but, don’t let the hackers ruin the holiday cheer!
if you use internet explorer, gon’ head and download this security patch from microsoft
and, for all the ie haters/ff lovers, please don’t think that you’re immune either: mozilla released some security patches too. so, don’t think you have to uninstall ie from your system to be secure.
and i’m flyin back home to st. louis this weekend 🙂 i hope to see a lot of people soon!!!!
what it do!??
so, i was reading colossians the other day and ran across this verse:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17, NIV).
that’s all. if you were expectin some deep interpretation on that verse, you won’t find it in this blog, other than a slight reference to the title. just let it marinate for a lil minute.
anyway, here’s another update of some of the highlights from the past month (i know, i know, i was supposed to be puttin up more updates, but just keep on readin):
fall conference
the puget sound area’s intervarsity chapters held a fall conference at the beginning of the month. yasmin put together a worship team for the conference of iv alum who were in the area. so i got a chance to work with this worship team that she put together, which included chris on bass, isaac on drums, jon on keys, me on keys, and the (amazing) matt on 1) acoustic guitar, 2) electric guitar, 3) soprano sax, 4) tenor sax, and 5) flute. we also had yasmin, chelsea, and danielle on vocals. and, we was clownin the whole weekend for worship. i had a good time worshipping, spending time in God’s presence, and working with the team as we served the students with our talents.
of course, the whole conference wasn’t focused on worship. the speakers for the weekend were steve luten and cory greaves from mending wings ministries. they were both cool. the sum of their messages challenged us to identify ways to further let God into a part of our hearts that (or, at least, that’s what i got out of it) and to get for real about letting Him in. so, yeah, fall conference = good times.
a lil washu/moi reunion
okay, it wasn’t that deep, but jarrett (wu’06) came to seattle for an actuarial conference (yep, he’s handlin his business for real y’all). we met up on sunday for lunch at ivars on the pier and went walkin around pike place market. chillin with another brother from washu = good times.
portfolio project
the portfolio project (a mentoring program i talked about in an earlier post) ended well after its eight week stint.
to celebrate the end of the program, we (the mentors and mentees) went to whirlyball, which is what happens if bumper cars, lacrosse, and basketball had a baby. it’s basically the same as what we call demolition ball in stl. whirlyball with my mentees = good times.
dodgeball
i’m on a dodgeball team with some co-workers in the ie dept. it’s about the only exercise i’m getting in my attempts to not turn in to the stereotypical out-of-shape computer programmer. anyway, we’re doing alright since we won our first playoff game before thanksgiving!
eastside
so, some have been asking me about church and whatnot. in my quest to find a church home, i basically got tired of lookin (after 2 churches, i know) and have been going to mt zion and eastside church. eastside is a cool church: it’s up the street, the ppl are cool, and the word is extra real. so, all i can say for now is we’ll see 🙂
tryptophan and the seidels
this thanksgiving holiday is the first thanksgiving i’ve spent away from my family. but i’m grateful for the many folks from msft, mt zion, and eastside who had my back and invited me to their gatherings on thanksgiving day.
i spent thanksgiving with the seidels. they’ve practically adopted me into their family. so, i celebrated thanksgiving with their family and friends. then we watched the seahawks game, where i did my best to pretend like i knew anything about football (anyone who knows football would quickly see figure out that i dont’ have a clue…). then we played a game of hearts. every time i go to the seidels’ house = good times.
oh, and since i didn’t say this at the beginning of the post: happy thanksgiving!
back to almost 15 years ago…
so, i’ve already been on this nostalgic tip since i’ve left st. louis, but now it’s for real. and you know it’s for real for real because i used italics to emphasize for real.
but, it’s a good nostalgia. it’s not a homesickness. it’s not regret. it’s been more of a reflection and praise to God for what i’ve been blessed with in st. louis, for all the family and people and situations that lead up to where i am now (and wherever i end up in the future).
so, back to the throwback: so, y’all know i don’t check facebook that often, but when i checked it today, i saw that i got tagged in this picture with all these lil kids. and, i’m like "who’s taggin me in this picture with all them lil kids?". but, then i realized i was one of them lil kids. it was a picture posted by my second grade teacher mrs. ward from my 5th grade graduating class at westside christian academy.
then, i started lookin through all the pictures mrs. ward posted from wsca, and i started making friend requests to folks i haven’t seen in a loooong time, as much as 15 years ago, but i still remember them. wsca has helped to produce some quality people, and i’m glad to be one of them.
now, back to the good nostalgia: if you readin this, then it probably means that you’re on my exhaustive list of people that i appreciate for somehow influencing me one way or another. the whole "it takes a village" is true. my village spans all through the stl metro area, from the northside to the southside, and various places in between, from my contacts and experiences from preschool to grad school.
and, it’s cool to see how God is growing my network up here in seattle. much, much love to the andresens and seidels. i really have no idea what my experience outside of work would be like without them.
okay, that’s probably all the mushy stuff i can handle for one blog entry. and i know this entry is typical to an enfj’s perspective, but i don’t know what to tell y’all 🙂
holla!
okay, okay, i know this entry is a long time in the making. but, i’m a workin mayne now 🙂
and, yesterday marks my first full month at microsoft!!! here’s a little update over the past couple of weeks…
the arboretum | so, i went to the arboretum after church on the 17th to check it out. and, some of y’all might be like i was: what’s an arboretum? it’s kinda like the botanical gardens, except pretty much all outdoors. needless to say, it was beautiful and so green. after dropping by the visitors bldg (where there was a wedding reception going on), i started on one of the trails. as i was taking pictures, i noticed an owl along the way. i’m not sure if it noticed me first or if i noticed it first, but, i went ahead and started walkin in another direction (yep, i’m a city boi…).
new developers’ training | the following week, i had new dev training at work. it was good stuff as i learned about the processes of developing products at microsoft. it was more wholistic than that though, looking at how to perform well and succeed as an employee and achieving good work-life balance. one of the main takeaways i have from the instructor is the following quote:
"The only occupation that could be unhealthier
than a software developer is a lard taster"
well, i’ll keep that in mind and make sure i use the gym membership for real…
new apartment | this past weekend, i’ve finally settled into my apartment in kirkland. it’s nice to have all of my stuff again. i’m slowly adjusting to seattle living, as in, the cost of living (my rent is almost double my rent from when i was in st louis). and, i finally have the internet (after two weeks of waiting…) because the isp activated the service in the apartment next door apparently. i know, some of y’all can’t believe i went two weeks without the internet at home; i can’t believe it either. i’m ready to admit that i’m dependent on the internet, and this was further proof of it.
but, regardless, i think i can call this place home in the meantime :-). i posted a quick picture to the right; if you want to see more, well, you need to book a flight to seattle and come see me!
kickin it with the bynums | the sunday before labor day, i got a chance to kick it with brandon (who works at microsoft) and vania (his wife) bynum. man, it was good times. they invited a lot of ppl over, including their family who flew into town the day before and other microsoft employees and their families. but, what blessed me more than the ridiculous amount of bbq was the chance to fellowship with some cool, professional, and down-to-earth black folk, something that i haven’t done much of since moving here. it was good times y’all, good times. and, they wouldn’t let me leave without a bag full of food, which i’m still workin off now 🙂
if you think about me, throw up a prayer for me. i don’t have any dramatic prayer requests or anything to worry about, but i’ll never turn away prayer. holla!
gon’ head and download internet explorer 8 beta 2. it’s good stuff
http://www.microsoft.com/ie8
and, you can read more about it here and here
i plan on making a post this weekend for other updates. holla!
so, i’ve been a for real for real employee with microsoft for a week now :-). i had orientation for the first day + half alongside about 200 other new employees. on tues afternoon, i got a chance to meet up with my boss for lunch, meet others in the dept, and check out my office (yep, my office ;-). the rest of the week was spent setting up my office, my computers, getting access to files, fillin out more paperwork, and meeting other folk. good times y’all, good times.
it was also a nice surprise to see that one of my former freshman floormates ray is workin at microsoft, too. we caught up over lunch on friday. it was good to see a familiar face.
my mommy, shannon, and granny flew back home on tuesday nite :-(. that was a long drive to the airport. of course (praise Jesus), they made it home safely early the next morning. i miss you shannon!
on saturday evening, i had the pleasure of kickin it with the seidels. daniel, a student that i met while i was an intervarsity intern, is from seattle and told his family that i was relocating to seattle. of course, i got a chance to meet his family, but daniel is in ethiopia…. so, yep, i went to the seidel’s home for dinner, and i ain’t never met them before in my life. but, they totally welcomed me into their home. i met the family and some family friends, had a great dinner (mrs. seidel threw down in the kitchen), and s’mores in the backyard. i wish i had brought my camera!
afterwards, i hung out with luke (daniel’s older brother) and his friends for catchphrase. good times y’all, good times.
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sunday was off the chain. after church (at mt. zion baptist church), i met up with yasmin, who’s on staff with intervarsity at u-dub. marshae, who’s on staff in portland, was in town visiting yasmin, and david’s (yasmin’s husband) parents were in town, too. so, we all went to brunch at a vegan restuarant (don’t worry– i’m not vegan y’all), and it was pretty good (but i’ll never admit it to my vegan dad).
yasmin and david took marshae and me downtown to check out some of the sights. we took a ride on the water taxi (pics below) across puget sound and went walkin around west seattle. we then went to dinner and saw iron man at the theater. so, yeah, i didn’t plan on this when i left for church this mornin, it just kinda…. happened. and, yeah, i didn’t get home until 1am, so i’m still adjusting to not being in college anymore 😉 but, don’t worry; i did get to work on time and had a productive day (don’t yell at me momma…).
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it’s so cool to see God provide for me like this: hanging out with people that, initially, i barely knew but instantly connected with. that’s how tight the Body of Christ can be. good times y’all, good times.
by the way, i put captions on all of the pics that i post on my blog. simply hover on them for more details…. holla!