.

October: Amazingly, we got even more awesome. This was our busiest month so far (hopefully it stays that way). We had looong drives, tight schedules and very few days off.

November: While things started to lighten up, we continued to increase our awesome. Got to visit our home a little bit as a warm up to this month. But really we stayed pretty busy.

December: Though certainly not completely off, we have enjoy the fruits of our labor. This month has been much more relaxing. We decided that we can spread the awesome around this month.

Our first five months have been a whirlwind. I am very appreciative for the craziness of which we were able to be a part. It doesn't get said enough, especially here where I write a lightly censored version of my thoughts and venting, but we believe in Camfel's message. We have a unique opportunity to touch the lives of kids at critical moments in their worlds. We get to meet new people everyday. We get to see amazing corners of our nation. Our company, though it may have its problems, is doing good work. We get to be a part of that. Thank you Camfel Productions.

And in case you feel like I've not noticed you reading this...Thank you to my loyal readers. Spread the word. I'll keep writing.

Holly Daze

We are sooo close to Christmas break. Luckily Amy and I are already enjoying a little sneak peak. We have this whole week off, with pay, I might add. Everything but lodging will still be paid, but that works out for everyone because we are staying with parents (and eating their food). Our first semester isn't quite over, however. We still have a week coming up in Ohio. After a quick week in Lame-hio, we will have about two weeks in the great white north of Michigan. Then we will be starting our second semester in Texas.

Its amazing how much needs to get done when we get a little break like this. Taking care of business doesn't seem very vacation like. But hunting does! I slipped away for a little weekend with the boys (Dad, Noah and Dane). Aside from sleeping in the bathroom (due to unexplainable noxious fumes), I had a great time spitting, grunting and shooting things. Very manly. The highlight was shooting arrows at a squirrel about 50 ft up. Don't worry PETA. Your precious fluffy tailed rats were left unharmed, not due to lack of trying.

Good news! We will be getting a new van...well Transit. Originally we selected the Astro van we have because of its leg room. But Rastro needs to spend his last days on a farm in California. So we will be getting a new puppy for Christmas. Maybe I'll take votes for its name. Got any suggestions?

I was about to say "nothing left to do but enjoy the season". However, there is all kinds of stuff to do. Some of it I am very excited for (seeing friends, playing Catan, going to a retro video game party, etc.) and I am amazed at just how much stuff needs to get done...even when you don't have a home, car, child or serious responsibility of any kind. How do you parents do it? Kudos.

Lastly, I'd like to say God bless you all and merry Christmas. If you have other beliefs, well, that is just fine. I wouldn't be offended if you said Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza or whatever to me. I haven't heard too much bickering about all this junk so far...so I'd like to assume we are getting passed that politically correct nonsense. Agreed?

Sunset over the big water.