THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!

Greetings Selection Committee, I'm Greg and I'm really excited about the reef job!

Excited scarcely begins to describe it. This week has been an absolute squall of media interviews, packing, research, interview preparation... oh, and teaching full time too. I can't wait to get on that plane and head off to The Best Job in the World, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves here. I need to be chosen first. Though I feel like I've already been chosen. This entire process has been challenging yet very rewarding. I've been so blessed to experience just a bit of celebrity and now I get to fly out to some of the most beautiful islands in the world to meet a crew selected from out of more than 34,000 applicants! This is one to tell the great-grandchildren about. But since that's a ways off I'll just stick to telling my faithful readers.

Thank you again to everyone who voted and spread the word. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Thank you for prayers for safety whilst traveling, and for God's blessing as I experience His beautiful creation and interview for this amazing job. I want this job, but even more, I want His will done in my life.

I fly out Friday morning at 9:55AM Singapore time and the media madness and awesome itinerary begin on Saturday. Stay tuned for some updates!

I just got this cool quote from my friend, Grant - my application filmographer - he was just trekking in New Zealand and was rescued from floods by helicopter!
"Attempt something so impossible that failure is certain unless God steps in and helps!"

-Greg

PS: Liz, if you're reading, I hope you're loving Guatemala!

Billionaires in Bintan

Okay, so I wasn't exactly a billionaire, but have you ever just pulled one million in cash from the ATM? It's pretty fun! The whole purpose of the 1,000,000 rupiah was to cover the weekend stag party for my good friend, Chris. He's about to join the ranks of married men and we sent him off well.

We spend the weekend at a very chill resort called, The Shady Shack (mosquito nets included), in Bintan, Indonesia. It's a very apt name as each of us got a shack and some shade right on the beach. The mee and nasi goreng were pretty standard, but the dinner spread was a thing of beauty. Ayam curry, tempe, tofu, fried chicken, fried sotong, nasi, vegetables. DELICIOUS! Lobo (aka, The Wolfman) puts on a good spread.

The highlights for me were the food, the fireworks, underwater bocce, and the water. Now the fireworks weren't anything like the fireworks most people would expect. These fireworks came in the form of a large bushfire that started upwind from our driftwood & thatched roof shacks.

We'd all headed out for a swim and nearly chocked on the smoke by the time we got to the stinger-free water. The conversation migrated from carefree comments on the smoke and fire to genuine concern about the fire burning down our accommodations and how much of a damper that would put on an otherwise-well-planned stag party.

Back at "The Shack" we finished lunch amidst drifting ash, but Lobo assured us there was nothing to worry about. After lunch our beach bocce game ended up migrating into the water - partly due to the smoke and partly due to our pioneering nature. And Underwater Bocce was born. We played numerous permutations of the game, but found it is best to play in water no deeper than waist-deep. One optional rule is that all players must toss their ball before the pallino (little ball) hits the water. Though a word of caution - HEADS UP!

My favorite part of the weekend was the water. It was a gorgeous aquamarine color and the visibility was amazing! Several of us donned masks & snorkels and headed out to see what we could; we weren't disappointed!

Floating in the calm blue water, looking down upon another world is such a wonderful experience. There wasn't a lot of variety in the coral, nor were there lots of fish, but taking in the quiet ocean and visiting this other world only added to my excitement about visiting the Great Barrier Reef! That will be a sight, or many sights, to behold. I can't wait for Friday to come!

Needless to say, our shacks didn't burn down, and The Wolfman's resort lives to treat other guests to simplicity and smorgasbord. Thanks for the good times, Lobo, and thanks for getting married, Chris. We all need a good reason to celebrate now and then.

I Think it Finally Hit Me

I was doing a little reading about the GBR the other day and I think the whole thing finally sank in... a little. I'm going to the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef! I get to see the largest living organism in the world! I get to stay in some of the most amazing accommodation on some of the most beautiful islands in the world! That is incredible! Some of my friends said they couldn't think of anyone who deserves it more. But I didn't do anything to deserve this. This is plain and simple a blessing bestowed by God. Not for anything I did, it's just a blessing. And that I even made it into the final sixteen is nothing short of a miracle. So what do I do with this gift? I appreciate it for everything it's worth. And I use it to bless others. Bless them with pictures and stories of the beauty of God's creation. And bless everyone I encounter there by loving and caring and serving as Jesus did. I think that would be a good start.

Power 98 Interview

Hey y'all, I just got back from a live, in-studio interview at Power 98 radio station, Singapore! My new friend Harry had me on the Double Espresso show and I believe I'll be on the news with S Y later today. Singapore's Media Development Authority is pretty strict about streaming, but I'll have the audio up asap! Thanks, Harry & S Y!

The UNDERDOG!?!

Hey guys, apparently I'm the underdog at the bookies taking bets on the winner of The Best Job in the World. First I laughed, then I was a little disheartened, then I remembered the bookies aren't in charge. I believe if God wants me there, He will place me there, regardless of what the bookies say. Being the underdog would just make His work that much more obvious. I didn't do this on my own!

KS95 Interview was Great!

Just finished my interview with Greg & Melissa on their KS95 Morning Show and it was awesome! If you stopped in after listening to their show, thanks for tuning in! And thanks for stoppng by! I'm headed out in Singapore to celebrate!
Hope you all have a blessed Good Friday!
Check out: www.islandreefjob.com
And: www.ks95.com/gregmelissa/index.shtml

Tune in to KS95 Greg & Melissa Morning Show

Hey Guys,
I'm going to be on the KS95 Greg and Melissa morning show in Minneapolis Thursday around 7:35AM. It's 94.5FM. Tune in!

New Interview, New Haircut

I got another new haircut! Don't worry, it's still a Mohawk, just a bit shorter. When the spikes came out it looked like the worst comb-over... ever! There's a chance all the male PE teachers here will have a Mohawk by Friday. We'll see if they stay true to their word.

I just had a cool interview with John from The Courrier-Mail, Queensland's largest daily newspaper! I'll post the link as soon as the article is up!

You can also listen for me on Minneapolis on Thursday morning around 7:30 am on the KS95 Greg & Melissa Morning Show.

Looks like the Albert Lea Tribune will be covering the story as well.

Top 16! Holy Cow!

It's been a few days and I can still hardly believe it! Out of 34,684 applicants, I've made it to the final 16! Getting that call on Friday morning was just about as sweet as it gets, ladies and gentlemen. Of course, I called my mom and then the rest of my family. Much to my chagrin, one of my sisters hung up on me twice! Her excuse, "I thought you were a telemarketer."

The day proceeded with a title wave of interest. We had a school assembly (which was already planned for other purposes) where over 900 middle-schoolers cheered for me. Then came interviews with TV, radio, and newspapers. I even did phone interview while supervising students playing water polo! Lastly, I had to follow through on a promise...

For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to say, "If I make the top 11 I'll shave my head, paint the Singapore flag on it and run down Orchard Road in my fins, snorkel & mask." The things I get myself into. Well they called me out on it and a years worth of hair was shaved down to stubble. But I felt compelled to leave a wicked Mohawk.

With Mohawk in place I proceeded to have two Singapore flags painted on my head whilst sitting along the Orchard Road Sidewalk. Needless to say I had more than a few gawkers. After one last interview I took off for my run down Orchard Road with entourage in tow. What a day!

Thank you to everyone who voted for me, promoted me, and helped make this possible. Grant, you're the man; this wouldn't have happened without your movie magic. And most of all, my thanks to Jesus for this tremendous blessing!