Tonight my friend Dawn Mull was received into the Catholic church by the sacrament of Confirmation. Fr. Ken Phillips and I worked together to teach her about the Catholic Church and answer her questions over the last several month. We've both been surprised at her sincere interest and devotion. Today, she was finally able to participate in the Eucharist for the first time.

Congratulations Dawn!

Now that I'm free from the responsibility of my cubicle work, a vacation is in order. The plan is to fly from Bismarck to Las Vegas, pick up a rental car, and then drive to the Grand Canyon to camp for the night. So here are my 12 photos for the 12th of July.

The alarm clock broke. It says 6:12 a.m., but it's actually after 8:00, causing me to miss Mass!

Having missed mass, I showered and finished packing for my trip.

I headed over to the adoration chapel for morning prayer and the rosary before leaving.

Off to the airport.

Airborne, on the way to Nevada.

On the ground in Las Vegas.

Picking up my rental car at Alamo... I sure like that color (it's the same as my pickup).

Here I'm visiting Jesse, Cheese, and Sherlock. Jesse is my friend who lives in Las Vegas and met me at the airport.

After visiting Jesse briefly, I head east on the highway. Here's a snapshot of Lake Mead.

I stopped for an hour or two at Hoover Dam for the official tour and some sightseeing.

While driving east toward Grand Canyon, I had to pull over in the desert and take pictures of the sun. Smoke from wildfires in California gave it an interesting color.

Finally, late at night I was able to get settled into my campsite. Tomorrow morning I'll wake up for sunrise over the Grand Canyon!

Yesterday Mary, the administrative assistant on our floor, put together a party in honor of my last days of employment at Basin Electric. She did an excellent job. There were balloons, colorful decorations, a gargantuan cake, and lots of coworkers. I felt very appreciated and I had a good time.

When I woke up this morning I showered, ate breakfast, and headed to the chapel for some prayer time before I headed to work. My mind was clear and I didn't think I was that stressed. But I could tell today was going to be a little tough because of the way I physically felt. Tired, almost queasy. It was going to be a different kind of day.

For the first few hours I helped my coworker, Paul, understand his new duties now that I was leaving. When I was able, I worked on a few loose ends and a task given to me by Greg, another coworker. People stopped by my cubicle to wish me well and chat. A few coworkers even asked for hugs. I was surprised.

Lunch time came all too quickly. Ten of us gathered at Space Aliens Grill & Bar for my last lunch break.

The afternoon was filled with more farewells and work. At 4:30 I realized I still needed to pack up my stuff. I took down my pictures, sorted through my books, and put my BTInet mug in my backpack. It really didn't take long, which was surprising considering I lived in that cubicle for five years.

As we were leaving the office I handed my company credit card and electronic key card to my boss. And that was it. I was done working at Basin. I will miss it, but I am very much looking forward to a month of vacation that starts tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to see the documentary titled "An Inconvenient Truth" at my local theater. The documentary is basically a glamorized version of a slide show and talk that former Vice President Al Gore has given hundreds of times, all across the globe. He emphasizes the importance of the environmental problems facing us today, particularly global warming.

The film's trailer made it look like the movie would be a terrifying wake-up call. Given the statistics, photographs, and information Mr. Gore presents in the film, we should be terrified. But I wasn't. Not even a little bit. Why? Because I've heard it all before during my geology and meteorology courses in college. I've read the same information in National Geographic. And in reputable science magazines, both in print and on the web. All the sources I have faith in tell me Al Gore is right, and we should be very worried.

After watching the film, I was reminded of all the things I could accomplish more efficiently. When I had a condo I added insulation, installed a programmable thermostat, replaced incandescant lightbulbs with compact flourescent bulbs, and limited my use of the air conditioner. But really, the whole idea of me living alone in such a big condo hints at a waste of energy. Now that I've sold the condo to a married couple, I feel better about that at least. To save fuel (and for the fun, of course) I travel via motorcycle, which gives me about 50 miles per gallon.

That's all good, but I'm still feeling guilty. Truth be told, I really like my pickup. Unfortunately, it only gets 17 mpg most of the time. It's a very useful and capable vehicle, but not at all efficient. A Honda Civic, for example, would serve my needs probably 90% of the time and it would get almost double the miles on a gallon of gas.

Anyhow, I am rambling. I hope you'll go and see Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." It is an excellent summary of all the global warming related issues I've read about elsewhere.

Oooooh yeah... I'm homeless! Yippee! (I think)

I left work at 1:00 today, hopped on the motorcycle and cruised down to the Wells Fargo bank. In less than ten signatures, the house was no longer mine. The abruptness of the meeting was surprising. I was startled as the first hands flew across the table with the accompanying "congratulations" and handshakes for the new buyers. Wow. Yikes. It's done.

While I'm now homeless, I do have a place to stay for the summer. I'm living at Christ the King parish in Mandan, ND, where my second cousin is the pastor.