Tuesday church, v0002

This Tuesday church thing is turning into more fun than a barrel of primates.

So, I get my behind up and to church this morning to discover:
a) 150 micro-people dressed in blue, white, and (green) tartan.
b) it's the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I live in a town with a military base, in fact the church is just a couple blocks from the south entrance. Military people, in general, represent a cross section of America both culturally and racially. Therefore, with the church being so close to the base, we have a more racially diverse congregation than many, and the school is probably more diverse than that. So it's not just 150 lilly white towheads, but 150 kids of all kinds (well maybe not many native Australians)... so cute.

I love the long history of the church, and I must say the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of my favorites. The short story is (in 1531 shortly after the Spanish conquest of Mexico) as Juan Diego hurried to town to get a priest for his dying uncle Mary appeared to him, not as a white westerner, but as a native American, and spoke to Juan Diego in his language. She told him to go to the bishop and tell him to build a shrine on the hill she was standing on. Naturally, the Spanish bishop did not believe him, and much humorness ensued until Juan Diego provided the bishop with a sign he had asked him to provide, miracles in abundance.

The important part of Our Lady of Guadalupe is that Mary chose to appear to Juan Diego not as a conquering caucasian, but as a native like himself, speaking to him in his language. She showed those involved that she was for everyone, the church was for everyone, that Jesus came for each, and for all. Who is our neighbor? Who makes up the church? Just like those cute kids this morning making up the school, we all have a part to play in the body of Christ.

The streak is over

It is over. My consecutive Friday JNO dance streak is coming to an end tonight. The last one I think I missed was sometime in February 2005, but it might have been as long as November 2004. Going with the later date, the streak was nearly to 100. I will be in bed shortly, and hopefully asleep shortly after that. The streak has fallen victim to a combination of Christmas goings on and having to work this week. Four nights out late in a row on regular work week is just not going to cut it... after all when you get to bed after 10pm, 4:15 comes at you awfully quickly.

So good night all you jitterbugs, I will see you next week.

edit 0500 12/09
It turned out to be the right decision, I was in bed, asleep before 7pm and slept all the way through the night.

P-Cats, Club Nico, and Lots of Fun

I went to the Omaha Food Bank benefit last night at Club Nico, it was called Swing a Star and featured Omaha Jitterbugs dancers paired with local Omaha celebs in a Dancing with the Stars format... oh, and music by (onionboy fave) The Prairie Cats.

Even if the Prairie Cats and the Omaha Jitterbugs were not involved, I might have been interested in this event in any case. Hungry people rarely make good decisions for themselves, let alone for their children, or for society in general. I am trying to minimize the opinions here, but the food banks and soup kitchens I have dealt with are very clear on their mission, supply the people with their basic needs, get them back on their feet, and give them the opportunity to change their lives ... which I believe is all any of us would want in that position. Probably feeding the poor is not exactly a radical point of view.

Club Nico was quite cool. I like the design and the flow. Not enough dance space for my liking, but it was fairly attractive with the largest mirrored disco ball I have ever seen.

Onto the contest. The dancing was, at least, entertaining. Brian ended up winning with KETV's Brandi Petersen. Second was Nate and KETV's Jana Murrell (Miss Nebraska 2005). Third place came in with Sharon and KMTV's Cory Rangel. Most of the dancing was more of the entertaining variety, although it was clear that the three winners would be good with some practice.

The Prairie Cats were good as usual. It should be no surprise to anyone I enjoy their music a lot. Nate gave most of the credit to Jeff Koterba for the success of the event... and it was.

Although all four Omaha TV stations had people competing, only one has posted a news story as of yet:
KETV News - Brandi Can Dance (may not work on your computer)

Styling

I bought a brown velvet suit coat from Target. Viv & Mae had to put considerable effort into convincing me to buy one, it went something like "I like the brown on you." and "it looks nice." Very manipulative and effective... that and the purple one didn't fit right. I am thinking it will look quite fashionable (as if I knew anything about that) with a white turtleneck.

I am quite done with my Christmas shopping for myself now, I also bought a new 19" flat screen monitor for the computer. My shopping for others is about 1/3 done. I have some good ideas for a few people, not so many for others.

Zoot Suit Riot

My company had it's annual holiday party on Friday. It was 20's themed, once again this year Venche was my "date", and we both rolled out in our finest period threads. I left the tommy gun at home, but took my mojo and had a great time.

Hey, whooz got da best lookin dame? Fahgetta bout it.


Dere was all kinds o' shennanigans goin' on.


Dis here couple was cuttin rugs like dere shoes was made o' switchblades.


My buddy Ted & I just couldn't agree bout dese two.


Brian, he don't trust no bank, so dat tie's made o' real gold. Don't touch, in fact don't even look.


End o' da night, we is still standin' and dere ain't a copper in sight.