Moving on Up

Hello World,
So, this is the last week we are going to spend in our house. It is quite strange to have to learn a new address and way around town. We are hoping that the house will sell within a couple of weeks. But you never can tell. If we can get it sold within a two months I will be happy.
We have found a place Decatur whch we are very happy with. It is only a few minutes from campus and is in a nice area. We will be moving in on Saturday around lunch, so I am looking forward to that. We will then have a couple of days to set the house and get ready for school/work. Robin has couple of interviews on Labor Day and I should know about job status before this weekend.
So...next stop school. Classes begin in a week, we move in in 5 days and Orientation is in just 2 days. I guess their is no turning back now. I am looking forward to class and maybe even work (I am going to be working on campus at either a Computer Lab or with a group working on Web & Application Development, mostly I will just be inputting data) but I am not looking forward to ATL or studying or traffic. Well, I am off to finish packing.

kirkout
Oh...Josh & anyone else interested about the last post "Free Online Storage." I signed up for MediaMax and have been impressed. The largest hang up with it is how large each of the files can be, 10 MB isn't huge. I have "backuped" a lot of my documents (teachings, some music) and haven't had any problems. I haven't played with the sharing feature, but I would be willing to try it if someone wants to sign up (hint hint Josh). My largest gripe is that it does take a few minutes to upload info. They offer a free download to speed things up, but I haven't tryed it yet.

Free Online Storage

Tonight's distraction has been brought to you (well, me and now you) by: Free Online Storage!
For some reason even though I have around 70 Gigs available on my Macbook and around 30+ on my home computer I am convinced that I HAVE to have more storage. I was looking at getting one of those External Hard Drives for around $100 during the tax free weekend but thankfully decided not to. (Editors Note: I believe that these devices are quite important and useful in many settings and would even consider myself an advocate for them...but not when you are broke!). For some reason I got a wild hare tonight and I googled online storage chased this rabbit down.
I was amazed to see how much FREE space is available out there. With accessibility to those files anywhere in the world that you can connect to the internet (take that overpriced USB thumb drives!) it seems like this "virtual" space is part of the wave of the future. With more digital photos and youtube videos hogging all or our computers real estate free space is a commodity that is as Harry Carey put it "highly valuable". So, I have done some research over the last few hours and I present the thumbnail results and highlights.

OminDrive: 1GB of free space (w/ a ton of cool features to make it easy to use)
DropBoks: 1 GB free (super streamlined and improving features)
Mozy: 2 GB free (built to automatically back up files on your computer for you...sweet)
Xdrive: 5 GB free (you need/have to have either an AOL or AIM account to use this, but who doesn't have a AOL Screen Name?)
MyOtherDrive: 5 GB free (and you can have single files as large as 1 GB. Read: a place for that video that is eating up Gig of you hard drive)
MediaMax: 25 GB free (Yes. 25 Gigabytes FREE! I owned and used a computer just a year ago with only 30 Gigs on the entire Hard Drive.)

There are of course others and some strings attached to it. For example some of the accounts storage might limit on the size of each file you upload or how much add to your storage space during a month. But again with the potential for instant access to your files on your friends computer and some cool features like easy to use drag and drop interface and customizable folders within your account it seems like it is worth the pains. As an added bonus most of them have the ability to let you share access to your files with your friends so they can use or preview some files. Much much nicer than trying to e-mail your friend that 200 MB video file or even a Powerpoint Presentation you might be working on together. Security at some sites might not be air tight and I would not recommend you put a file called "My Credit Card Number and Other Interesting Info" on any of the sites. It is probably just as secure as anything currently on your computer or your e-mail.
I am planning on jumping into the world of online storage in the coming days, beats the heck out of cleaning. I am thinking about getting a couple of them to test them out or read some more reviews to figure out which would fit me best. I am very interested in taking advantage of the 25 Gigs at MediaMax to keep a lot of my rarely used files (videos, pictures, maybe some music) and maybe use one of the other sites with smaller space allowances but easier access and quicker upload/download speeds.
I would love to hear if anyone actually tries some of this stuff out or if you are already "into" online storage solutions. Here is a great link to CNET's top 6 online storage options and another older site with 6 online storage sites. Now go out there and use some free space.

kirkout

Why Lie?

Why do cleaning products lie? Seriously. We all know that those "scrubbing bubbles" don't fly around the bathroom and magically clean your toilet or shower. But why is it that every time I walk down the aisle at the grocery store and I see the new product from whomever that I stop, read through the "citrus cleansing power" I am totally hooked. For the information of all...nothing cleans your bathroom like sweat, sore knees and arms, and any stinkin cleaner of your choice. Save your money and companies please save your advertising.
kirkout

waiting

Wow! Hard to believe that it is finally here. Time flies and I can hardly believe that the day is so close. As usual I feel a little under prepared, but their is still time for some last minute cramming that can be done. I must be honest with all of the other changes that are going to be happening these months, I hope I can stay focused. You know, drafting a Fantasy Football team isn't easy and throw in seminary and hopefully moving soon, I am getting a little stressed.
But, I have my "go to" sites with cheat sheets and mock draft tips and I will be ready. If you look back I have had quite a run in the Wesley Regulator League. From 2004, the first year of the league, until last season I am the only owner to finish "in the money" for every season. While the championship has eluded me these three years, I am ever excited about the up coming season. My secret pick (read: some random flyer in the 12th round) and my new committment to God by proving my love for him by going to seminary, I can't go wrong...right?
Well, we are still in a holding pattern. We are waiting to hear from a couple of churches and are looking forward to continuing conversations with a couple of places. I anxious but trying to be patient with it all. I am way to casual for all of this "job" stuff. I just want to walk in and be honest (so..."will you hire me or not?") but that isn't the way the game is played.
We are busy cleaning the house so it can be on the market by the beginning of next week. Our realtor has said she can't imagine it being on the market for longer than 2 months, so that is encouraging...encouraging does not equal relief. But we are hopeful and will begin trying to nail down some location for where will live in ATL next week (and have some more details about potential jobs too).

kirkout
(p.s. Have you "Simpsonized" yourself yet? This is me in Springfield)

News

Update on the Hagan's. We are now in full swing to move into ATL ASAP. We have spoken with our realtor and have our "to do" list. She is hopeful that we can sell it within a couple of months (cross fingers here).
I am talking to a few churches about youth ministry positions in Atlanta and some very cool opportunities seem available. The more I have been thinking about re-connecting with youth ministry, particularly, part time the more I am getting re-vitalized and energized by it.
We are excited about the new few weeks and dreading having to clean and pack up the house. But some new and awesome things are around the corner and we are looking forward to them.
kirkout

The End

Today was my last "work day" at Trinity. Tomorrow, Saturday, we will have the fourth Kickball Championship which will be my last event and my last 3 hours as youth minister at Trinity. It is quite a surreal experience leaving a job. I guess most people have done it but for me every time has been different.

Last Sunday we had one of the most anti-climatic moments of my life as I was "reconized" at all three services with a gift of a iron cross and a monatary gift. It was honestly extremely disappointing to have invested the last three years of my life into a youth ministry and church and have someone give a generic thanks and best of luck for about 60 seconds and then have me sit back down.

Today I was thinking about the fact that on so many levels it seems appropriate. I have wrestled with IF, WHEN, and HOW to leave for a number of months. And I unfortunatly feel like I over stayed my welcome. While in May it seemed not only good to stay through the summer for the both the youth and Robin and I but something that Trinity wanted to have more time to find another Youth Minister. It just sucks. You know when you are in a relationship too long and at the end of the deal you both just wish you had ended it quicker, even if it meant that you might have a little more pain and questions left unanswered. I think I thought that sticking around would be able to help me and the church get "healed" and be ready to move on to the future but again, it seems that that wasn't the case. It is the bandaid rule: just rip it off quick and deal with the sting.

So, I am looking forward to a great night tomorrow night. It will be good to end my time here and to go out with a fun night which we can hopefully celebrate the past three years of the journey together. In other news, Robin's full time job opportunity didn't work out here in WR. And I am continuing to realize that I will probably be at class three of four times a week which make commuting a major burden rather than just an inconivence as I was hoping it would be. So, I am interviewing with a church in Loganville (The Orchard Church) and am going to be visiting this Sunday with a formal interview later this month. I am really hopeful that Sunday will be an exciting experience and I get a read on the church and community and see if that is somewhere where Robin and I could thrive.

Well, I hope you all are doing well. I am still loving my Mac and finding something new just about everyday that is excellent. As was my first claim about why I was wanting one I am continuing to stick by my thoughts: "Mac is just a better way to computer." Shout out to Jason for being Tech Support this past week. Ok, I am out. Off to bed.

kirkout