Lab Time?

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

As many of you know, due to my procrastination, I now spend pretty much every night of the week at school doing lab time. As a result, I have had alot of people approach me and asked "what exactly does lab time mean?". Well, bloggers, I figured that rather than trying to explain it to you, I would show you.

When I am doing Lab hours.....I don't mean this...

I mean this...

This was what would be considered our first major studio project. Our assignment was to create an original 60 second radio jingle and a 30 second radio jingle. Carlos and I decided to make a movie trailer for the radio. I must say it came out awesome!!! As soon as I can figure out how to post audio files on here, I will upload it so you can all hear it!

They're Here!!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Well, the time has come and I now officially have tickets to the 2 events I have been anticipating all year. That's right, I am talking about none other than the Mute Math Show, and Hillsong United Conference!!! For those of you who don't know who Mute Math is, please oh please look them on youtube (you won't be disappointed). And United is the youth worship band of one of today's most influential and innovative churches, Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. I am so hooked on Mute Math and Hillsong United's CD's and DVD's. I am and have been so excited and pumped about these events for a long time now. The last time Mute Math was in town, I bought my ticket well in advanced and couldn't wait to go see them, but an emergency came up and I had to travel that same day. I ended up giving the ticket to a friend who is now a die hard mute math fan so I guess it was for the best. As for the Hillsong United Conference, this is the first time they hold one of these conferences in North America. They could have held it in any state they wanted, which would have forced us to drive far or fly out to make it to the conference. BUT THEY CHOSE ORLANDO!!!....that's right I said Orlando as in 3 and 1/2 hour drive Orlando. As many of you know, I am extremely passionate about Worship and Music Ministry so I absolutely have to go to this, and the fact that it's down the street just confirms to me that God wants me to go. I plan to post some pictures and notes I take so stay tuned. United Tickets are sold out, but there is still hope for those Mute Math Procrastinator fans out there, but hurry because it's this Thursday!!!

All Nighter!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

If you noticed in the picture of my toolbar above, you can see that not only is my battery low on my laptop, but It is 5:02am. Contrary to what you may be thinking, I did not just wake up really early (I am so not a morning Person). I have not gone to sleep. I came and spent the night at my sister's house, since we are both serving at Doral tomorrow (or should I say Today). The weird thing is I am not even tired. It's been such an exhausting week that I crashed on my couch today (yesterday) after work and as a result I cannot sleep now. I have spent the entire night keeping myself busy doing meaningless and meaningful things to make the time pass by

some include:

• Pimping up my Myspace
• Chatting with Annette on ichat
• Re-Watching old Episodes of "Lost" on my sister's brand new 50" Plasma TV
• Planning for the weekend at Doral (Heredes is on Vacation, so I am leading for him)
• Playing the Guitar
• Playing the Piano
• Watching Live Concerts of Incubus, Radiohead, and Mute Math
• Playing more Guitar
• Blogging
• Reflecting and Thinking

Well as you can see, most of the things I have been doing all night have been totally meaningless...

Well, I must now sign off because my battery is about to die, and I have to get ready for church (and stop by starbucks on my way)

Diet Week 4

Hello Fellow Bloggers...
Well Frustration is starting to kick in. I lost a total of 0 Pounds this week. This was definitely the worst week so far. As many of you know I have had a drastic schedule change recently and as a result, I have not been back to the gym. For the first time since I started the diet, I fell off the boat. And I fell off badly. On Sunday night a couple of us got together at my sisters house to hang out, and there was a lot of junk food. Earlier that day I had alot of people approach me and tell me I look thinner. Well I guess I used that as an excuse and I pigged out. At first I didn't touch anything, but eventually temptation gave in (Such a shame, especially since that's what the topic was for that weekend). I ended eating like 5 little chicken wings, and a bunch of oreos. I gotta admit, It felt good, but afterwards, the guilt started to set in. As you can see now, it obviously wasn't worth it. The week is over and I didn't lose an ounce. Time to get back on track!!!

"The Big Lime Green Bass"

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

As most of you know, I am a multi-musical person. However, one of the instruments I enjoy playing the most is the Bass. Well, this past weekend was absolutely awesome. I got to play one of my favorite Hillsong United songs on the Bass and got to lead "Mighty to Save" on the acoustic guitar which reminds me....I would like to send my most sincere apologies to the Collins Family. During, our rehearsal I accidentally wacked our awesomely talented singer Benay Collins in the mouth with my guitar and chipped a little piece of her tooth off. Benay, If you are reading this, I know I said it a million times but once again, I'M SO SORRY!!!

Well, apart from the beat downs I gave with my guitar. something quite unexpected happened to me on Saturday night. I was walking back to the green room after greeting a few people in the lobby in between the 5:15 and 7:00 Services, when suddenly a lady stops me and smiles. She said,"excuse, can I tell you something?". I didn't hesitate and said, "sure, what's up"

Now allow me to pause there for a second. I don't want to sound egotistical or big headed because I am not, but usually when people stop me like that I'm used to them saying something like, "you guys did awesome", or "That song was great", or "where can I find that song?". However, what I was about to hear was no where near that.

She started by saying "That lime green bass guitar...". I expected her to say that she thought it was nice looking or something, but nothing could have prepared me for what she was about to say. She simply said, "IT'S WAY TOO LOUD!!!", which I have heard plenty of times, so I was like ok whatever. BUT THEN!!!.....she began to tell me about how it's way to loud for everyone, and that her entire small group ended up leaving the church because of my lime green bass guitar. At this point, I was stunned!!! Should I apologize?? Should I get mad???So I just smiled and said, "I'm sorry to hear that, I'll try to be more careful". I smiled and walked away, but was still very shocked. I mean, what do you do when someone tells you that people are leaving the church because of you. (She didn't say that directly but you know what I mean). Well, needless to say, I meditated alot on it and prayed about it too and God gave me alot of peace about it. Ultimately, we cannot "please" everyone and I'm sure there are people at church who think the bass isn't loud enough (myself included). During the remainder of the weekend, I had alot of people approach me saying that the worship was very powerful and It really did touch them alot. Just one comment like that totally makes me forget the original not so good comment. To know that God could have chosen me to take part in something that touched someone's life is absolutely awesome. And if that isn't enough, on Monday I was extremely bored at work, and I was reading my usual blogs I subscribe to. Occasionally, I will go back to the archives of blogs and re-read old posts. Well, this time I decided to check out Heredes' old blog posts. What I found ended up hitting home. I found a post called Change Seats. (Check it out) That was enough confirmation for me!!! Thanks H!!

Amazing Performance!!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...
Those of you who know me well, know that one of my favorite all time bands is mute math. Last Wednesday, they performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Well if you've never seen them perform live, then please please please watch the following video. I've gotta say that this has gotta be their most impressive televised performance they have ever done. Check it out and lemme know what you think!!!
                       

Work with what you got

Hello fellow bloggers...

So my friend Martin wanted a dock charger for his ipod but didn't wanna spend $49.00 on an apple charger. So he researched online to find an alternative means of charging his ipod. Well for about 2 dollar can of altoids and some hot glue, he made what I think is probably one of the coolest and original dock chargers I have ever seen. Kudos Martin!!Kudos!!

Rude Awakening!!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...
Well, I must say that today has probably been one of the most stressful days for me since high school. I came to school today to receive a "rude awakening". It turns out I am extremely behind in my lab hours. So far behind, infact, that in order for me to catch up I have to be here about 35 hours a week for the next 6 or 7 weeks not to mention while still working my normal full time 40-45 hour a week job. It's about 1:35am right now and though most of you are probably sleeping right now (Except Brian Vasil) I am still here at school taking a quick break before finishing up and going home. Although this is gonna be extremely tiring, I have no one to blame but myself. I didn't prioritize correctly and slacked on my school work (Talk about getting naked). My schedule will basically consist of going to work early in the morning and going directly to school everyday after work and staying until the school closes at 2:00am, then I'll have to drive back home (did I mention my school is in Miami?) go to bed and start over the next day. I will also be spending my Saturdays all day here. If I calculated everything correctly, I should be caught up in about 6-7 weeks. In the mean time, I will have to find a different time to go to the gym and will not be able to go to church on saturday nights (no more cooper city). I will still, however, be helping out the mag team on Sundays at other campuses. I will try not to neglect the blog but bear with me as sleep will be minimal. I will definitely need you guys' prayers on this one.

i-whata??

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH IKEA???

Diet Week 3

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Well I just got home from the gym and had my weekly weigh in. I gotta admit I am a little disappointed in my self. I only lost 2 pounds this week, and though I did lose weight, I feel that I could have done better. I skipped the gym one of the four days I usually go because I fell asleep after work and once again, I did have one or two days of weakness, but overall I have been doing good as far as willpower. In fact, today we had a little birthday party at work, and I refused to eat any cake (It was Ice Cream cake so you can imagine how hard that was) I am planning on seeing a nutritionist either this week or next week to help me out with the diet. Keep me in your prayers!!!

oops!

Hello fellow bloggers...

Last night, in attempts to "pimp out" my blog, I accidentally erased all my blog links, so I had to re-enter them all. However, I had to do them all for memory, so if I seem to have forgotten you, just drop me a comment and I'll take care of it. Just scroll down to the "Peeps" section on the left. 

My New Favorite Show

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Ok, so we recently upgraded our cable package to the "basic expanded" package. What does this mean you ask? It basically means that now instead of having 22 channels, we have like 5o something channels. Due to my extremely busy schedule, I don't really have much time to watch TV, but now I am totally hooked on an awesome show. It is called Survivorman and is a documentary about a man named Les Stroud, who basically dumps himself in the wild for seven days without food, shelter, water, or tools. Oh yea and no camera crew. That's the coolest element of the whole show. He is his own cameraman, and does all his own shots. He has survived in some pretty wild places such as the Kalahari Desert, The African Plains, and The Arctic. I have found myself glued to the TV for hours watching re-runs of old episodes and am absolutely amazed at the things this guy does. He will eat and drink whatever he can find (and I mean anything) and he will live wherever he can find or make some sort of shelter. I'm not exactly sure what time it airs but until I could get Tivo I'll just keep catching up with re-runs.

                 

Address Change!!!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Well, I have a very special announcement today. I have officially purchased my domain titled. "www.mindofbert.com" (Courtesy of www.godaddy.com). It's been a couple of weeks since I changed my blog name to Mind of Bert, and I have gotten some good feedback about it. Infact, alot of my friends call me bert when they see me or walk past me because of it. At first, I would forget about the blog and wonder why they were calling me that, but now I am used to it. So you guys can keep going to www.robertolopez.blogspot.com or you can simply go to www.MindofBert.com. tata for now!!

Diet Week 1

Hello Fellow Bloggers...

Well the moment of truth is here and after one week of dieting I have a lost a total of 4 pounds. I must admit that I thought I could have done better. I did find myself cheating a little bit here and there, however I still lost weight. Here are some of the things I am doing.

• Trying to have Breakfast Every Morning
• Trying to have more meals per day and in smaller portions
• No meals after 7:00pm...NO EXCEPTIONS...(this has not been easy)
• Drinking Ridiculous amounts of water
• Going to the gym Monday-Thursday Nights

I would have to say that the first two have been the ones I have been doing badly on. The others, however, I have been doing good on. But I gotta do better, so I am going to be even stricter for week 2. Thanks again to all those who have given me advice and motivation. It really has helped....46 pounds to go!!!

Hubba Bubba Fun!!!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...If you've known me long enough, then you know that one of my biggest addictions is gum. Who knows?...maybe It's just bad breath paranoia (I do brush my teeth by the way). For some reason I always have a pack in my pocket (sugar free of course) and I even freak out sometimes if I don't get my gum fix and I'll ask everyone if they have some gum. Infact, I challenge you to test me. Next time you see me, ask me for some gum, and see if I don't have a pack in my pocket. Anyways, last week someone made the mistake of leaving a big basket full of bubble gum in the green room, so I decided to help myself.....TO FIVE PIECES!!! My mouth is still sore from the massive chewing that went on on that historic day. So as I made my way to the last piece, my pal Pamela decided to join in on the action and next thing you know we were having a full blown bubble blowing contest (Special Thanks to our camera man Cristian). Well as you can see, the winner was obvious. Infact, that was the biggest bubble gum bubble I have ever blown in my life. I think I'm still peeling off layers of gum from my face after it popped!!

I Wanna be a Loser!

Hello Fellow Bloggers...One of my biggest daily struggles is the one the I tend to think of the least, and that's my weight. Infact, I think it's one not many of us think of. Growing up, I was always the "skinny kid" of the family. I was so skinny, that my family came up with the nickname, "Gordo" which means fat in spanish, and I grew up with that nickname. Imagine the irony! I started to put on weight at the age of 12 and just grew more and more from there. I have had plenty of times when I told myself, "That's it. I'm gonna lose the weight". That, however, was the problem. I would only tell myself, and a few close family members, so I didn't really feel the pressure to lose it.

On Tuesday morning, I was catching up on the usual blog posts I like reading and found a very motivating one on Pastor Brian Vasil's Blog. As many of you know, he put himself on a strict diet recently and is seeing the fruits of his hard work.His determination and perseverance has really inspired me to do the same. So I will be joining the Brian Vasil Weight Loss Program and like him, I am making it public. I must admit that this wasn't an easy post to do, and I wasn't gonna do it. I figured, "nah..I can do it alone". But the truth is, I CAN'T. I will need everyone's help. If you have any tips or suggestions feel free to comment me or email me at lopez.rc@gmail.com and if anyone sees me eating something I shouldn't, feel free to swat it out of my hand. But the greatest way you can help, is just by keeping me in prayers. I am not hoping this works. I know this will work because I not only have you guys backing me up, but I have Jesus Christ on my team. I will be posting my weight every week on the naked scale on the sidebar (---->) and trying to log my progress regularly. I guess you can say this is my way of "Getting Naked"