Tomorrow I will be joining my sister at the DTE Energy Music Theater for something I thought I would never get to see.

We are going to see The Police live in concert.

I do not have the words to express how excited I am to get a chance to see one of the greatest and most influential musical groups in modern history.  And to make the night even better, Elvis Costello (who I also love and who is also incredibly influential) is the opening act.

I have always been a music lover.  My dad is a music lover and he passed on his love for great and talented musicians on to me.  Some of my earliest memories of listening to music are of the great musical acts of the late 60s and 70s.  My dad was a huge fan of Chicago, Kansas, Three Dog Night, Steely Dan, and many more.  I learned from an early age what was good music and what was not.

The Police always made incredible music that was years ahead of any of their contemporaries.  I can listen to songs like “Invisible Sun” or “Spirits In The Material World” still sound cutting edge decades after they were first recorded.  I also believe that “Message In A Bottle” is one of the greatest songs ever written.  The worst part for someone like me who grew up after The Police had called it quits was that we would never have the chance to see them perform live.  When they reunited last year, I was excited to see them live but I knew it was virtually impossible for us to afford tickets.

Luckily for me, my sister was able to get us tickets for the show and I am unbelievably excited.  I’ll be updating my Twitter page as much as I can during the concert, so you can follow it there.

Hello again, I’m your friendly slacker blogger Phil.  I’m the guy that’s been posting once a month on average lately.  Many apologies for that, and I can honestly say that it’s not because there’s nothing going on.  A lot has happened recently so let me share what’s been going on.

I have to start by sharing the good news that I am getting another promotion!  Just a few months after getting promoted for the first time, I’ve been offered another position as a Site Supervisor.  It’s my first job in management and I’m very excited.  There are many things that I love about this new job, and many of them have to do with the fact that it’s not my old job.  It hasn’t been the smoothest 9 months of my life, but this is what they promised me when I took the first promotion so in the end I’m happy.  It will be some more money too, which is always nice when you have a car payment every month.

We did get a new car a few weeks ago.  We got a 2005 Chrysler Sebring and it’s very nice.  As I said in my post a few weeks ago, we decided that it was not in our best interest to lease a new car.  It all worked out well and we’re very happy with the car we have.  It’s a very cool color which I haven’t seen before.  I guess the best way to describe it is that it’s a graphite/metallic black color.  My favorite part is that it has green and purple flecks in the paint that sparkle in the sun and make the car look maroon.  It’s pretty awesome.  I’ve attached a few pictures of the car for your enjoyment.

We also got a really great deal on a Nintendo Wii off of Craigslist.  I’ve wanted one since it was known as the Nintendo Revolution long before it was announced to the public.  Now we have one and it’s awesome.  Cassie and I play against each other all the time and she’s getting way too good at some games.  I still kick her butt on Wii Sports.

Lily is still growing and developing at breakneck speed.  She’s talking so much now and she’s also got a new love of singing.  Watch for yourself.

Things are good in this Hull house, but the rest of my family is struggling right now.  Both my dad and my sister need new jobs and my mom is having knee replacement surgery soon.  Please pray that my dad finds work before she goes in for her surgery.  They are terrified of being without an income for six weeks or more.  God will provide, but it won’t hurt if everyone prays to remind him.  Angela also needs to hear about a job at her church that she’s been waiting on for years.

It’s 4th of July weekend and I’m going to go have some fun now.  (I take that back, it looks like I’m going to go clear out the closet in our bedroom.)  I am ready for some fireworks tomorrow though.  I love me some fireworks.

We came one step closer to getting our new car today, we decided which car we are going to buy.  I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it has not been easy for us to decide which car we wanted to buy.  We’ve discussed and looked at pictures of dozens of different models, but we decided that we are going to buy a Ford Fusion.

What helped us make up our minds?  Two things made the decision really easy.  First, the Microsoft Sync system that is available on new Ford models.  It’s amazing technology and we both were impressed with the hands free phone and iPod control features.  Second, the price was in the range of what we can afford which is really the biggest factor.  We were able to get a Ford “X” plan discount from a friend which knocked the price down quite a bit.  Thanks to Uncle Sam and the tax rebate we just recieved, we have a pretty good down payment.

In other news, I’ve now lost 64 pounds since the beginning of the year.  I just bought a bunch of new clothes today and it feels really good to buy smaller sizes.  As I’ve said before, my goal is to lose 100 pounds by the end of the year and I think I’m going to get there.  I’m hoping to get to 75 pounds by Cassie’s birthday in the middle of June.  Cassie’s lost about 45 pounds (I’m not sure her exact number) and she’s working out like a maniac.  She’s doing a Biggest Loser challenge at her gym and she needs to work out 6 days a week to stay in the competition.  When you combine our weight loss, we’ve lost an entire supermodel!

That’s the news for now.