Christos Anesti

[VonBonfire]

The orthodox churches here are really scattered. And San Antonio is a pretty big city. The Maronite Catholic Church has been quite convenient for me as its literally 5 minutes, even less away from my home.

I think the closest Orthodox church is off vance Jackson, which isn't too bad. I think maybe 20 minutes tops. It's a bit hard to get around too since I have to borrow my sister's vehicle when she's not using it lol.

I'll level with you and tell you right off the bat that the least inconvenient thing about Orthodoxy is the length of the drive to church, lol. Some of the people from our parish are driving close to 2 hours. It's just a fact of life here in the states at the present time. I checked that church you mentioned, it's Antiochan, which is in communion with the Russians, the Greeks, etc. It'd likely be a good first choice although I have no personal experience with that parish. There is some level of arabic element to that particular branch so it might feel more comfortable to you. Perhaps the Lord is beckoning you there.

BTW I'm playing down in Gruene on saturday if you get bored this weekend, just wanted to mention that. I'd love to meet you in person someday and that particular venue has been my musical home for the last 8 years so you will def be made to feel welcome.

 

[lol]

I'll level with you and tell you right off the bat that the least inconvenient thing about Orthodoxy is the length of the drive to church, lol. Some of the people from our parish are driving close to 2 hours. It's just a fact of life here in the states at the present time. I checked that church you mentioned, it's Antiochan, which is in communion with the Russians, the Greeks, etc. It'd likely be a good first choice although I have no personal experience with that parish. There is some level of arabic element to that particular branch so it might feel more comfortable to you. Perhaps the Lord is beckoning you there.

BTW I'm playing down in Gruene on saturday if you get bored this weekend, just wanted to mention that. I'd love to meet you in person someday and that particular venue has been my musical home for the last 8 years so you will def be made to feel welcome.

Yeah it's St. Ephraim. The other orthodox churches are towards downtown and downtown is a not so fun experience in this city lol. Christian Palestinians typically belong to the Greek Orthodox church. I did meet a jordanian Christian from a Catholic background years back who is now a Baptist pastor. I've not spoken to him in a while though and I feel some guilt for that. His wife however is Palestinian Greek Orthodox.

At the moment my gf is trying to figure out my birthday shenanigans. So far, we are thinking of going to St. George Sunday 12-5 for the Lebanese festivities. So Saturday actually might be doable. And for the gf, it might be something different for her.

 

[VonBonfire]

Yeah it's St. Ephraim. The other orthodox churches are towards downtown and downtown is a not so fun experience in this city lol. Christian Palestinians typically belong to the Greek Orthodox church. I did meet a jordanian Christian from a Catholic background years back who is now a Baptist pastor. I've not spoken to him in a while though and I feel some guilt for that. His wife however is Palestinian Greek Orthodox.

At the moment my gf is trying to figure out my birthday shenanigans. So far, we are thinking of going to St. George Sunday 12-5 for the Lebanese festivities. So Saturday actually might be doable. And for the gf, it might be something different for her.

I hear you about downtown. I am not a big fan of trying to get in and out of there. I've done it a few times for gigs. Fortunately most of my work is in more laid back areas with easier parking, and better pay, LOL.

St. Ephraim the Syrian appears to be the patron saint of that parish. He is among my favorite saints. He was a spiritual giant in the orthodox church in his day and still looms large. I have a spiritual psalter with his writings in it that I usually read from as part of my prayer time. Quite an amazing little book. Very powerful stuff.

Antioch is in Turkey, close to the Syrian border. You probably knew that. We have a member here at RT who is close to his chrismation into the Antiochan church. I could probably ask him to detail some of the liturgy since he is familiar with it if that might be something you are interested in hearing about.

Happy birthday. May God grant you many years! At some point it seems like we will get the opportunity to meet whether it's this weekend or another. I look forward to that.

 

[lol]

I hear you about downtown. I am not a big fan of trying to get in and out of there. I've done it a few times for gigs. Fortunately most of my work is in more laid back areas with easier parking, and better pay, LOL.

St. Ephraim the Syrian appears to be the patron saint of that parish. He is among my favorite saints. He was a spiritual giant in the orthodox church in his day and still looms large. I have a spiritual psalter with his writings in it that I usually read from as part of my prayer time. Quite an amazing little book. Very powerful stuff.

Antioch is in Turkey, close to the Syrian border. You probably knew that. We have a member here at RT who is close to his chrismation into the Antiochan church. I could probably ask him to detail some of the liturgy since he is familiar with it if that might be something you are interested in hearing about.

Happy birthday. May God grant you many years! At some point it seems like we will get the opportunity to meet whether it's this weekend or another. I look forward to that.

That's awesome! Yeah I'd definitely be interested! My gf is trying to juggle my birthday stuff alongside taking care of her mother, who is very ill. I told her I'm not all that concerned with my birthday stuff, but she does want to have the weekend together and especially for the Lebanese festival.

I appreciate the birthday wishes! I'll run it by her for sure. She may be up for something completely different than what she is used to this Saturday. Just shoot me a time and location and I'll see if it is something we can swing. I don't get out much, so I'd be willing to make an exception lol.

 

[VonBonfire]

That's awesome! Yeah I'd definitely be interested! My gf is trying to juggle my birthday stuff alongside taking care of her mother, who is very ill. I told her I'm not all that concerned with my birthday stuff, but she does want to have the weekend together and especially for the Lebanese festival.

I appreciate the birthday wishes! I'll run it by her for sure. She may be up for something completely different than what she is used to this Saturday. Just shoot me a time and location and I'll see if it is something we can swing. I don't get out much, so I'd be willing to make an exception lol.

I will let him know in the a.m that you might be interested in talking about the Antiochan church specifically. He's an hour ahead of us so getting a little late for him I reckon.

I gotta check the start time on the gig, normally 8-11 in the summer but he might want to run 7-10 now that we are getting into fall. I'll let you know. It's a chill venue, pecan orchard outdoors and the weather should be gorgeous. Maybe get some of that cranked Twin Reverb action, lol. I'll be in touch!

 

[lol]

I will let him know in the a.m that you might be interested in talking about the Antiochan church specifically. He's an hour ahead of us so getting a little late for him I reckon.

I gotta check the start time on the gig, normally 8-11 in the summer but he might want to run 7-10 now that we are getting into fall. I'll let you know. It's a chill venue, pecan orchard outdoors and the weather should be gorgeous. Maybe get some of that cranked Twin Reverb action, lol. I'll be in touch!

Sounds good mate. The weather lately has really been nice. Been spending a lot of time in my yard the past week.

 

[VonBonfire]

Sounds good mate. The weather lately has really been nice. Been spending a lot of time in my yard the past week.

Oh yeah, I finally shut off the A/C and opened the windows! My electric bill should be low enough to afford to buy a few Christmas gifts now if I play my cards right!

 

[lol]

Oh yeah, I finally shut off the A/C and opened the windows! My electric bill should be low enough to afford to buy a few Christmas gifts now if I play my cards right!

I do keep my AC temp higher than I'd like, but it hasn't needed to run all week which is great. Finally hoping for a break on the bill.

 

[VonBonfire]

I do keep my AC temp higher than I'd like, but it hasn't needed to run all week which is great. Finally hoping for a break on the bill.

I can get my bill under a hundred bucks a month if I don't run the A/C and I use the clothesline for my laundry.

 

[lol]

I can get my bill under a hundred bucks a month if I don't run the A/C and I use the clothesline for my laundry.

Oh that would be a dream if I could get my bill that low. 3300 sqft home with two others living here makes it not possible.

 

[VonBonfire]

Oh that would be a dream if I could get my bill that low. 3300 sqft home with two others living here makes it not possible.

I'm about 720 sq ft on the ground floor with 300-400sq ft loft. If I had 3300 sq ft I'd probably get lost looking for the bathroom.

 

[lol]

I'm about 720 sq ft on the ground floor with 300-400sq ft loft. If I had 3300 sq ft I'd probably get lost looking for the bathroom.

I lived alone for a while and this home is beyond overkill for me lol. It's a long story how I ended up with it.

But my younger sister moved in a little less than a year ago and I have my roommate who I met a while back during some jam sessions.

With my cognitive issues, yeah I do get lost a lot lol.

 

[VonBonfire]

I lived alone for a while and this home is beyond overkill for me lol. It's a long story how I ended up with it.

That would creep me out if I were alone in a house that size. I was in a 4000sq ft home once, I had a hard time finding the front door to leave and the living room was bigger than my cabin.

 

[lol]

That would creep me out if I were alone in a house that size. I was in a 4000sq ft home once, I had a hard time finding the front door to leave and the living room was bigger than my cabin.

Yeah, it's not just the size but the lack of traffic lol. Just way too quiet and kinda unsettling at times. If I wasn't playing my bass, I would just blast music from my computer in my music room and keep it playing.

 

[VonBonfire]

Yeah, it's not just the size but the lack of traffic lol. Just way too quiet and kinda unsettling at times. If I wasn't playing my bass, I would just blast music from my computer in my music room and keep it playing.

I moved out here to about six acres after spending a few years living next to a road that was kind of like a racetrack in St. Pete. I spent the first few nights laying awake, eerily quiet except for some owls and coyotes. I have definitely grown to love the quiet nights and the starry skies out here, especially after a full blast night gigging down on 6th street. I feel blessed to have been able to enjoy the best of both worlds here since I don't have to live inside the rat race.

 

[lol]

I moved out here to about six acres after spending a few years living next to a road that was kind of like a racetrack in St. Pete. I spent the first few nights laying awake, eerily quiet except for some owls and coyotes. I have definitely grown to love the quiet nights and the starry skies out here, especially after a full blast night gigging down on 6th street. I feel blessed to have been able to enjoy the best of both worlds here since I don't have to live inside the rat race.

At least when I am outdoors, that is where I want quiet. In my area, the outdoors isn't so quiet. People peeling out in their vehicles with obnoxiously loud exhaust is a common occurrence along with ghetto shoot outs here and there.

My area used to be one of the nicer sides of town, but over the years it's changed.

I wanted to move out to the country. Mom wasn't having it though. Now I'm stuck with this place and looks like I'm not going anywhere anytime soon lol.

 

[VonBonfire]

At least when I am outdoors, that is where I want quiet. In my area, the outdoors isn't so quiet. People peeling out in their vehicles with obnoxiously loud exhaust is a common occurrence along with ghetto shoot outs here and there.

My area used to be one of the nicer sides of town, but over the years it's changed.

I wanted to move out to the country. Mom wasn't having it though. Now I'm stuck with this place and looks like I'm not going anywhere anytime soon lol.

My neighbors across the street in St. Pete used to rap the pipes out on their raced out BMW all the time. I kind of liked it tbh, signs of life. Someone in the neighborhood peppered doors with flyers trying to get me to be a rat over it...yeah, not gonna happen. They weren't speeding and nobody was getting hurt, they were just making noise during the daylight hours. Not a big deal to me.

Then there was shots fired one night in our otherwise decent neighborhood. We ducked down in the back bedroom. The police chopper lit me up as I self-cleared my yard just so I could tell the cops they weren't going to be searching my back yard for whoever it was they were looking for. I decided to move back to Texas after that. Now the dirty sheriff's deputies fly their drone out here for practice, crapping on my right to privacy. The plan is to finish this place out, record another album, and find a new place to go. Another year or two. I just don't know where to go yet.

 

[lol]

My neighbors across the street in St. Pete used to rap the pipes out on their raced out BMW all the time. I kind of liked it tbh, signs of life. Someone in the neighborhood peppered doors with flyers trying to get me to be a rat over it...yeah, not gonna happen. They weren't speeding and nobody was getting hurt, they were just making noise during the daylight hours. Not a big deal to me.

Then there was shots fired one night in our otherwise decent neighborhood. We ducked down in the back bedroom. The police chopper lit me up as I self-cleared my yard just so I could tell the cops they weren't going to be searching my back yard for whoever it was they were looking for. I decided to move back to Texas after that. Now the dirty sheriff's deputies fly their drone out here for practice, crapping on my right to privacy. The plan is to finish this place out, record another album, and find a new place to go. Another year or two. I just don't know where to go yet.

My gf will likely inherit her aunts home in sweetwater TX. So far it's looking like I'll end up there eventually. My only concern is that sweetwater is prone to getting wrecked by tornadoes. But I'm tired of the big city life. It's just not for me. It's been a fairly big regret of mine to move back here, but all of my immediate family is here and I did miss them a lot.

Sometimes I think a state like Wyoming would be perfect for me considering my reclusive nature lol. I've still got time to figure it all out.

 

[VonBonfire]

My gf will likely inherit her aunts home in sweetwater TX. So far it's looking like I'll end up there eventually. My only concern is that sweetwater is prone to getting wrecked by tornadoes. But I'm tired of the big city life. It's just not for me. It's been a fairly big regret of mine to move back here, but all of my immediate family is here and I did miss them a lot.

Sometimes I think a state like Wyoming would be perfect for me considering my reclusive nature lol. I've still got time to figure it all out.

Understood. I have seen my parents for about 8 or 10 hours in the last decade. Moved here to pursue music. They understand my reasons but they are both almost 80 now so it's become a more pressing matter. I never considered how quickly they would get "old". I can hear my old man's voice over the phone slowing down in the last year. He's been on and off with prostate cancer, currently in remission, but he told me a couple months back "no more chemo, no more treatments" so I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around. He is basically who made everything I've done possible so it'll be a brutal loss for me when he dies. I don't care to think about it too much but I pray for him religiously.

I can't say I'm a big fan of north Texas. If I'm going treeless in Texas it needs to be out in the Big Bend. You want rural? You realize how much light pollution has destroyed the night skies when you get out to Terlingua. Amazing stars. The Lord's handiwork revealed! Also probably the most remote location I have ever been. As for Wyoming, it's $$$ and harsh winters. You couldn't pay me to live through snow and cold anymore.

 

[lol]

Understood. I have seen my parents for about 8 or 10 hours in the last decade. Moved here to pursue music. They understand my reasons but they are both almost 80 now so it's become a more pressing matter. I never considered how quickly they would get "old". I can hear my old man's voice over the phone slowing down in the last year. He's been on and off with prostate cancer, currently in remission, but he told me a couple months back "no more chemo, no more treatments" so I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around. He is basically who made everything I've done possible so it'll be a brutal loss for me when he dies. I don't care to think about it too much but I pray for him religiously.

I can't say I'm a big fan of north Texas. If I'm going treeless in Texas it needs to be out in the Big Bend. You want rural? You realize how much light pollution has destroyed the night skies when you get out to Terlingua. Amazing stars. The Lord's handiwork revealed! Also probably the most remote location I have ever been. As for Wyoming, it's $$$ and harsh winters. You couldn't pay me to live through snow and cold anymore.

My mother moved to indiana almost 2 years ago. She does come down to visit quite frequently and it's a blessing. As for my father, I've got no relationship with him. Have not spoke to him in years. It is sad, but the guy was a dick my entire life lol. Not a good person at all. I wish things were better, but such is life. I have an ok relationship with my siblings and nieces and nephews too thankfully.

Years back I went out to helotes with a friend of mine to her father's home. Not too far out from where I live. Guy had a decent lot of land. Best view of the sky I had seen. The light pollution really does blow here in the city though.

I do have very low tolerance for cold weather. But I also have a very low tolerance for the heat. I'm either sweating horribly or shivering like a mad man. Nothing ever in between. My body's temperature regulation has gone completely out of wack over the years.