missouri state fair 2012

Well it's that time of year again when state fairs get underway....I decided to get out of the house for the weekend and go the missouri state fair in sedelia, mo.  I have'nt been to the missouri state fair since I was teenager.  Stayed at the days inn at concordia, mo.   It was an all right motel...the complimentary breakfast was skimpy, they had a nice pool and jacuzzi, they had satelite, but they had no espn, usa, tnt, tbs or comedy central. They had all the free over air networks and five HBO channels really strange place.  Saw Larry the cable guy and laugh my freaking butt off...he definitely isn't politically correct. Anyway, here are some pics enjoy.

All Star Fanfest 2012

Two years ago when Kansas City was announce to have the all star game....I was so excited...my team, my city was going to host this big event.  It just made me want pump up my chest a little bit and say yeah. Now, the game, homerun derby and the all star fanfest have come and gone, but the lifetime memories will stay with me till the day I died. I still wanted to be a part of this event for a couple reasons....One, I needed something to enhance my resume if I wanted to be a part of the sports industry and two I like getting autographs from ballplayers.  Enter being a volunteer at the All Star Fanfest.   Wow for three days I was eithier being a volunteer or I was getting to act like that 10-year old boy that once was.   The fact that I love baseball really help me at ease to interact with people and just really let me enjoy this time even for just three days. Here are just some of interesting pics of the big event.

Welcome to Las Vegas

Back in january, Tim sparks and I decided to make some time to go out to fabulous Las Vegas.   Some people go out for the gambling....Me, I went there for three things to go see the Grand Canyon, to see some shows and to see what the big deal is about this city since I have never been here before.
First, let's just say before you even land you notice the strip right away.  You see how big the hotels are and all you can say is wow.  I took the rental car and headed straight for the hotel. Stayed at the Excalibur (the pic above was our room view at night)

the hoover dam

                                                     the grand canyon at mather point

the canyon is this wide

Saw Carlos Santana...great show

Other things I saw was the tournament of kings dinner show...kind of like medivel times only without Jim Carrey and Mathew broderick (cable guy reference)

The weather was great out there, but don't stay in Vegas too long otherwise it will drive you nuts. Break it up by going to the grand canyon or somewhere outside of the city...you'll enjoy your stay a little better.  Overall, had great time and if you want to know more...you can respond to this post. After all what happens in Vegas...stays in Vegas.

Signed Tim

"no longer a vegas virgin"

Crippen

PS: After a little bit of thinking I decided not to sell my collection.

To Sell or Not to sell

i

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.....1 Corinthians 13:11.

This week I've been really debating myself on whether or not to sell my entire sports card collection.   I've been collecting off and on since 1985 and the pictures that you see is just a portion of the collection (I put the good ones up just to show off).....It's not that I couldn't use the money, but this has always been a hobby of mind and lately I've been doing the coin collection with the national parks quarters. So,anybody right now who reads this pray that I will make the wise decision.

Diamond club suites

Last night, I want to thank some people for making last night's game great...for the people who I invited Ernie, Mateo and Barrett for the good laughs we had at game.  For our server Whitney (pictured above) who treated all us with great respect and brought our food and drinks.  For Jan Lacey Hodges in sales at work who gave me tickets even though she didn't have too....and most importantly thank you to GM of Aramark (I believe his name is Jeff) for allowing us sit in his seats for one night.  It was an awesome experience.

March madness 2012

Looks like it's that time of year again when college basketball crazy fans get ready for the three weeks in what is called march madness....I've study the team brackets, regions where the team is playing, wins and losses and most importantly defense. So, without further ado here are my final four picks for this year......Kentucky, kansas, Vanderbilt, and marquette with Kentucky winning it all.

one more thing....I'm starting to not like going to the dentist....at the end of this month this will be my fourth time in two months. With the money, I have spent going to see him...I could have taken a weekend trip to phoenix for spring training...oh well it beats having dentures.

Signed
Tim "ready for the maddness to begin" Crippen

Why I never talk about past girlfriends on this blog until now

With Valentine's day just around the corner it's time to come clean.....I looked back on some previous February posts and none of them mention love except in a tongue and cheek way (See Jane Seymour post on Feb. 2008). In fact, I never talk about my girlfriends in the past at all....why is that? Let's start with the beginning....I never had a girlfriend until my first year in college....Oh sure, I had plenty of crushes in high school, but none them really develop into serious relationship.....in fact in high school I never even went to prom my senior year...pathetic yeah I know. Most of my past girlfriend experiences were actually pretty good, but as you date for some reason either you or your partner seemed to fizzle out. There were others that I had missed on opportunities and some you would just like to forget. I don't mention the names because of two reasons....One out of just respect...two it's in the past and you just can't change that. Love is a two way street and it only works when both people are on the same page, but i would also say that if your relationship with Christ isn't connecting vertically then all the other parts of your life won't be functioning either.

Signed
Tim "trying to open up" Crippen

Pay it forward and it will pay you back

I always believe that if you do good things for people without expecting something in return....it will be forwarded to you later down the road. That was a lesson my dad taught me that I still use today. Last summer, I was coming back from band practice in church and I stop by a gas station to fill up. I saw an older woman whose tire went flat on her car and she was so frustrated. Now, I normally would ignore this and would be on my merry way, but something inside my spirit compel me to help this woman. So, I offer to help put her spare tire while taking the old one off. After getting a little dirty from the dust and the grind....I finish my job. The woman offer me money, but I told her to pay it forward to someone else. She asked me if I was a Christian and I said yes I was and I left doing my good deed for today.

Now fast forward to today.....back in September our company is a big sponsor of JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research foundation) and we raise a lot of money through raffles, silent auctions etc. Well, one of the prizes they were raffling off was a chance for three people to take three of their friends to a Kansas City Royals 2012 game along with a parking pass sitting in suite section. I put tickets in but was not one of the three to win the tickets. Well, today a co-worker who I barely know out of the blue gave me her tickets. I asked her why she gave them to me? She said that she had heard that I was Royals fan and that the person she wanted to take would complain the entire time at the game. She felt like she would give it to someone else who would thoroughly enjoy it. I thanked Jan and gave her hug....she didn't have to do it, but I was really appreciative. God works in mysterious ways whether they are great or just in small tokens. There are still good people today.

Signed
Tim "pay it forward" Crippen

December to Remember 2011

As we come to the end of this month.....heck the end of this year.....I realize this month has had it's up and downs. First, let's start with first week of December....I was in Dallas, TX for the Major League Baseball winter meetings....It was exciting to see the business side of this game that I have loved for so many years. Former and current players making deals at Hilton Anatole which is big hotel. I was here mostly for the job fair where thousands of applicants are trying to get their foot in the door wether it would be for major team or minor league. The picture below shows this incredible zoo I had to deal with it.

I was mostly mad at the cost of the job fair...and yes there was a cost to apply for a job if can you believe that. It was $250. If, I had known there was cost for this thing I could save hundreds of dollars, but it was unique experience....so I move on.

My beloved gorillas...Pittsburg State won the division two football national championship...yeah exciting. With only one loss to Washburn....pitt state got it's revenge in the playoffs to Washburn, Northwest Missouri State, Delta State and Wayne State for the title game. Twenty years since my alma mater won the title here is me excited after the game as my cousin jefferey and I watched the game at a sports bar in overland park.

Christmas time was unique as Mom, Ernie and I flew on frontier airlines to our nation's capital ...Washington D.C. to see my brother. It was fun getting a chance to see the white house tour....the trees in each room were decorated to the nines and I even saw a replica of the white house made of gingerbread that weighed 300 pounds.



Seeing my niece and nephew again .....Nate is almost two and is growing like a weed and gracelynn is in her own little world.


So what does 2012 hold? Who knows hopefully I will be able to get a job in the sports industry next year that's the goal anyway. So, merry christmas and happy new year.

My first time at Allen Fieldhouse

Pics of laymens retreat

Open House pics of the new performing arts center

Looking at the northside of the building



Look how long the line is

Helzberg hall

Inside the Muriel kauffman theatre