Unfortunately, the mandolin didn’t meet the reserve on eBay, and didn’t sell. Much to my surprise, there were no bids in the last 12 hours of the auction. Maybe I’ve got a disordered view of the way eBay works.

Despite this setback, I’ve got two more auctions going on right now to see if eBay can redeem itself.

The first is a Yamaha SW1000XG sound card. It originally retailed for about $800 and as of this writing there is one $0.99 bid in, with no reserve. This sound card is supposed to be the bees pajamas, but I’ve never actually used it.

The other is a Belkin parallel data switch (yeah, really) that happens to still be in the original box. Again, the opening bid is $0.99 and there’s no reserve.

…Seems to be the theme of the day. I did a good job catching up on my Google Reader subscription list last evening. Then when I opened my Google home page this morning, the only two new entries were both entitled “Belief”.

At first, I was really scared. I thought someone was trying to tell me something - someone was challenging my faith.

Then, I realized that Gene reads the same blogs (Seth’s for instance) that I do.

In case you’re too lazy to click:

People don’t believe what you tell them.

They rarely believe what you show them.

They often believe what their friends tell them.

They always believe what they tell themselves.

Where does faith fit into this? At what point does the ‘faith of our fathers’ become what our hearts start telling us? How does evangelizing differ from marketing?

I’ve got big plans for Uncle Widget.

What started as a way to replace the horribly pedestrian music that continuously played in my daughters’ rooms has become a core component in my vocational adventure.

The first CD, Bedtime on Mars is meant to foster peace and creativity in your sleeping child. It gets them accustomed to the orchestration of harmonies, rhythm, and it helps block out the threat of incidental noise. The idea is that if they’re accustomed to regular sounds the interruptions of incidental, irregular sound will go unnoticed.

The second CD will be a playtime and dance CD. I’m working on this music now.

After that, I plan on following my oldest daughter’s learning process - focusing on the State standards for curriculum.

Check out the CD, and if you’re an iPod wielding parent, or if your kid has a MacBook Pro in their room, the CD is also available on the iTunes Music Store:

Check out this Washburn M3SW Mandolin on eBay.

And stay tuned for another personal status update from me!

And a big round of applause for making it to the big 100th post.

Almost 18 months after I started… I’m (mostly) still here.

Also, please check out Zack Scott Reports. Zack paid large sums of money for me to compose his theme song, and he deserves the marketing. These reports are actually quite amusing.

I haven’t talked much about my career. I’ve got a pretty good theory as to why this is. When I was in software, piddling unfulfilled in a cubicle all day, I had plenty to complain about. Now I don’t have time to complain because I’m busy doing the work that I absolutely love.

What do I do? I’m a youth minister. I’m entrusted with entertaining, enlightening, and listening to high-school aged teenagers.

A large part of my work play is marketing (which I really love in the small-scale sense that I do it).

An even bigger chunk is learning (learning about stuff I love - theology, history, and the ministry of Christ).

And the most fun I get to have is the time I get to mentor, teach, speak, sing, hang out, and talk with the young people. There’s so much they can teach me about life and how I don’t have to get old.

…but wait, there’s more

I’ve just recently decided that I’m being strongly called to being a guest speaker/musician/singer/storyteller (I’ve got to get a shorter name for it - comment if you’ve got something). The idea is that I’ll come share my stories, insights, and music with participants at youth rallies, retreats, conferences, etc.. This sort of thing really excites me. I’ve been in youth ministry (in some form) for the past 6 years (I’m 27), and I’ve been playing liturgical music for the past 15 years. I’ve taught executive training courses, middle school, and elementary school.

The trouble is, I don’t really know how to get started. The first gig is always the toughest to get “well where have you done this before?” One lucky part is that I have a captive audience of teenagers that are very supportive of me. Teenagers are honest. They also have very little tolerance for mediocrity.

Here I go again into uncharted waters…

As promised, and update on the family:

1. It’s a… Ok, so we won’t know the sex of the baby for another 2 weeks, but Cindy and I are expecting our third child in December!
2. What do you DO all day? Mom works at home with the kids, and I’m working at home. Since I’ve got some flexibility in hours, we occasionally will take a trip to the zoo or go on a shopping excursion. Note that lately, these have been infrequent because it’s so hot. Note, too, that when the weatherman claims that it’s 165 degrees with the heat index, don’t step outside lest you melt.
3. This update was short. I really just wanted to make sure everyone know I was gonna be a daddy (again). I really do love fatherhood - even after getting peed on at the 4th of July festivities.

Contrary to my normal behavior, I’ve been a stranger lately. Not just because I haven’t been communicating much. When I have communicated, it hasn’t been deep. So I’m going to treat everyone to a few posts that are deep.

• Family Life - what’s new with the family?
• Career - it’s funny how I don’t complain when I’m enjoying it.
• Uncle Widget - what’s the real story, what’s the process?
• Bingbit - why I’ve been quietly calculating my next move.
• …much much more! Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks.

I started this blog over a year ago. My modus operandi is sharing. I just haven’t been fully utilizing this venue lately.

I’ll be back soon!