David and Jennilyn

Jennilyn’s family celebrates Christmas all-out. They have a real Christmas tree decked out and glowing, wrapped presents to be opened on Christmas day, stockings full of treats, lots of sweets, and so on. My family? Well, we started out decorating with some Christmas lights around the living room haphazardly, and for many years, a plastic Christmas tree that was on its last limb. Literally. It was basically a holey wooden stick with spray-painted metal wires with fake pine branches attached to it. We got good use of it over the years before we finally got rid if it (at least I think we got rid of it). In recent years, my dad has used a tripod for a Christmas tree. Laugh all you want, but I give my dad props for effort—in an engineer sort of way. Gotta hand it to the man though, he’s resourceful for what he’s got.

David and Christine Vernier open up their vacation condo in Sunriver, Oregon for all the employees at Vernier. I hadn’t taken the opportunity the first year I worked at Vernier, but after hearing over and over again how wonderful it is, I signed up. All the employees get one opportunity per year, so I didn’t want to miss out my second year in a row.

Since last year’s pumpkin carving was so much fun, we decided to give it a go again this year. We were at a loss for ideas until Halloween day when Jenni brought out her pirate paraphernalia. Then it was as easy as walking the plank…

The mythos of Batman has always fascinated me. I believe it’s because of my own personal desire that I can be significant and purposeful within an interdependent world. Sometimes I believe it’s hard to feel like I’m making a difference when the world is so big. The story of Batman satisfies that desire, as an ordinary man with extraordinary discipline and funds takes on injustice. If you’ve seen the movie or not worried about spoilers, continue on. To the batcave!

From my brother Jack’s blog, an invitation to share our current songs on our playlist:

The Rules: List five songs you currently like. It doesn’t matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the songs in your blog. Then tag five friends to see what they’re listening to.

Most of what I listen to is west coast swing music, but I’ve leaned toward worship music more as of late.

• And My Lifesong Sings by Casting Crowns
  Something to listen to in a quiet space.
• You Are Holy by Michael W. Smith
  I like the interplay of the male and female lyrics in the chorus.
• Whatever U Want by Christina Milian
  A dance song off watching dance champions Jordan and Sarah dance to at Boogie by the Bay 2005.
• Secret by Maroon 5
  A moody piece with a little stretch in its rhythm.
• Song For You by Rick Braun
  One of my latest additions to my slowly growing wcs collection.

And I’ll tag Clark Wachsmuth, Mary Weatherby (soon-to-be Wachsmuth), Clark Petri, Tovah Petri, and Kevin Tom. Of course they could post their top 5 on their blog or list them as a comment to this post.

Today was my first time renting a DVD from a ATM-like machine outside the Tanasbourne Hollywood Video. It’s a remarkably simple idea and effective. I went up to the machine, chose the movie I want from the kiosk, entered my e-mail address, gave it my credit card, and out came my DVD. Now that’s pretty slick. 24 hour rentals of new release DVDs for $1.49 for 1 night.