What a steal! I mean, seriously... what a steal. Someone must have stolen God's iPod, because they found out what the BEST WORSHIP SONGS EVER are!!! I'm sure it's just a coincidence; they're just not the best worship songs, they also happen to be popular and modern. 

These aren't just the best worship songs ever, they're the best worship songs for the church ever. Many of the songs included on this album are the same songs on the disc above, but I'm sure you feel the need to spend another 15 smackaroos. That's a 2 dollar savings over the previously just plain best worship songs.

There was best, best for the church, now we have more best! This completes the trilogy of best worship songs ever!!! That's like the bestest! The word "more" is kind of relative, because some of these songs were included on two albums, but you get the pleasure of spending 33 dollars on this album.

This album series is just like the Fast & Furious franchise, it just keeps on giving. Why stop at trilogy when you can have a quadrilogy and so on? They knew you had the need to have some of the same songs on four different albums! Stay tuned and have your pocketbook open for more more best best worship songs ever.

If you missed my previous post, I was in a bit of a disagreement with American Express. 

To sum it up; I believed I was eligible to receive 15,000 SPG Starpoints as part of a promotion, but they believed that amount was 0. I was contacted today and given the details why I was not eligible for this promotion. It's plausible, maybe they're right, maybe I'm right. I don't know now. They gave me 7,500 points as a gesture of goodwill, which I consider very generous. I am somewhat pleased.

To avoid this situation in the future, I'm going to do the following when dealing with these types of promos:

• Create PDF files of any web applications I fill out.
• Create PDF files of terms and conditions.
• Keep any documentation I sent by snail mail.

I want to repeat what I said in my previous post, all the American Express representatives I dealt with were as polite as can be.

As of now, I am considering this situation resolved. American Express is a great business to deal with. In the 8 years we've been together, this has been our only disagreement. 

I've been an American Express member since 2005. If you've been around me since then, you will notice that I almost always pay with an American Express card. Last August and early September, American Express was running a promo for the Starwood Preferred Guest branded card. You would get 10,000 Starwood points after you first used the card, and an additional 20,000 points if you spent $5000 within 6 months. This was all over the travel blogosphere, the American Express website, and American Express emails. I was late to the game. I signed up when they were offering their more standard promo, 10,000 points for using the card, and 15,000 points if you spent $5000 within 6 months. 

If I were to purchase these points directly from Starwood right now, it would cost me $393.75 with the current 25% off sale. If you redeemed them for a room, they would be roughly the same value.

Let me recap: If you signed up this card online in September 2012, you were either eligible for a total bonus of 30,000 Starpoints (if you signed up before September 4) or a total bonus of 25,0000 Starpoints (if you signed up after September 4). There were no promo codes. Here's what you would have seen when you went to the American Express website:

I got the card. I kept track of my spending the moment I began using the card. I had no issue with the 10,000 Star points being deposited to my account. I reached the $5000 spending threshold in January. At that time, I asked American Express how long it would take my 15,000 points. They said between 8-12 weeks. 2 months had passed and I began getting a little antsy, so I began researching it on the FlyerTalk forum. I found out a lot of people are getting the shaft on this 15,000 point bonus. I contacted American Express three different times through email. Here is their last response:

I understand their position, but their position is wrong. They have a history of not linking the correct promotions to accounts. There were no other promotions available at the time I signed up but the one I have the screenshot for. I called American Express after receiving this response. The gentleman said my issue has been sent to research by their marketing team. It could take 4 to 5 weeks to get a response. I'm holding on to hope that my situation can be remedied correctly. It has been suggested to me that I cancel my card. I'm gong to be patient, but it is possible that I may eventually end my 8 year relationship with American Express over this matter. For the record, everyone at American Express that I have contacted has been very polite.

Many of you probably grew up under circumstances. If you were a good Christian child of the 80's/90's, you did everything possible to avoid seeing what was aired on MTV. If you caught too much of a glimpse of that cable network, you'd burn in hell. I was spared from hearing U2's devilish music. There were bands like Jars of Clay and Delirious?, and... (I guess the list ends there) putting out great artistic music, but for the most part, I had to go to school being "proud" of listening to music of the likeness of the gems below.

• Listen to one new album per week.
• Take a spontaneous trip to a destination I've never been to before.
  
• I got "Slang Flashcards" for Christmas. Every day, I want to work a piece of slang from one of these cards into a sentence.
• Stay in a hostel for at least one night.
• Begin a sentence at least once a week with, "Back when I was a gangsta rappa..."
  
• Do one of the following: skydive, bungee jump, or paraglide.
• Go to my first regular season Oklahoma City Thunder game.
  
• Put toppings on my ice cream more often.
• Ride in a helicopter or hot air balloon.
• See Mumford & Sons in concert.

This post has been brought to use by The O.C. Supertones, not really.

Mini Cooper 1300

No, I don't want want one of those sissy Minis that Marky Mark sported duing the movie, The Italian Job. I'm talkin' about one of those sissy Minis the Brits drove during the 1960s. If yo could find one with the steering wheel on the right side of the vehicle, which would be the left side, that would be a big plus.

The Plaza Hotel

They say money can't buy history, but I disagree. Actually, I've never heard "they" say that, and I don't know if this joint is up for sale. Speaking of joints, this is the location where Bob Dylan introduced The Beatles to marijuana. It's also the locale where Kevin McCallister maxed out his parents' credit carts. A 75% stake of of this property was purchased for $570 million, so you should be able to purchase this easily for under a billion quid (Yes, I learned how to talk British while driving the Cooper). It's my dream to own and manage a hotel, and I might as well start with the best.

I traveled to Houston to meet a girl. I had a great time with her.

I saw the Civil Wars in concert.

 I co-hosted a murder mystery party. I survived, and I didn't even kill anybody.

I saw The Addams Family, the musical.

I saw the Tulsa Ballet perform Romeo& Juliet.

One of my photographs made it on to the news.

I saw Stomp.

I saw Needtobreathe in concert

I saw the Avett Brothers in concert.

I had so-called friends abandon me at a Hanson fan club weekend. My real friends rescued me.

I saw Fiddler on the Roof.

I saw Jersey Boys.

I saw Eisley in concert.

I went to Walt Disney World and Universal Studio's Island of Adventure with girl mentioned above.

I saw Coldplay in concert and got an In-N-Out burger during the same trip.

I had friends throw me great birthday party.

I had heart broken by girl mentioned above.

I saw Relient K in concert.

I visited New York City.

I saw 100 Years of Broadway.

I saw The Head and the Heart in concert.

I went to my first Oklahoma City Thunder game.

I saw Les Misérables in Oklahoma City.

I saw the Tulsa Ballet perform Dracula.

I saw Mary Poppins, the musical.

In some point of my life, it has been said  that I am similar to all of the following characters. Am I missing anyone? Who have you been compared to?

I have been reading Chad Hardwick's The Nerdist Way. In one of the chapters of the books, he discusses how you should plan your work life similar to a mall. Your day job would be the department store. It may be boring and generic, and you may not love it, but it brings in the bulk of the cash. You've also got your little specialty stores. This is your work that doesn't bring in a lot of money, but it's also more on your creative side. To know what stores you need to open, you need to know what jobs you have and what jobs you want.


My current day job: I don't hate the work (at least most of the time), but I don't love it either. It pays for all my bills plus some. It use to be a great fit for me, but the way my brain operates has changed during the last twelve years. I've gradually increased the usage of the right side of my brain.

Hotel management: I love to travel. One of the things that take up a majority of my prep time is choosing the right hotel to stay at. I am impressed by hotels that are the perfect package for me. I would like to do this for others. I would like to go above and beyond to make sure a hotel's guests have a memorable stay.

Music scout/promotor: I hate to brag, but I tend to notice popular music before it is popular. Don't ask me how, but I just tend to identify it. It would be such a thrill to assist these bands in obtaining the exposure they deserve. I could help Baywood get that record contract and nationwide tour that is so long overdue for them.

Dating concierge: Although my personal dating life is next to nonexistent at this time, I do have couples ask me to assist them in planning a date for themselves occasionally.