Why people get Angry?

Although this will seem like a blanket statement or idea, let me first state I do believe exceptions exist here. People can get angry for valid reasons etc etc. But what I am asking you to think about is, all the other times anger happens and how often it could be what I will mention below. I have recently been thinking about why people react with frustration and anger so much in response to whatever seems to be the situation. I have come to the conclusion in most of the cases where people respond in anger, they are probably just wrong about whatever and thus led to be angry or frustrated... embarrassed and prideful. I think anger is a cover up and really easy exit from the real hard path of using the words, I'm sorry or dare I mention being wrong. At some point we are so adamant about defending our honor and have chased the rabbit so far, it is a stubborn issue that we would rather continue to fight the empty fight rather and to concede and admit what we probably know as truth on the inside. Anyways, next time you find yourself responding with anger first, quickly think, am I just mad because I'm wrong.

It's good to be back in the saddle.

I am currently sitting at the kitchen table on the computer, obvisouly, making a few pit stops around the online world. (facebook, news, email, ebay, craigslist, yahoo fantasy sports) I thought today would be a great day to kick the blog back up and get things rolling again. Funny or serious for the first blog in a while...

First story, Halloween. Sarah and I were really excited about getting into our new house a few days before Halloween so we could have trick or treaters for the first time in our married life together. Sarah was off to the store to grab some candy for the night, we already had a bowl full of Reese cups and figured we would be okay but thought some extra would be better. A little background. Earlier in the day I was out in the yard and a kid a few houses down was playing and we started to talk about all the fun coming up that evening... candy etc. Trying and wanting to be the "cool" new people on the block, I told him to make sure to stop by our house and I would hook him up with good candy. Fast forward to about 630pm. A ring at the door and guess who, the kid I talked to earlier that day. I opened the door to find a kid wearing the same thing he had been wearing earlier, soccer shorts and a soccer tee shirt, standing there with a grocery bag. Against my better judgement, I decided to forgo the need for a costume and let him get some candy. Then the key mistake was made, as the words left my mouth I knew I had made a bad choice of sentence structure. "Go ahead and grab you a big handful", I said. (like a dumbfounded deer caught in the headlights of a car about to plow over them) Before I knew it, I looked down to what was now a desert of a bowl, a place where Reeses used to run wild in their natural surroundings... now a desolate place of the surviving few, cold from the lose of warmth their recently stolen brethren had provided. In less words, he took all of my candy but four... I learned a lesson this Halloween. Never tell someone who considers candy to be a fair currency to "go ahead and grab you a big handful"... NEVER.

Suburban Brad

This morning it hit me... I am officially a suburban resident again, and I freaking love it. I have started getting up early to go running and by running I mean 1.4 miles which to most is not much, to me it is a marathon. This morning, I went running a little later and the suburban life was out and about, from school kids, to crossing guards, squirrels and me. I decided to take Maple with me this morning to experience all the fun and get her heart rate up too. We past Mr. Loots and his dog and quickly another dog/owner combo to which Maple wanted to visit them both but we pressed on. I really enjoy being able to see people as we run, it very full of life. Next was the crossing guard, wow, dedication. It was the same lady whom was there when I was in middle school etc. I do not know what would drive an individual to "guard" that long, but I am assuming it is something other than the money. The next attraction was the line of ants, I mean cars waiting to drop off there kids at the school, they really looked like ants. They were everywhere, from every direction. Passed another crossing guard and on towards the shopping centers down the road. Maple was doing okay at this point, every once in a while looking up at me to say, "I hate you". Shopping Center was dead, which from here we proceeded to the home stretch. Right towards the end, I heard a noise, sounded like crunching. As I looked up I saw a squirrel sitting on a branch eating some sort of nut, watching us go by. It was pretty amusing. I think these are a few example of why I like suburban life... the life you get to see around you, not to abrasive, not to suffocating, but just sharing the experience with you.

I usually grammar check, but I really want to go eat breakfast with Sarah, so if any mistakes, I am sorry.

Springer's Experiment Lives on but a little more sparse

Well folks, it has been a little more than a year now and the post count was 348 posts over the last year. It was a really great time and I was able to write about things that I normally would have just kept in my thoughts. I have decided that in my absence over the last few weeks to make a decision of where I am going to head with my blog. I have decided to post twice a week. So set your feeders and email notification because here they come. I have really enjoyed the last year of blogging but I do not see it possible to continue the daily pursuit. In closing, I look forward to getting to share my thoughts each week and speak to current topics, issues and thoughts that stick in my head. Please continue the feedback if you would like. I would like to give a special mention to Patrick Allen for the most comments this last year and also the most "get your butt in gear" posts award as well. I have enjoyed them very much. The Allen brother dominated the comment box. It has been a great experiment and I will always enjoy looking back over the blog timeline to see the fun we had the first year. So here is to year two and all the fun we shall have. Coming this week, "the turd in the restaurant" and "change is spending". Night Night

Back behind the wheel

First of all I would like to dedicate today's blog to the Allen Brothers, and to the letter S, which stands for suspense. I have a variety of things I would like to write about, but today I will dive into a little Political rant for a moment, since it has been a while. Lately the hot topic has been the health care battle and everyone is talking etc. I was watching the news the other day when Mrs. Pelosi made a comment calling some protesters unAmerican etc. This struck me as a little odd, this made me think back to a few years ago to many different protests against the Iraq war and others things against the "Bush" regime. These people were not called unAmerican at all, might have been called a distribance but not that far. I just think it is an interesting observation to see how the tables have turned. I expect when the powers at hand change, then the twist on things are usually in their favor. I just think sometimes political double standards is something that really gets me going, especially when it is compeletly self serving, yeap take that Nancy... how long till she's gets voted out?

I'm back (right one)

I will be starting the blog back up on Monday so get ready for some goodness.

I'm back

Allen Wedding Weekend: site will be down for routine maintenance.

It's been a while, but this will make up for it

Well, I know I have been somewhat spotty on posting, but tonight I will redeem myself. It has been a busy few weeks here at camp, and I have encountered a lot of different Texans to write about- but last night I met the craziest one so far. Here is the story. We had a night event last night that required to have some speakers outside playing Mission Impossible theme music, while the kids went through camp protecting their leader. After the event, the kids went back into the club room and the music was still playing as they went in. Soon after, Bradley and I were about to go turn off the music and up rolled a car. We looked at each other as to decide who was going to go approach and talk to the car, and before we could begin to discuss, and old guy got out. He started to walk a straight line towards the speakers, which were away from Bradley and me. Bradley (BMess for short) started to trot after him to talk to him, as I got out my phone ready to call Chase, the Camp Director. I was about ten feet behind Bradley and noticed he was talking to the guy, and the old guy was pissed about the music. There conversation went like this. This is the shortened version with some highlights.

BMess: Sir can I help you?
Old Guy: Yeah I am going to turn of this G*$ *&$@ music, I am tired of this S***.
BMess: I would love to talk to you about this sir
Old Guy: This is ******* public property, you can't have this S*** going like this
BMess: Sir, this is actually private property
Old Guy: Where the hell is the gate
BMess: you drove threw it

At this time, we noticed the old guy had a little bat along with his Mag Light and Camel Light that had as Bradley put it, "burnt his beard and made it look like a Christmas Tree". So, Old Guy had a bat and had made it to the speaker, which was near Bradley's head. Old Guy took a swing and connected to the speaker. At this point I had already called Chase and was walking up to join Bradley with the Old Guy, and Chase was behind me. Old Guy turned and speed walked to his car. As he walked off, we were still trying to talk to the guy, and he yelled something about working in the prison where talking didn't work. Well, we got his car type and description... and guess what we called the police. At this point it was about 12:30 in the morning. The po po ended up finding the guy later that night. (how I am not sure, but kudos to the Riverside Police for their skills) The Deputy said, that the guy was about 70 years old and grumpy and would never bother us again, he told Old Guy that if he ever came on property again, he would end up in jail. (which if quicker on our toes, he would have ended up in last night)

So hope that story is spicy enough to make up for the lack of blogging these days.

Consistency

I was thinking a bunch yesterday about consistency. We all want it and hope to have it in life everyday. I think we all desire consistent people in our lives, those we are close to, those we work with, spouses, neighbors. I am also pretty sure that as a whole, most people are not to familiar with what it truly looks like, hence we are always worrying about other people etc etc. Yesterday, I thought about those people who are consistent in my life and who truly provide me with what I consider consistency. The things which came to mind were, trust, honesty, being able to call whenever, grace. I am very thankful that I can look at people in my life and truly see consistency, I think it is what we strive for.

Pirate

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Arrrggg

Hello Agian from Texas, as internet has not been my best friend, I realize I have missed a few days here and there. Today I would like to share a picture of Bradley and myself. Here at Wyldlife Camping, we have what we call Pirate/Princess night. This is where we split up the camp and send the guys away with all the guys to go do, "guy things" like caber tossing, arm wrestling, tug o war and eat bbq with our hands... oh yeah and dress up like pirates. The ladies go do princess things, that, I am not to sure about what they do. Bradley and I decided to join in on the fun and dress up like pirates as well. Above you will find a picture of what that looked like. I must say, it was a ton of fun and we look like bad "a" pirates.

Happily, hello!

Well folks, I am on the Internet and up and running. I would first like to thank hugh from hughes net for giving me this opportunity to be up and running and God for keep the clouds out of the sky so that hugh can get a signal. So... there have been so many stories since Bradley and I left Georgia in the likeness of the Beverly Hillbillies, to the hundreds of miles of bridges we spent time on in the "wetlands of the south". I know this blog will be a hodge podge of stories so I will get started. First I would like to say that the Texas road systems must have been designed by a monkey, where else does a stop sign lead up to an interstate. We had a run in with a cashier at a home depot who asked us if North Carolina was spelled with a c or a k... It has been a great time so far, Bradey and I have been the jack of all trades doing many different tasks and getting it done. If you do not know, I am in Texas for a month working at a camp that Young Life rents. The staff here has been amazing and wonderful and really pushed me to love people more. I am happy to be back in the blogosphere and look forward to sharing many more stories while we are here. Love you all.

P.S. Here is a quote from a lady outside of cracker barrel in Mississippi when she saw our truck.

Wow that sure is a lot of stuff on that truck... they must be moving, no one just drives around town with that much stuff in their truck, yea they must be moving.

Mia again.

Allen Wedding Weekend: site will be down for routine maintenance.

Eta

Sorry folks Texas has been working me hard. New blogs are on the way, Texas is full of
Stuff to make fun of.

Mississippi

Two greatest quotes of the day so far. ( in refernce to mississippi )

1. We have been driving in this state for an hour... It's 2009, I mean there isn't s@$& in this state. (sorry mom)

2. I'd hate to play hide and go seek in those woods, no one would ever find you.

Texas bound 2

We are on our way to Carolina Creek, here is Bradley taking his first shift behind the wheel. I had to ask him a series of questions to make sure he was mentally awake to drive. We are currently in the tail end of Alabama... I think. Anyone know what is special about Alabama, so far we are not sure.

Texas bound

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Texas time.

30 hours till I am on my way to Texas. I wonder if a Texan will punch me when I inform them that all is not bigger and better there, it just seems that way because it takes longer to get places and the heat makes you delerious. (sp) Also it sounds like you (Patrick) are getting a little sweet on Texas. Getting soft on me.

Sweet Sarah and Maple Picture

Sarah was saying goodnight to Maple and Maple was in a cuddly mood. Sometimes dogs bring out a side of me that makes me look forward to having kids. I know comparing a dog to kids is "crazy" but I love my dog and if it's any indication about how much I will love my kids one day, they will be loved beyond belief.

Sweet Sarah and Maple Picture

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Jasper Jeep is no longer King or Queen

I was driving by Jasper Jeep today and noticed something which stood out to me, the amount of Jeeps in their inventory. The inventory was at about 19 or so. This is a large reduction from what the lot could hold. The special thing about Jasper Jeep is, it used to be the number one Jeep dealer in all of the world, they would sell more Jeeps than anyone... anyone in the world of Jeep selling. What a huge turn of events, such a different world for them now, from the biggest and best to just trying to survive amongst the dying world of SUV sales.

I know this might sound gross

So, I just got home from work. Before I left as I was getting into my car and heard something in the woods right in front of me, it was a deer. I found this out when I turned on my lights. I was sitting there talking to a friend who was leaving at the same time, while we watched the deer. Then I saw something I have never seen before, the deer pooped. A deer poops like a girl dog pees. This deer sat there for about five minutes while were talking and pooped. It was very funny to witness. And now I sleep.

Growing Older, but not Old yet.

I have been thinking today about getting older. Now with that said, I know I am only approaching 27 and to many this is a budding young age which knows very little of aging. But as I have gained some age year by year it continues to increase in sweet moments I might have missed previously. Simple moments, calm moments, genuine moments that scream with authentic flavor. I was home in Cary, NC for a brief stay on Thursday afternoon through Friday around noon to drop off some of our stuff in preparation for our move to North Carolina. (Yes, Orlando we are moving and yes we should talk) As I was standing the driveway I grew up playing in with my Dog, Maple, I took a moment to look around and enjoy my surroundings and all the stories that came flooding back to my mind... playing army dodge ball, the little hole in the driveway that I thought looked like the united states, playing army, jumping in leave piles, riding my bike around the house over and over, my brother carrying me into the house with a skint up knee, wrestling with my brother all over the place, falling out of my tree-house. (how I survived, not sure). These are just a few to name, they are memories that will never leave but are easy to breeze by. This time, I stood on the driveway and slowly enjoyed the moment of peace that being "home" provided, the safety and love that is the sanctuary of family. I later went to eat with my parents to eat some wings, and onion rings, fries, beer. (perfect meal) As I sat in the booth with Sarah, Mom and Dad, I had another moment. I was sitting here, sharing meal with my folks, drinking a beer with my Dad and could not imagine anything better. I talked with my Dad about politics, and such, updated my Mom on life and just enjoyed the sweet time. These are the moments I am striving to hold onto these days, simple interactions that carry more weight than anything I could think of. So I guess the moral of my ah ha moment is to take it in and enjoy authentic love, past and present.

Dinner/sleeping setup

This is our living setup for the next few days. We moved our stuff to cary yesterday, so we are now living on floor matteeses and a cardboard dinner table with van seats for chairs. A little pizza and some arrested development and we are good to go.

Dinner/sleeping setup

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Republicans Unite!

Today, I watched/read as Governor Sanford admitted to having an affair with some woman in Argentina, from a dear friend, to a consistent email, to...affair. At this point in the political scene, this is not what the GOP needs right now. Furthermore, how stupid can Mr.Sanford be, which is just as dumb as the rest of the politicians who have had affairs recently. But I think Gov. Sanford's case is a little more special than most. In a time where the GOP needs to be united and stronger than ever to put themselves back on the map, this kind of crap does nothing but slow them down. For someone to get elected to Governor, they must have something knocking upstairs, I am just sad that he could not control his loins. This kind of thing is becoming a weekly occurrence, I wonder who the next winner of the "uncontrollable loins" award will be?

The Target One Spot

Sarah and I were in Target the other day getting some Starbucks and reading. On the way out of the coffee shop, Sarah said she wanted to go look at the "one spot" for a second just to see if there were any good deals. I responded with come on, seriously, it's all crap and a waste of money. So, I lost the battle and so we went over to look at the cheap stuff. As we walked through the four small isles of one dollar items, I turned a corner and something caught my eye. I crouched down to get a closer look and YESSS it was as I had hoped.... Presidential flashcards. One flashcard for each president and some history and talking points for each one. I got pretty excited and immediately grabbed one up and decided to add the United States flashcards as well. (exposed dork, I know) As we walked out of the "one spot" with my flashcards and Sarah empty handed, she laughed at me. She did not even need to say anything, just a satisfied smile of victory as we walked away.

My interactions with the bugs

Today I had two different interactions with two different bugs. One was a little flying/crawling bug, very tiny little guy and the other was a worm. The crawly guy I met while I was in a meeting this morning. I was sitting at a very large table with twenty other people and I looked down and there he was, just crawling along. As I watched him walk around putting his feelers on the table and working his way along, I thought, "buddy you picked the wrong place to be, you are most likely not going to make it much longer." He was just walking around doing his own thing walking around within what he knew to be his surroundings... all was normal to him. I guess it was just a interesting perspective to take for a moment. Especially when he would get close to my hand and I would blow him away, hurricane. The other bug was a worm I walked up on in the field beside our dining hall. It had not rained, so it was odd to see him out crawling on top of the grass. I also thought about his perspective. He was on his way somewhere, and most likely had a long way to go. So small and such a large area to travel. Thus my world in the mind of a bug today.

Please read and respond (change we can believe in?)

Here is a excerpt from a Newsweek article I read this morning.


"As a senator, Barack Obama denounced the Bush administration for holding "secret energy meetings" with oil executives at the White House. But last week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama's "clean coal" policies. One reason: the disclosure of such records might impinge on privileged "presidential communications." The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure. Since Obama pledged on his first day in office to usher in a "new era" of openness, "nothing has changed," says David -Sobel, a lawyer who litigates FOIA cases. "For a president who said he was going to bring unprecedented transparency to government, you would certainly expect more than the recycling of old Bush secrecy policies."

I know that as a private citizen I do know all the facts that surround those top level decisions and this could be protecting my safety etc. But this really fires me up. DO not ride in on a horse of blame and finger pointing to a previous administration and then quietly pick up their practices and pretend like all is well. I am somewhat dumbfounded by all of this. So far, the change we can believe in should be called, change is only in the name switch. So far only more money spent, less results, and much of the same practices that were blamed during a campaign to acquire the White House. At what point do people ditch the party lines and just look at what is happening and compare that with what was promised. This is where I am curious to see how common America will react to these types of things... blindly following, or time to question...

Things not to say to someone

Have you ever been told that if you don't like something or someone or whatever then you have a problem? I find this not to be the best way to carry yourself into a conversation with someone. Say you are about to meet someones friend and they say, "if you don't like them, man you need to check yourself because something is wrong with you." This is what I would describe as lacking tact. So, tonight I leave you with a short blog, just a quick reminder about how to approach someone in this situation. Caring along with the approach above would not be the best way to go. Until tomorrow night, stay classy Jasper, Georgia.

Let us just examine the facts here

I am claiming no party affiliation here, just an observation of a New York Times article I read today. Please read this quote.

WASHINGTON — When President Obama arrived at the Mandarin Oriental hotel for a fund-raising reception on Thursday night, the new White House rules of political purity were in order: no lobbyists allowed.

But at the same downtown hotel on Friday morning, registered lobbyists have not only been invited to attend an issues conference with Democratic leaders, but they have also been asked to come with a $5,000 check in hand if they want to stay in good favor with the party’s House and Senate re-election committees.

The practicality of Mr. Obama’s pledge to change the ways of Washington is colliding once more with the reality of how money, influence and governance interact here. He repeatedly declared while campaigning last year that he would “not take a dime” from lobbyists or political action committees.

So to follow through with that promise, Mr. Obama is simply leaving the room.

Following this article, I do not have much to say. Well I guess that is not true, I have a lot to say but I will limit my thoughts to one main point which is mentioned in the article. When you run on a platform, you need to stick to what people elected you for. Mr. President, please stop playing the political game and start taking on the special interests that you promised to challenge. When you campaign on the idea that you are going to change the way things are run, and then turn the cold shoulder, come on... starting giving us what you promised. Again, this is not party lines, this is just wanting what was promised.

Authentic Famous People

Today, I was reminded of how people can take just a minute of their time to do something for someone and make their day because of it. I wrote an email today to the "Get it done Guy", Stever Robbins. He does one of my favorite podcast that is about everything in life, from business, to people relations, to self care. He is pretty much the stream line guru. Extremely successful in many areas, extremely gifted in the ability to teach etc, so he is a pretty big deal. Today, I emailed him a question to propose for a topic for his show. Not imagining I would ever get a response from him personally. About 30 minutes later, I get an email in my inbox... it's Stever Robbins. He not only responded personally, but he wrote a lengthy letter to answer my question that was detailed and specific to the question that I asked. It completely made my day. It is the simple acts of kindness like this that are very unique to me. He didn't need to respond, I would have never thought twice if he didn't... but he did.... he did respond. That is what makes people different and special, that extra mile.

Best Ball

At the wedding last weekend after the rehearsal dinner all the groomsmen went out onto one of the holes on the golf course. We decided to have a chipping/driving competition on a par 3 that was not too long, not too short either. Let me just say, I am not good at golf and most sports for that matter but enjoy them non the less. So each guy put in a few bucks to make it interesting and we went to hitting the golf balls... one practice, one real deal ball. My practice shot: I completely shanked it into the woods. (by the way it is dark at this point) So each practice ball was hit, on to the real deal. As a ball would get hit and arrive close to the pin to challenge the previous place holder, we would measure it off to see who was closer. I finally hit my ball about three before the last person, we we walked my ball off it was three feet closer, and I ended up holding off my competition to win the 9 dollars. Yeah buddy. Right towards the end though it got a little more interesting as the golf cart guy who had driven by a few times already silently, cut the lights and drove by this time mustering the courage to yell, "get off the course". We finished our game and left, only I had already paid for a beer or two of my evening. Oh so nice.

Still nothing.

Laptop is not working so I am writing from the phone tonight. I am seriously having a writers block. I cab still think of nothing to write about...... Nothing. I remember having one of these a few months ago and I got through it. I would like it to end soon though. Total block. Crap. Good night.

Blank Brain

This is driving me nuts, I have found when I am super busy and have little time for myself, I have very little to write about. I think this is a result of not having much time to ponder or read the news etc. As I am sitting here writing this Sarah just killed a bug, she is really sleepy, so that means a really sluggish looking Sarah slowly tracking a bug. Very funny. So anyways I think this lack of material calls for a Maple Story. Five days ago I was sitting in the living room reading a magazine/on computer and maple was at the glass sliding door. All of the sudden she tears across the living room and runs full force into the screen door in the kitchen with enough force to make it open. Turns out a ground hog came trotting by the window and Maple was on the hunt. I turned the corner to see her working her way up a really steep hill of underbrush like a mad man possessed. It was funny, I got her back and she went back to the the window and set up shop and watched out for another hour or two waiting for the ground hog to return.

Epic

Well, after a few days off being gone, I am back to action. I have been thinking about which parts to share but it is really hard to pick. Let me fill you in some of the highlights. For Jon, Bachelor party we went out in downtown Greensboro, NC. We got to Natty Green's Bar and figured out that Jon had left his ID at the hotel. Our friend Joel offered to go back to the Hotel and grab it. (Joel by the way is 20). At this point Green's was not carding, so we could all be in the bar together to hang out. By the time Joel got back they had started to card at the door and he could not come in. This is where is gets awesome. We decided to go back to the Hotel Lounge and hang out instead, we just wanted to have some place to chill and talk and just be amongst friends. Joel was pretty bummed out we had to go the hotel and did not want to mess anything up. Oh, was he so wrong, Joel was the orchestrator of one of the most epic nights of history. We walked the half mile back to the hotel meeting people along the way and getting high fives here and there, Jon did some interpretive dance for a cover band. Once getting to the hotel lobby, we brought the heat. Lets just say we are so much fun and awesome, that people would be coming down to go out on the town and decide to stay and hang out with us. That is all for now.

P.S. Bradley lifted a couch by himself, Roberts like a smart brain, B Lewis is the best white suit wearer ever, Joel does really good cheerleader moves.... You got served, Jesse is a great piggy back ride giver, IHop brings the heat, Patrick is 22.... Jeff is fffireefotyyeeeeeeeee.... B Lewis the Cougar master, Territory fighters, and the list goes on and on, if anyone would like to add please continue.

Peace

You know I thought here for a moment about what to write tonight, but alas I am dumbfounded and cannot stir anything up. I am just very calm and still in my thoughts which is very nice. So tonight I will ask myself a question and you one as well. What motivates you?

The Simple life, thanks technology...

I would love to continue talking about policy and more, seriously, I had to talk myself out of doing a trilogy of policy blogs today. The last thing about Jackson though, I do think he had an agenda in the white house for sure. His VP did leave D.C. and head back to South Carolina to where most people from congress, labeled him as an "idiot and crazy". Many of those being past presidents. But I will say that on the Jackson side, the union was his policy, he sought to keep the union together at all costs to ensure the greater good of what he saw as the bigger picture. I am excited to see you this weekend, Patrick to continue our discussion on the topic.

Onward we go, today I would like to speak to what I have considered a God send, the iphone. Okay, I know what you are already checking out and attention is fading but stick with me for a minute. I could even say the God send is "technology". I was thinking today about how wonderful it is to get my email directly to my phone, I can delete things quickly, sort things out in a matter of seconds and deal with many different things at once. I have seen some great things come out of this. I have talked to many people who deny the need of a fancy phone because it would take them away from family etc etc and up to much of there time etc etc and how it bogs people down and they spend to much time on it.. you get the point. (I do understand that some people just do not want "fancy", but their argument stays the same) But most of these people have computers, and spend time checking emails, sorting things, paying online bills, responding to this and that, and delete junk at home. This is where I think the topic gets interesting. Since having email at my finger tips, I rarely spend much time on the computer at home, I don't need to. I have seen my time I spend with Sarah go way up and get multiple things done in less time again giving me more time for living life. So, I guess my challenge is to think about technology not as something that will kill your free time, but yet open the door wide open to free time.

Policy Continued.

I have continued to think about this topic, especially with the great comments to spur on more thought. One area that I think give a great example is when nullification was around and the threat to secede from the union during the 1830's under the presidency of Andrew Jackson. For this example, Jackson took policy over some people for what he considered the greater good for the whole that was the union. I think this is a great example of policy trumping people, the union would be preserved, no matter what, no person could have convinced Jackson otherwise, no matter what they cause. He believed in it. The interesting part is the policy hurt some and helped or supported others. Where is the balance, that is where I think the debate can roll on and will sway back and forth amongst the political powers till the end of the earth.

Policy or People

I am sorry I missed a day, I plan to write one (now for the 5th) and one more today for the 6th. I would like to pose a question today. I would love some response my great minds out there. I expect something good, Patrick, as usual. I have been reading a good bit lately and in response have been pondering some good issues. Today I would like to talk about the idea of policy and people, which comes first? Should policy be granted importance over people, or should people always gain importance over policy? Does policy serve people or the other way around? I think what has really racked my brain here are the circumstances which can shape and control the differences. Most policies are shaped to serve someone or somebody, so in the end I guess policy always serves some, and controls some. So, the answer is both. Hmmmm.

Reality of hurt

Sorry for the blog postponing, but got home so late last night, my body was arguing with me about staying up, so I conceded and went to bed. Yesterday was the day that never ends at camp, it was Day 4. I know this means very little to most of you, but it basically means that from sun up to well after sun down we are going 100 miles an hour... all day. I got to work yesterday around 7am, took a 30 minute break at 5pm to go let Maple out and feed her and then back in it till a little after midnight. It was an intense day and there was a lot of staff working last night since it is the first week of the summer. Something different happened last night that will stick with me for a long time. We had some things happen pushing everything back a while and even canceling one event, so things were a little disheveled. Around the late afternoon, I got a call on the radio to "come over to Springer (cabin) we need someone to help out Nate (EMT)". I started to jog/run over there to assist Nate in what I had been described as someone got a small cut. (If you are squeamish, this would be the time to stop reading and just ask me later) I walked into the dorm and Nate was sitting there with a young man, who had punched a window and in return received a small cut on his wrist. (it was not life threatening due to EMT being present but it required stitches) I looked around to asses the scene and we will just say there was a lot of blood. I asked Nate what I should do and through on a pair of gloves. I just did what Nate instructed me to and assisted in whatever way I was needed. As I was kneeling in front of the young man cleaning off his other hand from glass and some small cuts, I just sat and listened to him and Nate's exchange. He said, "I am really sorry about this guys, I had a temper you know, and sometimes it just comes up, I am really sorry about this, so sorry". He then went on to share a little bit about his life which I will withhold, but to each sentence, Nate remained locked in eye contact with him telling him not to worry and we are going to just take care of right now. He encouraged him just to be loved in the moment and go from there. The young man's Young Life leader sat right beside blood on his shirt holding his friend. Different "Head Leaders" would come in and out of the building while this was all going on to assess where we were and with each "I am sorry about this guys" the young man would receive, don't worry about that right now and a compassionate hug and embrace to follow. This was an amazing picture of love, not matter the action and what may have happened in whatever moment, people loving people. Grace exposed.

...

The next few days might be alittle shorter than usual as I walk around the yard searching for a signal. I was driving late two nights ago and I noticed a bunny in the middle of the road. It looked at me and instead of running quickly, it decided to show me how good It was at slow motion or the robot. Needless to say, it was to late for peter and he got tagged at 80mph. That is my story for the day. It sounds worse when you say bunny instead of rabbit. I said I ran over a rabbit, I think of a stupid dirty rabbit that steals credit cards and identities, but bunny, that conjures up thoughts of free chocolate and goodies.

Goodbye GM

I was listening/reading to the news this morning and heard about some of the GM bankruptcy going on. I was informed the head person in charge of the government side of things is at the veteran old age of 31. Well, first you think, he must be an economical brain, nope, he must have a Harvard MBA or something, nope, maybe a MBA, nope, ahhhh then he must be really well versed in the auto world which grants him the place amongst the top of the company rebuild, you guessed it nope. He is a lackey, a yes man, a servant of an economical brain of the current administration. People say the spoils system is so horrible and special interest groups would not leak into this clean and clear administration, I am not saying all is a loss blah blah blah, I would just like to hear some people start to admit that what we have here currently is vaguely familiar to the last, I don't know couple hundred years of administrations. Our new ambassador to Japan, no experience in speaking Japanese, I could go on but you get the picture. Change is out there but so far for the most part, I consider it to be a tad self served. Which I expect with the changing of power, but I would love to see some of the claims honored that were promised, not that I agree with all of them but just to see some consistency within the message.

Maple Got Stuck

It has been a while since I had a good Maple story. Yesterday we were throwing the ball around the house, and it ended up going underneath the bed. Maple went under the bed to retrieve it. She got under the bed and got the ball which she kind of tossed out from under the bed. She turned herself around a little bit and then when she went to come out from underneath the bed, she had a problem, she was stuck. Every time she would go to get out, she would try to stand up in which she would be unable to get out. I found this pretty amusing so I watched her for a bit, then went in to help. I had to grab her paws and drag her out. It was pretty funny, especially the part where she was stuck for a while. Reminded me of ol' president Taft. (history trivia of the day, can anyone tell me what I am referring to?)

Doing and Dreaming

A little disclaimer here: I think dreaming is a great thing, I am not saying that to dream is a bad or stupid or useless in anyway. What I am speaking to here is a different mindset of dreaming.

There is the process of doing and the process of dreaming. As a whole, we as a society are paralyzed to the process of dreaming. How many times have we proclaimed a “goal” we would like to accomplish and in the end it is just a faint dream fading away from our hopelessness and distrust in our own abilities. We are a nation of dreamers, a nation of people who possess the talent, but lack the process of doing. I have heard many people in my life, including myself reference to something they could do which someone else is already doing. The famous statement, “I could do that if I wanted to”. But when we make the same statement internally, do we carry the same confidence. I do not think we do, I don’t. In secret most are afraid of the process of doing and thus are reduced to dreaming. Dreaming can be a wonderful thing if attached to it are actions of achievement. But when dreams are imagination consuming the mind, we commit to being stagnate which can sometimes lead to bitterness and disenchantment. So, where does this leave us? It leaves us in the all consuming position of choice. To Dream, To Do. Dreams are wonderful, but can end a beautiful mind and reduce qualities dying to be released. I guess what I am trying to say is, when we fall into the trap of dreaming, imagination becomes our reality and reality becomes indebted to us. When reality is our debtor, it owes us something. When we commit to the process of doing, we craft reality, it becomes our vehicle to the dreams we wish to obtain.

My sweet little Ruby.

Today, I am going to share a story my brother told me today about his daughter, Ruby. He told me he was downstairs fixing his lunch and he heard Will and Ruby crying. He was about to walk upstairs to check on them and the crying stopped. He said, "I thought I heard Jessie (niece) talking to them". He kept on going up the stairs and noticed it was not Jessie talking but the television was on. It was turned on to some cartoons. He turned the corner to the room to where he could see Will and Ruby sitting there on the floor near the television and guess what was in Ruby's hand... the remote control. She had successfully turned on the television and somehow managed to get it on cartoons, which is crazy. They were just sitting there completely content watching some toons. Priceless.

MIA

Sorry about yesterday folks, this no Internet stuff sucks.

Ordinary Day.

Wish I had Internet at my house right now. Sitting here watching tv with my dog missing my wife. Nothing much today other than a consistant reminder about talking less and listening more.

Nomadic Springer's

Today, Sarah and I moved into a Townhouse here in Jasper, we were living in a house we rented from a friend whom I work with. It was a great deal, what can I say, I love a good deal. We really enjoyed the house and was very "homey". I think it is the most at home we have felt in any place that we have lived since we our journey together began, so it was somewhat of a bittersweet departure, not wanting to leave somewhere that was so comfortable, but day one of a new adventure is always exciting. Falling into a new routine at a new place with new neighbors. (who at this townhouse development are 50 and older, we are the youngins on the block) This all has made me think about the difference in our lives that being somewhat nomadic has made versus being planted. (even within the same town) I think if you asked Sarah, she would say it has been pretty tough, but I don't think she would change it. Each time we start a new chapter or move it has usually followed with some sort of growing time together or individually. Sometimes, I would love to be here or there for a while, but then again I am always on my toes this way and never removed from a lesson here or a lesson there. As I sit here in the local coffee shop using the Internet (thanks for the delayed install Windstream), while my back hurts from moving, I am tempted to wish for stability but what fun is that. I think about what God would want for me. I think he enjoys the creative path we are on, growth can happen anywhere as long as we look for it, maybe us stubborn willed people need a little push here and there, maybe that means living in the dark on some circumstances, but I am okay with that.

The dreaded "Curse" word

I would like to go ahead and warn those who don't like to talk about curse words, look away. I was wondering today, who made curse words up. People get easily offended when others use them, but why. Some people just do not like them, others have been told their whole life they are the worst things ever, some people just fall in line. I would like to propose the idea we are taught to be offended. People just really enjoy being offended, think about it, if you are offended by something you can talk about it and be above the offensive. It is has historical support, look to biblical times where the priests were above all those that were around them for their great actions versus the actions of all the others. Pretty much anytime in history where someone was above someone else for whatever reason. Anyways, back to the cursing. Lets take the word, dare I say it, (sorry Mom) "Shit". I can say, "shit" in public and offend someone or been seen as saying a bad word, but I can say poo, poop, turd, crap, stinky, doo doo, mr. hanky, or anything along those lines and be fine. Anyone else see a problem with this line of thought. I will not go ahead with any other examples but I think you can get the point.

What would Jackson do?

I was reading today about how North Korea did nuclear testing today which put out as much power as the bomb at Hiroshima did. This article was followed with the worlds response to this which were a bunch of "strong" statements, yep a bunch of strong statements. I know that a bunch of weak economic sanctions (none that would really do anything) etc will follow but not more than a few hand slaps. I wonder what Andrew Jackson would have done, would he have gone over to N. Korea and marched to the capital and kicked some ass and took a few names while he was there. I know times are different and things have changed, but does that mean that we can not take a strong stance on things and do something about it. I mean at what point in history did we become afraid of action and stuck to our words. I am not saying that words are not good enough or a great place to start, but that is all we can do these days is talk. We are afraid to take a stand which is why, no one takes us seriously as a world power anymore. All talk no action.

The Spirit of public debate

I was sitting in a local coffee/breakfast place here in Jasper this morning, reading the news. I got to one article which was discussing the previous vice president Dick Cheney and his role in current politics and what is going on in America. There has been a call from the "left" for him to shut up and go away and also from some people on the "right" as well. I find this to be suspected but someone sad. One of Cheney's spokespeople said that it had nothing to do about parties or politics but with right and wrong in Cheney's line of the thought. He was following his heart and beliefs about what is going on around us. This is where I thought about the spirit of public debate and how it should be encouraged on the major platform of our country's politics. This style of discourse is where we came from, it is who we are as a nation. If we do not embrace debate and the exchange of opposing ideas, then we just transfer control of one group and the other whines for a few years and then they switch places, oh wait, that is what we do right now. So, lets support debate and stop being ignorant about our situation as a country, differing ideas are good, it is how great ideas are made.

The drunk owner

Okay, so here is the story.Sarah, Molly and myself went out for a beer last night to hang out and talk for a little bit. We arrived at a local restaurant/pub around 1025 and grabbed a drink and began to talk. About thirty minutes after we had been there, a guy walks up and starts to tell us about how great the band is and how they used to be famous and they are so amazing. After each sentence he would top is off with the saying, "that's bullsh@t", which would contradict every sentence that he used, kind of funny. He would stare off for a while and then repeat himself often. He left and came back a few times while we were there. The last time that he came back, he decided to top off the night with a bang. He started telling us about how he likes to "pee on peoples car doors" and how funny it was to do that. He asked Molly if she had every peed on a car door to which she responded, "no". From that response, he turned to me and said, "what is she some kind of intellectual?" I paused while looking into his drunken gaze and said that she in fact was a thinker. I told him that I myself must be an intellectual because contrary to his belief, I had not pissed on a car door either. After arguing with us for a moment to try to get a confession out of us to admit we had peed on a car, he paused as if to think really hard. He directly his gaze to me and focused very very intently into my eyes. He leaned in and put his hand on my shoulder, I was wondering what the crap was going on and then he spoke. "You know if you pee on someones car door, you know you have to tell them, that is what makes it funny." This was about the time we were done with the drunken teachings. We said our goodbyes to Richard and headed on down the road fearful of our car doors.

Seriously, "You mean to tell me you have never pee'd on someones car?

I just got home from being out with Sarah and Molly (a friend who is about to move). I worked till 10 and then went out to have a beer with Molly and hang out since she is leaving soon. The story that I have to tell from going to the fireside inn and pub will blow your mind. The owner, who walked up to our table to talk to us for a while was how do I put it, seventeen sheets to the wind. I will tell the story tomorrow when both of my eyes are open. By the way, yes he asked the question listed above.

Chest Hair Guy, I salute you

As I mentioned yesterday, I am in the middle of work week. We have about 165 people here working on different projects. I was working with a group of people today in our "club" room. I walked in to check on them having not really met all of them yet and there was a guy who had a middle zip down fleece on and some short red shorts, no shoes. He was tall and had some chest hair going on. We called him "Captain Awkward" since to the untrained eye would notice that he did not have on a shirt underneath his fleece. He said that he did not have enough time to put on a shirt and his fleece was the quickest fix. He only got woken up five minutes before they were suppose to leave for breakfast. Lets look at the time breakdown here, hypothetically:

- 1 minute to be groggy
- 1 minute to brush teeth
- 30 seconds for shorts
- 30 seconds for tee shirt
- 30 seconds for fleece
-15 seconds to slip on flip flops
- 2 minutes and 15 seconds to complain about being sleepy and wanting to go back to sleep.

No need for the lack of a shirt, lets go ahead and keep the beastly chest hair caged.

Long Day, Short Blog

Well I am going to be short today, it has been a 16hr workday, so I am looking for the pillow quickly. Well, you know what I am going to go to bed now, I will talk tomorrow. To sleepy to write, contemplate or complain.

Following Mode

Sometimes, I wonder if sometimes we get into what I will so originally coin as "follower mode". This is where we are so focused on being led by someone, we forget to look at what we can do next or what is ahead but we fall back on someone else to do all that for us. At this point, simple things become laid off to our blind spots, hiding like they do not exist. But on any other given day or moment we would take care of these these obvious needs ourselves. I admit, I know this is a vague topic and description, but I think it is also a very simple topic, we become so dependent, we slide backwards. hmmm. where is the balance.

Saving Seats

Sarah graduated this weekend from Grad School, it was a really great weekend. She has worked really really hard to the past few years and deserves this degree for everything that it is. I am very proud of her. I have one quick story to share from the weekend about an exchange I had with a lady on Saturday morning before the graduation services started. My mom and myself were there one hour early since we came with Sarah whom had to be there early. We went in the sanctuary (it was held in a large church) to reserve a section of a row, because we had other family coming later and we wanted to sit together. So we spread out our stuff to stake claim to our area. I did not see anything wrong with this practice, somewhat common to me. Others in other rows were doing the same thing. As I was sitting there two ladies walked up and looked at me in the eye and paused. I told them very nicely that we were saving the seats for our family who were soon to arrive. This was not a very good response to these ladies. After another pause and a large eye roll, I received, "people usually do not save seats around here" followed with a, "we really don't save seats here". As if they come to a graduation weekly and follow along how many people save seats. As they walked off, they continued to complain about the seat saving practice that us two were taking part in. I just found this to be an odd exchange, I mean seriously. It is not like there were a couple other hundred seats that were free.

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In ansoville. Service sucks.

Either, Or

I was reminded tonight about how simple society can be. We have assimilated to a either, or mentality in how we look at situations, views. How easily we take complex things into an black or white position clear cut option. I think it is very clear within politics to see how this plays out, two sides to stand on, in the large scale, democrat and republican. The two sides are presented and most people just choose one. Rarely do we step outside of the two positions given to see what could be in the middle, off in a different line of thought, a mixture of different positions within each side. Nope, it comes down to I like that one, or that one, this is where I will be aligned. To often this is where the majority of society falls without looking into why and what they are agreeing or disagreeing with. Just one side of favor and another side considered stupidity and detachment. I guess next time I am presented with something that I can pick one or the other, I am going to see if another option is available to be thought about. Why consider something apples to apples, when it could be apples to oranges, while we sit here foggy headed amongst our positions.

One more Kings Dominion Observation

I have another thing to share about our time at the theme park. Apparently when you are at a theme park, you do not have adhere to the common rules of society when it comes to proper attire. We saw to many people on Saturday that were wearing things and not wearing things that should be against the law. I would like to make a few rules of the theme park that I think people should be held to.

1. Do not wear a bikini. No arguing about it, especially if it does not fit, to0 small or too big
( we saw way too many ladies who thought they were at the beach or a swimwear contest)
2. No PDA!! If you would like to cuddle or get all kissy face with your boyfriend or girlfriend, then save some money and stay home. Seriously, is the most romantic place to make a move in a nasty roller coaster cart that hundreds of people have been getting in and out of all day while, a couple hundred people sit there in line behind those automatic gates watching you. NO, fellas seriously grow some common sense here.
3. Don't try the game with the glass table tops that you have to land a quater on, they have wax in them therefore making it pretty much impossible to win, anyways, you can buy dozens of cheap crap at walmart.
4. If you have a beautiful mullet, 80's sunglasses, mustache and gold chain, you should be required to stop and take pictures with people who want to get a picture with you.
5. You are in a line, shut up.
6. Ladies, you are going to a theme park, not prom.
7. Fellas, collared shirts, polo shorts and boat shoes are not needed. You are hot as crap and look stupid, it's Kings Dominion for crying out loud, you are going to sweat, stink, get dirty and stand next to strangers all day, go for the tee shirts and athletic shorts, maybe even the V neck it's okay to.

There you have it.

Did that guy yell, "Bob Saget?"

I went to Kings Dominion this past Saturday with a few of my friends for a buddy of mine, he is getting married this June. It was a small group of us, only five, but I would say that the impact we left the theme park with will whisper in the pungent theme park smells for years to come. I will have a few stories over the next few days, but I will begin with the one about "Bob Saget" from Full House. The idea was born as we were waiting in line, we noticed that the ride came right by all the people waiting to get on. We thought it would be funny to yell something really random as we zoomed by that would get people to turn their heads and think, "hmmmm did someone just say, Bob Saget?" Thus the experiment began. The first time was a success, as we flew by our opportunity, Bob Saget echoed through the air waves and pierced the ears of those innocently waiting to get their turn. This continued for the next few rides. It also grew. We started to noticed that rides went by areas where you were close to bystanders a lot and also that the times that you would be slowly climbing or yelling crazy things during loopty loops were great times to yell the randomness. On a few rides, you could hear people say, "Did those guys just yell Bob Saget?" On other rides, you would hear people start to laugh about it and some people would I guess think, "if you can't beat em join em" and join in the chorus of the yelling "Bob Saget." It was a wonderful thing. In the end we thought how funny it would be if people when home from that day and wen to tell their families about their trip that day and one of the things they shared was about these guys who would yell ol' Bobs name and wonder what that was all about. So next time you are at Kings Dominion and you hear the name "Bob Saget" being whispered in the wind as you walk by or by a kid who gets hit on the bumper cars, rest easy and smile..... AHHHHHHH BOB SAGET!!

Guess where this is?

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Jon's Weekend

Sorry no post yesterday. No computer and a long day. Tonight was great. I went to a ncsu baseball game and got a first class lesson on how to heckle the other team which happen to be unc. We(ncsu) won 3-0. We heckled the unc 3rd base man. He was in the "awesome club" in the high school. Can we say easyi target, and thank you iphone for the ability to look up things about the other team to pick on them about.

Statesmen

Quick update, Sarah said that the bird was at it hitting the window over and over till about 10am. I wonder at what point a bird can induce brain damage upon itself. Last week while I was traveling, I got to fly on a handful of flights, I really enjoy flying for the most part. Planes are filled with some of the most interesting people ever, each flight in a new chance to meet another person and to learn a little bit from them. Sometimes I am taken back when I am on a plane, to think about how many different lives are on that plane and how many different paths are all sitting in one area. Each with its own purpose and desires, just completely fascinating. One interesting conversation I was apart of was with a guy who was sitting right across the isle from me. We started to talk about the books we were reading, he was reading, "A team of Rivals" and I was reading, "American Lion", both books about past presidents. We started sharing stories of Lincoln and Jackson, with each one being personal favorites, it was easy to carry on for a while. This led us to talk a good bit about history and the past political figures of early American history. The observation was made of how they were true statesmen back then, looking out for the true needs of the states and the union as a whole. The care and respect for the country was top priority. Then we contrasted that to the current political world we observe around us today. I would dare call many people in Congress, "Statesmen/women". They are more commonly considered "self serving statesmen/women" than anything else. What a shift we have seen over the history of our country, as the opportunity grows, so does corruption and self serving attitudes.

The "slow" bird

I was going to talk about sitting on the airplane and a conversation I had with a guy sitting across the isle from me, but I have not other choice but to speak to an experience I had this morning with a bird and his/her friend. Let me first set the stage to the other morning when I met this bird for the first time. It was about 6 in the morning and I heard a noise coming from across the house, something hitting the window in a back room, I thought if someone had decided to break in this early in the morning they are really crappy at breaking in a window. I went to open the door about the time the bird hit the window. I stood there as this bird flew into the window over and over and over. I looked around to see if I could figure out what he wanted but did not see much. I closed the door and hoped it would muffle the sound enough so I could sleep just a little longer. I could hear it very slightly in the back ground. I went outside to the back window and the bird flew away onto the neighbors roof and watched with an evil eye. I thought it was a one time thing... I was wrong. I was falling back asleep this morning after Sarah had left to go meet with a family she works with. It was 545am when she left. I hear a louder bang on the window in the living room than the day before from the other window. I am thinking at this point that the bird has moved windows... I go out to see the bird nailing the window, over and over and over just a chugging along to come inside. As I was watching, I hear a bang from the office window again, the other bird is hitting that window... TWO DUMB BIRDS... The other bird went and got one of his friends and now they are both running into windows over and over. I went outside to confront the birds, the new one was a little more brave. He/she just hoped right up on the fence and stared at me. I took a step closer and it just sat there and gave me the eye. When I got within about two feet it bolted, later to come back. I am going to greet them soon with a little red rider for their asses.

The Man Law... broken

I realize that I have been gone for a few days, I was out of town on in Colorado and did not have the best connection to the web. But, I do have a few good stories for the upcoming days ahead. Today, I would like to tell everyone about a "Man Law" which was broken right in front of me in the airport. I will go ahead and make the disclaimer, this blog might contain some PG-13 material. So, I was waiting for my flight and had to pee, so I ventured off to the bathroom. I turned the corner to reveal the row of urinals to choose from. (their were 10 of them, and none were occupied) I chose the one four in from the right wall, leaving an obvious amount of room on each side to choose from if someone else was to come. While I was doing my business, a guy comes up to use the bathroom, where does he choose to go... why next door to me on the left of me. He had plenty of places to choose from and yet he decided to stand right next me. This guy broke a man law big time, I almost moved over one mid stride just to make a point. The nerve of this guy.

Hiatus

After 19 hours of travel, I am going to bed. The blogging will kick back up tomorrow with a strong one I promise it will have been worth the wait.

Half way to the top yesterday.

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iPod vending machine??

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This is why I enjoy my job.

Today, I was reminded about why I love what I do. I continue to be stretched and challenged in all kinds of way. Every other month I find myself learning to do something I never thought I would ever be doing. Today was no exception, I opened up an email from a "program" team that is coming to SharpTop Cove this summer with an idea about something they wanted to know if I would build. I open up the email and it is a Michael Jackson like Billy Jean light up dance floor looking thing. A dance floor that lights up, this is now a work in progress. The brainstorm period has begun and the crafty version of a light up dance floor is in the early stages of production. I will post some pictures and let you see how this comes along.

The Last Catch Sound Installation

Well I am going to be short tonight. I just got home and am rather tired... long day. But, I did install a sound system for a local restaurant here in Jasper, Ga. It was pretty cool to get it all set up and good to go and when it was all said and done, man o man... it sounded awesome. Not to toot my own horn, but it was cool to accomplish it.

Hercules

Let me introduce you to Hercules, he is my neighbors dog. He also weighs about I don't know 2 pounds, but is confused and he thinks he is a lion, although with a little twist. He will only pretend he is a lion when you are not giving him any attention. Once you walk up to him, he hauls ass away from you as quickly as he can till he gets to the end of his little rope. The other day, I decided that I was going to pet Hercules at no matter what the cost may be. I approached him very gingerly, as my attention turned to him, he took off quickly to the end of his rope. He is extremely quick, I mean lightning quick. I decided the best thing for me to do was to step on the rope at the farthest point and slowly keep stepping on the rope till I got close enough to grab him. As I got closer and the rope got shorter, he got quicker and more squirrely. Finally he had no more room to go and all he could do was stretch his little head as far from me as he could. I grabbed him and picked him up. He conceded and now we are friends. Still pretends he is a lion but he breaks quicker now and lets me pet him after a little coaxing.

First Day of the rest of your life.

I was thinking about this saying today and I have to say, as great as it is... I find it to be somewhat a self fulfilled prophecy to those who will not carry out whatever there new life is. Yikes, I know that is somewhat of a punk statement to make and I also know that a lot of people do carryout those things, especially speaking to the huge life altering events. But lets take a few steps back to the medium size life changes if you will. I feel like the majority of the time when some one decides they are going to make a change in life and think, "I am going to start ..... fill in blank... tomorrow," it is rarely carried out. I must confess, I am very much guilty of this sort of thing at many different points in life. I just have been pondering the very idea of this new beginning idea throughout the day. It causes such a new birth of excitement for most who conceive the notion to change this or that and what kind of domino effect it will bring, but three days in... baa'm done. Just a thought.

Hall of fame putt putter

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The Cart and Hall of Fame Putt Putter

I am going to share two stories tonight, one from yesterday and one from tonight. When I was in Walmart yesterday, I experienced what being "that guy" felt like. I walked in, said hello to the greeter and took my cart. Ten seconds in to my journey in walmart, the front right wheel freaked out and started to get the shakes and make loud noises. This continued for the rest of my trip, no matter the speed of travel, where I put pressure on the cart, nothing loud noise every tens seconds.


As for tonight, it is very simple, I will let the picture speak for itself. I am currentlly on the Hall of Fame board at the local putt putt place that just opened up in Ellijay, Ga. Sarah, my friend Joe and myself all scored good enough to get to sign the board, it was a great occasion. Although, I would like to mention an oddity in my family. Sarah is normally right handed, but when it comes to putt putt she goes left handed and is great. It is very puzzling. I am not sure how to understand it, but it works.

The cart

"The cart" coming in the morning. Because my body has revolted against me and I cAnnot move but to sleep.

The cart

Twilight Zone

This was the view from our house today at 825pm. It should have been almost dark at this point, but a freaky storm came in and make this picture. The picture does not give it complete justice, it was pretty much a yellow easter looking color all over the sky. This is what it looked like right before it stormed. It was intense and wonderful looking. I am going to cut this one short because I have to be on the road to work by 6 or so. Night to all.

Twilight Zone

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Aesop Speaks

"Men often mistake notoriety for fame"

I got a book of Aesop's Fables out of the attic last time I went home to visit my folks. I have been reading one here and there. They have tended to be pretty interesting, each having a piece of truth to go along with the story. This I was aware of ahead of time and assumed the lessons learned would be that of childlike ideals. I have been wrong the whole time, I guess I did not pay much attention to these stories when I was younger because each one carries it's own weight. For example the quote listed above. Think about that in the terms we live into today, and the culture and people who fill that idea. I think of some movie stars and some attention "whores" on television who will do anything to get their face on the news or E network, something is better than nothing right. I am excited to continue through the book and to see how Aesop will continue to kick my butt with each new lesson.

Tooth Ache...

The past few weeks, well maybe months I have known I needed to go the dentist. I was suppose to go a few months back and get a old cavity sealed or something like that but they called and canceled on me. That tooth has never bothered me that much. But a different one has come along to take its' place. A few weeks ago I noticed sometimes when I would breathe in deep, I would have a really sensitive shooting pain in one of my molars. It would come and go here and there, not enough to keep my mind on it. Not until today, when a piece of my old filling decided to secede from the rest of my mouth and fall out. It got my attention a little quicker this time, seeing that I can no longer chew with that side of my mouth. I am looking forward to the dentist tomorrow, I would like some drugs and ice cream about right now to make my world a little better, drugs so I could not feel how cold the ice cream is, and the ice cream because who doesn't love ice cream. Do you think it I mailed in my old piece of filling to one of those commercials that promise you money they would give me something for it... hmmmmmmm. cha ching.

And it begins.

I know I am 26 going on 27. This is not the first rouge hair that I have found on my neck that has broke away from the pack. Then why such a big deal??? I will tell you why, lets talk about the position of this little bad boy... directly above the middle of the colar. This is the precursor to the over the shirt old man neck/chest invader hair, which comes over the shirt to say hello to all those who grace your presence. It was somewhat of a reminder, another wake up call that I need to be on my toes and aware of these little bastards because if I am not pro active before I know it, I will have the crazy flow over of chest/neck hair that is giving people the heeby geebies right and left and while I am worried about that... my beard will start to make a break for my neck hair to join those forces up and all the while the ear hair is saying hey hey hey looks like it's time for me to join the party, then the gray hair gets jealous and turns up its already to plenty order and baaam' I will be 28 and scaring little children as a past time. wheeeewww, one little rouge hair, you have been warned my friend, I suggest you do not come back, lets give it another five years or so, I have enough to deal with already, going grey at the age of 26 is a good enough start.

The final showdown

I could not resist to post about Maple and the vacuum again today. Sarah and I were cleaning today and I was vacuuming the house, Maple was not to pumped about it. I started in one corner and worked my way across the house. Maple would keep a keen eye on me and "the machine" as we worked our way through the house. As I would move forward, she would keep right in front of us. I would stop to move some chairs and she would lay down right in our path as if to say, "you shall not pass!!". When all was said and done I was in the last corner of the house, that backed up to the corner, Maple decided to stand her ground. It was pretty funny to watch her get in front of the vacuum and stand there like she was ready to go to battle and save the last part of the house from the evil machine. I could not resist to mess with her a little bit and keep the vacuum looming in the same spot for a while. She stood there, solemnly keeping her eyes fixed on the "oreck". I made a move slowly towards her and she back up a little more towards the night stand... soon after Maple decided that she had made her point and this was enough, she took off and let the vacuum win. Oreck 5 Maple 0

The Rose Pedal

This morning I rode in a bike ride called the "Rose Pedal". I did the 65 mile route, so I got to experience all this ride has to offer including all the people, cars and dogs I need to fill the quota for the day. As I sit here I can not think of one story that stood out really blatantly as the winner, I have a few that were pretty fun. I was riding along one road and to my left I noticed something moving, about that time a golden retriever jumped up and pounced towards me like a cat... got about one foot from my ankle and then backed off due to my booming and scary yell. I think it was confused and thought it was a cat from how it acted. I also meet a lady who was riding her bike to build confidence in herself. She was kind of scared of the down hills and cars made her a little nervous. It was interesting to listen to her story and how she put herself in the line of fire to conquer her fears and move forward. It was pretty cool to share that part of the ride with her and help her go down hills a little faster than she was used to. I rode with her for 8 miles or so, it was a neat exchange. It was also pretty cool to have my own personal fans, Sarah and Maple to pass me in the car here and there and meet me at a few rest stops to chat and give me some encouragement. Way to go to my wife, very wonderful and thoughtful woman.

Perception is reality

Tonight my friend Dave and I drove to Lumpkin, Ga to pick up a coffee roaster. On the way to go pick it up we got into a great conversation about the title above. This is a tricky one because as Dave and I began to dive into the idea, we talked about the self destruction it brings along. Perception being realty to some introduces the idea that truth can be relative to some as well. In this people's distinguish truth from their perception of reality. In all of this people outside of the individual "realities" can be living different perceptions, which in turn destroys the ideas of others across the board. This raises the question of relative truth and absolute truth and how they relate and how they battle. I believe absolute truth is real which trumps all perception due to the fact that "absolute truth" is... I love topics like these because they get those wheels a spinning and hamsters turning the wheels. Anyone have any thoughts?

Sarah's Bday.

The next few days might be alittle shorter than usual as I walk around the yard searching for a signal. I was driving late two nights ago and I noticed a bunny in the middle of the road. It looked at me and instead of running quickly, it decided to show me how good It was at slow motion or the robot. Needless to say, it was to late for peter and he got tagged at 80mph. That is my story for the day. It sounds worse when you say bunny instead of rabbit. I said I ran over a rabbit, I think of a stupid dirty rabbit that steals credit cards and identities, but bunny, that conjures up thoughts of free chocolate and goodies.

Sarah's Bday.

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I am reminded of the "stupid"

Tonight, Sarah and I went down to Atlanta to go out to dinner for her birthday of which I will post some pictures after this post so you all can see what it was like later. But tonight I was reminded of one of the dumbest people I have ever seen in my life. We went through a toll booth in the Buckhead area that cost .50 to pass through. As you can imagine, you can add up the amount of .50 in many different ways... 2 quaters, a few dimes, some nickels, crap ton of pennies, I mean there are a lot of ways that you can create the number .50 in change to deposit into the toll bin to collect, count and let you pass. But on this night a few years ago, something special was in the air, someone special was in the air. I pulled up to the toll right behind a small sedan, figuring I would only have a short wait till I could pass... not at all. I watched something that I will hold dear forever... this person took out a one dollar BILL and threw it into the bin. Lets think for a moment... okay now that you had that moment to think you can realize how stupid this person was. They sat there and look at the bin as if it was going to suck down the dollar make some change, spit it back out and wala the gate would open and magic time would be over. Nope, they put a dollar in the change bin... I say again they put a dollar in the change bin. Darwin Award?

Sarah

Operation Sarah's Birthday in full swing.

Damn Pound Puppies

I have decided that if you have a dog that chases people, cars, cyclists, speed walkers etc. you should be fined, jailed and or put in a dunk tank. Jasper, Ga has the largest population of stray, mean, starved for attention dogs in the entire world. Yesterday, I was riding my bike through Jasper and just crested the top of a hill just in time to wake up the dog in someones yard who was sleeping. He/She decided that the best thing to do after a nap was to chase me down a hill and try to kill me or bite off my ankles and or legs. This pup was behind me for about 50 feet or so just ready to pounce. Just about the time I was getting out the pepper spray from my back pocket to make the dog wish it had never messed with me it pulled back and stopped. It looked up at me as if to say, "yeah that's right, don't you ever come back to my neighborhood." After a year of riding my bike and battling the dogs of this county I think I should be aloud to start "capping" some doggy asses... maybe there is a bylaw in the stimulus bill that gives me permission to shoot some dogs... I will have to check.

Easter Sunday Fun.

Today was a great day, a little of this and a little of that. Went to church, road my bike, and ate dinner with a bunch of friends. We went to church this morning and saw the Easter service. I have a rather unusual observation to blog about today. This morning the adult choir sung a bunch of songs for the program. During one song this guy basically did a solo for most of the song, he could not sing very well at all, I mean tone was not his friend. But... he was into it. It was a really neat thing to watch, on one hand it was kind of comical because he was not on the right key for the majority of the song so that was kind of silly, but on the more serious side of things it was really neat to watch him sing the song with all that he had. He was in it 110%, not worrying about anything around him, he was worshiping God and that is what mattered to him, not he sounded but yet how he connected. It was interested and very neat to watch. Talk about someone being themselves and know what is important to them, it was pretty awesome.

Yesterday.

Sorry for the no post yesterday, but we did not have power for the past 36 hours so I was without the ability to get on the internet to update. I thought I would share two pictures. The first one is of Maple, I decided to put a helmet on her as a joke about thirty minutes before the storm got here, I teased nature and it took note. The other one is a picture of the sky after the storm had come through, that was it on the way out of town, it was nutz. Two tornadoes hit Jasper, one was three miles away and the other was about four miles away, it really was pretty intense. I had the bathroom all set up with blankets and cushions and flashlights etc to get ready for everything. It got pretty nuts and I told Sarah to go ahead and go to the bathroom and get tucked in. I was a little to curious to go just yet. It was really crazy to see what was going on, the wind had been going pretty good already but it started to kick up pretty crazy like. Enough to by the end get the trees going sideways. The temperature dropped 10-20 degrees, the sky went yellow and then the hail hit, about the time where I thought the window was going to break, I peaced out and joined Sarah in the bathroom, and can I add as Sarah was walking to the bathroom the power went out. When I went out later that night it was crazy to see how many trees were down and the damage. Oh Mrs. Nature, you can be quite a bitch. :)

Maple gets prepared.

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Sky yesterday.

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The Crazy Skunk

Yes, today I saw a skunk, a friend got sprayed and I almost threw up. This morning Jacob and I were riding to a building and while we were going by the office, we saw a skunk. It was a funny looking skunk, mostly white. About that time we were laughing about it and Dan starts to walk towards the skunk and in return we screamed, "Skunk, Dan!!! Skunk", he heeded our warning and retreated to the office. We returned to the office a second later and noticed that the skunk was walking around on the side of the road a little funny. I, being the camp rabies expert noticed some signs that led us to believe he was not normal. It looked like he was walking down the side of the road all shaky, and zig zaggy like. He was injured to some degree and not right in the head from what we decided. He was also headed towards the hill that leads into camp, of which there were 400 kids waiting to get sprayed by the crazy skunk. Well, pickens county does not have animal control and in which case, we are animal control. As we were trying to decide what to do, we figured that to put this guy out of his pain and misery would be a good deed to some degree. This is where the mini truck came into play. Run em over, that seems like a quick execution. So the mini truck went into hot pursuit of this albino skunk, all ziggy and zaggy, just a little quicker now. Imagine Indiana Jones and the boulder chasing Indi, but change Indi into the skunk and the boulder into the mini truck. About the time the mini truck came close to contact with mr. skunk he decided to defend himself... spray time baby. It coated the truck and it ended up making a very stinky smell. Mr. Skunked ended up escaping only having his tail get a little brushing by the tire and he ran off into one of our barns and took to hiding. About this time I was two hurndred feet away I caught a wiff of this smell and started to dry heave a bunch, luckily I did not puke. It was really a crazy morning.

The Conversation

I am going to be a little more brief than I would like to be on this topic, but I was again reminded tonight about the art of great conversation. I was hanging out with a buddy of mine, Kevin, and we just always have great conversation. It is a true gift when you just sit down at a table and start to share with each other about whatever and have vulnerability to be open and honest with life. I, again am led to the desire to share this with others. Not, to talk about myself, but to encourage others to put themselves in a position to talk to other people, to share about themselves and learn from those who are around them. This again is a gift that is constantly swirling around us that we refuse to embrace. I hope for myself that I would continue to learn to put fear and self consciousness aside and dive into real conversations when given the opportunity.

Welcome Home.

I meant to share this story a few days ago when I came home from Texas. Have you ever heard the joke about the gold fish who forgets every two seconds and says while he is swimming around in his bowl, "oooooo look there's a castle" and then two seconds later says, "oooooo look there's a castle." Well I think that Maple either has that problem or really enjoys when I come home from work. Everyday when I come home, she freaks out like crazy and is so excited to see me which makes me feel like a million bucks. The othe day when I got in the car from the airport, Maple lost her mind with excitement to welcome me home. I petted her head and scratched her belly to say hello and show that I was excited to she her as well. This was not sufficient for Maple, she decided to come up in the front seat with me to show me her love. Then instead of going to the back when she was done, she laid down in the floor board and just looked at me for the hour ride home, every once in a while, she would nudge my knee to make sure she had my attention.

National Champs

I root for my wife, but it is always hard to see the Tarheels win. Agh.

National Champs.

I root for my wife, but it is always hard to see the Tarheels win. Agh.

Ahh you likea da sauce?

Tonight, I began an adventure to find a good BBQ sauce. Sarah and I are going to rent a spot in at the flea market here locally in Jasper soon and I figured I would give the sauce making world a try. Although, I am not sure if these will be good, I thought I would give it a whirl. So we have four different kinds of vinegar based sauces with anywhere from creole to old bay hidden in them, to one mustard based, and three tomato based. They are currently spending the night soaking in the goodness and I am looking forward to trying them tomorrow. I have two more sauces that I need to make before the final elimination will happen, I ran out of ingredients tonight that slowed me down for the last two. Hope you are all getting a little hungry as your read this thinking about good bbq chicken and what not. Okay bye.

BBQ.

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Deal Maker

I was hanging out with a buddy of mine tonight, Anthony. He is a great buddy of mine and we tend to always have great conversation when we hang out. Tonight as we were eating dinner, we were talking about life and the shifts that we experience as we reach different "stages" of life. We were talking about deal makers tonight when it comes to decisions that we make as people. We talked about different times in life and what we had based those decisions on. God tends to refrain from sending us letters personally that we can read in hand, so I think that we are led to have our own personal "deal makers" that influence each choice that we make. I think that it is interesting to look over the course of our own history and see what "deal makers" influenced what we did and what "deal makers" that we ignore and choose what we think is the correct decision. So my challenge to you, is, what are your "deal makers" when it comes to you. What are the top three things that have to be present to make a decision and feel good about it.

Sarah tried to kill me

I was cutting my hair today in the bathroom, which consists of a buzzer with a guard.  This is the usual process which takes a little while to make sure I get all the hair even.  Sarah will come in late in the game and buzz over my ears and my neck.  Today, she decided to try something new with the hair buzzer.  She started to cut behind my left ear and ba'am it happened, I guess she did not know that I had taken the guard off and straight up buzzed me behind the ear and took a chunk out of my head.  But this turned out to play to my favor.  Sarah is not a fan of the shaved head, but I tend to like it.  This gave me an edge to go ahead and shave my head.  It was nice, very much cooler now, and the head shall get a tan.  

Also, I would like to invite all others who would like to take a stab at Texas to feel free to go ahead and let it flow, their state is big enough it can take it. 

Texas

Well folks, I am sorry that I have not been blogging the past few days, but I was without connection to the world outside of Texas. It was a good trip for the most part, a little delay at the airport but no big deal because... I flew home in a plane instead of drove home in a car, saved a bunch of time. I just got home a few hours ago so I am going to be short tonight. I have a few good blogs to post soon that I experienced over the time away. I have one thing to share about Texas that I do not understand, so consider this opening the "can of worms" on Texas. I know a few people who claim Tx as their home, they always talk about how everything is bigger and better in Tx. I would like to say that is a load of poop. I was driving around this week and thought of all the states for people to lay down and die for and claim is the best ever... why pick this one. Pick any of the other 49 states and it would work out a little better for you.

Brb

Business Trip. Be back soon.

Retail Warrior

I have been home in Cary, NC these past few days hanging out with my folks and friends. That is why the blogs have been rather short, because I have been on the move a ton. It has been a really good time to just be with the people that I am very close with. While I have been here I have been going to the thrift stores with the my folks a good bit and bought a few really good things. Today, I needed a piece of luggage to use when I travel to Texas in the next few days, so I bought a Samsonite bag, for 4 dollars. That is a rather large discount. I thought about the fact that someone paid a lot more for that bag at some point. I have reached a point in life where I am now unable to pay retail prices for anything but gas, and sometimes food. Especially after looking through the thrift stores these past few days, I am just amazed about what I have been able to buy. Also, add a REI "scratch and dent" sale in there and I am a deal warrior. I am on cloud nine of deals.

Bathroom lady.

Folks I am without computer and do not want to type a Ton I. The phone tonight. I saw a lady today get really mad in the thrift store because they wouldn't let her kid use the potty. She was a total ass. There was a sign that said " no public restroom ", guess she can't read and so she can be a jerk and tell about it.

Doulble Speak.... Be afraid

"absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed"

- B. Goldwater

What is redistribution of wealth really mean... Taking more money from the ones who already pay for every thing and pay for some more people. Constitution doesn't mention anything about fixing peoples problems or a right to tangibles.

Like a good cup of coffee

Due to the fact that I am going to be getting up tomorrow morning at 5am to drive to the wonderful North Carolina to see friends and family I will not be writing as much as I would like to. Tonight I share about something that is my favorite thing in the world. After work tonight, I was sitting down in the office with a friend of mine, of whose identity I will protect, we will call him... Jacob for code. We ended up talking about all kinds of things, from rights, to privileges, health care, deficits, spending, economics, history, I mean it was a great conversation full of many different topics as you can tell. The best part about the whole thing was the exchange of ideas that took place, one idea to the next, tweaking, revising, questions and the respect of varying views. As we were walking out to ours cars to leave for the night, I paused to make one last comment, of which I admit is self gratifying... I told Jacob that these types of conversations are what gives me hope for America. The hope that people are having them and not afraid to talk to one another and exchange ideas. The hope that people have not either put themselves above talking about the world around them and the society and cultures they are a part of, or put themselves in a box where they only talk to those people who mirror what they do and have no variation outside of a set of views. We can't ignore the world and we can't ignore that there are all kinds of people waiting to have good constructive conversations. I think when Americans give up or are too stubborn to practice the art of two way conversation we have long since lost the idea of America. I bet right now you are wondering if the national anthem is playing in the background and the flag is slowly being lowered behind me as I type. Although, I admit that I might have leaned to the redundant side, I guess passion can be wordy sometimes, and I might lack a lot of things, but I tend to overflow with passion... for better or for worse.