NightSG

Sounds like a good martial arts class so far.

To the original issue, from here, it's about two hours to DFW airport, and parking there can be an issue. However, there are a lot of people in the area who travel to that area 2-3 times a month anyway, so there's a fair chance that someone might be going the right way. It's cheaper and easier, though, to get to one of the park-and-ride areas a bit earlier and let the train or bus get you through the traffic. That also means you could get dropped off at a mall or restaurant an hour or two early and kill some time until you need to head to the airport.

Well, he managed to get a bit south of squeal-like-a-pig territory. He should probably still avoid strange banjo players, though.

Well, by twenty minutes in we finally had 12, including the bishop. Must have been a long line at Starbucks.

Well, apparently it was a quinceanera. Certainly looked like a wedding with a half dozen women in fluffy tube dresses, (and those were the adults) and both a photographer and videographer with full pro rigs. Either way, not appropriate for a Church building on Conference weekend. I've noticed even the missionaries don't invite investigators to come watch Conference anymore. For the first 3-4 Conferences after I joined, that was a preferred tactic. (Though never the Saturday morning session because of the mess of having to find and set up the equipment.) Now, with 8 minutes to go before the Priesthood session, the missionaries bring the total attendance to six. This used to get 40-50.

Oh gee, it's worse than what I posted. Some genius decided to schedule the building for a wedding at 1:00, so half the morning session was constantly interrupted by bridesmaids in backless dresses setting up decorations and photographers doing light checks. Yeah, in the chapel. No, I couldn't find the bishop, so I have no idea who officiated it But wait, there's more. I'm sitting on the damp grass outside the clerk's office where I can get just enough wifi signal to listen until my phone battery dies. Apparently they did tell the wedding bunch to be gone by 3, and so when I got here, the last stragglers were leaving and building was locked. This is why I don't bother inviting anyone to church. This ward throws more red flags in front of investigators than a Chinese state holiday.

But then the GIS people get mad at having to put out major updates constantly.

Depends on traffic. 2 if you miss all the construction and there aren't any wrecks, but easily 3 some days.

50 minutes from here, and of course the chapel is on the other side of town and uphill from me; nearly a 20 minute bike ride, but I can be home in a bit over 12 minutes. For a town that's a hair under 12 square miles, it seems Baptist is more practical; there are at least 7 assorted Baptist churches here. Only two Methodist and two CoC. Rumor has it there's a second AoG one tucked in somewhere, and of course, there are assorted non-denominational ones on various levels of come-as-you-are to try-to-at-least-pretend-it's-a-real-church.

Optimist. I'd have said next two Presidential terms.

Yeah, they wouldn't do Highway to Hell for mine.

They forgot "head over to the chapel and spend the first 15 minutes of each session sitting on the steps waiting for the missionaries to show up with a key because nobody thought to unlock the building. Spend the next 30 minutes finding the right cables, and the next twenty getting the ancient laptop to boot up, connect to the WiFi and cooperate with the projector and sound system." Maybe Conference should be scheduled at the same time every year so they can plan for this stuff. Oh wait...

Depends on the venue too; some of them will treat you like a bum if you're not buying the overpriced alcohol. Even when I drank, I'd usually buy a six pack of import beer for about what the bar charged for one glass, then go to the bar and grill down the street for dinner with a Coke, and have a beer or two after I got home.

And yet, in just a couple of years, you could learn to use heavy equipment and explosives to do just that. Maybe we should look at their teaching methods.

Problem is the whole darn place is full of bananas.

The Cubs can branch out. It's not like the wrong sport could make them any worse.

See? A long and painful immigration process could have saved you the trouble.

There could still be an immigration process. Just a long, difficult and painful one, with a lot more emphasis on swearing off the screwed up culture that you're leaving rather than trying to impose it on the place you're going to.

Well, when we elect Trump, maybe he can do the right thing and build that wall with California on the outside.

I was just thinking it sounds rather like a few of the Southern Baptist churches I've dealt with over the years. "Welcome to our church. Now go sit over there and don't bother any of the good people."

And then they hate you forever for the tiramisu labeled "Suchathites."

Pork ribs and fried chicken. It's non-white-shirt Sunday, after all.

Mostly making sure the unicorns don't trample the bacon bushes.

And there's the whole key; what are they doing, not what did they do at some point in the (sometimes very distant) past.

But of course, we are way too good to let go of the things the Lord has put behind Him.