The Only Home I Know (Yes, Musical Theatre, who knew)

I have been thinking lately about the inevitable move of my parents. Its quite a task. Granted, I am excited for it because that means I get to take over the house and move my own furniture into the house. I get to use my own appliances and couches and get to move into a larger room with direct access to the Hot Tub (that is very important).
Mom has started packing up some of the decorations and ornaments that are usually left out on the various table tops and such and I think it is really sinking in for both them as well as me.
I am looking forward to being able to move my junk into the house as well as finding roommates. If anyone out there that reads this is looking for a place in Redmond, let me know.


Not only is it exciting for moving, but it is also sad for the parents. They have lived in this house since we built it in '96 and have lived in Redmond since '86 so living in one city for 24 years and then moving to someplace new is difficult.

Finding my ALL in ALL!

Sometimes feelings and thoughts run through my mind...

Am I doing what God wants?

Does the lack of a permanent job mean I should look into changing?

Am I ever gonna find a job that is satisfying to me?

Do I really give all I have to God?

Is there more I could be doing during this time of lull? To change lives? To serve?

Am I always too scared to do things that would be good for me?

How can I change my personality for the better?

Why do I value items so much and take my Savior for granted?

Life never goes as planned does it?! I planned my life when I got out of HS that I would go to college, get my degree in 4 years, and then that summer find a permanent job. I would then proceed to find a wife to settle down and have children with. Of course, along the way, we would also purchase a house and pay it off within 20 years. That is how I planned my life. It seemed so charmed. But that is not usually how it goes.

As, I was thinking about this post, I paused a song that was playing on my computer (to help me think better) and I would like to share it with you. It is an older hymn that was re-done (as many are these days) and made contemporary.

It's Called Jesus Paid it All

 (By Kristian Stanfill)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI 

I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness watch and pray
Find in me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Lord now indeed I find
Thy power and thine alone
Can change the lepers spots
And melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

It's washed away! All my sin! And all my shame!

And when before the throne
I stand in him complete
Jesus died my soul to save
My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead (x6)

Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow 

 This incredible song is just a reminder to me that everything I have is God's. I need to realize that my Strength indeed is small. I need to watch and pray and find in GOD my all in all.

Many times, I find myself trying to lean upon myself and that does not work. I know that in due time, God will provide (and has already provided) a path for me to walk down. HE knows my name and what's best for me.

May we live up to God's best for our lives. May we Trust HIM completely. May we realize that All to Him we OWE. May we know that our Strength is small and we can find in Him our ALL IN ALL!

-All to HIM I owe.

My Personal Website Evolution

Everyone these days is talking about HTML5 as the cool new way to do websites that is very compatible with everything, but I still really like Flash. To me, Flash websites are so impressive. I have never been one to want to pay for a website of my own but would rather use free services for my personal websites that I create.

I started off on my first website with a Microsoft online tool that started out free, and then it eventually went to a fee site. The cool thing about that site was that I had a free domain of www.timkirkman.com  It was quite a cool feature to have my own name as my domain. But, as I said, eventually that went to a fee site so I ditched it.

The next site that I created was with google. I love pretty much everything Google. They are very innovative. I tried out a Google Sites. Sadly, I never really got into the sites web. I liked that Google linked it to my google account and I could get to it easily and I liked that other google products (like Maps and Cal) could be imported into it. 

The next free site I tried was Weebly.com  Weebly is a great free site and looks very professional. Weebly is very easy to use and has some great abilities. I still have my Weebly.

The latest site that I have found via a google sponsored link is WIX.com  WIX is the first flash site that is free that I have found. WIX is very user intuitive and i think anyone could create a very diverse and professional looking site. Check it out. Its fun to use- but be warned- you will start working on it and not want to stop- There is so much you can do with it.

Day Thirty: A motto or Philosophy

I'm gonna 

go ahead 

and 

give 

my motto, 

but 

keep in mind 

that it is very deep 

and you have 

to really think about it 

for a while 

to get it...

"Never

Fry

Bacon

Naked!"

Yes, this is not my creation, but my Brother-in-Laws. 

But, I thought it was very catchy and true, so I have adopted it.

This is Day Thirty and that means that my 30 day Posting Challenge is over. How sad right? Where else are you going to get random facts and knowledge about my life? Well, stay tuned, because I spew out random thoughts and entries all the time 

(Hence the reason that the name of my blog is 

"Random Thoughts And Entries from Timothy James Kirkman."

Day Twenty-nine: Hopes, Dreams, and Plans for the next 365 days.

I think the biggest, hope and dream for my in the next year is to get a permanent job. A job has been the major thing on my mind since I ended my College career (With a Bachelors) and that was about 4 years ago- even over 4 years. A permanent job will be such a fulfilling feeling. As a substitute, I do enjoy my life- the ability to not have any homework to correct, being able to stand a super bad class for at least a day and to know that I don't have to go back to that horrible class again- but I would so enjoy the ability to have much more financial stability. I would love to have a class and classroom that I could call my own and really get to know the students on a deeper level, not just their names or only the names of the troublemakers. I want to make a difference in childrens' lives and as a substitute, it is very difficult to do that on a deeper basis.
I would love to have a job.

A plan I have for the next year is to get done with my Masters degree and pay it off totally. I know this is a big goal considering I have about 9 thou that I need to pay off, but I would love to make that happen so I could start saving my extra money (if there is any) for other purchases such as a newer car (notice I did not say, new, I said NEWER!) and larger items such as that.

Movies, Movies, Movies

Well, I just recently watched two movies in the silver screen. I watched Despicable Me and The Other Guys.
One of those movies was hands down a great movie, the other had its parts. I bet you can guess which is Better- Despicable Me! It was an amazing movie. There was a part in the movie where Gru, the main character, takes the girls to a theme park and they have some great bonding time. I was amazed that a movie could make me feel the way it did. Not in the, Oh how cute way, or emotions even, but in the sense that when they went on the Roller Coaster Ride, the first big dive actually made me have a momentary queezyness. I did not think that movies in theatre that are stationary could make me feel that way. Granted, if you go to Disneyland and go to the Star Tours ride, it is in a movie theatre and the chairs move and that can somewhat make me queezy, but thats a bit different.
Anywho, I really enjoyed Despicable Me and will most likely ask for the movie for Christmas or whatever. It had some great parts and great animation and great acting. ... It was just GREAT.

The Other Guys on the other hand, was not bad, but not as good as I thought it might be. I love Will Ferrell. He cracks me up so much.There were def. some good parts for this movie and many parts had me laughing out loud (yes, indeed, I was LOLing) but there were other parts that just made me think that they had nothing better to do than do some crass humor. I mean if they cut these crass, obnoxious parts out, it would be a truely great movie, but the film was riddled with these parts that they could have done without. So, even though there were parts that made me laugh SO much, I would have to give this one a 9.... out of 15 rating. (yes, I know its crazy, my ratings system and all, but I think that having just 5 options doesn't allow as much of an opinion as adding more stars to rate on.)

Day Twenty-eight: a Scar you have and your story

Well, the most infamous scar I have is from when I was probably in 3rd or 4th grade. It was summertime. My sisters were in Jr. high and having a friend over. I was being the annoying little brother that I AM and was making faces at my sisters through the outside window-door.

My sister decided that she would run up to the door and block my face from them so I would perhaps go away. Well, she gets up and starts running to the window where I was, and she ran right through the window. Well, needless to say since my face was pressed up right against the window when she was running her hand through it and it broke the glass and shattered right into my upper lip.
My mom was outside and saw the whole thing and had to come and help me and my bleeding all around my face. She didn't even see Kristin's wrist cuts as well.

Day Twenty-seven: A Feature You Like

Well, I would have to say that to find the feature that I like about me, all you have to do is look at the top of this page. I love my Eyes. The most physical comments I have ever gotten are about my EYES. The beautifulness, the bigness, the Blueness, whathaveyou. Also, in relation to my eyes is my Eyelashes. They are very long.
My one and only girlfriend, came up to me the first time I met her and asked if I was wearing mascara. Kinda funny right, but thats what I get for being a male with long eyelashes and big beautiful eyes.

Day Twenty-six: A Childhood Memory

I would have to say the childhood memory that stands out in my mind the most is kindergarten. Being the youngest and having my mother a stay-at-home mom for my early years, came with some great rewards. My sisters were off in Elementary school 3rd grade to be precise, and I was in Kindergarten.

Now, I went to an early Kindergarten at Sonshine School- my church Kinder, and then I also went to an afternoon Kindergarten at the Elem. school that I spent my years at. What I remember the most was coming home for lunch in between Kindergarten and having a Girl or Boy Cheese Sandwich and watching Perry Mason.

There are two things you need to know. One is that Girl Cheese was Cheddar. And Boy Cheese was Mozzarella. Being young, I did not know it was called Grilled Cheese. Those were good times.
Another very persistent childhood memory was when my mother was cleaning the kitchen and dining room floors, she would move all the table items to the living room and I would get to arrange them into a fort and use blankets to cover them up. IT WAS AWESOME!

Day Twenty-five: A recipe

Well, it seems that every time I create this pizza recipe, everyone says that it is best Pizza they have ever had. And It's true. Tristan's is AMAZING. So, when this post came up, I knew exactly what recipe to use. The dough has some weird ingredients- Molasses-but try it out even if it sounds gross. These are actually two separate recipes- Tristan's Spiffy Pizza Dough and then the Pizza sauce. I learned of Tristan's from my Redmond High Restaurant Class and the sauce I just found by searching the internet.                                     

Pizza (a few parts)

Preheat: 375 Time:20 Min.

Tristan’s Spiffy Pizza Dough

Makes:

3 C. Water	2 tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp Sugar	1 TBS Molasses
¼ C. Oil	8 C. Flour
3 TBS Yeast	¼ C. spice mixture (Garlic Salt, Italian Seasonings, anything else sounding good)

Directions:

Add salt, sugar, molasses, and yeast to 3 C. of warm (not hot) water. Mix together with spices.  Add about ½ of the flour slowly. Once mixed, stir in the oil, then remaining flour. Place in large bowl and cover with warm, damp, cloth. Let rise until doubled in size, then divide and roll out into pans.

Pizza Sauce

1 (15oz) can of Tomato Sauce	1 (6oz) can of Tomato Paste
1 TBS Ground Oregano	2 tsp. Dried Minced Garlic (or fresh)
1 tsp. Dried Basil	Pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Italian seasonings @ your discretion.

Directions:

Mix tomato sauce and paste together until smooth. Add other ingredients and mix well.

For Pizza:

Roll out Tristan’s Spiffy Pizza Dough into pizza sizes. (Its best to make 4-5 equal dough clumps to create individual pizzas).  Add the pizza sauce in a thin layer. Add generous amounts of shredded mozzarella cheese.  Add any chosen pizza toppings. For the final touch add more mozzarella and a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Place on a pizza rack or cookie sheet and bake at 375 unto fully cooked.

Day 24: A movie no one would expect you to love.

 Well, I am not going to presume that there is a movie that others would not expect me to like. What I am going to be blogging about today is a movie that I did not expect I would like. That movie was August Rush.
It did not seem like a "Tim" movie, but I found out a few years later that I did like it.
To be totally honest, because I had this preconceived notion that I would not like this movie, when it was given to me as a gift for Christmas about 3 years ago, I left it in the packaging cellophane until just a month or two ago when I finally decided to give it a try. Well, I found out that I really did like it quite a bit. Not an absolute favorite, but a good movie, especially if you are into music.

Day 22: The way you want to be remembered.

I think that I would like to be remembered for my character. I want to be remembered for my sincerity. I want to be someone who is known for saying true statements. I don't want to be someone of whom you can't trust. I want to be remembered as a great friend. As someone who loved his wife and kids (the future ones, you know). Someone who values family. Someone who is helpful. Available to talk. Someone after God's own heart. That is the most important thing that I want to be remembered for- following after God's own heart.

Day 22: A Website

There are so many good websites out there. How can I choose just one. The post challenge doesn't even have a criteria. It doesn't say a favorite website. It doesn't say a website that you hate to go to. It doesn't say a website you created. It doesn't say a website that you go to everyday. It doesn't say a website that has your personal content on it. It doesn't say a website that you find very useful.

So...
Because there is no criteria, I have decided to find websites for all those above criteria that I wondered about.

It doesn't say a favorite website. 
Google.com
I love Google because for one thing, I can find pretty much anything I need. And another reason is because Google has amazing products and services too.

It doesn't say a website that you hate to go to.
 edzapp.org
 I do not like to go to edzapp because it is a teacher job search and everytime I go there, I see the sad state of no jobs around or the fact that the few jobs there are, that I applied to, are already filled. I don't enjoy going to Edzapp.

It doesn't say a website you created. 
 http://timkirkman.weebly.com/
 I created this site specifically for my schoolwork last year. It was an easy interface and if you want to create your own website for free and make it simple, try out weebly.com.

It doesn't say a website that you go to everyday.
facebook.com
gmail.com
blogger.com
There are a number of websites I got to everyday. I enjoy checking my mail, my facebook, and my blog each day to see what is new with people around me.

It doesn't say a website that has your personal content on it. 
http://www.youtube.com/user/timothykirkman1984
YouTube has my personal content on it. I enjoy uploading videos to YouTube. My YouTube channel has 71 uploads on it plus a number of favorites that I enjoy watching.

It doesn't say a website that you find very useful.
 http://churchmediadesign.tv/
 I find church media design to be a great website that is useful to me. I enjoy watching the vodcast episodes that Brad puts out. He has a plethora of knowledge and I like to learn more and more things in that field.

Day 21: Something you know you do differently than most people.

WOW, this post challenge is quite a tough one to think about!

I have to think about things that I do that others do differently. What could it be.

I have even enlisted my family to think about this with me, but we have no idea.
Now my sister thinks that I, along with the rest of the family, sing the Messiah parts during the Christmas story, but I totally deny that. Most people would not sing the Messiah parts during a reading of the Christmas story, but my family does. That is something they do differently than most.

One thing that I do differently than my family though is wanting a schedule.
When we go on vacations, I like to know when we are leaving and where we are going and then what, and then what...
The rest of my family is very flexible, but I enjoy knowing exactly what is going to happen.
I know it is not all that much different than most people, but it is different than the rest of my family.

Day 20: A hobby of yours

My hobby is my technology. I love everything about technology; The way that the tech keeps getting better and faster and smaller all at the same time. I love the innovation. I love the ability to connect to others. I love how smart the technology can be. There are many out there who are nervous about this idea of smart technology, but I think it will all be great for use.

A big part of this hobby of Generalization of Technology is Video Editing for me. I could (and have) spent hours on video editing- creating footage and splicing it together to create something wonderful.

I had a great time with the Life in a Day sponsored by YouTube. I had the opportunity to upload footage from my day into the major producers and director. That is all due to Technology.

Day 19: A Talent You Have

Well, anyone who knows me, 

knows my talent 

because 

I do it 

all the time.. 

Picking my nose.

Just Kidding, my talent is singing. I love to sing and I am confident to say that I am good at it. I can make people cry with my singing (in a good way- not the PLEASE please stop singing way)
I was able to do many extra things in High School because of my singing talent. I got to be in District Honor choirs 3 of the 4 years I was in school (Freshman year, I was still trying to hold onto the trumpet, but was not enjoying). I got to sing at District solo festival all four years. I got to go go All-State choir two times and All Northwest Choir once. It was all awesome. 
So, there is my talent that I have. (But, I am pretty good a picking my nose too)

Day 18: Time when you felt passionate and alive

I am not one who shares feelings in such a way. I really cannot tell when I feel passionate and alive. Im not really an introspective person. I like to take a look at the outside of myself rather than in, I would say. Passion is a funny thing. I think that most of us are those who think of passionate as a love language. Its something you feel for something or someone really really deeply. Most often to me though, when I think of Passionate or passion, I think of an intimate relationship between two people. Now, I know that people use passionate for other things too. Like someone who really enjoys hiking might say they are passionate about hiking, but the default for my understanding is still the relationship type of passionate that infers intimacy. So, as I discuss that, I have not felt that way yet! I am looking towards God for that spark of passion to ignite when He brings someone into my life that creates that Passionate feeling within me.

As for the word, Alive, I feel alive everyday. When I wake up in the morning, I feel alive. When I see the beauty of God's Creation, I feel alive. When I sing, I feel alive. When I drive in my car, I feel alive. When I dunk my body into the swimming pool, I feel alive. Everyday I feel alive.
He's Alive, Alive, Alive- Hallelujah, Alive-Praise and Glory Amen. (repeat)

Day 17: An art piece.

My absolute favorite piece of art is Van Gogh's Starry Night. I love the swirls of color.

Day 16: A Song that makes you Cry

There is one artist that I find can make me cry pretty easily. That is Mark Schultz.

Walking Her Home

He's My Son

Letters From War

Day 15: A person I admire.

Well, one person that I admire because of talent and other things- Will Smith.


Now, I know what you are thinking- How can I admire someone of whom I have never met? Well, I find that he is incredibly talented in his acting career. Pretty much every movie that he has done is amazing. They are pretty much all (especially the later ones) super hits in the box office.


I also really Admire Will Smith because of his virtues (at least the ones I know of). What I mean by that is that He has been in the Hollywood industry for 25 years and has been married to Jada Pinkett Smith for 13 years and is still married. That is quite an impressive idea. Hollywood marriages seem to be in and out. Get married (for what seems at times to be for publicity reasons) and then get divorced a few months later (again for bad reasons), but this family, the Smiths, have been doing a great job. I find that Will is an amazing role model. I think that it's great that he includes his children in his movies too. Jayden, his son, was in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Will also produced Karate Kid. His daugher, Willow, was in I Am Legend. I did not know that before researching.




"In fact, he is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at the #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.^[3] Fourteen of the 19 fiction films he has acted in have accumulated a worldwide grosses of over $100 million, and 4 of them took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds." (Wiki)