New Additions

It's been awhile since the last post. A lot has happened. My wife and I went to Mexico for a mission trip with our church, we went to Las Vegas and Death Valley and the one and only Blue Steel - the greatest fish of them all - died. It was a sad day, but we had a quick recovery and went to the story and bought another Beta - Gypsy Tears. Gypsy is definitely one of our prettier fish. Anyway, I have to go - finals time.

5k's and Birthdays

I'm 28 today. This is to clear everything up for those of you who thought I was actually turning 40. But it is just around the corner. I was supposed to run a 5k a few weeks ago but wasn't able to so last night I unofficially ran it on my own. The next step is an 8k in November than from there time will only tell. Anyway, I was thinking of all the places I've spent my last few birthdays and I realized what an amazing, blessed life I've been able to live so far. I've seen so many places, met so many interesting people, and I'm married to an amazing woman. I definitely don't have anything to complain about. God has been so good to me and has allowed me to be a part of His greater plan in such a unique way and I am so thankful. To Him be all the glory! I was just praying on my drive to work that this next year would be a year of growing in Him, loving His word even more, that I would learn to be more patient, serving, and loving. That I would be faithful to the things He has called me to. That I would be an excellent, loving husband. That this next year would truly bring glory to God. Based on my erratic placements for the last few birthdays, I have no idea where I'll be next year. Maybe I'll still be in California, maybe Uganda again, maybe somewhere completely different like Alaska or Ethiopia. I am so thankful for all of you, my friends who have played such a valuable part in my life and of shaping who I am today. Thanks for everything. And a special thanks to Jenny, our first birthday celebration together, I look forward to many more together, I love you.
So, here's to 28 years of life, and here I come 40!

There's no Sunshine when you're gone

I am writing to tell you about the sad and untimely death of one of our Betas. Sunshine Daisy couldn't hold on any longer and was flushed away into eternity earlier this morning. Sunshine Daisy was one of our crown-tailed Beta's who we welcomed into our family a few short months ago. Rest in peace.

Marriage and Jury Duty

Yesterday my wife and I celebrated our two month anniversary! It seemed like the weeks leading up to the wedding crept by so slowly and then as soon as we said, "I do," life went into fast forward. I love being married, I have an amazing wife and getting to wake up next to her and eat dinner with her is great. 

I'm at jury duty right now, and I was planning on writing some more about married life and also about jury duty life but we've been called to convene so I'm off to see if I get selected.

Our Beta Club

I thought I would introduce you to our family of Beta's.

Our very first Beta was Beautiful, who lived in a big tank with a lot of small fish who liked to nip his tail so he recently moved to a solitary tank which he seems to like much more.

The next Beta is Messiah. He is the holiest of our Beta's.

The crazy fish who I previously wrote about, who survived a fall and had a miraculous recovery was always known as The Other Fish, but after his miracle we named him Yao. We want to get another Beta and name it Ming.

We recently acquired two more Beta's, but unlike all the others, which our fancy tailed, these ones are crowned tailed so they are smaller and very different looking.

The first is named in honor of the wonderful Harry Potter character, none other than: Sirius Black!

And the interestingly named - Sunshine Daisy...

And last but not least, the grandfather of them all, the Beta of Beta's, the big man, the fighter, conquerer and master of all Beta's - the one and only - Blue Steel!

That's all of them. We'll keep you updated if we add any more to the family!

Dodger Dogs

On Friday night I faithfully made the trek to Dodger Stadium to watch the boys in blue play. Last year I was able to go to a bunch of games, but this game marked only the third one I went to this whole season. Unfortunately the highlight of the game wasn't an amazing scoreline getting us one win closer to the postseason, but rather, was the Dodger dog and Gordon Birsch garlic fries. Unlike the Dodgers, they always leave you satisfied. But I am holding out hope that with 6 games to play and a 2.5 lead over Arizona, the Dodgers will make the playoffs and who knows, maybe I'll get to one of those games.

Fight Club

The experts all say that if you put two male beta's in the same tank they'll fight to the death. I've never actually seen it happen so I honestly don't know if it's true, but I believe them. Two of our tanks are divided in half by a plastic wall that separates the two fish, they flare up and spook each other out but they can't hurt each other. That is until one of them learned to jump. The other night I was doing dishes and my wife shouted, I looked over and two of our Beta's - Blue Steel and Yao were in the same side of the tank and trouble was brewing. I quickly grabbed the tank and brought it over to the sink where I attempted to fish either of them out. In my haste I caught Yao in a spoon but he fell off into the sink. So he was saved from Blue Steel but not from me. We put him in a tank by himself and for a few days he just kind of floated there. We honestly thought his time had come. But, one day he was swimming around and now I'm happy to report he is healthy and back in good shape. For now though, he's still enjoying a tank to himself.

Scranton

Yesterday a few co-workers and myself took a trip to Van Nuys/Scranton to see where they film The Office. It was pretty cool seeing the actual building they use, complete with all the office workers cars parked out front. Even Michael Scott's reserved spot was there.. They were filming next door on a sound stage so we didn't get to see any action. Maybe next time. It was blazing hot though and it really made me appreciate the scenes when the cast has to pretend that it's winter in Pennsylvania.

First things first

I thought I'd start this blog up simply to write about things that happen in life or to simply jot down ideas.
I like beta fish. My wife and I have a growing collection, we're up to six at the moment. You should get one, every one should. Just don't let the males swim together, it might not turn out so well.