In the key of me

History

2008-11-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

After the Obama election victory, it is required that I write about it.

I supported him so I was happy to see him win. It was also amazing to see the emotional connection so many people had made to him. But most of all it was moving to see the reaction of a wide variety of Civil Rights activists that paved the way for this to happen. Many of whom thought they would never live to see this day.

Now that Obama is preparing for the Oval Office and all the responsibilities that come with it, it is my hope that he will have a bi-partisan cabinet and that he will make intelligent decisions with much consultation from his Cabinet and Vice-President.

I saw CNN's coverage this evening while I was at the gym. The international reaction says a lot. To see people cheering in Singapore and Australia, Kenya and France, the United Kingdom and the United States it shows the significance our decisions are to the world. Obama has the potential to be a truly unifying figure on the global stage. And finally, the words of Nelson Mandela's letter to Obama were truly moving. You should look them up.

Here is to hoping for recovery and growth in the next 4 years.

I think I can do it

2008-10-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

So I have been really bad about keeping this blog up. I admit it, it is my own fault. But I have been doing one regularly (once a week) at work for a while now and I think I can keep this one up.

So I will also try to post once a week here, maybe I will do them one after another so I don't forget.

But for now I am going to post one tonight.

It has been a roller-coaster for me lately. I live 1500 miles from my family. This is something new-ish for me. I have been doing it for just over a year now. For the previous years I have been within a 3 hours. I have times where I find myself making 2 minute phone calls home just to hear my parents' voices and then I have moments where I am just living it up out here. So it is quite interesting.

As I type we are nearing the holiday season and it does become a little more difficult for me. I have always enjoyed spending the holidays with my family and this may be the first year I don't spend it with them. I know I cannot afford to fly home for Christmas and I really do want to be out here for Christmas (not just for the skiing). So it is hard. Fortunately I have friends that I can be around and I have several families that have "adopted" me to make sure that I am not lonely when holidays such as Thanksgiving and Easter roll around. So I am looking forward to it, but I admit that it has been tough lately as I haven't really spent much time with my dad in over a year. We both have crazy schedules so it makes it tough to coordinate seeing each other. I am just hoping that the economy will rebound and that I will be able to actually have some money and visit him or pay for him to visit me.

That is enough for now. I will try to think of some heady things for the next blog. Until then...

A Note to Bristol Palin

2008-09-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Bristol,

I just read on Reuters New Wire that you are pregnant. This information comes out after a blog made the claim that your brother Trig is actually your son. While I don't want a 17 year-old to be stuck in the media frenzy that is her mother's race for high office, I do feel the need to give you one piece of advice.

I am sure that "your choice to keep the baby and marry the father" was 100% yours and not at all influenced by your mother's beliefs against abortion and single-motherhood. But I am here to be a voice of reason. I am not going to tell you to abort your child. I am pro-choice, but that doesn't mean that I believe all pregnancies should be aborted. I believe you should have been better educated about sex and had birth control readily available. For some reason, people like your mother believe that if they tell youth sex is bad, they won't have it. They are wrong. And now you are not able to have safer sex because people like your mom are not taking those steps. They are all or nothing. The "all" being abstinence.

Here is where I am bothered. If it is your choice to marry the father of your unborn child, then I applaud it. If you are doing it because you two honestly and truly love each other. Your mother and her conservative friends love to propose Defense of Marriage Acts at all levels of government. But their defense of marriage does not include divorce. And last I checked, divorce ruins more marriages than same-sex marriages do. Let me clarify, I am not promoting banning divorce. I am saying if we are going to defend marriage, then we have to fight divorce.

You are young and I too was once your age. I would be on my 3rd or 4th marriage now if I married everyone I thought I loved enough to marry when I was younger. But it did not work out and I did not marry any of them. In hindsight, I probably would have been divorced. I have a feeling you received pressure from your mother to marry the father of your unborn child. Do not marry him for the sake of not raising the child in a single parent home. You will regret it and the child will grow to have distaste for one or both of you and will also grow up with a skewed view of the world. Marriage is something serious, so is having a child, especially in your teens.

So I say to you, Bristol Palin, if you don't want to raise this child and you don't love the father enough to be with him 40 years down the road. Give birth and give the child up for adoption. I know there are thousands of people who are unable to have children that would gladly adopt your bundle of joy. There is no shame in giving birth, giving the child up and not getting married and then going to college or work or the military and leading a normal life. Don't drastically change your life because of your mom's political desires.

Sincerely,
me

Sad Day for Politics

2008-06-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

In a world of extremes, it is always nice to have a voice of reason. An impartial voice. I love Keith Olbermann, but I understand that he has a bit of a liberal bias. But to counter all the Keith Olbermanns there are the Rush Limbaughs, Bill O'Reilly, and so on.

Today, one of those voices tragically passed away. Tim Russert, moderator of Meet The Press as well as a regular contributor to NBC/MSNBC's political coverage, has passed away. Russert was an impartial voice. He didn't sound the death knoll on Hillary Clinton until it was obvious she would never make the nomination, he has not spoken poorly of any of the candidates, he is a voice of observation in a medium where the voices tend to be more of opinion than reality.

It is a shame that such a great contributor the the political landscape of the United States has left us. I always listened to what he had to say and I enjoyed whenever he was on a program speaking on a political matter. I was looking forward to hearing him during the coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaigns. But alas, his voice is gone.

I hope many young journalists look to the example that Russert has set and follow in his footsteps. He, like Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather were among the best of the best in my life time.

I send my condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and fans. May you rest in peace Tim and may your legacy live on. Godspeed!

Obama's Running Mate

2008-05-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

Even though Sen. Clinton will not admit she is defeated short of doing some underhanded thing to win, I am willing to admit she is out and for the 2 "Major" parties it will be Obama v. McCain.

I have pretty much accepted that McCain will select Huckabee as his running mate as that will cover the religious right.

Obama has options. People keep mentioning a Obama-Clinton tag team. I say no. His message has been change and she is not change. So it is not helpful to pick her. Tim Russert mentioned that Obama might have to make a concession and choose a Clinton Supporter as his running mate. That could be true, but I am not worrying about that. Here are 4 people I think he should consider choosing (in no particular order):

1. Dianne Feinstein; Senator; California. She is an influential member of the senate, she is a woman (for those that are gung-ho about getting a woman into office), and she has a pretty good track record. I think she will get the people that Obama couldn't get when competing against Clinton.

2. Russ Feingold; Senator; Wisconsin. He is definitely a change candidate. The lone vote against the Patriot Act (yep, 99-1 and he was the 1) and he voted against the war. He was originally going to run for the Office of the President but decided not to as he went through a divorce. He does what the people want and he is loved in Wisconsin. This would help Obama win Wisconsin, the closest of all states in 2004.

3. Barbara Boxer; Senator; California. Much the same reasons as Feinstein and she is a Clinton backer. I think she could appeal to the Politicos while allowing Obama to still focus on change.

4. Dave Obey (pronounced Obee); Representative; Wisconsin. I know I have picked only California and Wisconsin as possible places to find running mates. But Obey is a tough guy who doesn't take crap from anyone. He is the #5 ranking member of the HoR. Which is still higher than the #1 Republican (#6 overall). Again, he could influence the swing states (like Wisconsin) and he appeals to the working class really well.

Those are my thoughts.

Idol

2008-05-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have given up on American Idol. Horrendous guests and the quality has gone down and now it is just a teeny bopper popularity contest. Not worth writing or predicting.

I will now move onto bigger fish.

AI Speed Pick

2008-04-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have been gone the last 2 weeks and I felt that Chikeze and Ramiele would be eliminated.

For tonight, your Bottom 3 will probably be:
Kristy Lee (aka Bulletproof)
David Cook
Brooke

I hope that Kristy Lee goes home, but it could be David or Brooke. I wouldn't mind if David went home. Next week will resume the better AI coverage.

AI Top 11, er, ok 8 and top 3

2008-03-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Last night on American Idol we saw how incredibly boring the commercial music scene can change some of the best songs ever written. It can also show how the Beatles are losing ground with the younger audience.

I apologize for waiting so long to write this. My back has been killing me and I waited until the last minute to post. So here are my thoughts on the show last night:

Best Song Choice: Carly
Runner-Up: Michael and David A. David's songs went well with his voice so it was a good choice. Michael picked a great song, but it had to be hacked to pieces because we decide on who to give a multi-million dollar recording contract based on 1:30 minute songs.

Best Performance of the Night: Carly
Runner-Up: David A.

Best Arrangement: Kristy Lee's version, but it would sound better if Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, or another predominant female country singer were singing it.
Runner-Up: Carly

Other Thoughts:
Ramiele was boring to me again. When she was singing I simply wrote "college karaoke". It sounds like Karaoke night at the college bar. Good, but nothing worth filling a venue for.

Amanda shall henceforth be known as Shedence Clearwater Revival. She sounds like a female version of Creedence (and in my book, that isn't a good thing). She could sing all her songs from this season back-to-back and I wouldn't know the difference between Back In The U.S.S.R and Muskrat Love.

I wasn't impressed with Kristy Lee. Again. I think Buck Hollywood could sing it better than she did. Maybe if you pressure him enough he will. Go here to see him. What the Buck?!

Finally, my most disturbing part of the night. With 11 choices from the Beatles songbook, having already eliminated 12 from the week before and having eliminated Imagine earlier as well (I don't know the logistics of who owns rights to what, so I lump it in there) people are left with slimmer pickings, but still some excellent songs. Carly and Michael picked GREAT songs, Brooke and the Davids picked good songs as well. But what bothered me is that one of the Top 5 Beatles songs of all-time was NOT sung! David A., Jason, and Michael screwed the pooch by not singing While My Guitar Gently Weeps. George Harrison wrote a great song with emotion and melody and so many things you could do with it. Plus lots of great artists have covered it, giving you some pre-written arrangement options to work with. But EVERYONE passed. Sad. At least nobody sang Octopus's Garden. Sorry Ringo.

So who is going home you might ask?

My final 3:
Shedence - While I hope she goes home, so I don't have to listen to the same version of different songs, she probably won't go. Neil Young might have to write a song called Southern Woman.
Kristy Lee - She is going home. Bottom 2 every week, eventually your luck runs out.
Ramiele - She will most likely be safe, but she is turning out to be very bland in her singing.

Wild Card: Chikeze. I think the second half of his song saved him. The first half and harmonica solo were on par with a root canal.

AI Top 12 Recap and Predictions

2008-03-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

With a great library to work with, I felt that there were a lot of eggs laid by the contestants.

However, Chikeze gets the prize for Top Performance and Top Arrangement with Carly a close Second.

The problem I have now is making predictions. First of all, you never know if it is based on talent or personality (Sanjaya?). So I am making predictions based on performance with a touch of popularity.

So here goes:
David H. or Kristy Lee will be going home. If it wasn't one being eliminated, it would be nice to have a safety net (because I wasn't thrilled with Amanda or Ramiele either).

David and Amanda suffer from the same problem (for me) in that all their songs start to sound the same to me. So they could be singing Paul McCartney or Milli Vanilli and I would never know.

Ramiele was boring and really not memorable. Very bland.

David H. lacked life in his song it was really kind of someone just singing and I didn't feel him in the song.

Amanda sounded like Janis/Creedence singing the Beatles which isn't that different from previous weeks and it just gets kind of old to me.

Kristy Lee was on the right track. I think if she had slowed down the arrangement and done less runs it would have been a great rendition. Instead it sounded weird and off. I possibly would have minimized some of the string arrangements in the middle as well.

Top 12

2008-03-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

After 2 nights of American Idol there will now be 4 more whacked before we get to the Top 12 and turn to 1 eliminated per week.

Top Performers:
Female
Brooke
Carly
Syesha

Male
Michael J.
Jason C.
David C.
David A.

Funny side note
Ryan Seacrest said, "Next, David Archuletta takes on Phil Collins! LIVE!". I was disappointed that David A. was not fighting Phil Collins after the commercial.

Elimination
Male
Luke - He doesn't impress me that much and is really cheesy. His looks may keep him in.
Chikeze - Nothing that exciting.
Wild Cards
Because it gets really tricky I will also keep my wild cards (as there are always outside factors)
David H. - a good way for AI to sweep his fully nude stripping under the rug. He did perform well, but I hate that song with a passion.
Danny O. - He hasn't really impressed me yet and I would actually put him up there to be eliminated, but I think he will get some emo votes, some girl votes, and get the Buck Hollywood votes.

Female
Kady - Pitchy, lack luster, poor song choice, and she kept doing "whistling beaver" s's. You know like the Beavers in cartoons.
Amanda - while she sang well, the thing I have noticed is that all her songs sound the same as though you are listening to one long song.
Wild Card
Kristy Lee - I feel like she will make it with her pseudo-country vibe, but like Simon said, she is forgettable.
Ramiele - She is good, but maybe not as widely loved. I feel she is actually probably safe.

Recap and Predictions

2008-02-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

As I type, Seacrest is introducing the women.

Here are my thoughts on the men:
Chikeze, Michael, and the Davids are safe as they brought the house with their performances.
David A. made me nervous when I heard he was going to sing a song by Lennon. I have always assumed that Imagine is a song ONLY John Lennon could sing. David proved me wrong.

Who's going home for the men:
Luke Menard and Jason Yaeger (Robbie Carrico as a wild card)

For the second straight week, the women are way harder to pick out than the men.
Carly and Brooke had the 2 performances of the night.
There are several attractive women on the show and I noticed 3 in particular. Not because they stood out, but because they reminded me of celebrities. Carly is Diable Cody good looking, Brooke is Natasha Beddingfield attractive, and Syesha is Corrine Bailey Rae cute. That being said...
Who's going home for the women:
Amanda Overmyer (her songs are sounding the same, that tune was all over the pitch floor and her lion's main was crazy) and Kady Milloy. I would put Alaina and Alexandra as my wild cards. Both their songs were boring.

Now I am off to watch the Tivo of the results.

AI Notice

2008-02-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

I have been crazy busy this week and have not seen either episode of AI. I am going to post my picks after I watch them (they are waiting on my Tivo) and then I will watch the results. This means that my picks may be out after they are picked, but I am not going to check the net and I will make the picks and then watch the results later. Possibly later tonight or early tomorrow.

Do or die time...

2008-02-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight is do or die time for quite a few people. First of all it is Round 1 of eliminations on American Idol with 4 going home. It is also the night of a Democratic debate. It is essential for Sen. Clinton to out duel Sen. Obama if she wants to kill the momentum he has and stand any chance of winning the nomination. Amazingly he needs 65% of the remaining delegates to get the Magic number (2,025 I believe) and she needs 65% of the remaining delegates to pull and remain even with him. Should be an interesting time on March 4.

In another blog I will post my opinions on the 4 remaining Prez candidates (6 if you count the dillusional Paul and Gravel). Back to Idol.

Unfortunately for a lot of people, Simon Cowell was right. There were a LOT of forgettable performances. I had to look at the pictures on the website to remember who half the people were. Here are my predictions:
Males: Garrett Haley and Luke Menard are going home with Jason Yaeger the wild card.
Females: Amy Davis and Joanne Borgella are probably going home. I can't pick a wild card because A) half the women look similar to me and I can't remember who was who. B) I also have to throw in Carly Smithson because some people are mad that she already had a record contract. But I think Amy and Joanne will. But not positive. The men I am a little more sure of.

15 minutes and we will all see.

American Idol Prediction

2008-02-13T21:49:00.000-08:00

Sports analysts make predictions at the beginning of the season based upon players they have seen play and teams that are fairly consistent from year to year. Usually they do pretty terribly. No joke. Do you know how many people picked the Giants to win the Super Bowl at the beginning of the NFL season? 0, and that includes Eli Manning and Michael Strahan.

That being said, from the first episode of American Idol I watched I have wanted to be on the show. But not as a singer. I know how I sing and would prefer to spare myself the embarassment. No, I would love to be on the show as a judge. I tend to say things while performers are singing that judges agree with (especially Simon). I also picked Taylor Hicks to win the whole show after seeing his first audition (prior to Hollywood week). And I have people that can back that up.

All that being said, having only seen but a few minutes of a few singers (I don't think I have heard everyone in the top 24), I am going out on a limb to predict the Top 7. This is based purely on what I heard in the auditions (or didn't hear). I also put out a disclaimer that this is based purely on talent and we all saw last season that people will put Sanjaya's through over more talented people. Having acknowledged that fundamental flaw. Here are my picks for the Top 7 (in no order other than women first and men second):
Asia'h Epperson
Carly Smithson
Brooke White
Syesha Mercado
David Archueletta
Michael Johns
Robbie Carrico

Dark Horses:
JoAnne Borgella
Ramiele Malbay

I was more impressed with what I heard from the ladies. Most of the guys sounded alike and nothing all that new. People don't realize there is already 1 Chris Doughtrey and frankly, I don't think we need any more.

We will see how I do and I will change things up as I hear more people sing. But you saw it here the day the Top 24 were announced.

Finally, my surprise moment was when the last 2 males were seated and Simon gave Kyle a heart felt congratulations and telling him that he believed Kyle deserved to make the Top 24 (though not over Colton, probably over David H.).

Mudslinging

2008-01-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have resorted to mudslinging, my single greatest political pet peeve. I watched part of the Democratic debate, but shut it off because I was so sick of listening to them speak for each other. Why is it so hard for candidates to run for political office without putting down their opponent? Looking at the line-up of Republicans and Democrats I have never been so disenfranchised as a voter in my life. 2000 was close, but I was fortunate to have another option. I am waiting for a strong 3rd party candidate to come out of the wood work. Frankly, I believe that we need 3 or 4 major parties in the US in order to balance things out. Although, personally, I would prefer it if we were a 0 party country. You ran for office and if people liked you, they vote for you. If they don't they won't. Some people vote because a candidate belongs to a political party. It doesn't matter if that person is crazy and incompetent, people will vote for them.

Education Hangover

2008-01-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

This is a new term that I created this morning. I have an education hangover. An education hangover is when you get immersed in something educational and lose track of time and end up going to bed way later than you wanted or even should have. So the next morning you have an education hangover. You are tired and kind of out of it.

I came up with this term when I fought to get out of bed after a mere 4 hours of sleep last night. I made the mistake of opening a box that I have had for about 3 years. It is full of old theology texts and other religious stuff my grandpa had. In this box were also sermons my great great grandfather preached back between 1886-1897 (I can't find any from the 20th Century, despite knowing that he was a pastor until at least 1928). I sat down and looked at the churches he preached them at (he was a sermon recycler FYI) and then I tried to read one of his hand written sermons. He was long winded and had fairly decent hand writing, but there are still words that I have no clue what they are. Needless to say way to late into the night I realized the time and headed to bed. Only to have my alarm screaming at me way to early in the AM.

And so this morning I woke up with an education hangover. The good news is that you don't feel anywhere near as crappy as you would with a regular hangover. Plus you possibly learned something.

Last Post of 2007

2007-12-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

2007 is coming to a close and I am way behind in writing my blogs. I have a million things that I would like to write about, but I am going to cover only a few. So here goes...

The Presidential race (that is still 11 months away) is looking like America is going to be asked what they would better, a gunshot to the leg or a gun shot to shoulder. Either way, you are getting shot. The state of politics in the US (alleged home of democracy) is so bad right now I wouldn't be surprised if we are just a few years away from having headlines like those coming out of Pakistan and Kenya. We need to fire everybody and eliminate parties and just have people run. And the best wins. Odds of this happening are so bad that I would have a better chance of winning the Powerball jackpot. Twice.

The Screen Writers are on strike. I support them and their desire to get a better percentage of the earnings on what they put out. However, like all strikes, it is the public that is most affected by this. The good news is that I have been able to get a lot of reading done. The bad news is one of my favorite dramas was left on a cliffhanger a few weeks ago and now it is just reruns and I don't even remember what I was waiting for.

And speaking of Hollywood. Yesterday I had the opportunity to chat with Kelly Carlson (aka Kimber on Nip/Tuck). She falls onto my list of nice celebrities. Which, I think I will publish that list in the new year. She was on my flight from MSP to BOI. I chatted with her for a while and she is really friendly and has a great head on her shoulders. I always wondered what would happen if I became famous. I know that I would love to hang out with people like Clooney, Hanks, Braff, Roberts, etc. but I don't know if I would be able to handle the constant autographs (again, this is assuming that I was really famous) and people wanting pictures. But I hope that I would try to handle it with professionalism and courtesy. I think the big thing has to do with when and where you are asking for autographs. If a celebrity is eating dinner with friends and/or family, it is not an appropriate time to ask for an autograph. It all comes down to the situation. I feel if you are just standing doing nothing (in some place like an airport) it is not unreasonable to be asked for an autograph (Russell Crowe disagrees with me on this). And I think that is why it was refreshing to meet Ms. Carlson. She understands that it is her fans that have helped her get where she is today. If people didn't like her character the writers would kill her off. But people like her character and so the character has gained a greater and greater role on the show. And her attitude is one of thanks for her fans helping her get where she is today.

Happy New Years to all of you!
My New Year's Resolution for 2008 is to get out and hike and camp more. (I quit resolving to eat better, quit things, etc. and decided to start doing things that would be realistic. 2007 I decided to be thankful for people and to find good in them).

Republican Debates

2007-12-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

First, I would like to apologize for taking a month between posts. Now that being said. He is something new:

For those of you that do not know yet, I am an independent voter. I vote for whomever I feel is the best candidate for the job. In my lifetime, I have voted Democrat, Republican, Green, Independent, and Reform. In fact, I have on many occasions voted for myself because I didn't feel any of the candidates were good enough.

That being said, last evening I watched the CNN/YouTube Republican debates. I feel it is my duty as a citizen of America to know something about every candidate. Unfortunately, I have felt lately that the front-runners of the two major political parties have been doing more mudslinging than informing. Which, in my opinion, is sad. It disenfranchises voters. But I digress.

Last night, Mike Hukabee was asked a question regarding the death penalty. "What Would Jesus Do?" I was worried. Mike Hukabee answered with one of the most honest and best answers of the night. "Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office."

I was elated with the answer. It has been my belief that we put too much emphasis on religion and not enough on realistic policy. George Bush is supposedly a Christian. However, he has denied providing health-care to more children and to the poor. That would be an "un-Christian" action. He has led the United States into a war and will not admit that it isn't going well. (Note, I am not asking for him to admit he is a failure or that the war is a failure, just that it isn't going the best) So he has helped authorize the killing of many innocent women, children, and men. Again, not very Christian. To me, a "Christian" candidate should be running on a social services platform. Ending poverty, help people to live a life in this country not live paycheck to paycheck. Feeding the hungry. Taking care of the environment. Making sure every person has an opportunity to get a quality education. And the list goes on.

In the debates, Giuliani, Romney, and McCain sat and traded shots. Mike Hukabee said some things that I agree with (and some I don't), Ron Paul understands the war needs to end, but he also has some waaayyy out there thinking. It was kind of a disappointment for me to watch.

Right now, I feel there is no strong candidate from either side. Frankly, we are moving in polar opposite directions now. The conservatives seem to be getting more conservative and the liberals more liberal. While I admit I am a liberal thinking, I believe that this country will not survive unless the president is a moderate. The leader needs to be in the middle to keep the extremes in check. Right now we have a conservative and therefore, conservative ideology is not being kept in check, but the liberal ideology is. It is about balance and if you have a moderate president (Republican or Democrat or third party) then the Congress has to think about what they are doing and they can quit trying to pass their agenda.

2 Worst Things to Happen to Sports

2007-10-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

People talk about how certain replay rules, timing rules, substitution rules, etc. are ruining sports as we know it. While things like the DH may be taking an element away from the game I can single-handedly point to the two worst things aka the two biggest things ruining sports today.

#1 Drew Rosenhaus
#2 Scott Boras

I will start with Rosenhaus. Drew represents probably the largest base of drama queens in the NFL. His players routinely hold out for more money even if they are in the midst of a contract. He has led to this notion that players who sign 5 year contracts for change and suddenly become good have the right to hold out and get more money. If a player wants to be paid what he is worth, he needs to start signing 1 year contracts and at the end of each season a new contract can be signed according to the value of the previous season's performance. This is only logical. But Rosenhaus continues to have his clients sign long contracts and then they complain that they are underpaid half way through. He often uses the fact that NFL contracts are not guaranteed. But what he doesn't talk about is players who play an entire season and put up substandard numbers and still get paid millions of dollars. Case and point, Javon Walker is going to make all the money in his contract even though he didn't play in all 16 games. Javon Walker held out with the Packers because he wanted more money because he felt the multi-year deal he had signed a few years prior wasn't adequate enough. Play it out Javon. You signed, you earn it.

Next we have Scott Boras. The baseball equivalent of Drew. Scott really went extra far to shoot himself in the foot recently. In the midst of the World Series (final game none the less, and a nail biter to boot) Boras announced that his client Alex Rodriguez was going to opt out of his contract with the Yankees. Because of Scott Boras and his need to drive 6-10 year contracts of double digit millions per year down the throats of GMs the cost of a baseball team has gone through the roof. A-Rod opts out of a contract that will pay him millions of dollars. Instead he would prefer to sign a 10 year deal worth over $300 million. What happens if A-Rod gets severely injured, what if he loses his swing. Unlike football, teams are on the line for those contracts. If a team cuts a player and another team picks him up, previous team is still on the line for some of his money.

These two men have caused sports to be about $$$$$$$ and not about the game. Kobe in basketball, A-Rod in baseball, take your pick in football. People have forgotten about the game. If I were a GM I would refuse to put up with these things and I would tell my fans that I am going to build the best team I can without breaking the bank. Yes we may not always be the best team, but you can see a game for under $100. There are lots of teams out there doing well with small payrolls. I think it is time we stop paying these ridiculous contracts and make these players be unemployed for a bit. If they want big bucks, lets through incentives in there for wins, hits, etc. I would also include penalties for strikeouts and errors. It would definitely send a message to players. If you are going to play for us, you are going to play to win not to get rich.

Pedestrian Safety

2007-10-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have noticed more and more drivers who don't seem to care about pedestrians. Apparently those who have automobiles have many more rights than those that do not. I have seen many a driver honk at, nearly hit, and just generally being rude to the pedestrians. Especially to those in cross walks. When I was in drivers education, I learned that pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way. Not when I felt like it, but always. If a kid ran out into the middle of the street to get a ball, I had to yield the right of way to them. And I think that is a fair assessment. Think about it. I am in a car and let's pretend that this car weighs 600 pounds (a gross under estimate) and I am traveling down the road at 25 miles per hour. A 150 pound man walks off the curb and is walking at 5 miles an hour (way too fast for walking). I hit him. Doing the math I realize that I weigh considerably more than him (with my car that is) and I am moving considerably faster than he is. According to the laws of physics, my car is going to win this battle. We need to be better drivers and prevent more pedestrians from getting hurt or killed by drivers. Slow down, be alert, and quit being a jerk. So what if it takes you an extra 5 minutes to get somewhere. It is a lot better than living with the fact you hit and possibly killed someone. Isn't it?

Back to Monday

2007-09-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

I have realized that I need to Blog on Mondays for consistency sake.

This past weekend was spent in the mountains of Idaho. I am not sure if it was the Sawtooth range or another. Regardless, it was a fun time. I was with youth from church at camp (along with another chaperon and the pastor).

But that is not what I am going to blog about. Not exactly. In Idaho I have had the opportunity to see all sorts of nature. Mountains, valleys, rocks, fields, meadows, rivers, lakes, and so on. There is something about the amazing qualities of nature. And now we are getting to the change of seasons and there are new colors out there. It is exciting to see the fall colors coming, even though it means colder temperatures. I think there are times when we take nature for granted and don't think about how wonderful our surroundings are. I see people flick cigarettes out their window all the time. They don't think about the fact that wildfires could be started by those cigarettes. I also see people toss random things into the water as though it will disappear. This bothers me because we have become more and more complacent with our actions and believe that our actions do not have reactions.

Spandex Commute

2007-09-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today I joined the rank of environmentally friendly commuters. It felt good, minus the burning thighs and lungs. That is right, I left my car in the drive way and hopped on the old 2 wheeler and pedaled in. It was great! Plus I killed 3 birds with one stone. By riding my bike to work I didn't drive and therefore, didn't use gas; I got exercise; and I got to drive through all the closed roads that cars have to detour which actually cut my commute by 10 minutes.

I also learned firsthand about the feared goatshead. It is this little bur that has the spikes. They go into your tire and give you a flat. Fortunately, I looks like the goatshead missed my inner-tube and I will be ok. I went and bought some protective tire liners today. I will install them and hopefully it will help prevent my tires from getting destroyed.

And to clarify, I did not wear spandex to work. I did, however, tuck my right pant leg into my sock like Steve Carell in the 40 Year-Old Virgin.

This commute got me to wondering. How much gas could we save if we walked and rode bikes more places? My drive to work involves me driving around construction and taking massive detours plus I have to sit at lights forever and stop for school busses. With my bike, I just have to stop at lights and the only thing that happens is I get to catch my breath. Not only would we save gasoline, we would also help the air quality. Boise is currently rather hazy due to the wildfires north of here. I believe the car traffic is not helping any. The final benefit would be the exercise. We could burn more calories and move from our sedentary lifestyle that many of us (myself included) become accustomed to. I have been trying to lose "the last 10 pounds" and I have tried various ways of going about it. I think this will probably help more than anything.

I more people will hop on bikes and get out of cars. Plus it is so beautiful outside it is hard not to enjoy the weather.

Lack of Inspiration

2007-09-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about why the world has so many problems and such a hard time living peacefully with one another. I started to think about who it is we turn to for inspiration on a global level. And that is when it hit me. There aren't any major globally inspirational people left. Pope Benedict is the closest thing we could come, but you hardly ever hear him mentioned. And I can't blame him, John Paul left some big shoes to fill. Looking back, we used to have Pope John Paul, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Stephen Biko and so on. Growing up it seemed like there was always someone you could look to for inspiration. Now I can't think of one public figure. Even Al Gore, who is championing saving the planet from Global Warming, charges you $12.99 for the DVD at the store. I think that we are going to stay in a continual state of disarray until we start getting people to inspire us as a world. Maybe I am being pessimistic, but that is the way it feels to me.

I'm back!

2007-08-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

After an extended hiatus due to packing and moving, I am back!

So let's get right to it. I love Idaho and my new city. Wonderful people!

Michael Vick is getting off light. Miss Teen South Carolina is an idiot and further proof that No Child Left Behind is NOT working. I am sad to report that my fish Deuce and Hilly Kristal passed away on the same day. Both did great things for the world.

Here is what I was going to post prior to moving by my internet connection was closed sooner than expected.

I went to Target to get a couple supplies for moving. They gave me a plastic bag (not a fan) for my stuff. However, when I set it on the seat next to me I noticed that it listed 10 different ways to re-use the bag. I give them props for that. Here is said list:
1. Tiny Trashcan Liner
2. Doggie Duty (AMEN!)
3. Water Balloon
4. Roadtrip Rubbish
5. Soggy Laundry
6. Ice Pack For Head Lump
7. Toiletry Tote
8. Kitty Litter Liner
9. Tomorrow's Lunchbag
10. Care Package Padding

I am proud to say that I used 2 target bags for 5 of those.

Finally, on to the BIG news story here in Boise (other than the Boise State home opener tonight on the Blue Turf).

Sen. Craig. Should he have solicited sex in an airport bathroom? No. Should he resign? No. I think everyone is blowing it way of out proportion (himself included). But my biggest problem is that all the Christian right-wing Republicans are condemning him for his actions and throwing him to the wolves, lions, badgers, or any other carnivorous mammal you can think of. Amazingly I have not heard one, NOT ONE, Con-Christian mention that he should be forgiven of any wrong-doing. Nope, they go right to condemnation and skip the whole Jesus forgives part. And, as a Christian, that bothers me. If we can only judge and never forgive, who do we expect God to do the same for us?

Saying Goodbye...

2007-08-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

is never easy. I have spend the last month saying goodbye to people and it hasn't gotten any easier. I think it would be much easier if my move where to some place closer like northern Minnesota or to Wisconsin. But I am moving 1500+ miles away. Hopefully I will get some visitors.

On a side note, hopefully the Cubs will start winning again and take control of first place in the NL Central.

Manic Monday

2007-08-06T15:53:00.001-07:00

I just finished a hectic weekend and Monday has been a day to relax, but also a day full of emotion. My mom came for the weekend to help me pack for my big move across the country. Like I told her, I can pack a car, a truck, and a van but for some reason I just cannot pack a box. With her help we were able to box up close to 80% of my stuff without using many boxes. Now I look around a rather bare apartment and feel a variety of emotions. First I feel the excitement of moving to some place new, then I move to feelings of sadness leaving a place that is close to home and near lots of friends and family, then I move to the nervousness of going to some place new. I know everything will be great, but there are still so many people to say goodbye to and there are still boxes that need to be packed and addresses that need to be changed and all sorts of things I have to pay for. Plus I am starting a new job a week before the kids start school so I have to hit the ground running.

But there were some fun moments from this weekend. I always love to spend time with my mom (no offense to the rest of my family). She and I have a lot of things in common and a lot of things where we are polar opposites. I am loud, my mom is very quiet (except when I get her going) but we both love beer and sports. We had some good laughs this weekend and some touching moments that I am just going to keep between her and I. But one moment I wanted to write about was when we took a break to eat lunch and watch the tail end of the Iron Man competition. You know, after all the well groomed athletes crossed. There were some amazingly touching stories as part of the race. A guy running for another guy who had ALS and he rolled across the finish line just like wheel chair bound ALS Iron Man had the year before (shortly after Iron Man the disease took his legs and shortly after this years race he passed away). There was also a 79 year-old nun who finished with 1 minute remaining. Both stories, which I can not do just to were inspirational and reminded me in an era when athletes are cheating to get an advantage, there are some people out there to give us hope.

No Sympathy

2007-07-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

In the last few days I have heard the following phrase being tossed around a lot, "Innocent until proven guilty". Specifically, it has been thrown around in relation to professional athletes and their behavior regarding the law. I have been told that Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, and "Pacman" Jones should be treated better and deserve to have judgment saved until their court cases are resolved. I am sorry but I don't feel that that is an appropriate response. Yes, I believe every person in the world accused of a crime deserves a fair trial. But somehow, I am supposed to believe that these athletes deserve to have judgment not cast upon them. How many people do I see that commit crimes that are instantly chastised before they have a trial? Tons! And when you are in a high profile environment, such as Professional Sports, you need to go in understanding that you are being watched and scrutinized by MILLIONS.

Nothing Barry Bonds will ever say will lead me to believe that he did NOT use steroids. For this reason, Hank Aaron will be the Home Run King in my book. I don't care if Bonds hits 1,000 home runs. He will still be a cheating hack (who frankly acts like a jerk and then tries to accuse the media of picking on him) who wouldn't admit to cheating. Maybe Michael Vick didn't run a dog fighting ring, but if he didn't he should be sent to jail for being a horrible dog owner. There is no logical way that someone goes through 40+ dogs by the time they are 30. If they do, they aren't a very good dog owner. Even if you adopt 10 senior dogs at a time, it is really hard to burn through 40 (especially considering they were found at his house he built AFTER college).

If you are a pro athlete, you need to watch your back even more. And because you have money, you should be able to do that. Hire a driver. Then you can drink your heart out at a club and not drive home drunk. When you are going out of your house, don't bring a gun. If you are worried about your safety, hire security or call the police. The greatest thing lacking in Pro Sports right now is common sense. Maybe we need to start requiring athletes to finish school and with a 2.9 GPA.

Inspiring 10 year-olds

2007-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the honor and privilege of being an Assistant Coach with the Minnetonka Magic. They are the 10U Fastpitch Softball Team that I have been an Assistant for all year (4 month season!). I have been with them through league games, scrimmages, practices, and tournaments. Well this weekend was the tournament of all tournaments! The girls played in the Northern League National Tournament. After getting seeded in the Silver Division they lost their first game in a tough battle. They bounced back to win their second game 9-6. Then came the next game. They would be playing another team from Minnetonka that was comprised of members of 3 different teams from the city. Our team played so well this season that we earned the right to play in the tournament as is. The other teams had to divide up to claim the other 2 team spots earned by Minnetonka Softball program.

The Magic fought hard for 80 minutes/5.1 innings. Our started was out of gas, bases were loaded. In comes our other pitcher. Gets the 2 outs and doesn't allow any runs. Being the visiting team, we are now up to bat in International Rules Extra Innings. We unfortunately are unable to plate a run and the other team comes up. After fighting hard to get the 2 outs there are runners on the corners. Batter hits the ball, throw is to the plate, runner slides in under the tag and the game is over.

This may sound like a disappointing end to a fantastic season (I believe the official record is 34-12) but it was really an inspirational end to the season for me. These 10 year-olds played their hearts out all season over coming slumps, bad calls, and injuries. They had a few different moments where they were backed up against the wall and fought hard to keep going. In the state tournament they lost a game and proceeded to play 6 games in one day fighting to finish 3rd coming from behind to win in 4 of those games. They played the whole season with class and energy. They were good sports and became one of the greatest teams I have ever seen. And so when they are older talking about when they were 10 playing in the National Tournament and telling stories about their amazing season I am glad that I was, in some small way, a part of it.

Magic here, Magic there, Magic everywhere! Poof There it is!

Sweat, Packing, and Cleaning

2007-07-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Let me begin by recommending that all people who need to move do so when it is not hot and humid out. I am dripping with sweat and just feel disgusting, but I can't take a shower yet because I will just sweat more and have to take another one. So I am waiting as long as I can.

Getting to my thought for the day. I have been taking magazine and newspaper after newspaper and magazine to the recycling bin here and I have been packing books into boxes and cleaning my apartment as I go. But for some reason, my place seems to have more stuff and is messier than ever. I am led to believe that every time I take a trip to the bin, a neighbor comes in and throws their crap everywhere so I have to clean it up. That is the only logical conclusion I can come to at this heat stroke induced point.

Oh yeah, and I recommend against hording. It is a pain in the butt when you need to move.

Thoughts for Monday

2007-07-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am going to try and push through the obvious thoughts of the fact that it is currently 85 degrees and extremely muggy in my apartment and I am not going to turn on my electricity hog of an AC. I have had all sorts of thoughts in the past 2 months since I posted (bad me) and I am trying to figure out what direction I am going to head.

Right now the most prevalent think on my mind is another blog. Me being me, I get addicted to something and then inevitably something else comes along and then I get busy and forget about said addiction. These are usually CDs, webpages, and TV shows. I had for a long time been reading the blog of my friend's husband. Like I said, get busy or distracted and completely forgot about it (which is sad because it is really well written). Well I ran into my friend and her husband at a wedding. It reminded me how good his blog is and how I need to get back on track reading it. Fortunately, I have done this. He is truly an insightful, intelligent, and humorous guy and I love reading his blog. But that is not what I wanted to write about. No, seeing him at the wedding was a little difficult for me. Her husband has ALS aka Lou Gehrig's Disease. My grandma had ALS and passed away my senior year of college. Now, I knew that my grandma wouldn't live forever but this disease is a cruel, cruel disease. You see, ALS is a terrorist disease. It takes a perfectly functional brain and holds it hostage as it slowly shuts down the body. To explain it in clearer terms... When you are diagnosed with ALS your brain does not lose function, but your body does. Slowly your legs lose their ability to work, then it works its way north. You lose function of your hands and arms, your ability to speak, your ability to swallow and eventually your ability to breathe. Again, this whole time the brain functions just like nothing has happened.

The reason it was slightly hard to see him was first I know that there are some undeniable facts. 1) This disease is going to take his life at some point (unless science decides to find a cure and quit trying to solve old men's inability to get an erection. Also side note, this would be a good reason to support stem cell research, tell your politicians unless of course you enjoy letting productive members of society die). 2) If 1 happens, then his wife will have to go through the mourning of having the love of your life go. And I am a firm believer that if you are married for a year or 60 years, it is never easy to lose your spouse. 3) It brought back the memories of my grandma passing. And how painful it was to watch as bit by bit she died. Nobody deserves to have that happen to their body and no family member deserves to have to watch it happen to a family member.

But their was something uplifting about seeing my friend and her husband as well. Seeing the love they had for each other was so uplifting. I can only hope that some day I find a woman that loves me as much as she loves him and vice versa. Her husband and I had a good conversation about writing and about the other woman in his life (the computer program that allows him to write his blog which apparently has a female voice and has been named Erica). Upon returning home, I have had the enjoyment of catching up on his blog and exchanging a few emails concerning our favorite baseball team (true baseball fans cheer for the Cubs, to hell with the Yankees). Through seeing him and talking with him, my passion for promoting ALS research has been reignited and I hope that you too will help fight this awful disease.

Please go here for more information on the disease and how to help go here.

I have also been inspired to be more diligent about keeping this up to date (at least one post per week).
.

It happened again...

2007-05-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

In my last post I talked about seeing my life played out in TV shows and movies. Well, this week I saw a TV show that from its first episode seemed to have mirrored my life. The mirror come full circle when it had some events that have recently taken place in my life. It is weird. And yet the words of the main character seemed to provide a calming bit of advice for me.

My life as a TV show

2007-05-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a friend the other day and they brought up a point that I had never really thought about until that day. It has now resurfaced tonight.

I don't know if I do it subliminally or if it is just pure chance, but for some reason it seems like my life tries to mirror TV and Film. My life tries to be a fairy tale. But the weirder thing and what triggered the reaction tonight was that sometimes it feels like people are in my living room writing about my life.

On a TV show tonight, I saw myself in the final scene of one of my favorite shows. It was kind of painful to see myself on TV in that light. So now the question is, "What am I going to do about it?"

Thoughts for Monday

2007-04-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

First of all, rest in peace Boris Yeltsin. Though he may not have been the best leader of a country, he still deserves to rest in peace.

The thought I have for today is back to music. I am listening to Live Current Vol. 2 today and it is an amazing CD. 89.3 has already mastered the art of putting out a CD. With a great mix of music (much like its predacessor Live Current Vol. 1) both artist-wise but and genre-wise. What amazes me is how we can listen to a song 10 different times and have 10 different reactions to it. That to me is the sign of a great song. I have had the same experience with my recent album of addiction, Billy Joel's "Glass Houses". Sia and Amos Lee are hitting me in a profound way today. They are saying words that are resonating with where I am today. So I encourage you all to listen to some music and find something that is speaking to you and reflect on what it is saying to you.

Me, signing off...

Hmmm...

2007-04-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very powerful day. Tragedy struck when a gunman opened fire on the Virginia Tech campus killing over 30 people. I have never been able to wrap my head around how one person could kill another. I definitely do no understand how you could intentionally kill a whole group of people. To drive the point home, I was watching a George Carlin comedy special hoping to have some humor to lighten the day. He made a very interesting point. Humans are the ONLY species that kill other members of its species for no reason. Sure there are other species that will kill its own species, but it is usually out of defense or for food. No we humans kill for the sake of killing. It is kind of chilling to think about. I really don't know where I am going with this or even where to go. My prayers are with the family, friends, students, faculty, and staff of Virginia Tech as well as the community of Blacksburg. The family of the shooter is also in my prayers. I can't imagine how you deal with the news that your own child killed 30+ people, including himself.

From the valley to the mountain

2007-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

I cannot lie, yesterday started off pretty rough. I was in a bit of a funk. By the time I finished lunch I was on top of the world and that carried all the way through until I went to sleep. I woke up this morning (really early!) and went to church to do our Breakfast with a Viking. Tony Richardson was amazing and it was well attended for how little notice we had. The people that helped me to make this reality are awesome and I couldn't have done it without them. And the looks on the faces of the crowd were worth every drop of sweat and the small burn on my arm from the convection oven. And to top it off, the fog of this morning is gone and it is over 60 degrees! I am content right now.

Purpose

2007-03-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

This Lent at church we have been talking about People of Purpose. Lately, I have been struggling with purpose. I have been talking with college kids about finding purpose and telling them it is ok to struggle to figure it out. Evidently these conversations have carried over into my own life. I don't feel like I am living a purposeful life. Unfortunately, as I have contemplated it, I am unsure what direction the remedy will be found.

Thoughts...

2007-03-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Someone once told me that if you love someone, sometimes you have to let them go. Unfortunately, what that person didn't tell me is all the challenges that come with that. I am no longer able to make my end of the day call to tell how my day was. And that was usually my favorite part to my day. There are all sorts of thoughts running through my head that I can explain or understand. I just know that it is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I am doing alright, but it is still a challenge. I just keep praying for the best and hoping everything works out. I love you.

Confusion

2007-03-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know what I am feeling right now.

The hardest form of learning...

2007-02-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

We never stop learning, or so I have been told. Actually, I agree. There is always something to learn about even as we get older and think we know all there is to know. However, today's lesson was one of the harder ones I have learned. I learned about myself. It is a fact that my apartment is a wreck. It is a fact that I live alone. Today as I was cleaning I realized that, in regards to the mess, I have never taken on the responsibility for it. Nope, I have made hundreds of excuses as to why my place is a mess. So what is this lesson I learned? I am an excuse maker. Not all of the time. But I realized that on certain subjects I don't take responsibility. So here, for the whole world to see, I am accepting responsibility for the fact that it looks like a tornado hit my apartment. Therefore, it is my responsibility to clean it. Not my moms, not my girlfriends, not some hired service (no, I have never hired a maid), but me. And with that I am heading off, hoping to learn that I CAN clean this place and make it feel good to live in.

Rock, rock on folks!
~me

p.s. while posting this blog, I realized that I misuse commas a lot. I have deleted way to many.

Meatloaf as a metaphor...

2007-01-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had a tasty helping of Meatloaf for dinner. And now as I sit and contemplate, I realize that Meatloaf can be a metaphor for how we think of ourselves. Take the individual parts of meatloaf: ground beef, ketchup, mustard, seasoning, egg, and oatmeal; they are all things that you would not want in mass quantities by themselves. All the items that make up meatloaf are in small amounts and make one finished product. Ground beef - the hearty filling part of the meal which can be seen as the core of what we are, the one thing from which all others will become a part, our identity. Ketchup - sweet but pungent flavor by itself, yet makes so many other things taste much better. This is the part of us that accents the others. This brings our other parts to life. Mustard - bitter and yet bright. This balances well with the sweetness of the ketchup and brings out other accents in the meal. A second accent if you will. The egg - this is what helps bind everything together, culinary glue. This is the part of us that helps us keep our heads above water. It is the thing that brings all our gifts and helps us to use them all together. The oatmeal - the bland, flavorless ingredient. Though it would not taste good to eat a handful of dry oatmeal, the oatmeal in the meatloaf helps absorb the liquids and keep the meatloaf flavorful and juicy. This is our modesty, it keeps us from being boastful but still allows us to have and use all of our gifts to the enjoyment of others.

Meatloaf sometimes gets a bad rap, but no longer from this guy. I would do anything for love, but I won't do that...

Stuffy head

2006-12-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

This blog comes to you with much pain. Sinus pain. My allergies and possibly a cold (I can't tell because my allergies are so bad) have rendered my nose quite sensitive to breathing. But I will survive.

Christmas has come and gone and now we are staring down a New Year. Christmas has become extremely commercialized and is sometimes painful to celebrate. But then there are those wonderful moments that remind you that all hope is not lost. People caring for one another, children understanding that Christmas is not about how many presents you score, or people giving of their time, talents, or possessions to help those in need are just some ways that I have experienced Christmas this year.

I also get curious about New Years. People make resolutions to do things that they probably will not keep. I try to avoid NY Resolutions because I find that I end up upset and disappointed with myself because I was unable to keep them. This year I have decided to resolve to KEEP doing something that I have been doing pretty well. I am going to try to be kind to those around me and to lift up people when they do something that deserves praise, even if that praise is simply, "Good Job!" It is my hope that people will look at themselves and decide to resolve to keep doing what they do well.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

When there are no words...

2006-12-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

The thing I love about music is how it often says what we are thinking or feeling when we can't express it ourselves. Sometimes, instrumental music captures my thoughts and emotions much better than I could ever with the thousands of words that I know.

But sometimes the music is not around to convey what is on your heart and mind.

Sometimes, there is just silence. And you wish you could say something profound, meaningful, or sympathetic, but all you have is silence. Silence when the words "I love you" are appreciated, but not don't help the situation. When, "That sucks" just isn't enough. Silence. It is a frightening thing. Silence so often is related to loneliness and fear. When you are alone in your house and you hear something and then, silence. The fear sets in.

But no matter if there is music or silence, joy or pain, it is always important to let it be known that you are there and that you care.

I love you.

You had a bad day...

2006-12-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Daniel Powter wrote a really catchy song by the same title that was popular this time last year. One of the lines rang true today, "Sometimes the system goes on the blink and the whole thing turns out wrong". I was having a bad day today, it was just one of those days when things just seemed to fall out of place. Had a wicked stomach ache most of the day, had a long rehearsal, flat tire on the car, expensive replacement tire, and rude people in stores. So for a good chunk of the day I was a crap. But it is amazing how even when you have a bad day, there always seems to be at least one person who will bring you back up. Now I have been playing video games and my stomach is doing better and I just feel good. I think when we get caught in the midst of a bad day, we dwell so much on how much it sucks that we neglect to see the wonderful things out there. I was so focused on all that was bad that I didn't go out and enjoy the 40 degree day. I didn't take time to enjoy the sun being out. That is really important because it tends to hide for the long winter here. I had a bad day, now I am having a great day. Don't let the world get you down. There is always someone out there who is truly hoping the best for you. Even if you don't know it or realize it.

Back from Hiatus

2006-02-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

I have taken a hiatus from blogging. Maybe it was because I was super busy or maybe it is because nothing that exciting has happened. Things have gotten busy in my life in a good way. I am excited about all the opportunities that have presented themselves to me. I can't wait until I get to know even more of the youth here at the church so I can start to fit in with them.

In other news, The Dorothy Heralds have asked me to be one of their producers of their next album which is really cool because I love them and they make good music, not this manufactured garbage that is on the radio.

The Olympics are underway and I love the dedication to the sport that these athletes have. No talk of money, endorsements, or complaints about coaches. People who are there because they love what they do and they do what they do with all their heart. It killed me to see some people take 4th place because of how hard they worked, but such is life. Best of luck to all athletes from all countries and congratulations to all medal winners!

Reflections...

2005-11-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

This past week, my grandpa passed away. We gathered as a family and we had a great time talking and sharing stories. What amazing therapy, but to gather together and share the stories that bind us together, the stories of a man we loved and who shared his life and love with us. He truly is resting in peace. Be sure to tell your family that you love them.

Another Sleepless Night

2005-10-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

I lay in bed, trying to sleep, my mind racing. I cannot sleep because I take my job so seriously that I am constantly afraid of messing up or not doing my best. I keep thinking of ways I could do things better, ways I could have done things differently. Keeps me up. Thankfully, I am at a job I love. I have great kids and loads of support. It is just this weird perfectionist tendancy that I have developed.

I also was cleaning out a box tonight and I found an old letter from a former camper of mine. This camper went to school in a town in the midst of a tragedy. I feel it is God telling me to write to this person and let them know I am praying for them. And then to actually pray for them. This doesn't help me sleep either.

Finally, trying to figure our where my life is going. I know what I am doing in regards to work, but all other things, finances, love life, etc. are up in the air. It is challenging. Part 3 of why I have difficulty sleeping.

That is all for now, hopefully I can get some sleep.

Music and emotion

2005-10-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

I love how music can enhance your emotions. Right now I am listening to Ben Lee and his songs really fit with my current mood and are enhancing it. I am kind of feeling tired and mellow but becoming energetic. Which is really nice since earlier this morning I was full of worry (money matters) and now I am feeling more optimistic realizing that some of my bills have been completely paid off and I will never have to worry about them again! Thank you Ben Lee!

Choices

2005-09-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

We are faced with choices every day. But do we ever really consider the choices that we have to make? Sure some a fairly simple such as, what will I wear today or what should I have for lunch. But then there are times we are faced with difficult choices. The last few days I have been subject to allergy testing. The result of this is a choice between treatments. Do I get shots that could be potentially life threatening or do I take pills that could keep the allergies under control but still result in further damage because they are not 100% effective? It is an interesting situation to be in. Right now, I am going to make a choice between Chex and Special K.

Pushing myself

2005-08-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

I am making a trip this weekend that involves 10 hours of total driving. This will be the third weekend in a row of doing so. It is really catching up to me as I am constantly playing catch-up. Next weekend I think that I am just going to relax and sleep. It is really starting to kill me how tired I am. I am constantly dragging. Which is the downside, I am really tired and don't want to make the trip in regards to the drive, but I do want to see my friends that I will see. Too bad they aren't closer.

End of summer

2005-08-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

The end of summer is always an interesting time for me, especially when I observe the actions of those around me. Summer, for some unknown reason, turns everyone into a kid again. Regardless of age, people feel like they are 13-18 again when summer rolls around. So when the end of summer comes you begin to notice people of all ages fighting to get the last of their youthful activities in. In doing so I have noticed more and more causing themselves to feel about twice their age. Humorous. I love summer, it is truly a time to relax and be adventurous and so on. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Crazy dream...

2005-08-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

So last night I had a dream that Dennis Hopper and I had become friends and that 5 guys tried to kill us because they didn't like DH. It was weird, we psuedo triumphed in the end, but something ominous was about to happen and I woke up. Just thought I would share.

The first post...

2005-08-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

So I have just moved to a new apartment. This led to a couple of important life lessons about myself. #1 I have way too much stuff. #2 I hate cardboard boxes and never want to see another one in my possession.

I am beginning my new job which is great because everyone supports me and is encouraging. I got all the paper work done and now I can get paid and have insurance.

After much hassle I finally have pictures coming through my TV which is now too high tech for me to use. I can rewind what I am watching while I am watching it. It is really freaky!

As much as I would love to procrastinate some more, the boxes are calling to me to be unpacked.

Peace out yo!