Jordan Rippy

I almost forgot.

About a year and a half ago, I purchased a new guitar. I was in the market for a Gibson, and went for the Gibson L-130. The selling point for me was the size specifications. The Gibson L-130 has nearly the same specs as the Martin OM-JM. I am a huge fan of both John Mayer and his custom Martin, but I’m just not quite ready to drop that kind of dough. You can only imagine how elated I was to find these pictures of John Mayer playing a Gibson L-130.

* Here I am enjoying my L-130 on Christmas break last year.

Yes. License plates are indeed a rip off. Especially here in the great state of Florida. I know in the past I’ve taken time on this blog to illustrate the incompetence of the DMV, and I think it’s safe to say that they’re still battin’ a thousand. I even called ahead and asked for a detailed list of things that I would need to bring. The list they gave was, of course, incomplete meaning that I had to trek out to my car and clear security a total of four times before actually receiving my tag.

There was really only one highlight. In Florida, when you switch your title from a different state you have to pay an impound fee which is 10% of the purchase price of the vehicle. Luckily, when we bought I car I paid for it, but it was in my dad’s name for insurance purposes. So, when I got married my dad simply “sold” it to me for $10. The lady said to me, “What was the purchase price pf the car?” To which I said, “Ten dollars.” To which she replied, “I’m sorry.” I then pointed to the purchase price box on the bill of sale. Basically, Florida got owned to the tune of one dollar.

Well, it’s been a week since I laid out my ultimatum for NBC and they have totally called my bluff. I’m actually not going to kill myself. Although I am very upset that this writer’s strike has not been resolved yet. I was thinking about threatening to strike from my blog, but I just think in that case the punishment for you, the reader, would be far to great. I know I’m definitely not banking the kind of money I should be from this blog, but I continue for you guys.

In other strike news…David Letterman is the man. He’s paying the entire Late Show staff through the end of the year, because he supports the strike, but doesn’t want his crew to get laid off right before the holidays. This money is coming from his own pocket.

WORK - Well, today was my orientation at Target. It was basically just four hours of videos about sexual harassment, equality, diversity, and excellence. Needless to say, I pretty much felt like I was in an episode of The Office.

LIFE EXPECTANCY - Speaking of The Office, the writer’s are still on strike. As you know, if NBC doesn’t reach a satisfactory agreement with the writer’s tomorrow, this weeks episode will be the last new episode for a while…Oh, also I will be killing myself. I really hope it doesn’t come to that, but I never go back on my word.

HOME LIFE - Kristin’s been experimenting in the kitchen. Last night she made this lovely and tastetacular chicken pot pie.

Here in the great stats of Florida, we have to pass the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) before graduating. It’s the most pointless thing I’ve done since moving to Florida. It takes an entire Saturday and you have to pass each section. If you fail a section, you have to retake it until you pass it, or until you’ve tried three times, then you just get a waiver. What’s the use of a test that can be waived?

Anyway, I took it last fall and (of course) failed the Math section. So, I re-took it about a month ago and just received my results. 295 is a passing score. It’s official. I passed.

I caved. I usually adhere to a strict rule concerning anything Christmas…Nothing Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, tonight I was walking through Target when I spotted a box of cherry candy canes. When I was growing up my mom used these when she made gingerbread houses. I immediately bought them. Just one taste of these and I’m just a seven year old boy sitting on the counter in our house in Montgomery watching my mom construct edible houses. Memories…

I know most of you out there in the blogosphere marvel in constant wonder of my ability to entertain you via the internet while focusing on my studies and maintaining a healthy marriage. The answer is simple. I do a lot of reading. Also, I don’t focus on my studies. But seriously, you should read. A lot. Here are the next ten book son my reading list:

1. Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
2. Freakonomics - Levitt and Dubner
3. Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard
4. The Leadership Engine - Noel Tichy
5. No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green - Green and Hazard
6. The Discoverers - Daniel Boorstin
7. Praise Habit - David Crowder
8. Mindfulness - Ellen Langer
9. The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
10. Spy - Ted Bell

As you may have noticed, I try to cover a wide range of topics and genres. For every ten book I read I try to include spiritual, leadership, history, biography, fiction, and some randomness. If you haven’t already, you should think about creating a reading list for yourself and becoming very intentional about what you’re reading. John Wooden says, “Ten years from now you will be the same person you are today except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read.”

Well, NBC’s The Office has officially been shut down. The cast and crew have been let go pending the resolution of the Writer’s Guild strike. All I know is, this thing better get resolved fast. There are only two episodes that have already been filmed which means if the strike lasts longer than a week, NBC will be out of programming.

I am going on the record here. I want NBC to know that if they don’t resolve this situation in one week, I will be killing myself. “That’s not funny, Jordan.” I’m not kidding. NBC, you have 6 days to resolve this issue or my blood is on your hands.

“THE OFFICE” WRITERS SPEAK