After 9 months of training in the US Army I'm finally back home. I got to report to my reserve unit the weekend I got back. It's great to be home. Eventually I'm going to add one or two entries about my experiences at BCT and AIT. I'm tpying to find a job right now. If anyone knows of anyone that's hiring, let me know. My dream job, which I probably won't get, is being a stage lighting consultant for churches. So if anybody knows of any churches that are looking into buying some new lights, give them my E-mail.

So I've just gone 31 hours with no sleep and have no intention of sleeping anytime soon. Sure, I feel a little tired, but I'm coming home! I cannot miss my flight. This will be my first time back home in 6 months. Army Strong.

I can't remember what it's like to be a civilian. Seeing large, mean-looking people carrying large, mean-looking weapons is an everyday thing. I have a new vocabulary with words like jacked up, squared away, blue falcon, hooah, and dress-right-dressed. I have strange desire to become an Airborne Ranger. Places and things like "Wal-Mart" and automotive transportation are foreign to me now. I have a new hair style that doesn't involve a whole lot of hair. I feel naked without a canteen attached to my hip. Here's another Army cadence that goes along with this blog entry:
Uh oh, oh no
Sha na na na na
Army life is not my style
They got me lookin' like Gomer Pyle
I used to wear my faded jeans
Now I'm wearin' Army greens
I used to drive a Cadillac
Now I'm ruckin' on my back
Army life is not my stuff
They got me lookin' like Forrest Gump
I used to eat at Mickie D's
Now I'm eatin' MREs
They sat me in a barber's chair
Spun me around I have no hair
Army Life is not my style
They got me lookin' like Gomer Pyle

Still stuck here at Ft. Gordon. I'm bored waiting for chow time. Here's some Army cadences:

Your left, your left
(Hey!)
Your left right, your left
(You got it)
1 2 3 4
(Shoot him in the head, shoot him in the head, kill!)
1 2 3 4
(Reload and shoot him again)

I was walking down the street one day
(I was walking down the street one day)
When I met a total stranger
(When I met a total stranger)
He asked me what I wanted to be
(He asked me what I wanted to be)
I said an Airborne Ranger
(I said an Airborne Ranger)
Airborne--------(Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Airborne--------)
Rangers--- lead the way (Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Rangers--- lead the way)
I hear the choppers coming
(I hear the choppers coming)
They're hovering overhead
(They're hovering overhead)
They're coming for the wounded
(They're coming for the wounded)
They're coming for the dead
(They're coming for the dead)
Airborne--------(Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Airborne--------)
Rangers--- lead the way (Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Rangers--- lead the way)
I'm sitting in my foxhole
(I'm sitting in my foxhole)
Sharpening my knife
(Sharpening my knife)
When up jumps the enemy
(When up jumps the enemy)
I had to take his life
(I had to take his life)
Airborne--------(Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Airborne--------)
Rangers--- lead the way (Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Rangers--- lead the way)
My buddie's in a foxhole
(My buddie's in a foxhole)
A bullet in his head
(A bullet in his head)
The medic says he's wounded
(The medic says he's wounded)
But I know that he's dead
(But I know that he's dead)
Airborne--------(Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Airborne--------)
Rangers--- lead the way (Shoot, shoot, shoot shoot to kill)
(Rangers--- lead the way)

As you all know, I joined the army reserves. I just got out of basic training two weeks ago. Now I'm at Fort Gordon, Georgia, going through advanced individual training and writing e-mail and phusebox entries on my cell phone. I've missed all of you. Please write me sometime because I really want to know how everybody is doing.

So I decided to get a new haircut. Everytime I tell Amanda, my blind friend, that I needed a haircut, she would offer to cut it for me. Since I was going into the Army, I decided to say yes, this time. This is what she did:

The finished product.

Fortunately my girlfriend saved the day and wet out and got some clippers.

I enlisted a couple of days ago. I go to Basic Combat Training on the 28th. That will last 10 weeks. After that, I'm going to Advanced Individual Training for 20 weeks to be trained as a Signal Support Systems Specialist: http://www.goarmy.com/JobDetail.do?id=245 Please pray for me. Also, if anyone would like to hang out and do something with me before I go, just write me on here.

I have a girlfriend now. She is amazing. She's the prettiest girl I've ever dated. She's also really smart and funny.
I'm also going to join the Army Reserves to be either a Visual Information Equipment Operator/Maintainer or a Broadcast Journalist.

I'm joining the US Army Reserves!

Can everybody pray for my mom. She's having trouble speaking. She might have had a stroke.

I'll be honest right now. I need
some help. I've failed all but one English class since I was in middle
school. I need someone to teach me how to write a paper. If you think
you can help please contact me and you can teach me how to write over
the summer.

Ok, so I didn't really want to go to the BCM leadership conference. I had some homework to do and I lost my wallet and I needed to get that taken care of. So it wasn't exactly the best time for me to be going to a conference... But when I got there, I ran into these crazy people and we had a great time. I got to meet some missionaries that are going to be working at my church this summer. I also got to talk to some of the old missionaries that are still working with us which I haven't had a chance to talk to in a long time.



 



Jessie interprited for most of the stuff that went on. Leighanna and Beryl helped out some.







This is a photo of me, sandwiched between Scott and a missionary that's going to Thailand named Brandon. I'm signing "help!"







I got to sign the Doxology in front of everybody. I tried to get Jessie to sign it with me, but she was really stressed out because of a April Fool's joke Leighanna played on her.




Leighanna told her that the guy that was speaking was sick, and that she had been chosen to fill in for him. Jessie spent all afternoon thinking about what she was going to say. It was funny.





In conclusion, this is how Jessie plays frisbee.

Recently of missionaries from my church were sent to Portugal. Their goal was to start a Deaf church there. I just found out that the first Sunday they were at the the church they were partnering with, they had 35 Deaf people attend! The second Sunday, they had about 50 Deaf attend! We're looking at the birth of the first Deaf church in Portugal!

Come hence! See the worthy Macduff slay the tyrant Macbeth whose
terrible deeds hath usurped the Scottish throne from the noble Duncan!


The play starts at 7:30 tonight and tommorrow night. We're also having a Sunday matinee at 2:00. It's at the Murfreesboro Center for the Arts on the corner of college and church street right next to the square.

I found out this morning that there are 25 million Deaf people in the United States. Of those 25 million, two thousand attend church. Out of that two thousand how many have a growing relationship with Christ? It breaks my heart that hearing Christians just ignore these people or sometimes even go out of their way to avoid them. Why aren't there more missions programs for the Deaf? Why won't anybody do anything?

I had to do a project for my lighting design class using Virtual Light Lab. It's a really cool program that lets you take a look at different lighting angles and colors. Anyway, these pictures were from that project:

brentwooddeaf.org

This blog is for those of you who have always wondered about my screenname.  Why do I call myself parcanman? It's because of these little things here.  These are parcans. Parabolic Aluminized Reflectors in lighting instruments shaped like a can. They come in all sizes, the largest and most common is the PAR 64 which can hold a 500W or a 1000W lamp.
This Parcan has a magenta filter in it.

A silver parcan!

Another good photo of a parcan.

A wide beam flood par lamp. Notice the parabolic reflector.
A narrow beam par lamp.
This beautiful lighting instrument is a Source 4 PAR. It's the next generation of parcans. It comes in 575W and 750W lamps.

Source 4 MultiPAR (drools)


This is a source 4 PARnel.  It's a combination of a Source 4 PAR and a Fresnel. This light is absolutely amazing. I cold use a whole lot more of them at the Deaf Church.

My Mom and Amanda are both out of the hospital. My Mom has vertigo. Amanda still isn't feeling well. Thanks for your prayers. 

Now Amanda is in the hospital.  She's been there since Friday.  She says she feeling much better, but she's still sick.  Please pray for her.

Update: I spent all day with Amanda. She's still in a lot of pain, but is starting to feel a little better. I hate to see her hurt like that. She doesn't like the hospital food at all, either. I brought her some chicken nuggets and later on, her boyfriend brought us all some Chinese food. It was good. Anyway, she's got a fever and her white blood cell count is up. They're going to keep her there until her white blood cell count goes down. I pray that she starts feeling better soon.