A Fine Monday Morning

It's been kind of interesting being car-less the last month or so. It is a bummer sometimes, like when we'd like to go to the store or go out and see friends, but all in all could have been much worse. I had already become familiar with the nearby bus routes and whether we had a working vehicle or not, I would be riding the bus to work on weekday mornings.

Last Friday, my sons were off from school for a school holiday, so we all took the city bus to go up to my job to pick up my paycheck. My sons hadn't really been on a city bus before, so it was a new experience for them. Sure, waiting at the bus stop wasn't too fun for my oldest boy, but he managed to keep himself amused for the most part. We all had a good time and it was a beautiful day outside. My wife and I took a similar trip the week before. Our friends have also been very helpful with rides on several occasions, and we are very grateful.

So, now we have our W-2's and should be able to e-file our taxes this week and hopefully, by the end of next week, we can get our poor vehicle back up and running.

I will, of course, keep you informed via blogging!

Best Wishes,
Allen

The System Works

The bank has now reversed the charges on all 3 of the identity theft-based online gambling "purchases" and reversed all overdraft fees. It took about a week but I was impressed with how efficient they were at taking care of the matter. Just goes to show, being prayerful, patient and going through the proper channels gets things taken care of when dealing with your bank.

Best Wishes,
Allen

IR Haven: 3 Years And Still Blogging

IR Haven launched its blog in January 2003. Since then, I've rambled on about IR topics, family life, spiritual matters, non-dairy recipes and more.

Well, now I've got a new one to blog about: Identity Theft!

This happened to me for the first time, just in the last week. Recently, our single vehicle, our beloved family van, has been undriveable due to some transmission problems. So, I've been taking the bus to work and a cab back home (I live just a couple of miles from my job, so it's not that bad). The majority of the time, I prefer to pay for cabs with cash but one time, I made the mistake of paying with my debit card.

Now, a week or two later, my bank account gets hit for nearly $900 in online gambling charges! Don't worry, I was able to contact the bank and let them know as soon as my wife and I looked at the account online. The bank was quick to mark the debit card stolen and launch an investigation into the fraudulent use of the card. Most likely, everything will be reversed within a few days, but it was quite a scare.

Life goes on...

Best Wishes,
Allen

Post-Christmas Blogging

We started celebrating Christmas with family as soon as I got home from work on Saturday, Christmas Eve. We (Angel, the kids and I) went out to dinner with my mother, sister and brother-in-law at Outback Steakhouse ("No rules, just right!" - very traditional, heh). After much food and fun discussion, we let the boys open a few of their presents, to their merriment! We went back home and the kids and Angel watched "Madagascar" on DVD while I crashed out in a leanback chair (long day) till the movie was over (I got to enjoy it with Angel last night).

Sunday, we got up somewhere around 8:00 or 8:30 a.m., opened the remaining presents (to the boys' further merriment!)

I did have to go into work on Christmas, from 1:00 p.m. toll midnight. That was a first for me! I've worked New Years' a couple of times but not Christmas. The first half of the work day was pretty slow. I work in a tech support call center and I was getting maybe 2 or 3 calls per hour. So, I had brought my heavy duty headphones, plugged them into the front of the Dell computer and tuned into Yahoo! Launchcast between calls to pass the time (and oh, did it pass the time!). I also worked on some artwork for a comic strip Angel and I have been developing (more on that at another time). About 6:00 p.m., the calls started coming in, sometimes in waves. Overall, though, it was very manageable. There were about 25 of us maintaining the call center. By midnight, though, I was starving and exhausted and ready to come home (and I did). At least the company is paying me well for working the holiday!

Went into work Monday (th 26th) from 9:30 am till 8:30 p.m. That was hard, after working 10 hour days on Saturday and Sunday, but I managed (barely :). Today hasn't been so bad, I've been trying to get decent sleep to balance out all the work hours.

More blogging later, as I get more ideas on what to blog about...

Best Wishes,
Allen

A Pre-Christmas Family Evening

Yesterday, after finishing up the last minute Christmas shopping, Angel suggested we get tickets for the whole family to go see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I was a little hesistant about taking the kids to a movie which I knew would have a major battle scene, but I've recently read the book for the first time and knew what was coming. I just wanted to avoid the quasi-debacle that happened when I took the kids to see the first Spiderman movie in 2002 (scared my oldest son, Adam, in a few places).

So we went, we saw -- and we enjoyed! I felt that the movie was very true to the book. My wife and kids really loved the movie and I was quite satisfied as well. Afterwards, we went to the Pappadeux seafood restaurant and had a sumptuous pre-Christmas meal together as a family. It was my first time having grilled fish and shrimp cabobs. I sprinkled a little lemon over it and, I kid you not, it was as good as steak in terms of taste and aroma and texture. They gave us so much food that we all took home leftovers! Yummmm...

It all made for a nice family outing.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Thank goodness for word verification!

I really didn't like having to remove the comments. When people are genuine (and not spammers), the comments are interesting and appreciated. But I was getting spammers automatically leaving rather annoying and disgusting links and junking up all of my blogs, so I removed them.

I decided to check in on IR Haven this morning, since I haven't blogged in several weeks (been working like crazy, my cable company job went permanent -- woohoo!). I noted that Blogger obviously figured out they were being spam-bombed and devised a common sense defense (the same kind of word verification methods like the ones eBay and Google use to screen out spammers). So I've turned comments back on and we'll see how it goes.

I'll try to do a bit more blogging in the coming days, a lot has been going on.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Happy Holidays!

Apologies for my recent inactivity on IR Haven. Besides being busy with my job (which I love and which is going permanent), I went through a couple of weeks of not feeling so hot (mostly exhaustion).

I've also taken an interest in online gaming for relaxation. There are two games that hold my interest currently.

My kids really love Disney's Toontown, a kid-friendly MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) where you tailor-make a cartoon animal character that fights business-like robot "cogs" with laughter-inspiring slapstick gags (throwing pies, squirting water, dropping anvils). It's quite amusing, graphically appropriate (cartoonish on a kid's level) and surprisingly challenging.

My wife and I have gotten into another MMORPG called The Saga of Ryzom. It is a graphically complex and beautiful game with multiple skills you can learn and develop. Your character can be one of four different "races" and the appearance is highly customizable. I may recommend they create mixed race versions -- that would be cool! (Well, they did hint at introducing children into the game at some point in the distant future).

The players within the game are generally very friendly and helpful and the guild system is designed to help players level up in their skills quickly while bonding with their guildmates.

Like any MMORPG, playing it does tend to consume hours at a time, so one must govern their time accordingly...but it can be a lot of fun and help build some friendships in the process.

I'm looking forward to spending time with my relatives and in-laws on Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas/New Years' holidays.

Best Holiday Wishes,
Allen

Bus Adventures, Part 2

So, for Day 2 of "Allen's Bus Adventures," I get out to the bus stop a little early.

I catch the bus.

I catch the bus on the wrong side of the street...

...going the wrong way.

I will spare you the story of the friendly woman talking to the bus driver who's every other phrase was "you know what I'm sayin'?"

I got to work 45 minutes late, but my boss was understanding and the time can be made up today.

Lesson learned: Get on the bus going in the direction you need to go.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Comedy Of Errors, But With A Happy Ending

So, my wife has a new job and takes our vehicle to work now. Today was my first time taking the bus to work. So I call and get the time and location for the bus stop. I get out the door right before the appointed time and as I'm approaching the right street (about half a block from my house), I hear the bus going by. But, it was an hour before work and most buses are on 15 to 30 minute routes, so I figured I'd catch it at 9:00 am.

9:00 am came and went. About 9:07 am I decide to walk back to the house to call and confirm the times for the bus. No sooner do I get a quarter block from the bus stop than the bus comes (I hear it first then see it -- too late). I say to myself "fine, I'll just go to the bus stop across the street. It'll probably be by in a few minutes."

Several minutes went by and nothing. I was getting discouraged and was considering leaving again when something told me to give it until 9:15 (it was about 9:10). I did not want to repeat my previous mistake. Sure enough, right at 9:15, the bus shows up. I arrive about a block from my work approximately 6 minutes later and am in the door on time.

And to top it off, it's an "Ozone Action Day" in Austin, so the ride was free.

Can't beat that with a stick, eh?

My wife will be picking me up from work each evening (I'm doing a 4-day, 10 hour a day schedule now), so I only have to ride the bus in the mornings. No biggie.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Rita Mania: Part 3 - Sunny Morning

Well, the worst has passed Austin by. All we got was some hot wind gusts. East Texas and Louisiana, on the other hand, got the brunt of the hurricane and those people are in my prayers. I'm also grateful that Rita was a Category 3 and not a Category 5 when it came ashore.

It did give me a good reason to stock up on canned goods and bottled water, though...

Best Wishes,
Allen

Rita Mania: Part 2

So, in preparations for this weekend and Hurricane Rita, I go to Walmart to get some essentials, like bottled water, canned goods, batteries, over-the-counter medicines, etc. I figured water might be scarce -- and it was -- but I had no idea how cleaned out the place would be!? It was like visiting after a looting or something! Almost all of the basic canned goods were gone, ALL bottled water was gone and batteries, especially "D" batteries? Forget it!

So, I got what I could from Walmart, which was considerable and went to another grocery store (HEB) for the rest. I found a few more items and they were just starting to stock some more bottled water. A gentleman next to me asked the stocker if he could take a case off the palate (a case is a 24-pack) and they stocker said "sure!" So, I did the same. When I got to the checkout line, the checker said "You found water??" (like this was a rare treasure, which it was) and I said "Yep!"

Still no "D" batteries, but oh, well, you can't have everything...

Keep in mind, this is AUSTIN. We're not even expecting the most severe weather. We are not evacuating.

But people don't want to take any chances, and I can't say I blame them. Hurricanes are unpredictable, after all. I think everyone's learned to take things seriously after Katrina.

More as things develop...

Best Wishes,
Allen

"Rita Mania" Begins

I've been made aware of the exact type of weather we could be facing -- even in Austin and Central Texas -- this weekend from Hurricane Rita. We got the leftovers of a hurricane a few years ago but it was just a little rain and wind gusts, nothing significant. This time around, we could get 75 - 100 mph winds, lots of rain and possible tornadoes. The severity will depend on if we are on the west or the east side of the hurricane. If we are on the east side of the hurricane, the effects are more severe.

I'm not worried at this point but my "caution meter" has gone up a few levels, especially now that Rita is a Category 5 hurricane. I've started praying for the people on the coastline, the people in Central Texas and for the Katrina evacuees who are having to be evacuated yet again. I can't imagine how traumatizing this must be for them.

In my job, I have been doing tech support for people all over the Central Texas area. I have helped many people displaced by Katrina from New Orleans, people who relocated here to Austin. Now, those people will have to face another significant hurricane, only weeks after being forced from their homes.

It's going to an interesting weekend, to say the least. More later...

Best Wishes,
Allen

Et Tu, Rita? Batten Down The Hatches



Okay, so now a new, potentially major hurricane heads towards the Gulf of Mexico. This one, Hurricane Rita, appears to be aiming for Texas. It looks to be heading for either Galveston or Houston. It shouldn't pose too much of a threat to Austin, as Austin is several hundred miles inland from the Gulf. We may get a lot of rain, wind and possible tornadoes from the outer bands.

The rumor mill wants to say that it could hit Louisiana. It could also turn back out to sea or go to Mexico. Only time will tell.

More here as we get closer to landfall...

Best Wishes,
Allen

Initial Thoughts On Hurricane Katrina And Its Aftermath

I am still not fully comprehending the total devastation caused by Hurricance Katrina. I've gotten to the point where I turn the sound down because the news commentary is either such a political blame game it's nauseating or the facts are just too heartbreaking to bear.

I pray for the survivors and the relief personnel and volunteers daily. I am emotionally wrenched as I read of new deaths and the causes of death. I sympathize till I start feeling numb, then I pray for the Lord to help me focus on Him and His goodness, understanding that He is in control of everything.

I know people in Louisiana but they were spared the worst of the Hurricane's damage. They are in the minority, to be sure.

Texas has certainly contributed to the relief efforts. I've been very proud of my state's involvment. Even Austin has been very involved, taking in and helping hurricane refugees. It's going to be a long road ahead for everyone involved.

Through ISAA, I've encouraged people to give cash or blood to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.

I have to go for now. I'll blog more on this again soon...

Best Wishes,
Allen

Quick Update!

Hi everyone! Life has been ridiculously busy again. I started a new job this week and have been enjoying it a lot. I also got some pictures from the recent First Light gig that I blogged about. All of the available pics are on the First Light website (link above).

Here's our logo, btw



All of First Light (me on bass guitar on left; drummer not pictured)


Singing our hearts out for the Lord


That's my wife at the mic! (in white)

And yes, I decided to play around with the blog design again. Do you like it?

Best Wishes,
Allen

Blog Design Changes, Part Whatever

Okay, so yesterday, I got tired of the other blog design. It would load but give errors and some other elements of it (such as painfully slow loading times) weren't working too well, so I found another template and have been slowly tweaking it over the past 24 hours. I do hope you like it. I think it's a cleaner template and a bit easier to read and follow. There were certain things about the previous version of the blog that I liked, such as the title graphics, so I am reincorporating them into this template.

Be patient, more changes to come soon!

Best Wishes,
Allen

Blistered Fingers And Happy Hearts

As a bass player and backing singer, I haven't played a 3+ hour show in many years. When I was in my 20's, it was no big deal to play 4 one-hour sets as part of a rock and blues band; that was a standard "pay your dues" gig, especially in Austin (and not for much money, either!). But that was over 10 years ago and I'm a different person now.

Friday night, First Light (the Christian band my wife and I are in) performed at a North Austin church for a wonderful group of people. Some were from Austin, some were from Mexico, some were from Nicaragua, some were from San Salvador and at least one was from Nigeria. Virtually all of them were enthusiastic and receptive to our music, our message and well, us in general.

The evening started with a special puppet show for the kids. The youth of the church we were visiting put on the puppet show, put to fast, humorous contemporary Christian music. They also turned off the main lights and used fluorescent lights to highlight the individual puppet characters, as if the puppets were a band (at the same time, there were other puppets that acted out other scenes that were related to the lyrics of each song). Needless to say, the kids loved it and most of the adults -- myself included -- were impressed.

That said, First Light (FL) didn't start performing until around 9:30 p.m. We did quite a few songs in just the first 75-minute set, which ran a bit long because we had some words of testimony (in English and in Spanish) in-between some of the songs. One poem was read in Spanish. Our style varies quite a bit, from jazzy Christian to Gospel to Tejano-esque and some is just "First Light." Vocals are
extremely important in FL. On any given song, we have 5 to 10 singers. It's important because that determines how the message of the lyrics is delivered, it's what sticks with people. You can have great music but if people don't know what you're saying, it kind of defeats the point of having singers. FL is essentially a Christian band with a mini-choir, strong lyrics with dynamic delivery and an original international flair.

After a midway 10-minute break around 11:00 p.m., we revved up for the second set. About halfway into that set, my bass-playing fingers really started hurting from the blisters that were starting to develop. There are several of our songs that are very bass-intensive and wonderfully complicated but very hard on the fingers. It goes with the territory. It was kind of humorous between songs because I would finish one song and have to "shake off the pain" from my fingers before starting up a new song.

An amazing thing happened near the very end of the concert. We had been playing light music behind the pastor, who was speaking to the audience and closed out with a prayer. Then he asked us to play our medley of "Victory Is Mine/At The Cross" again, so we did. And we all got a fresh burst of energy and played the song better than we had earlier in the evening (and that version wasn't bad). It was as if
we were just starting the show again. So, we finished the show as strongly as we began and "the crowd went wild!" Seriously, the audience was very nice to us and let us know they appreciated our being there and praising the Lord with us.

They had a dinner for us, even though it was after midnight. They food was good, too! We all got plates and munched down; that many hours of playing really builds up an appetite. We packed up and headed home and collapsed for the evening. It was a rare evening when our kids stayed up as late as us, but they're some of our biggest fans and enthusiastic supporters.

The evening was recorded, too. We'll get the 2-CD set in a couple of weeks. If you'd like a sampling of what First Light is like live, feel free to check out our music at the First Light website:
http://www.myspace.com/nccfirstlight

Best Wishes,
Allen

P.S. - First Light also played at our own church on Sunday. And my fingers have recovered.

First Light Update

Tonight, First Light will be performing a two-hour concert in north Austin, Texas. First Light is the Christian band that my wife and I are in. An IR tie-in to that is that there are two IR married couples in the band (including my wife and I, of course). We will also be performing for people of several nationalities tonight, including
refugees from South America, Mexico and even Africa as well as a U.S. crowd. We'll be playing at a small but friendly and very accomodating church whose pastor we met at an April "Jesus Day" event that we played at in April. That pastor was moved by the spiritual nature of the "Jesus Day" performance and invited us to perform at his church, which we're more than happy to do.

It's been a while since First Light did 2 one-hour sets but we do have enough songs, enthusiasm and faith to just go for it. I've been excited all day. I invited just about everyone I could think of from the Austin Metro area and quite a few will be coming.

First Light had three rehearsals this week, in preparation for the performance. Last night's rehearsal doubled as sound check at the church itself. We were there till about 11:30 p.m. (we arrived just before 8:00 p.m.) but the sound was top-notch and we got a good rehearsal in.

The concert is going to be recorded, too, so that's really cool!

I'll give you an update on Monday on how things went...

Best Wishes,
Allen

What Are ISAA Pods?

I've started new podcasting for the International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA). My last stint at podcasting was a fully recorded talk radio show called The ISAA Rapport (archives are still online).

This new podcasting will just be me audioblogging regularly on up-to-the-moment size, weight, and health-related topics.

Check it out and bookmark it!

ISAA Pods
http://isaapods.blogspot.com

I'll get back to IR topics as soon as possible.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Cooking With Allen: Grilled Chicken with Sausage and Vegetables

This may sound oversimplified but it is SO good, especially when you don't have a lot of time or ideas for a meal that can feed the whole family!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 onion (more if preferred) chopped semi-fine into thin chunks
- 1 lg. garlic clove, chopped fine
- black pepper (2 to 3 teaspoons)
- Seasoning salt (1 to 2 teaspoons)
- Olive Oil (2 tablespoons)
- 4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 links of sausage, sliced to bite-size
- 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (I chose one with carrots, squash, zuccini, green beans and red and green peppers)

NOTE: I own a small electric "George Foreman" grill ($20), which is great for the kitchen on the fly, but any grill will do.

Directions:

1. Say a little prayer (if you're so inclined -- it helps!)
2. Rinse chicken breasts.
3. Grill chicken breasts 1 - 2 minutes on each side, then remove from heat
4. Lightly season chicken breasts with seasoning salt on both sides
5. Slice chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks on a cutting board
6. In a large skillet, sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until somewhat carmelized
7. Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper to sautee mixture and blend together
8. Add chicken breast chunks to sautee mixture and blend together, let chicken cook a minute or two
9. Add sausage to chicken and sautee mixture, blend thoroughly and let cook a few minutes, add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper
10. Add frozen vegetables straight from package, blend them underneath the already cooked meat
11. Let vegetables cook a minute or two then re-blend with meat
12. Cook vegetables until they look slightly softened from the heat then remove skillet from heat.
13. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Preparation time: Approximately 10 - 20 minutes (slightly more if using outside grill)
Cook time: Approximately 10 minutes

What I like about this recipe is that it gives the chicken that "grilled" taste, which goes well with the sausage, but adds a stir-fry element with the frozen vegetables. It's quick, cheap (I got all the ingredients for less than $15 at the grocery store), easy, healthy and it TASTES GREAT!!!

Suggested side-dishes: mashed potatoes, white rice or wild rice blend

Should I do a cook book? lol!

Best Wishes,
Allen