Blogger Call-Out

Posted by Joel VandenBrink under

I got this idea from John Chandler and thought it to be a good idea.

The following is a list of people that I think should have a blog (in no particular order, other than the synapses in my brain)

1. Andy Ide

2. Tom Ryan

3. Amy Douglass

4. Steve Douglass

5. Tim Soerens

6. Kasey Hitt

The following are people who have blogs, but I wish they would blog more

1. Eric Lohela

2. Chris Coller

3. Jon DeWaal

Alright, I guess we will see how much influence I have….good luck

peace
joel

UPDATE 01/14/06:  Andy Ide has a blog

Part-time Baker?

Posted by Joel VandenBrink under
Great Harvest
Earlier this week I went out to find a place of employment. I haven’t looked for a job in 2.5 years and so I was a little bit nervous as I entered all a variety of stores to ask the question “Do you have any open positions?” Each place, and each time I asked this question I was met with some derivation of “Nope, we don’t have any open positions, but we are always accepting applications.” After hearing this a haldful of times I mosied on home. While on the drive home I had the idea that I would hop on craigslist and look for temp jobs on there, like dogsitting, housesitting, tutoring, and such. But before I made it to the temp jobs I clicked on “retail/food/hosp” link. I scrolled down through the most recent posts and found one that happened to be in my neighborhood — so I clicked on it. The job read something like this, “Part-time Baker needed.” For some reason the thought of being a baker interested me and so I picked up the phone and dialed the number to see if the position was still available. An man named Nate answered the phone and I told him I was interested in the job, he told me to stop in the next day for an interview. I then updated my resume and looked at some websites that discussed typical interview questions.
The next day I went in for my interview and was met by an extremely tired Nate who was currently frustrated with the Satellite radio that had just been installed. You see, Nate and his wife Dayspring had just bought the bakery 6 days prior and 4 days prior the headchef decided not to come into work. So Nate had his wife were not only getting used to owning their first small business, but they were also being the main bakers.
The interview began, right from the get-go I could tell it was going to be an ‘informal’ interview (the better type in my opinion). I had told Nate on the phone the day prior that I was a graduate student but had not told him where. So one of his first questions was, “So where do you go to school.” I told him Mars Hill Graduate School and he proceeded to say, “Oh, I’ve heard of that.” At this point I was a bit skeptical as most people in Seattle have never heard of us (something I’m ashamed of) and those that think they have heard of us have actually heard about the Mega-church of Mars Hill on the outskirts of Seattle. But in this case, he actually had heard of us — because he has a friend that is coming out in the spring to check the school out — and not only this, but his friend goes to Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville Michigan. He followed this up by saying that he graduated from Colorado Christian and his wife graduated from Wheaton College. At this point there were too many connections for me just to dismiss this as ‘ironic.’
About 30 minutes later the interview was over and Nate invited me to ‘try them out’ by coming in for a morning shift (4 a.m. - noon). I told him I would have to look at my calendar and I would call him. I did just that, and told him that I could work Saturday morning. He siad, “Alright, I’ll see you at 3:30 a.m.”
WHOA THAT’S EARLY — but I did it — and even more I enjoyed it – and took the job.
I am now, officially, employed as a part-time Baker at Great Harvest Bread Company. I work two days a week from 4a.m. - noon and I make anything from bread to scones to cheese sticks to cinnamon rolls to energy bars to muffins to brownies.
This should be fun, and as the job develops I will share some of the philosophical reasons why I took the job (as a teaser, third places and sustainable agriculture are some categories to think in).
peace
Joel
p.s. Back in December Brooke said that as soon as I get a job after the holiday’s I can get an ipod — so I did just that today. I bought a 30 gb black ipod and Brooke bought an ipod shuffle.

Christmas…Belated

Posted by Joel VandenBrink under

Well all, I know it is past Christmas, but I wanted to share something that I wrote for Christmas this year. Some of you have already read this, but others of you haven’t. It’s long..but in my opinion it is well worth the read.

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest.

Brooke and I are dying to know how you all are doing. And at the same time, I dislike the tedious process of “catching up” and the recounting of time gone by into an itinerary of events. The Christmas letter genre helps, I suppose, but there is usually such a Thomas Kincaid-ian romantic glow to the way stories are told in late December that it’s not always easy to see what is really going on. Sure, it’s fun to share about how the good things have progressed throughout the year. But it’s hard to tell about the dreams that were shattered or the hopes that were lost. We all tell half-stories at best, it seems. We all struggle with the complexity of life and find it hard to hold onto all that makes us who we are. Our minds and hearts forget scenes, forget narrative, and yet, for some reason, we recall the song that was playing when we got our first kiss, or where we sat in second grade, or how many quarts are in a gallon. We search in vain to express a year in words as we all gather around our computers in mid to late December. When all is said and done, when the stamps are stuck and envelopes are licked we breathe a sigh of relief and say silently, “phew, another year in the books.” Three to five days later the mailman delivers the letters and the envelopes are un-licked, the paper is unfolded, and the words are read. Smiles, tears, and laughter quickly invade us as the mystery of the letter is made known. We all respond differently, don’t we? There are always those letters that we dread getting, and there are always those letters that we urgently rip open only to read each word slower than the previous. This is the beauty of the written letter, is it not? This is why we, year after year, continue the tradition – for there is beauty in connection, and beauty in relationship. Without further adieu, I am proud to announce the first official Brooke and Joel VandenBrink Christmas card. Read on, but read slowly, let the stories come to life as they leap from the page, and let the words stir your heart. If you aren’t already you may want to sit, for in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Treebeard character “You must understand young hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.”

It was the dawn of a new year…

(more…)

I Upgraded…

Posted by Joel VandenBrink under

Well folks, I officially upgraded to Wordpress 2.0.  If you happen to find any errors on the site please let me know.

peace
Joel

Packer Game

Posted by Joel VandenBrink under

Hey All. Brooke and I are back in the great city of Seattle. Soon oh very soon I will start blogging again. But until then, here are some pictures to look at from the Green Bay Packer vs. Seattle Seahawks game that Brooke and I caught at Lambeau Field on Sunday. It was a great game for many reasons

1. Shaun Alexander set the touchdown record
2. Shaun Alexander rushed for enough yards to get the rushing title for the year
3. It could possibly be the last game, ever, that Brett Favre plays
4. I have now seen Detroit play Seattle and Green Bay play Seattle
5. We got to tailgate and eat food from a “trash can cooker”
6. I got to celebrate with my wife her enjoyment for the Packers.

Without further adieu, here are the pictures.

peace
joel

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Joel VandenBrink

This site is dedicated to recording one man’s struggles, joys, and everything in between with this thing we call life. It is also a running record of my thoughts as well as a place for those in other places to stay connected.

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