Friday, August 17, 2012
good to be home
Hey everyone. Yup, I'm officially home. Gosh I was wiped out when I got home. I felt half way decent when getting off the bus. I grabbed my carry on bag, got off the bus, got my suitcase *did I mention that my suitcase weighed 72 lbs? Yeah.. it weighed 72 lbs*. Then I wasted no time. I hauled butt over to the building next door which is where the trains were. I got to the concourse level, hurried over to the help desk and asked "hey Sir, I have a question." He was like "how can I help you sir?" I was like "I'm trying to get to Ardmore, which train do I need?" He was like "let me see whats coming next." And he looked over a computer screen and then goes "You'll want the train arriving at platform 4b." So I thanked him and hurried away. I took an escalater because this suitcase being as heavy as it was, I could only carry it for very short periods of time.
So I get downstairs to the platform, and as I'm getting to platform 4b, a train is arriving, and so before getting on, I wanted to make sure it was the right one *i was pretty sure*, so I approached a guard and was like "sir is this train going to ardmore?" He was like "it sure is!" So I got on. Now this was fun.. oh gosh was this fun O_O. I went into the train car, got to an open bench, and I had to put my suitcase up overhead on the luggage rack. I knew this would be a BLAST. O_O. So I put my carryon bag, and my two pillows on the bench, and I began trying to lift my heavy *** suitcase over my head to put it on the wrack. I almost got it up there, and my arms started to give out. I was obviously struggling because a guy on the other side said "do you need a hand?" I was practically falling over and was like "that'd be wonderful if you dont mind that is." But right as he went to get up, I must have found some hidden strength because suddenly I managed to be able to lift it up above my head and get it up there. I plopped down on the seat, scooted as close to the window as I could, and had to calm down a bit because my heart was racing and I realized that the physical exersion I just performed had zapped whatever strength and energy I had left in me, and suddenly my body realized that I hadn't really eaten a whole lot lately because I was tiiiiired. Weak, and tired.
When the conductor came around to get people's tickets, or to get their cash to buy tickets, I paid for my ticket, and asked what they would be calling out when at the stop in ardmore, and she said "they will call out ardmore." I was like "ok, cool, just making sure because I've only ridden 3 trains in my life and I want to make sure I get off at the right one." Erin was texting me going "how long till you're here so I know when to leave?" And of course, I was like "well I think 45 minutes probably." This was like at 6:25PM, and by like, 6:40, I heard them say "Next stop, wynwood station!" I was like "well crap! That's where I got on and off when I was in town last! I'm getting off here!" So when they stopped, I manhandled the suitcase back down. Thank you God for giving me the strength to get that heavy thing down without dropping it on anyone because I was afraid I would honestly!
When I slowly worked my way off the train, the conductor was like "i thought you were getting off at the ardmore station" I was like "well this is in ardmore and I have gotten on before at this one so I know where I'm at." She was like "sounds good, have a nice day!"
So when I got off, the problem with that station is the area that you get picked up on is on the other side. And the main way you get there is by climbing down a long flight of stairs, going through a little tunnel, and then up another long flight of stairs. I stood there for a few minutes first thinking "gawd this is gonna suck." So I picked up the heavy suitcase, and slowly went down the stairs, across the tunnel, and then manhandled it back up the other flight of stairs. Got up, went to the bench and literally layed down on the bench for a few minutes while waiting for Erin and the girls to come. I was jittery and stuff because after manhandling the suitcase I was suddenly starving and tired.
So when Erin showed up, she hadn't told the girls that I was coming yet because we wanted it to be a surprise, so you shoulda seen their faces. Zoe was obviously very surprised, she was like "Daddy? DADDY!" lol. Ally tried to play it off like she knew. She was like "i knew it!" Erin was like "yeah sure you did!" We went to a pizza place called "Peace A Pizza" and we each got a pizza slice, and a drink, and the girls got cookies. Then we came home. Was nice to shower and get cleaned up. Of course, I heated up a thing of soup because one or two slices of pizza def didnt do enough for me.
We watched the movie "The Tooth Fairy" with Larry The Cable Guy, and then Erin and I watched Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. That was a pretty good movie. Of course, being that I only had 2 one hour naps over the past 48 hours, I quickly started to fade out, so I wasnt going to be able to stay awake for the whole movie, so I ended up crashing by lie, 11:45 or so. We finished watching Ghost Protocol today. This morning I hooked up the Verizon MIFI upstairs on the charger, and turned it on so we would have internet here at home *since our verizon fios is still on suspension till we can pay the bill*
So to close out this entry, I have today, tomorrow, and part of sunday before Erin will drop me off in NJ at the hotel. Monday morning around 6 am, I start orientation. I'm glad that it will be paid. Minimum wage, but it'll be 4 days of like, 7.50 or something per hour, for like, a 8 or 10 or whatever hour day. I have to worry about breakfast and dinner, but they are providing lunch. And I will be in my own hotel room, which I was surprised about because I half expected to have a roommate, but I'm not going to complain ;).
Now we are just sitting around, me working on this blog for the past hour or so because I keep getting distracted, Ally working on a puzzle, Zoe sitting next to me eating sliced apples and grapes, and Erin on her computer over on the recliner. After I finally finish here, I will have to log on to my school and catch up on my assignment posts for the week because I didnt get online at all on the computer while at the greyhound station in Gary, or while on the bus. I could have I guess, but I focused more on my bible, and watching Merlin on netflix. I'm up to episode 19 now. :) If I wasnt doing either of those two things, I was just sitting and watching out the window, relaxing and just hanging out. Plans for today? I don't think we have much planned. Maybe a trip to a playground for the girls, not sure yet. :) I def need to get my assignments taken care of today, but other than that, just chillin and not doing much. Hope you all are well! God bless! And talk to you again soon!
C
PS. I thought I gained weight over the past 2 months, but I was mistaken. When I left here last time a few months back (2 months at least), I weighed close to 270 lbs. Last night I hopped up on the scale and I am down to 255. So I just need to still be vigilant about my eating habits and see if i can keep going downwards. :) So, that was a good surprise last night. :D
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
almost home
It's been a very interesting ride the past day or so on the greyhound. The Lord def blessed me with a safe and relaxing journey. He even helped me to catch some small cat naps when I have always struggled to nap on buses.
Every long layover flew by like it was no time at all. Also I'm thankful I was blessed with being on an express bus the whole time. Those are the nicer more comfy buses. He also blessed me with another former England driver that was on the same bus with me almost the whole way, so he and I chatted quite a bit. Haven't really been able to just "chat" lately so it was very welcome.
Something happened today that I prayed and thanked God for. At every stop, and on the bus, I would have my bible out working on my study plan. Well when we left Pittsburgh this morning, he leaned over to me and goes "hey Bro, can I see your bible for a little while?". I didn't question but immediately took it out of my bag and handed it to him. While watching netfiix, I glanced over every so often for the next hour or so, and noticed him on different books, very much very much deep into it.
I thanked God because, although I don't know what inspired him to want to read my bible, but I felt like God worked through me to touch him.
On a diff note, when we first took off from Pittsburgh, the driver concluded his greeting over the intercom with "and may the Lord grant us a safe and speedy journey". To which I said "amen!' And this female maybe in her twentys sitting one row up from me stuck her finger in her mouth like she was gagging. I felt compelled to say a silent prayer for her also.
All in all, a very nice trip. Def the best greyhound trip I've ever had.
To close out this entry, i read something earlier that said your level of worry shows the level of faith you have. Worry not, have faith and know that God has everything under control. That'll be all for now. I might come back on later. Typing up blogs on the phone is def a challenge but it is well worth it! God bless and till next time!
C
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and off again
Onto the 2nd leg of the trip home. Thankfully, I will be on an express bus the rest of my trip. That doesn't mean any faster, it just means a more comfy bus, and when you are traveling 18 or so hours, its nice to be as comfy as possible.
I've def felt God present. When we were getting ready to board the bus out of Gary Indiana, I was chatting with this guy that I could tell was a party guy. I mentioned having myself good to go because I have my psp, my ds, and my kindle with me. He was like "oh, a psp? Sweet!". I was like "and I also have my bible". He was like "oh you're one of those? Youre into the bible eh?". I was like yeah im constantly studying it because I want to be more knowledgeable about God's word".
He was like "honestly dude I don't care. I don't do anything with that stuff. I just want to and try to have fun.". I didn't say anything else. And he had a ticket for a different bus going west instead of south east like we were going. He tried to talk his way on the bus but the driver wouldn't let him on because it wasn't what he had a ticket for. He got really pissed and yelled and stormed off.
When we were layed over in Indianapolis, me and this other guy were chatting, he went off to get a drink and I pulled out my bible and started reading. He came back and was like "ohhhhhh. That's why he thought you were witnessing to him". I was like "I wasn't tho. I just told him I brought my bible". Then the convo was quite interesting.
Here's what I notice when I think about it. I couldn't get an earlier bus, that's true, and the afternoon bus was full so I and several others missed it. Even with things not going how I would have liked, I was still cheerful and content. Yes it wasn't the best situation, but I was ok. I just wanted to get home and I had faith that God was with me and that this path was laid out for me by God and He will be there with me every step of the way.
This other guy, let's say his name was Jose. Jose missed the afternoon bus, was not allowed to get on our bus to Indianapolis because of the wrong ticket, and both times really pissed him off. I mean storming off yelling bad language kind of pissed. Remember how I mentioned that he said he doesn't care about that stuff because he just wants to have fun? Well one other interesting thing is this guy, Jose, not long ago got dropped off by a bus in the middle of the night and was sitting there waiting for his next one and a car pulled up and these guys got out and robbed him at gunpoint.
So after getting to Indianapolis, me and this other guy, let's call him Bob, after he mentioned my bible and stuff, I told him how I'm daily studying it because I want to know and understand God's word better. I was like "and since I've been trying to live more in a way pleasing to God, and studying His word, over the last four weeks things have really changed for the better. And think about it Bob. Jose isn't into anything with God and just wants to have fun. But there are 3 things that tell me he needs to make a change. He seemed to have worse luck today than anyone, first the missed bus, then the wrong ticket, and then you throw in there he was robbed at gunpoint.
Maybe God is letting these things happen to him with the hope that it'll get him thinking and coming back to God". Bob had that look like a lightbulb went off and he was like "you know? That makes sense! I can see that being the case with how things seemed to be going for him, and how pissed he got when he missed both buses.".
I was like "and I'm not preaching. I'm just pointing out to you how he seemed to have issues that I can easily see are probably tied to his lack of a relationship with God". Bob was like "I didn't think about that before but now that you mention it, I think yours right!"
I'm not to the point yet where I feel comfortable just talking to random people, cuz I would have liked to say more to Jose, but I went blank. But it felt good to talk to Bob because at least I was able to help one person see the difference with someone like me who is constantly growing with my relationship with God, and someone like Jose who has no relationship with God based on his statements, and how he has had a number of stressful and hard things happen lately.
Def makes me think a little more. With God in our lives, He shoulders the weight with us so our burdens are still there but they are not as heavy. He gives us peace. He protects us.
Made me start praying that if it'd be the Lords will , that He would lighten my heart so I'm not so scared and that he would use me to teach others just by not being afraid to talk about the Lord with them. Work in progress I guess. Gotta crawl before I can walk, and then when I'm walking, I must do baby steps for a while till I have learned what I need to learn.
So in conclusion for this entry, you may not notice just how strong God's influence is in your life till you come across a non believer and you hear of several things that they've delt with recently. It's not just coincidence I yell ya! I mean let's face it! I love "fun"! But is it worth Hell? Absolutely not! And we can be with God and still have fun. ;).
So on that note, I must be tired because things are blurring together. I may come back on here later in my trip as I slowly travel towards home.
C
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
rollin rollin rollin
So first off, this entry is from my phone, so it prob won't be perfect and for that I appologize. Plus it might not be too long and for that I appologize, but I wanted to come on. In fact I wanted to come on last night but I was up really late cleaning the truck out and getting my stuff packed so I would be all ready this morning. Then went to sleep for 5 hours, got up, finished my luggage, and took off again. I had 4 hours till the Indians cre drop yard.
Then I got my truck turned on, and had to catch a cab to the greyhound station. My bus that I was told I was to be on was at 255pm. At 255, the bus showed up but me and 12 others were turned sway because the bus had been overbooked. So the next bus was scheduled for 710pm. I hoped and prayed I wouldn't miss another one. Having been up since 3 am, the 710 bus will get into philly by 530 tomorrow night.
I kbow I'm gonna be exhausted. Plus I didn't want to be stuck at that greyhound station over night because I was told that this got got dropped off in the middle of the night and he got robbed at gunpoint. So yeah. I didn't want to be there too late.
So, the 710 bus came and I am officially on it. Woohoo! I told Erin that if the kids jump on me tomorrow, I might end ul going down. Figured if it happens, she won't be surprised. She was like "sleep on the bus". I was like "I've never been able to that much, but j try.".
So last night I was saddened because in order to be able to carry my stuff home, I had to ditch stuff. Like a cooler, a small tv, a fan, my food. It sucked. Putting some of these things in the trash or near it, I was like "I'm do sorry". Especially the fan. I loved that fan. After I was all packed and still emotional , I prayed that God might help me to be strong because I know they are material things and I shouldn't be that attached. Oh well. After a Lil while I felt God embracing me and taking the emotionalness away.
So I'm on the first leg of my trip. This bus will stop in Indianapolis, IN. Next I believe is Ohio. Not sure off the top of my head as far as the next one. But I heard back from jbhunt today and it sounds like I'm all cleared for the most part, so still a go for orientation on Monday. That'll be nice. Can't wait to be paid well for what I do.
In closing, it looks like we are almost to the stop in Indianapolis, so I'm going to sign off. More later perhaps. ;)
C
Friday, August 17, 2012
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