Back from Vacation!

After a wonderful trip to Houston and Washington D.C., we are back in Reno! We had an amazing time with our friends and family. There is so much to report. I'm in the process of writing up some posts about the trip, so stay tuned.

M

New Website

Hi everyone. 

I have put up a new website using Yahoo's Sitebuilder. It is a terrible tool, but the website is much improved. Check it out at www.revisionwc.com.

If you know of anyone looking for a grant writer or a nonprofit organization needing fund development help, let me know, give them my phone number, or send them to the website.

Best,

M

A Short Hiatus

Hi.

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. There are two reasons: a lack of time and a general lack of inspiration. I've been quite busy lately and haven't had much time to dedicate to creating fun blog entries.

So, stay tuned. Once I finish grading nine million papers and knock out a couple of grantwriting contracts, things should be back to normal.

My best to everyone!

Cheers,

M

Simplicity

Sometimes simple is nice. Simple is good. Simple is pleasing.

I recently (in the last ten minutes) returned home after hanging out with friends. My wife was messing with her iPod in the office--making playlists and the like. I grabbed my Macbook and proceeded to put some new music on her iPod. We've been listening to music together for the last few minutes. 

Nothing fancy. 

Just sitting together listening to music.

Sometimes the most pleasing times with each other are the moments we usually don't notice. 

Sometimes the greatest blessings are in the simple times.

Here's to simple.

 

A General Lack of Time

Hello my loyal readers -- all three of you.

It has been a rough couple of weeks. My various endeavors have sucked all of my into a vortex of nothingness. I feel like Atreyu from The Neverending Story--The Nothing keeps coming and coming.

Too bad Falkor the Luckdragon or the Rockbiter are not here to help.

Well, to bring everyone up to speed...

I am working two full time jobs as well as getting my nonprofit development company up and running. There are some exciting developments in the works and I should be able to share those soon.

So, to keep rambling to a minimum, my posts should continue on a regular basis. I have a couple of good stories to tell.

Stay tuned as further news bulletins warrant.

M

The Job Part II: The Fridge

Many of you know that I have battled a past addiction to liquid cocaine.

Pepsi. Dr. Pepper. Mountain Dew. Coke. Sprite. Ah heck, any softdrink beverage that is carbonated, has caffeine, and gets me all revved up after I drink it.

I recently completed a fast from soda and have been feeling terrific. Soda no longer haunts my thoughts, gives me withdrawl headaches, or sounds particularly appetizing at 6:00 AM.

Until yesterday.

I walked into the kitchen area at my new office and saw two fridges.

"Weird," I thought.

I opened the first fridge. It was a normal fridge filled with normal foodstuffs. I proceeded to open the second fridge.

Oh my $&!#@*!!!

I nearly wet myself when I saw what was inside.

Row after row after row of soda. I'm not talking about ten or twelve sodas. I'm talking about six shelves of soda just beckoning to be had. I spent the rest of the day trying to forget about that second fridge.

It's almost not even fair.

The Job Part I

I began my new job yesterday. First day on the job. Yup. First day. I was expecting the 7th level of cubicle hell. I was afraid I would end up like the character Peter Gibbons from Office Space.

I can just imagine myself attending a session with a Occupational Hypnotherapist:

Peter Gibbons: "So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."

Dr. Swanson: "What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?"

Peter Gibbons: "Yeah."

Dr. Swanson: "Wow, that's messed up."

Now, I don't expect to end up in a therapist's office complaining about my crappy job.

Not at all.

After my first day on the job all of my expectations were blown away. The office environment is -- how should I put this -- chill. My coworkers are extremely nice and my office area is great (I get TWO computer screens).

The day went fast, I got brought up to speed, and enjoyed my time very much. I'm excited to see what tomorrow holds.

A New Job

In recent days, I was offered an associate editor's position with a national online marketing and media content company. I accepted the job and I will start next week. I will work part-time until my semester of teaching ends and then I will transition into a full-time position.

Hopefully, this position will be the stepping stone towards moving into an editorial position at a larger print/online publication or printing house.

More updates to come.

Back to School

In the tradition of Mr. Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) in the movie Back to School, I am going back to school. I'm taking an introductory class at the Meadows Bible Institute. 

Has anyone taken a class from the Meadows? And, if so, what were your experiences?

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school for the spring semester. In honor of procrastinating students everywhere, I'd like to share a story called "The Chemistry Test."

One year there were two guys who were taking Chemistry and who did pretty well on all of the quizzes and the midterms and the labs, etc... such that going into the final they had a solid A. These two friends were so confident that the weekend before finals week (even though the Chemistry final was on Monday), they decided to go up to University of Virginia and party with some friends.

So they did this and had a great time. However, with their hangovers and everything, they overslept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, what they did was to find Professor Bonk after the final and explain to him why they missed the final. They told him that they went up to U of VA for the weekend and had planned on returning in time to study, but that they had a flat tire on the way back and no spare. They couldn't get help for a long time and so they were late in getting back to campus.

Bonk thought this over and then agreed that they could make up the final on the following day. The two guys were elated and relieved. So they studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Bonk had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin.

They looked at the first problem, which was something simple about molarity and solutions and was worth 5 points. "Cool," they thought. "This is going to be easy." They did that problem and turned to the next page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the next page. It said:

(95 points) Which tire?

It's going to be a great semester!

Another Opportunity to Preach

I am pleased to announce that Pastor Dan gave me another opportunity to preach while he and the mission team are in Chile.

Dan assigned the Gospel of John, Chapter 11 as my topic. 

Yesterday, I shared my sermon with the church and everything went well--at least that is what people are telling me.

Adam led worship and we decided to change how things are normally done. We moved worship to the end of service and took communion directly after the message. It was a wonderful time and the worship service was a moment of grace as it fit so well with the message.

I'm blessed that God gave me another chance to preach; hopefully, I'll get more chances in the future. 

For the curious, the message should be posted to our website some time in the next few weeks. You can check out Outlook Christian Church by clicking here.

The Most Helpful Phone Call Of All Time...I'm Not Kidding!

As many of you already know, I've embarked upon a new adventure.

I became a small business owner.

I formed a Limited Liability Company called reVision writing and consulting, ltd. My company (me) provides nonprofit development, business writing, and academic consultation services.

Things have been progressing nicely lately and I have started learning the game. However, I have one problem. I suck at math.

That means, I suck at figuring out my taxes.

This morning, I placed a phone call to the IRS. (Insert deadly theme music here).

But lo and behold, I had the greatest 1 and 1/2 hour phone call in the history of customer service phone calls. After being on hold for 2 minutes, I was transferred to the Small Business department where a nice gentleman answered the phone. After taking down my reason for calling--figuring out my taxes for the business--he proceeded to spend the next hour and a half taking me step by step through the tax process. He left no stone unturned and even answered my stupid questions.

I was extremely impressed by the service I received and I applaud both the IRS and their service department for their fantastic help today. 

I'm Back

Dear friends and readers,

After a LONG hiatus, I have returned to the blog. In the interim, I have been teaching at the University of Nevada and starting a new business. Well, things are finally slowing down and I'll be posting on a regular basis.

Stay tuned boppers....stay tuned.

The Crystal Lounge

For the past couple of weeks, we've frequented the Grand Sierra Resort.

Since purchasing the property from The Hilton Corporation, GSR has completely renovated the interior of the hotel/casino.

In an area that was never utilized by the former Hilton, GSR has built a new lounge called The Crystal Lounge. There is a nightly performer named Chris Costa -- a vibrant and talented musician.

Costa sticks to the classics -- to artists and bands that actually made good music. Not today's crap.

You've got to see his Ray Charles impersonation -- it is unbelievable.

There is a 20' x 20' dance floor, which is busy for Costa's entire 4 hour set.

What struck me the most about the lounge is during our visits, we've noticed that we are the only people under the age of 40, let alone 30 in the entire lounge area. We watch the dance floor with awe as the other visitors dance the night away. Most of the people dancing are beyond their 40s and most seem to be in their late 50s early 60s. These people can "cut a rug" -- we've seen the Tango, the Fox Trot, the Waltz, and even Swing Dancing.

Two things have been impressed upon me by spending time in the lounge.

1. Our culture has radically changed in the past 50 years. Prior to today's synthetic beats and hip hop bass, youth had music they could dance to -- I'm not talking about the dancing we see on MTV -- I'm talking about dancing...with a partner that knows how to dance. Youth are no longer taught how to dance with another person, let alone the waltz, because appreciation for that music mostly doesn't exist in the youth culture today.

2. I'm appreciative of my upbringing. My parents introduced me to music at a young age and expanded my cultural horizons. I enjoy being able to know about and enjoy the music of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. I enjoy being able to bop along to the Glenn Miller Orchestra or get a kick out of "Run Around Sue."

In the end, Costa's show is a lively one-man act that is very entertaining. I recommend you check it out -- he appears 5 days a week from 7 - 11 p.m.

Now...if I only knew how to dance...

A New Venture

I am embarking upon a new adventure -- I'm starting my own writing and consulting business. I will be providing all types of writing services including editing, press release writing, newsletter writing, proofreading, grantwriting, as well as article writing.

I will also be offering academic consultation (such as paper reviews and online writing lab services) and tutoring services as well.

The name will be ReVision Writing and Consulting.

Catchy, eh?

You can check out the new blog at revisionservices.blogspot.com.

I'll be updating everyone on the progress!

Best,

M

A New Direction

Hello to all of my friends and loyal readers of The Song of Moses. I am embarking upon a new business opportunity and I am excited to share the news with everyone.

Stay tuned for updates this week!

FSM #2

Hello all.

I apologize for not posting, but we had limited internet access in Chuuk and Pohnpei. We will arrive in Reno tomorrow and I will begin posting about my trip.

Cheers,

Michael

The Labels Are Here!

I've started to add labels to my previous blog posts. They are neatly categorized on the right hand side of the blog.

Isn't that convenient?

I will update the remainder of the blog entries over the next couple of days. I hope this will benefit anyone who is obsessed with labeling and needs to have a specific topic for each entry.

Enjoy.

Changes

If you have been logging onto my blog lately, you may have noticed some changes. Well, there will be more coming.

Stay tuned boppers. Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a wonderful and peaceful Christmas!

I hope your mother-in-law does not use the word "balls" in an inappropriate manner as mine did during Christmas Eve dinner tonight.

Long story.

Blessings on this wonderful day.