phil wing

ok, for you readers who are Ohio natives, I have a very, VERY important question to ask you. The answer to this question could change my life forever…and yours.

Do any of you know if there is some secret method to getting the smell of Skyline Chili off of your hands???

I’m serious! I’ve been perplexed by this for quite some time now. I’ve tried 3 different kinds of soap, repeated washings, even Germ-X hand sanitizer and nothing seems to work. It’s almost like that smell is committed to your hands for a good 4-7 hours after contact. Whereas I normally appreciate such commitment, in this case, I find it a bit obtrusive. Everytime I go to rest my head on my hand or scratch my nose, I catch a whiff of the cheese coney I had for lunch. And of course, I can’t remember that, so the same odor attack happens over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoy Skyline. I mean, come on, nothing that looks so gross has ever tasted so good. But that smell is only good when you’re in the restaurant. After that, it’s a little nasty.

Am I alone here? Anybody else have this problem? And if so, any good solutions?

(I promise that this will be my last food entry for a while. I got complaints that my last post made people covet what they could not have while at work. hah.)

…to Taco Bell…
- the one that caught me first. It was you that I craved all through high school and college. It was you that provided me much good fellowship with friends & family. Your ten packs of tacos served brother and I well after the long days of soccer practice. It was you that would soothe our sorrows after the endless hours of homework. Oh how I would long for your crunchy tortillas and low grade beef. No Big Mac or Whopper could ever compare to the beautiful taste of your original tacos. The sheer beauty of the neon “open late” sign welcomed me on many a night of tomfoolery and youthful shenanigans…and even now after the late nights of rock n roll. I daydream about the time when I will make a salad out of your lettuce, cheese, and hot sauce. What is it about your melted cheese that keeps me coming back for more nachos? And dearest Taco Bell, thank you for the arrival of your newest treat, the Steak Taquito. It is truly the grandest delight that has ever graced your menu. Thank you Taco Bell, Thank you very much.

…to Chipotle…
- the one that caught me deepest. Never before have I yearned for any kind of cuisine the way that I crave your chicken burritos. It was you who made me take great delight in the tearing of aluminum foil. It was you whose rice, beans, corn, and cheese have changed my view of all that a burrito could be. Curiosity about the assembly intrigues my every moment with you. What is that big contraption with which you warm my tortilla? Could it just be a large flat iron like that which my beloved uses? And if so, whose hair was big enough to require such a large flat iron? Where once I questioned the unmixed style of your contents, I now take joy in the surprise of each bite. Bite one, rice. Bite two, chicken. Bite three, a perfect blend of all ingredients. Never before has such a glorious product come from behind a sneeze guard. No sub sandwich or buffet victual will ever compare with the beauty of seeing your foil wrapped treats on the other side of that glass. Your gracious provision of tabasco sauce has splendidly burned both tongue and heart. Your kind hearted gift of fresh limes has sweetened both cola and spirit. There are no burritos like yours, oh dearest Chipotle. In the midst of a tiring day, your ridiculously cold climate and uncomfortable seats have rejuvinated and refreshed on many an occasion. Your overabundance of stainless steel and odd music keep me coming back time and time again. The consumption of your treats is truly an art form. Unwrap the foil too far – burrito explosion. Not enough - choke on the swallowing of a metallic paper like substance. But for those who have mastered the art, barely a grain of rice is lost…for we have come to understand the joy that comes with each piece. It was you Chipotle, that won my heart for quick, cheap, and delicious meals. Chipotle, I salute you.

LaBamba’s & Baja Fresh - you both have tickled my fancy as well…but the 2 above have won my heart…or stomach.

I’ve gotten a few new CD’s lately that I’ve been quite impressed with.

1. Telecast - Eternity is Now
—this is a pretty chilled out CD, but a great sound. It’s kind of like the love child of Damien Rice, David Grey, Coldplay, and even a little Killers synth sound. They have some amazing lyrics.
2. Casting Pearls
—kind of a pop punk/rock/fun sound. It’s like the fun side of Jimmy Eat World and Tree 63 made a baby.
3. Lincoln Brewster - All to You
—just plain good praise CD. Lincoln Brewster is an amazing guitar player and he adds in quite few good ole’ rock/blues solos. It has an energy that most live praise CDs lack so badly. This disc also has a very interesting remake of the old “Another Hallelujah” song. It’s good.
4. Sarah Kelly - Take Me Away
—It’s been a while since I’ve heard a Christian woman rock like this. It’s like Janis Joplin got saved and made modern music. Also has some pretty sounds like Sarah McLaughlin & Joss Stone, etc.
5. David Crowder Band - A Collision
—I’ve been blown away by this CD. It’s the first time I’ve heard somebody take a completely artistic approach to praise music. It’s definitely the best CD they’ve put out to date. Stylistically, it’s hard to nail down because it’s all over the place. It hits typcial Crowder groove/pop rock, but also hits sounds such as piano rock, big Faded Me type rock, bluegrass, gospel, a few techno hints, and everything in between. It’s simply beautiful.

So yeah, much good music going into my ears lately. You have any new CD’s worth checking out???

the highlights of the past couple weeks:

- “A Focused Weekend” - so challenging and refreshing
~ remembering that sin is communal, effecting more than myself
~ Azazel
~ meeting so many new people and seeing so many people serve.
~ Milefive rockin’ our faces off…”literally, it fell on the floor, I picked it up and put it back on, cause they rocked my face off!!!”
~ Rob rapping and Dave Dorr trying to dance.
~ me trying to pretend I was a scientist.
~ Chris Brown eating a Chipotle burrito with no hands.
~ confessing my constant struggle with armpit swamp. It was like I’d reached out to a hurting generation who’d been hiding their armpits for years.

- band trip to Focus in Louisville, KY
~ singing with Jason
~ hilarity with Joe
~ Brian caged like a zoo animal
~ Joel praying that his gear would work.
~ seeing college students in love w/ Jesus…including a couple who used to be “my teens” at Far Hills.

- lots of laughter with Amber & Gibson
- seeing 2 of my former disciplers in the same weekend. Dave & Mark - it was SO good to talk with you guys.
- Kleenex…lots & lots of Kleenex, and nasal spray, and cough drops, and cold medicine, and vaporub, and hot tea
- seeing my new friend Chris meet my best friend Jesus.

Oh yeah, it’s been a great couple of weeks…

In the past week, God has used some people to teach me very specific things. I just want to use this forum to publicly thank God for them.

God used:

- Andy Garrett to teach me about thankfulness for the journey.
- Chris Johns to teach me about the honesty of prayer (brand new believer as of last Wednesday).
- Gibson Wing to teach me about love and how we’re capable of more love than we can know.
- Amber Wing to teach me about the beauty of growth. You can’t see it without being challenged.
- My Quad - Joel Ogden, Neil Rogers, and Jason Wing to teach me about what it really means to please God.
- Abi Cook to teach me about how driving passion can be.
- Brian Pelphrey to teach me about seeking truth in the midst of hardship.
- Jeremy Mix, Chris Mackintosh, and Ken Tew to teach me about servanthood.

This will probably become a common thing on my blog. I need to be reminded of gratefulness. I think that gratefulness keeps us loving people and in turn, glorifying God.

God, thank You for these people. Thank you for the amazing work You continue to do in their lives to make them more like You. I thank You that You allow people like me to benefit from what You do in their lives. God, because of these people, I see better now as to how You ordained for us to go through life together. I praise You, God, for You alone can take imperfection and use it for perfection.

my good friend Joe Strychalski has also officially joined the blog world.

http://xanga.com/joestryke

For those of you don’t know Joe very well, here are a few identifiers:

1. He plays bass in the Apex band and in my band…which is still yet to be named.
2. He’s an amazing songwriter…His first hit single was “She Left Me for a Pudgy Guy”
3. He is the manager of the Harvest Thrift Store.
4. He is deathly afraid of worms and being tickled.
5. He won’t put milk in his cereal.
6. He has beautiful hands & feet.
7. He drives a red Impala…that we lovingly refer to as the “PIMPala”
8. He loves Applebee’s but hates that there are so many of them.
9. He does great impressions of the Simpsons, Chevy Chase, and the Rev. Jimmy Cook.
10. He hates any music that plays on Fuse but he does a great Emo harmony.
11. He loves Jesus, his wife Carol, and LaBamba burritos.
12. He always makes it fun. It doesn’t even matter what “it” is, he just makes it fun.

That’s my buddy Joe in a nutshell. Go “holla at ya boy” and welcome him to the wild world of weblogs.