either/or

so in my gambling selfish state of my mind I am really hoping to go to a big poker game here in Avalon tonight. I usually go with a buddy from work and I pick him up just down the street and head on over to a long night of cards and trash-talking. Its alot of fun most of the time (unless I lost all of my chips and have no more cash to re-buy).
Then I realize something; just how much I need to hear the word of God. My loving neighbors have taken both Cassie and I into their house and fed us countless times and the least I can do now is to go next door and hear a study. A few years back when Cassie and I were living in the interior of the island @ Whites we would almost make the study every week. We moved into town, none-the-less right next door to them and it was that much easier to walk out the door and over to their home for the Wednesday night study & hotdog dinner/cake afterwards. After a year or two I started really missing the worship we had been accustomed to for so many years back at (old) calvary chapel of anaheim. I love the guy who teaches without question. I know he is a man of God and lives it honestly everyday. He truly cares for my wife and I as if we were his own blood. I overall felt that I personally wasnt being fed by the word of God. I pray I have a better craving for the bible that what exists. Its so low now, it disgusts me. I dont know if it was just for traditional purposes, or to please him but I kept going. Time passed and I started working for Edison with a starting time of 0700hrs... blech... I eventually grew used to these hours and found out that I was having an earlier bed-time as the months passed by. I had to stop going to the study. I dont know if I am spewing out all of this onto this blog for personal closure or to see the very words that I hope to justify my actions with. I just dont know. God help me.

So tonight, Poker & Bible Study Wednesday maybe I will just be productive @ home and wash my dirty dishes.

-MB

overtime, schmover-time...

we have been working on a semi-big job on one of our diesel engines @ work over the last 6 weeks or so and there has been alot of overtime offered. I have taken up on almost all of it but everyday after 3pm I look up at the clock and long to go home and just be lazy. Then immediately following my lathargic state of mind I have the conviction of debt. I need the money, and I know that if I go home I will be unproductive. The combination of those two make me stay for another couple of hours. Its really not that grueling anyways. I am now home, shoes off, music on (Team Sleep), and I will crack open a cold beer and enjoy the evening.
On a separate note; I want to go see a seminar on Creation vs. Evolution. A buddy of mine that once lived here on the island was really into a dude by the name of "Dr. Dino" Crazy name but I remember seeing a few of his sermons/seminars and he really knows his stuff. Note to self: get off your arse, and look into this guy for upcoming performances.

until next time...

a. schwab

read the book "its all downhill from here" by andrew schwab.
good author, good perspective on life on the road/music scene

thee mainland...

so as commuter books rise in price I am taking each and every ticket as gold. I had a random wild inkling to go overtown yesterday afternoon sparked by my wifes 25th birthday and the fact that I really just didnt want to work at all. So I begged my foreman and explained to him that I NEEDED to leave... he is usually pretty cool about short notices and such but there definately was some crap from him "needing my expertise" and blah blah blah. I guess my trip to LaGrange, IL has its pros and cons... argh...
anyhow... back home on the island... two more days of work and then I am yet again on a catalina express boat traveling back to America for Reno 911: The movie and a tattoo, heck yes!!!!!!!!!!
-MB

a weekend to remember:

I just got back from a 3 day weekend with Cass from up North. We got a small cottage in Carmel, just south of Monterey. We also got to visit the garlic capital of the world, Gilroy, CA. Cassie got garlic flavored ice cream... Im usually up for trying anything but I can tell you with just it touching the tip of my tounge I was immediately repulsed. We managed to squeeze a short-stint up to Santa Cruz and visit their famous beach boardwalk. Good times in all. Glad Im home, back on the island. Time to rest and get back into the swing of things... argh!

Life, Love, and everything in between...

Its now official. I am establishing my first real blog. I hope to update as much as humanly possible. My beautiful spouse, Cassandra is now doing school full time, and holding a part-time job here on the island. Catalina Island has been such a life-changing event in my life. Not only did I get married here but I hope to raise our kids here. Living here has given me such a different perspective on life. I cant thank my good God above for the friends I have made here. Being on this rock has opened me to quite a few different experiences. I want to jot down a quick timetable to lay out my thoughts:
September 28th 2001 - Cassandra Rose Cota and Matthew Allen Burch wed
October 2001 - November/December 2002 Whites Landing Cove
2002-2004 - moved into Avalon/worked @ Island Express Helicopters
2004- present - started career @ *Southern California Edison, Catalina Island
(* Thank you Ron Hoefs/Sean Turnbaugh/Josh Bove)
Cassie and I have known each other since elementary school. We met at church - Calvary Chapel of Anaheim. Our relationship grew over the years and it eventually led to an engagement during my senior year in high school. (she was a grade ahead at the time). Short story: We loved each other, we didnt have the finances to fund our own wedding of our dreams, we eloped to Catalina Island where my good friend/Pastor married us with a 24 hour notice.
Whites Landing is truly one of the best memories for me that God has allowed me to experience. i got married there. I made some of the closest friends of my life there. Bonfires filled with worship, the Sugar-shack that my father and I built, the little overworked honda 90 quad that us guys tortured, the dirty bathrooms, the Sysco camp food, the leopard sharks, the trips to Avalon to see the Scanlans/eat @ Antonios/see movies... I would never trade it for the world. Have you ever associated songs with certain events? I have three albums that always raise the hair on my neck during certain tunes that arise:
FewLeftStanding - Wormwood
Dashboard Confessional - The Places you have come to fear the most
Further Seems Forever - The Moon is Down

until my next entry...
-MB