I just returned from the office Christmas Party. I had a lot of fun, but I can't help but compare it to one in the past. You see, the party occurred in the same room, with many of the same people as one of the parties about eight or nine years in the past. Seeing them, in this place makes me also see the people who aren't there. Including my younger self. It made me want to spend hours with each and every person there. The time I did get to spend was too fleeting.
Maybe, this is a wakeup call of sorts. I have great friends. Many that I love very much. I NEED to make more effort to do things with them, and not just a lunch every now and again. We need to see plays, take in a concert, go to a movie, or out to the park. Recently, I've kept my friends at too much of an arms length.
I need to bring them in for a hug.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Preconceptions and Stereotypes
A few weeks ago, I was at a district event for church. I had the good fortune to see a woman that I had met at General Assembly in 2005. I found out that she was in the process of getting a divorce. Since I've seen her a few times since the meeting at GA, I have had the pleasure of meeting her husband. Though I didn't get to know him well, he seemed a nice enough guy. Talking of her pending divorce, and attempts at dating took me (mentally) back to our meeting. You see, one of the things I remeber from meeting her is her telling me that she was recently engaged.
We met at a session called "Often Left Out: Being Truly Welcoming to Bisexual and Transgender People". (At least one member of the panel was Bisexual, and at least one was Transgendered. The discussion basically centered around how some people, and through them organizations, churches, and companiessay GLBT but think of it as Gay and/or Lesbian (what happened to the BT?).) One woman related a story of a board meeting where a member of the board of a church that was in the process of becoming a Welcoming congregation asked if anyone else on the board knew of any members who were Bisexual or Transgender. The board member asked this directly to the woman, who was openly bi, and married. When the participant replied, "Yes, I am bi." the response was "You can't be. You're married.". The discussion that followed in our class pretty much centered around this idea of preconceptions. Bisexual people don't marry, because they like to play the field. Transgendered people are always interested in people of the same physical sex as themselves (IE homosexual). One man described his situation. His wife of many years was undergoing gender reassignment therapy. When he would be out in public with his daughter, people would react one way, and he was stereotyped as straight. When with his spouse, people reacted a different way and he was stereotyped as gay. He self-identified as heterosexual, but he was very much still in love with the person he had married. This led to the discussion how how do we look at the people that come into the church, into our places of business, and into out lives.
Seeing her brought this all back to mind. I have always tried to be mindful of what stereotypes I may be holding at any given moment. Since then I have really tried to redouble my efforts in this direction. And not just in regards to sexuality. We humans do this because stereotypes make our lives easier. Preconceived notions, developed after gathering the most minimal information, help us decide how to address the situation immediately. We do this based on political affiliation, religious affiliation, organizational involvement, the place of residence, or the music listened to. Everyone does this, though many try to minimize it. As important as that, is to endeavor to be aware when you are making the generality. Becasue if we are aware that we are making the generality, we are that much closer to abandoning it WHEN it proves false, and that much closer to NOT making the generalization again in the future, since it's already been proven false in the past.
So what brings this serious thought up? It's actually a confluence of many things. Another friend whose going through divorce. An email I received today that sets up a date when I will likely see the woman from GA again. The GL and BT panels that the Middle School OWL class went through a few weeks ago. Mitt Romney's recent discussion on religion, and some of the reactions I have heard. The video on "The Click List". Thoughts about the holiday season(So far this one's not going as bad as I feared in the earlier comment.) The post has kinda been on my mind for a little while, though in various different forms.
And in case you don't want to leave with anything this heavy, go here.
We met at a session called "Often Left Out: Being Truly Welcoming to Bisexual and Transgender People". (At least one member of the panel was Bisexual, and at least one was Transgendered. The discussion basically centered around how some people, and through them organizations, churches, and companiessay GLBT but think of it as Gay and/or Lesbian (what happened to the BT?).) One woman related a story of a board meeting where a member of the board of a church that was in the process of becoming a Welcoming congregation asked if anyone else on the board knew of any members who were Bisexual or Transgender. The board member asked this directly to the woman, who was openly bi, and married. When the participant replied, "Yes, I am bi." the response was "You can't be. You're married.". The discussion that followed in our class pretty much centered around this idea of preconceptions. Bisexual people don't marry, because they like to play the field. Transgendered people are always interested in people of the same physical sex as themselves (IE homosexual). One man described his situation. His wife of many years was undergoing gender reassignment therapy. When he would be out in public with his daughter, people would react one way, and he was stereotyped as straight. When with his spouse, people reacted a different way and he was stereotyped as gay. He self-identified as heterosexual, but he was very much still in love with the person he had married. This led to the discussion how how do we look at the people that come into the church, into our places of business, and into out lives.
Seeing her brought this all back to mind. I have always tried to be mindful of what stereotypes I may be holding at any given moment. Since then I have really tried to redouble my efforts in this direction. And not just in regards to sexuality. We humans do this because stereotypes make our lives easier. Preconceived notions, developed after gathering the most minimal information, help us decide how to address the situation immediately. We do this based on political affiliation, religious affiliation, organizational involvement, the place of residence, or the music listened to. Everyone does this, though many try to minimize it. As important as that, is to endeavor to be aware when you are making the generality. Becasue if we are aware that we are making the generality, we are that much closer to abandoning it WHEN it proves false, and that much closer to NOT making the generalization again in the future, since it's already been proven false in the past.
So what brings this serious thought up? It's actually a confluence of many things. Another friend whose going through divorce. An email I received today that sets up a date when I will likely see the woman from GA again. The GL and BT panels that the Middle School OWL class went through a few weeks ago. Mitt Romney's recent discussion on religion, and some of the reactions I have heard. The video on "The Click List". Thoughts about the holiday season(So far this one's not going as bad as I feared in the earlier comment.) The post has kinda been on my mind for a little while, though in various different forms.
And in case you don't want to leave with anything this heavy, go here.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Holiday Season
I have a love-hate relationship with this time of year. It's the time of year when EVERYTHING is a deadline. I have deadlines at work and at home. I have deadlines for when to get lists to this person, when to shop for these people, when to be at the school for the play, when to be at church for the pageant.
Now don't tell me that that word doesn't hold the same dread for you. At this time of year I hear it as "Dead"-line. And with so many, I feel like I will surely be dead by the end of the season.
To top that off, I don't like crowds. So any thought of shopping after the Wednesday before Thanksgiving gives me chills. And as much as I know it's the worst day, I can't get myself out to shop for my wife before the last week before Christmas. I just can't decide what I want to get her before then.
Now don't tell me that that word doesn't hold the same dread for you. At this time of year I hear it as "Dead"-line. And with so many, I feel like I will surely be dead by the end of the season.
To top that off, I don't like crowds. So any thought of shopping after the Wednesday before Thanksgiving gives me chills. And as much as I know it's the worst day, I can't get myself out to shop for my wife before the last week before Christmas. I just can't decide what I want to get her before then.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Misc.
In my previous post, I mentioned that I went to the Apple store in Southlake. I really like the layout of the "shopping mall" there. Instead of being in an enclosed building, imagine taking the individual stores, and placing them in buildings around the city hall. It was so much nicer then walking around in a mall. There's nothing "radical" about the idea, but it was just really cool to be outside (since the weather was nice). Very relaxed atmosphere.
My wife and I watched "Imagine Me & You" last night. I had seen most of it before, but I picked up a few new things since I had missed the first thirty minutes minutes the first time I saw it. It's an enjoyable movie.
Work is going well, but I miss being able to socialize. I also find that I am not nearly so well informed about the "stupid" news stories, the "man bites dog" variety. I can definitely thank the TV screens at CMG for helping me to answer all of the trivia questions on Wait Wait. A couple of weeks ago, a listener on the show noted that they didn't expect to do to well because they only got their news from NPR. It was so funny because I had noticed how many of the stories they asked questions over had been posted to the CMG TVs the week before.
My wife and I watched "Imagine Me & You" last night. I had seen most of it before, but I picked up a few new things since I had missed the first thirty minutes minutes the first time I saw it. It's an enjoyable movie.
Work is going well, but I miss being able to socialize. I also find that I am not nearly so well informed about the "stupid" news stories, the "man bites dog" variety. I can definitely thank the TV screens at CMG for helping me to answer all of the trivia questions on Wait Wait. A couple of weeks ago, a listener on the show noted that they didn't expect to do to well because they only got their news from NPR. It was so funny because I had noticed how many of the stories they asked questions over had been posted to the CMG TVs the week before.
iPod
While it's not been used as frequently since I got my new job, I still use my iPod for my road trips and occasionally when roaming about the house. On Friday, I learned that the audio jack was malfunctioning. This was something I had begun to attribute to the earbuds I was using, but since it was happening to all of my headphones and audio equipment I knew that that could not be the case. Not wanting to buy another $200 device, I took it to the iPod store in Southlake. I didn't have an appointment, but they squeezed me in. After testing it for a couple of minutes with their equipment, they handed me a new one, and boxed the old one up, no questions asked. I was quite pleased, and quite surprised too. I had expected to be without it for a couple of weeks. Now that's customer service.
Now I just need to start putting a dent in the 9 days of podcast audio that I have built up.
Now I just need to start putting a dent in the 9 days of podcast audio that I have built up.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Fall Festival
Today was the fall festival for my kids school. They had a blast, and I overate. There was a dance afterward and it was great to watch the kids on the dance floor. I saw a large group of boys trying to break dance on the floor. My son joined right in. It was great. My daughter hooked up with some of her friends and was out on the dance floor swinging around with her friends until her legs got sore. After that, she either sat in my lap holding onto me, or held onto her mother.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Taking a note from Paul
Ok. I know it's been a long time. Honestly, I have had a busy month. From the last post, everyone should know I have a new job. While that's kept me somewhat busy, I've also been making some changes around the house, cleaning my office, transitioning to new after school duties, driving to Houston, etc. I'll try to cover as much as is relevant. Needless to say, I am finding myself much happier.
While I have been "absent", I have started a few posts. They just never got finished. So I am taking a note from Paul, and just going to write a quick note on a few.
The last post was a testament to Blogspot's spell check and ease of use. I barely even remember composing it, but it was there when I woke up. I've had to correct more grammar and spelling in this post then I have found in that one.
Due to the schedule change at church, I have been able to attend more of the main services. Because it was something I had thought of doing, and because I was hoping to get the youth of the church more involved, I signed up to be a lay leader. To that end, last Sunday, I got up in front of the congregation and led the opening part of the service. I had to spend a few hours last week coming up with Opening Words, and Candles of Memory and Hope (We light this candle in memory/hope of... ). Most of my involvement has been with the youth of the church, so getting up in front of the adults and working with them was a new thing for me.
While I have been "absent", I have started a few posts. They just never got finished. So I am taking a note from Paul, and just going to write a quick note on a few.
The last post was a testament to Blogspot's spell check and ease of use. I barely even remember composing it, but it was there when I woke up. I've had to correct more grammar and spelling in this post then I have found in that one.
Due to the schedule change at church, I have been able to attend more of the main services. Because it was something I had thought of doing, and because I was hoping to get the youth of the church more involved, I signed up to be a lay leader. To that end, last Sunday, I got up in front of the congregation and led the opening part of the service. I had to spend a few hours last week coming up with Opening Words, and Candles of Memory and Hope (We light this candle in memory/hope of... ). Most of my involvement has been with the youth of the church, so getting up in front of the adults and working with them was a new thing for me.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
New Job
So for those who do not know, today I started my new job. Guess what? My new company announced that it was sold today. My first day has been a joke among the existing employees.
I met a great group of employees from out of state. We drank and partied together until late at night. Now I am in my room, getting ready for the next day, in which I will meet the new CEO. I really think things will go well, but it is funny to joke about it.
I met a great group of employees from out of state. We drank and partied together until late at night. Now I am in my room, getting ready for the next day, in which I will meet the new CEO. I really think things will go well, but it is funny to joke about it.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Social Action Project in BR
I went to a YRUU rally in Baton Rouge this weekend. We always have a social action project, and due to the number of youth present, we actually split up and went 5 ways. My choice was to work at a local children's shelter. We were cleaning, organizing raking, sweeping, etc. I had only gotten an hour of sleep before going to the site. Most of the kids were on visitation, which basically means they were visiting family members. The volunteer coordinator told us about the reasons that children might be placed there. Suffice it to say that the chief reason was abuse.
From that moment, through most of the tour of the facility, and off and on for the duration of my stay, I couldn't help but to get emotional. I had to work out in the yard, because I was certain I would not be able to handle working in the rooms. These kids had gone through so much, and yet you see their happy faces, and they were talking about the pony that had been brought by the facility a couple of days before. They were sitting in the living room, watching Saturday morning cartoons, just like millions of kids across the country. Yet they were here. I hated the need for the place, but seeing them, I was so glad that it was there.
From that moment, through most of the tour of the facility, and off and on for the duration of my stay, I couldn't help but to get emotional. I had to work out in the yard, because I was certain I would not be able to handle working in the rooms. These kids had gone through so much, and yet you see their happy faces, and they were talking about the pony that had been brought by the facility a couple of days before. They were sitting in the living room, watching Saturday morning cartoons, just like millions of kids across the country. Yet they were here. I hated the need for the place, but seeing them, I was so glad that it was there.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Havens riced argyle?
Havens riced argyle? Farl armings foppery, madzoons cire columnar
forepaws crackle! Nosing booties putout banneret pearlite. Hyper
balsams intone crammer kainites. Rehinges inhaul, singe.
What does that previous paragraph mean? I was browsing around on www.fourmilab.ch, and came across this. I started playing around, encrypting a short sentence with my full name, and then played around with the Steganography tools. What resulted is the above giberish, that is reminiscent of some of the spam giberish that gets sent through email to confound Bayesian spam filters.
So what does it mean? Well, as a hint, it was a three word sentence, with eight letters total. Need more? I was originally on the page for The Hackers Diet Online, and The Hackers Diet (There have been enough health concerns amongst my friends and family recently to cause us to focus on our own health and well-being). The site has some good tools to analyze weight loss/gain trends, statistically.
"I like pie." Time to go downstairs and have some Strawberry Yogurt Pie. It's pretty tasty, and, for a dessert, not to bad for me either.
forepaws crackle! Nosing booties putout banneret pearlite. Hyper
balsams intone crammer kainites. Rehinges inhaul, singe.
What does that previous paragraph mean? I was browsing around on www.fourmilab.ch, and came across this. I started playing around, encrypting a short sentence with my full name, and then played around with the Steganography tools. What resulted is the above giberish, that is reminiscent of some of the spam giberish that gets sent through email to confound Bayesian spam filters.
So what does it mean? Well, as a hint, it was a three word sentence, with eight letters total. Need more? I was originally on the page for The Hackers Diet Online, and The Hackers Diet (There have been enough health concerns amongst my friends and family recently to cause us to focus on our own health and well-being). The site has some good tools to analyze weight loss/gain trends, statistically.
"I like pie." Time to go downstairs and have some Strawberry Yogurt Pie. It's pretty tasty, and, for a dessert, not to bad for me either.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Absent
Just dropping in to say, no I haven't fallen off of the edge of the world. After getting back form vacation, my car has been in the shop twice, we have finished cleaning out too rooms and had laminate floor put down, and I've been busy catching up with the work I missed while I was out.
While trying to catch up on a little blog reading, I found the following. I thought it was funny enough to post with the small blurb about my absence, so here it is:
While trying to catch up on a little blog reading, I found the following. I thought it was funny enough to post with the small blurb about my absence, so here it is:
 | You scored as Sirius Black, You are a gifted wizard and very loyal to your allegiance. Whilst you have a big heart and care very much about those around you, you can be a little arrogant and reckless at times.
Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com |
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Countdown to Harry Potter 5 and 7
My wife and I have a date scheduled for Friday night. At 10:00 PM we will be at the Fort Worth Science Museum to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX. Afterward, we will probably go to the bookstore, which should still be open, and pick up our copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We both enjoy the books, and will be going out of town for the following week to Lake Murray for SWUUSI.
In preparation for the movie on Friday, we have been watching the previous movies, one a night. In some ways, I love the anticipation it is building. In other ways, it is just making me want the week to be over so I can "get on with the good stuff".
Update July, 22 2007 12:19 AM: Well, in the last 26 hours, I have seen the movie and read the book. All I can say is Wow, what a way to start my vacation. I'm sure I'll reread the last book in a few months, and undoubtedly read it slower that time, but I really enjoyed it. As to the movie, I can only say that my standard complaint regarding turning books into movies stands. With only 2-3 hours to capture 700 pages of vivid imagination, of course the movie is going to suffer by comparison. I did like it better then the Goblet of Fire.
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?"
In preparation for the movie on Friday, we have been watching the previous movies, one a night. In some ways, I love the anticipation it is building. In other ways, it is just making me want the week to be over so I can "get on with the good stuff".
Update July, 22 2007 12:19 AM: Well, in the last 26 hours, I have seen the movie and read the book. All I can say is Wow, what a way to start my vacation. I'm sure I'll reread the last book in a few months, and undoubtedly read it slower that time, but I really enjoyed it. As to the movie, I can only say that my standard complaint regarding turning books into movies stands. With only 2-3 hours to capture 700 pages of vivid imagination, of course the movie is going to suffer by comparison. I did like it better then the Goblet of Fire.
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?"
Monday, July 16, 2007
Friday the 13th
Last Friday, the day starts out with the VP walking around asking all of the men on my side of the building if we are the one who is tossing paper towels on the floor.
I get to lunch and pages start immediately coming in to tell me that apps from our parent company are not making it into our system. This turns out to be due to a DNS issue which takes 4 hours to completely get the issue resolved.
When that issue is resolved, the Citrix Environment web server goes down. This prevents access to a key piece of business functionality. A workaround is instituted about an hour afterward.
And this afternoon, I find out that the old building, the one with about 8 more critical servers, has been running on generator since Friday, the 13th, at 9:00 AM. This is because the power company followed the original shutoff date instead of the revised one.
I get to lunch and pages start immediately coming in to tell me that apps from our parent company are not making it into our system. This turns out to be due to a DNS issue which takes 4 hours to completely get the issue resolved.
When that issue is resolved, the Citrix Environment web server goes down. This prevents access to a key piece of business functionality. A workaround is instituted about an hour afterward.
And this afternoon, I find out that the old building, the one with about 8 more critical servers, has been running on generator since Friday, the 13th, at 9:00 AM. This is because the power company followed the original shutoff date instead of the revised one.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Road Not Taken
I recently got an iPod. One of my favorite uses of it is to download podcasts for listening to on the drive to and from work. One of the many subscriptions that I set up is for the 2007 National Poetry Month Selections. For the month of April, one poem was read every day. Today on the way home, I heard Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken". It really resonated today, and so I thought I would quote it here.
Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.
1. The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
New Cell Phone
My new work cell phone arrived last week. Just in time, too, because my old one wouldn't charge from the USB connection. I had to remove the battery to charge. I could power it via USB, but the battery wouldn't charge.
The new phone is a Blackberry 8830. It does the standard PDA job well enough. I even get notified of email on this before I see it in Outlook. Unfortunately, they took the USB cable because they don't want ne syncing this to my computer directly. I like the over the air sync, but I would still like to use the phone as a modem, which requires the cable. I turned in my old cable with my old phone, and the spare that I had broke, so it will probably be a while before I test it.
Of course, I am already doing something I had not done with the old one, and that is posting to Blogger.
The new phone is a Blackberry 8830. It does the standard PDA job well enough. I even get notified of email on this before I see it in Outlook. Unfortunately, they took the USB cable because they don't want ne syncing this to my computer directly. I like the over the air sync, but I would still like to use the phone as a modem, which requires the cable. I turned in my old cable with my old phone, and the spare that I had broke, so it will probably be a while before I test it.
Of course, I am already doing something I had not done with the old one, and that is posting to Blogger.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
New Flooring
Well, I know that a few of my friends have dome this recently, but I will be getting laminate installed in my daughters bedroom and my study soon. These are the last two rooms upstairs to be done, and this time, we are hiring someone to do the job. The other three rooms and the hallway took six months to get dome. Hopefully paying someone else to do this will make it get done in a more timely manner.
The bad part about paying someone else to do it is that i am going to have to clear the rooms out. My daughter's room won't be so bad. It's currently fairly sparse, so we will move most of the furniture into my wife's study and move the rest into the hall or my son's room. Then, she can sleep in the top bunk of my son's room for a couple of nights. No, the bad room will be my study. I have a rather large desk, which is stacked high with electronics or computer software, a three foot tall refrigerator, two large stuffed bookcases, more computer equipment stuffed under the desk, and a closet so full of computer/power/phone cables and old PC cases, action figures, stored computer software, etc that you can't go in. All of this needs to be moved out. Unfortunately, I don't know if I have time to find new places for these things throughout the house and sort through the rest and actually get rid of it, or if I should just shove it all in the shed/attic/garage and worry about it later.
Anyone know of a 12 step program for packrats?
The bad part about paying someone else to do it is that i am going to have to clear the rooms out. My daughter's room won't be so bad. It's currently fairly sparse, so we will move most of the furniture into my wife's study and move the rest into the hall or my son's room. Then, she can sleep in the top bunk of my son's room for a couple of nights. No, the bad room will be my study. I have a rather large desk, which is stacked high with electronics or computer software, a three foot tall refrigerator, two large stuffed bookcases, more computer equipment stuffed under the desk, and a closet so full of computer/power/phone cables and old PC cases, action figures, stored computer software, etc that you can't go in. All of this needs to be moved out. Unfortunately, I don't know if I have time to find new places for these things throughout the house and sort through the rest and actually get rid of it, or if I should just shove it all in the shed/attic/garage and worry about it later.
Anyone know of a 12 step program for packrats?
I have just logged into my personal email account for the first time in nearly three weeks(1 week of vaction, and two weeks involved in the company move). Since I am between spam filter programs, I had over 1200 emails in my inbox. I estimate that there will be about 50-100 emails worth reading in the lot, but the rest will be just spam. Bleh.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
The Graduation Tour
Just got back in from my nephew's and brother-in-law's graduations. My Nephew's was in Houston, and my brother-in-law's was in Lexington, VA. I don't know that I would exactly call it a vacation. There were a couple days which were fun, but none that were relaxing by any stretch of the imagination.
The worst part, had to be the trip to Dulles on Sunday June 3rd. Our flight From Houston to Dallas was delayed, and our connecting flight from Dallas to Dulles was delayed by over three hours. This is on top of the original 3 hour layover we already had in the schedule. Needless to say the kids were out of it when we arrived, and weren't even awake to walk to baggage claim at 12:15 AM Monday morning.I got to the Dollar car rental building at Dulles at about 12:45. After waiting an hour and 15 minutes in line, they didn't have the car I had reserved, could only rent me a minivan, and that would be an additional charge, and if I wanted my wife to be able to drive, that would be an still another additional $10.00/day(For $10.00/day, I'll do all of the driving. She can sleep in a car, I can't). This was the point in which the girl went in the back, and I heard a manager in the building. He hadn't bothered to come out and help with any customers since I got there. She told me that she was taking ten dollars off that upgrade, so it would be 20 dollars, and pointed to the line on the contract. Needless to say, I am not as young as I used to be, and 2:00 AM I am no always thinking at the top of my game. Additionally, I was mad. What I didn't notice was that this was a $20.00 Upgrade fee, in addition to the fee's I was already paying. After dealing with the national HQ, they said that the only thing I could do was take it back and pay for the day. As I was doing this, the right mirror popped off, at 55 MPH. I didn't hit anything. Nothing hit me, as far as I can tell. It just popped off. Only the glass fell off, and it was tethered to the car by a piece of black string. These weren't the electrical cables top adjust it. Those were still visible behind the mount.
On the plus side, I did get a better deal over at Budget, spouses are free, they offered a free upgrade from SUV to minivan, if I wanted it (I'll pass). The deal was so much better, that I was able to pay an additional $11.00 for a Garmin StreetPilot c550 and still come out better. The StreetPilot was very nice to have since I was driving in areas that I was totally unfamiliar with, and it even had a subscription to traffic alerts to help bypass traffic in Washington DC.
Additional plusses included a day spent at Johnson Space Center/Space Center Houston and a tour along Skyline drive, with a hike down to a nice waterfall in the Blue Ridge mountains. We probably went about a thousand feet down, to get to the bottom of the falls. The bad part was that I had to go back up to get back to the car.
The worst part, had to be the trip to Dulles on Sunday June 3rd. Our flight From Houston to Dallas was delayed, and our connecting flight from Dallas to Dulles was delayed by over three hours. This is on top of the original 3 hour layover we already had in the schedule. Needless to say the kids were out of it when we arrived, and weren't even awake to walk to baggage claim at 12:15 AM Monday morning.I got to the Dollar car rental building at Dulles at about 12:45. After waiting an hour and 15 minutes in line, they didn't have the car I had reserved, could only rent me a minivan, and that would be an additional charge, and if I wanted my wife to be able to drive, that would be an still another additional $10.00/day(For $10.00/day, I'll do all of the driving. She can sleep in a car, I can't). This was the point in which the girl went in the back, and I heard a manager in the building. He hadn't bothered to come out and help with any customers since I got there. She told me that she was taking ten dollars off that upgrade, so it would be 20 dollars, and pointed to the line on the contract. Needless to say, I am not as young as I used to be, and 2:00 AM I am no always thinking at the top of my game. Additionally, I was mad. What I didn't notice was that this was a $20.00 Upgrade fee, in addition to the fee's I was already paying. After dealing with the national HQ, they said that the only thing I could do was take it back and pay for the day. As I was doing this, the right mirror popped off, at 55 MPH. I didn't hit anything. Nothing hit me, as far as I can tell. It just popped off. Only the glass fell off, and it was tethered to the car by a piece of black string. These weren't the electrical cables top adjust it. Those were still visible behind the mount.
On the plus side, I did get a better deal over at Budget, spouses are free, they offered a free upgrade from SUV to minivan, if I wanted it (I'll pass). The deal was so much better, that I was able to pay an additional $11.00 for a Garmin StreetPilot c550 and still come out better. The StreetPilot was very nice to have since I was driving in areas that I was totally unfamiliar with, and it even had a subscription to traffic alerts to help bypass traffic in Washington DC.
Additional plusses included a day spent at Johnson Space Center/Space Center Houston and a tour along Skyline drive, with a hike down to a nice waterfall in the Blue Ridge mountains. We probably went about a thousand feet down, to get to the bottom of the falls. The bad part was that I had to go back up to get back to the car.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Worried
Well, for the first time since this move project started up, I began to have my first twinges of worry. I woke up yesterday morning trying to figure out what I was forgetting. Before yesterday, I hadn't been able to get worked up over it. It was coming, and I know there will be small things that will be missed, and we'll be in a panic to get them fixed. I've seen too many rollouts to know that won't happen.
My first thought was "Great, just three more working days (for me. Yeah vacation!) before the cutover and NOW I'm starting to feel the nervousness?" I hate to say it, but it cast a sour note over the whole holiday for me.
Of course I didn't feel that way upon waking up today. Today it was back to the grindstone. I woke up tired with way too much to do, and no energy to get started. That's more like it. That's what my days have been like.
Of course, maybe I am wrong about what I was feeling on Monday morning. Maybe I was just hungover from too much partying on Sunday night, (We had friends staying overnight, so there was no driving.) and the alcohol had given me nightmares. Yeah, that's it.
My first thought was "Great, just three more working days (for me. Yeah vacation!) before the cutover and NOW I'm starting to feel the nervousness?" I hate to say it, but it cast a sour note over the whole holiday for me.
Of course I didn't feel that way upon waking up today. Today it was back to the grindstone. I woke up tired with way too much to do, and no energy to get started. That's more like it. That's what my days have been like.
Of course, maybe I am wrong about what I was feeling on Monday morning. Maybe I was just hungover from too much partying on Sunday night, (We had friends staying overnight, so there was no driving.) and the alcohol had given me nightmares. Yeah, that's it.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Say "Cheese"
The other day while reading a post on Amy's blog, I happened upon the word "cheese", mentioned as a drug. Like Jenny, I thought it a marvelous joke to lighten the mood.
This morning while listening to KERA, the local NPR affiliate, I heard a story about a drug being offered to DISD students. The drug was a mixture of heroin and Tylenol PM. This mixture is called cheese.
I'm not laughing any more. In my dealing with youth, I cannot recall ever having come across this term. Usually, we talk about alcohol, or pot. Suddenly, I feel so uninformed.
This morning while listening to KERA, the local NPR affiliate, I heard a story about a drug being offered to DISD students. The drug was a mixture of heroin and Tylenol PM. This mixture is called cheese.
I'm not laughing any more. In my dealing with youth, I cannot recall ever having come across this term. Usually, we talk about alcohol, or pot. Suddenly, I feel so uninformed.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
New Office
I finally got to go over to the new office yesterday. Here are a couple of pictures of the current place.
And here are a couple of the new place.
Update: 2007-05-25 07:14:00 - Seems like I did something to cause the images to disappear. I think these are the same ones.
And here are a couple of the new place.
Update: 2007-05-25 07:14:00 - Seems like I did something to cause the images to disappear. I think these are the same ones.
Done
I'm walking my son to school.
He forgot his backpack
And his conduct sheet,
Which I must sign.
When we get to school
I can feel it in the air
Done. Out of here.
Free.
Passing parents, teachers, and students,
their body language whispers
Done. Out of here.
Free.
"I won't have to help them!"
"No more late nights!"
Done. Out of here.
Free.
Winding roads becon
For new young explorers.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
The pool will soon open
So swim, play, or dive in.
Done. Out of here.
Free
Excitement is building,
It's on the move.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
Turning towards the walk home,
the morning storm is retreating.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
The feeling follows
As I cross the road.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
And I wonder, if perhaps
The feeling that is following
Has nothing to do
With school's summer break.
He forgot his backpack
And his conduct sheet,
Which I must sign.
When we get to school
I can feel it in the air
Done. Out of here.
Free.
Passing parents, teachers, and students,
their body language whispers
Done. Out of here.
Free.
"I won't have to help them!"
"No more late nights!"
Done. Out of here.
Free.
Winding roads becon
For new young explorers.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
The pool will soon open
So swim, play, or dive in.
Done. Out of here.
Free
Excitement is building,
It's on the move.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
Turning towards the walk home,
the morning storm is retreating.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
The feeling follows
As I cross the road.
Done. Out of here.
Free.
And I wonder, if perhaps
The feeling that is following
Has nothing to do
With school's summer break.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Two Don Haywards
While I know that there are some bloggers that have a secret identity, blogging under their own name, and a pseudonym, that's not what the title means.
No, if you look to your left just a bit (These instructions are for those not reading in an aggregator . If you're reading via an aggregator, you should still be able to follow along even without the visual clues.) Under the Contributors section, you will see Don Hayward listed twice. No, this is not a bug in Blogger. In fact, it's a remnant of the fact that I got this blog before Google bought Blogger and Blogspot. I started this blog, logging in with my personal email address. While I have continued to do so, I have also added a Gmail account which I use, mostly, for Google Talk. I have decided to add that email as a contributor, so that I don't need to log out of the Gmail interface in order to post to my blog.
So, no Blogger's not broken. And, no, you haven't caught on to me living a dual blogger life. I do have a second blog page, but it is setup as a private page, and I haven't shared it with anyone. It was a staging area for here, with it's only entry being an early edition of The Circle.
No, if you look to your left just a bit (These instructions are for those not reading in an aggregator . If you're reading via an aggregator, you should still be able to follow along even without the visual clues.) Under the Contributors section, you will see Don Hayward listed twice. No, this is not a bug in Blogger. In fact, it's a remnant of the fact that I got this blog before Google bought Blogger and Blogspot. I started this blog, logging in with my personal email address. While I have continued to do so, I have also added a Gmail account which I use, mostly, for Google Talk. I have decided to add that email as a contributor, so that I don't need to log out of the Gmail interface in order to post to my blog.
So, no Blogger's not broken. And, no, you haven't caught on to me living a dual blogger life. I do have a second blog page, but it is setup as a private page, and I haven't shared it with anyone. It was a staging area for here, with it's only entry being an early edition of The Circle.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Absent
I could say that I haven't blogged in a while because I was recovering from the bad weather, or just a bout of Writers (Bloggers?) Block. Truth be told, it's been a combination of me being very busy, and very lazy.
Yesterday was my wife's birthday, and she took her car in to the dealership for it's 30,000 mile service. The dealership is near my work, so she took my car to run her errands. We picked up her car after work, dropped it off at my office, and then took my car to go out to her birthday dinner at Rainforest Cafe (She felt like having happy kids at her birthday dinner). On the way home, we picked up her car. We made it 5 miles total drive from the dealership, including the layover at my office, when the "Check Engine" light came on. As the service department was already closed, we just dropped it off overnight, and began trying to figure out the logistics for today.
So after an hour at the dealership and rental company today, I am currently driving a Mercury Mariner. It's not bad, but I feel like I'm driving on a large stack of telephone books. I'm used to cars much lower to the ground. Of course I also have my car with me, so I have the joy of driving back out here this evening to pick up the rental after driving mine home.
Yesterday was my wife's birthday, and she took her car in to the dealership for it's 30,000 mile service. The dealership is near my work, so she took my car to run her errands. We picked up her car after work, dropped it off at my office, and then took my car to go out to her birthday dinner at Rainforest Cafe (She felt like having happy kids at her birthday dinner). On the way home, we picked up her car. We made it 5 miles total drive from the dealership, including the layover at my office, when the "Check Engine" light came on. As the service department was already closed, we just dropped it off overnight, and began trying to figure out the logistics for today.
So after an hour at the dealership and rental company today, I am currently driving a Mercury Mariner. It's not bad, but I feel like I'm driving on a large stack of telephone books. I'm used to cars much lower to the ground. Of course I also have my car with me, so I have the joy of driving back out here this evening to pick up the rental after driving mine home.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
SDC
Whew! I have just come home from a weekend Spirituality Development Conference, also known as SDC. SDC is designed for Youth in my church, primarily those who are members of the YRUU(Young Religious Unitarian Universalists). This was kind of a last minute thing for me. When we found out the date, the other adviser could not attend, because he was going to be out of town, and I was previously unavailable. When I bacame available, I did not follow up, because I presumed that he had found someone else to go.
He hadn't. I got the notice on the date of the "deadline" and signed up right away. I put that in quotes because I know of people that signed up the day before the event, almost a week after I did.
On Friday of last week, I was thinking that I should probably ditch, but I couldn't figure out how, since I was the driver. I'm glad that I didn't. The first thing that they had us do was to write the stresses of our everyday lives on a baggage tag (ie this was the baggage that we were bringing with us) and they had us check them. For all that it was a simple mental trick, it was very effective. As we were doing introductions, we were asked to list a high and a low from the past week. My high was checking my baggage. This got a laugh from the whole room.
So what do you do at SDC? SDC isn't about increasing your own spirituality, but about teaching you to lead worships yourselves. Personal spiritual growth will likely come as a side effect of leading worships, but this conference didn't generate that growth directly. That said, I helped lead 2 worships, and participated in 6.
SDC is not a rally. It is much, much more about the work. Even so, we do have free time. Before sessions start in the morning, over meals, and during the infrequent breaks, or while walking back from the one location or another around the retreat center. And then there were the Ice Breaker games. Lot's of time to get to know each other, or to reacquaint yourself with each other. And of course attending the sessions did not preclude cuddle puddles from forming in the evening.
Also, unlike a rally, there were showers. We were ALL thankful for that. And the camp food was remarkable. My only regret, as far as the food went, was that I hadn't elected a vegetarian menu for myself. While not a vegetarian myself, I am told that the vegetarian meals that the chef at the retreat center cooks are fabulous. I was actually envious of their meals a couple of times. Don't get me wrong, the omnivore meals were great too. Actually, the worst part was sleeping in a bunk bed in a camp dorm. The mattresses were thin, and they creaked every time someone rolled over.
So, what do 12 youth and 8 adults do for worships, when some are pagan, some agnostic, many are atheist, and many were seeking answers? Some of the worships turned inside, seeking to find understanding of and from our own nature. Most focused on the community, on sharing, on interconnectedness. Most of these worships were circle worships, which helped to strengthen the sense of community, by having everyone see each others face during the worship, and encouraging everyone to participate and share.
I'm glad I didn't ditch. It was fun.
He hadn't. I got the notice on the date of the "deadline" and signed up right away. I put that in quotes because I know of people that signed up the day before the event, almost a week after I did.
On Friday of last week, I was thinking that I should probably ditch, but I couldn't figure out how, since I was the driver. I'm glad that I didn't. The first thing that they had us do was to write the stresses of our everyday lives on a baggage tag (ie this was the baggage that we were bringing with us) and they had us check them. For all that it was a simple mental trick, it was very effective. As we were doing introductions, we were asked to list a high and a low from the past week. My high was checking my baggage. This got a laugh from the whole room.
So what do you do at SDC? SDC isn't about increasing your own spirituality, but about teaching you to lead worships yourselves. Personal spiritual growth will likely come as a side effect of leading worships, but this conference didn't generate that growth directly. That said, I helped lead 2 worships, and participated in 6.
SDC is not a rally. It is much, much more about the work. Even so, we do have free time. Before sessions start in the morning, over meals, and during the infrequent breaks, or while walking back from the one location or another around the retreat center. And then there were the Ice Breaker games. Lot's of time to get to know each other, or to reacquaint yourself with each other. And of course attending the sessions did not preclude cuddle puddles from forming in the evening.
Also, unlike a rally, there were showers. We were ALL thankful for that. And the camp food was remarkable. My only regret, as far as the food went, was that I hadn't elected a vegetarian menu for myself. While not a vegetarian myself, I am told that the vegetarian meals that the chef at the retreat center cooks are fabulous. I was actually envious of their meals a couple of times. Don't get me wrong, the omnivore meals were great too. Actually, the worst part was sleeping in a bunk bed in a camp dorm. The mattresses were thin, and they creaked every time someone rolled over.
So, what do 12 youth and 8 adults do for worships, when some are pagan, some agnostic, many are atheist, and many were seeking answers? Some of the worships turned inside, seeking to find understanding of and from our own nature. Most focused on the community, on sharing, on interconnectedness. Most of these worships were circle worships, which helped to strengthen the sense of community, by having everyone see each others face during the worship, and encouraging everyone to participate and share.
I'm glad I didn't ditch. It was fun.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
No Phone for work
Gee, more fun. It seems that the company I work for has forgotten to pay my cell phone bill.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Absurd
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the snow that we had on Easter weekend. When that happened, the words "wrong" and "disgusting" kept popping through my mind, like a record skipping (What's a record? It's kind of like a CD, only instead of a laser, we used a needle, and the sound was stored as analog grooves in plastic, rather then bits.) I guess it's just an odd frame of mind. When I got the call regarding Colleen's niece, the word echoing through my brain was "tragic", as in "How tragic!"
(Drum Roll)
I got another phone call this evening.
Yes, I hear the moans from the audience out there (What, you didn't think that I could here you?). Well, while I am not at liberty to discuss the matter, I just want to that the new thought floating through my mind is "absurd". When I got off of the phone, I was laughing for almost five minutes. My wife was even a little worried. She thought I was having a nervous breakdown.
Even now, thirty minutes later, I still hear it rattling around up there. "Absurd." Once in a while the word will bounce out of a corner just right, and I'll get a smile again
(Drum Roll)
I got another phone call this evening.
Yes, I hear the moans from the audience out there (What, you didn't think that I could here you?). Well, while I am not at liberty to discuss the matter, I just want to that the new thought floating through my mind is "absurd". When I got off of the phone, I was laughing for almost five minutes. My wife was even a little worried. She thought I was having a nervous breakdown.
Even now, thirty minutes later, I still hear it rattling around up there. "Absurd." Once in a while the word will bounce out of a corner just right, and I'll get a smile again
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Playground
I woke up early this morning in order to help my church build a playground. For the entire time that I have gone there, we have had a fenced in area for the children to play in. There was one Little Tykes slide in that area, and the whole of the area sloped down to the back, where we have a creek running through the property.
As part of the preparation, we had to have an old dead tree chopped down, and we had planned on leveling the slope of the yard. The tree was removed about two months ago, but the stump still exists in the yard. As for the leveling, we could not afford to have it done, and so the design of the playground equipment had to take this into account.
Crews have been working for the last two days to get some preparation done. Some holes were dug, while in some places, fencing was removed in order to make room for a Bobcat, and a tractor's from end.The large base structure for the slide was built and put in place. Today, we had more the 80 people show up to dig, hammer, screw, bolt, paint, and whatever other construction activity that you can think of. We built planters, benches, musical instrument stands, stepping stools, a tire crawl, a stage, and finished out the slide.
Many times it did not look like we would finish. In truth, there is a second coat UV protection that could be applied in places, and there is some extra mulch that we could bring back to level out more of the yard, but we finished it this evening. And the kids played on it, and they were having a ball. I had trouble getting my two young ones to leave for dinner.
I'll upload pictures tomorrow. I was too tired to think of the taking a picture of the finished product for the blog. I might even be able to get a hold of a picture of my wife sitting on my shoulders in order to paint protectant on the top half of the slide platform. But until then, I think I will go to bed and rest.
Update (2007-04-30 11:37 PM): So I finally got around to taking the pics yesterday, and just got them uploaded now. I figured it was some way my phone could be useful while the service was out.
As part of the preparation, we had to have an old dead tree chopped down, and we had planned on leveling the slope of the yard. The tree was removed about two months ago, but the stump still exists in the yard. As for the leveling, we could not afford to have it done, and so the design of the playground equipment had to take this into account.
Crews have been working for the last two days to get some preparation done. Some holes were dug, while in some places, fencing was removed in order to make room for a Bobcat, and a tractor's from end.The large base structure for the slide was built and put in place. Today, we had more the 80 people show up to dig, hammer, screw, bolt, paint, and whatever other construction activity that you can think of. We built planters, benches, musical instrument stands, stepping stools, a tire crawl, a stage, and finished out the slide.
Many times it did not look like we would finish. In truth, there is a second coat UV protection that could be applied in places, and there is some extra mulch that we could bring back to level out more of the yard, but we finished it this evening. And the kids played on it, and they were having a ball. I had trouble getting my two young ones to leave for dinner.
I'll upload pictures tomorrow. I was too tired to think of the taking a picture of the finished product for the blog. I might even be able to get a hold of a picture of my wife sitting on my shoulders in order to paint protectant on the top half of the slide platform. But until then, I think I will go to bed and rest.
Update (2007-04-30 11:37 PM): So I finally got around to taking the pics yesterday, and just got them uploaded now. I figured it was some way my phone could be useful while the service was out.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Ça va?
About eight or nine years ago, I was an usher in a wedding. Both the bride, Colleen, and groom had been in my bridal party. This wedding was the first time that I met the Colleen's sister. She was in the Air Force. Colleen had spoken about her many times in the years that I had known her, and she has continued to do the same in the years since. I've heard of her working in the Pentagon. Of her meeting the man she was to marry. I've heard about the family he already had from a previous marriage. I've even heard a few stories laced with shock from Colleen about how "domestic" her sister was getting to be. Even though I don't know her very well, I would keep these memories of her life to help fill in the storyline when my wife and Colleen would be catching up.
I heard the latest in Colleen's sister's life about three hours ago. Her eldest step-daughter was in her French class Monday morning. In Norris Hall. At Virginia Tech.
Pour la soeur de Colleen, ça va mal.
I heard the latest in Colleen's sister's life about three hours ago. Her eldest step-daughter was in her French class Monday morning. In Norris Hall. At Virginia Tech.
Pour la soeur de Colleen, ça va mal.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Snow
I have this thing about snow. I think it looks nice... if I'm in the northern half of the US, where it can snow enough to cover the ground. Where the weather is predictable enough in it's seasons for you to expect snow at a certain time of yeah. As it is, I live in southwest Fort Worth. Living here, you might expect it to snow once, with a greater likelihood that it will sleet, or we will have freezing rain.
What you don't expect is for it to snow on Easter weekend. I got a call from my wife who had just finished the Susan G. Komen 5K run/walk with my daughter (I was supposed to participate too, but who knew they held those things so early in the morning?). She told me to look out the window. I was expecting rain. I was not expecting to see a flurry. It wasn't sticking to the ground, but there were some rather large flakes, and they we occasionally falling pretty hard.
As I looked out that window, I had just two thoughts. "That's disgusting!", and "This is just wrong!" If I hadn't had to help my son get ready for his Gymnasticas class, I would have done my best to emulate a groundhog by looking down at my shadow and going to bed again for six weeks.
What you don't expect is for it to snow on Easter weekend. I got a call from my wife who had just finished the Susan G. Komen 5K run/walk with my daughter (I was supposed to participate too, but who knew they held those things so early in the morning?). She told me to look out the window. I was expecting rain. I was not expecting to see a flurry. It wasn't sticking to the ground, but there were some rather large flakes, and they we occasionally falling pretty hard.
As I looked out that window, I had just two thoughts. "That's disgusting!", and "This is just wrong!" If I hadn't had to help my son get ready for his Gymnasticas class, I would have done my best to emulate a groundhog by looking down at my shadow and going to bed again for six weeks.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The Circle
Quietly we step
From between the trees
To the asphalt clearing.
As we circle the cauldron
Fire leaps, and dances
Pushing back night air.
Silently we sit,
Contemplating. Meditating.
On the disappointments in our hands.
Loves scorned,
Trials lost,
Tasks as yet unbegun.
These we eagerly feed
To fiery lips
In silent, sincere supplication.
The fire consumes
The fire crackles
And our disappointments flee our circle.
And quietly we retreat
To the shelter of the trees
With the strengths we have gained.
From between the trees
To the asphalt clearing.
As we circle the cauldron
Fire leaps, and dances
Pushing back night air.
Silently we sit,
Contemplating. Meditating.
On the disappointments in our hands.
Loves scorned,
Trials lost,
Tasks as yet unbegun.
These we eagerly feed
To fiery lips
In silent, sincere supplication.
The fire consumes
The fire crackles
And our disappointments flee our circle.
And quietly we retreat
To the shelter of the trees
With the strengths we have gained.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Radio Lab
Back around New Years, as my Tammy and I began a trip to Houston, I caught a radio program called Radio Lab on KERA, 90.1. The episode was titled "Where am I". It discussed brain-body communications in things like phantom limbs, proprioception (sense of body), and emotions induced and influenced by the body. It was an interesting story, but I haven't heard any more episodes, because I just happened to catch it on my way out of town, and the regular time when I am getting the kids dinner. The good news is that the episodes are available online, something I just found out recently. I have been listening to the old episodes. There are only 10, covering two seasons.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Rally
I was originally planning on posting a detailed history of the 2007 North Texas YRUU Rally. Now that the rally has moved a bit into the past, I don't feel the urge to go into much detail.
This was my first youth rally. The closest that I have been is to two lock-ins (to plan for this rally) and a Leadership Development Conference(LDC). The LDC is a much higher ratio of adults to youth, close to 1-to-1. At the North Texas Rally, we had about 130 attendees, of which about 100-110 were youth.
We had a Social Action project. Our project was to put together food bags for children in need at a neighborhood school. The program is run by the Tarrant County Food bank. Children who qualify for free meals through the school, would have bags containing ramen, peanut butter, fruit cups, juice boxes, and the like placed into their backpacks by their teachers while they are out at recess. This would allow the food distribution to be discrete.
The youth also held a worship, a talent show, a dance, organized a motivational speaker, and ran various workshops. They arranged meals, created a "mug book", and cleaned up. This was their event. Mostly, we were there to provide adult backup in the event that it was needed.
I must say, the rally was really cool. I regret that I cannot go to the next one in Oklahoma City. I will be out of town for my nephew's high school graduation.
This was my first youth rally. The closest that I have been is to two lock-ins (to plan for this rally) and a Leadership Development Conference(LDC). The LDC is a much higher ratio of adults to youth, close to 1-to-1. At the North Texas Rally, we had about 130 attendees, of which about 100-110 were youth.
We had a Social Action project. Our project was to put together food bags for children in need at a neighborhood school. The program is run by the Tarrant County Food bank. Children who qualify for free meals through the school, would have bags containing ramen, peanut butter, fruit cups, juice boxes, and the like placed into their backpacks by their teachers while they are out at recess. This would allow the food distribution to be discrete.
The youth also held a worship, a talent show, a dance, organized a motivational speaker, and ran various workshops. They arranged meals, created a "mug book", and cleaned up. This was their event. Mostly, we were there to provide adult backup in the event that it was needed.
I must say, the rally was really cool. I regret that I cannot go to the next one in Oklahoma City. I will be out of town for my nephew's high school graduation.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Tired
The rally ended today, with a journey to IHOP so everyone could order breakfast before getting on the road. After that, I participated in R.E. (Religious Education) class. I hadn't planned on it, but if some of my youth had to do it because they were waiting on rides, I could too. Now I have gone home, showered, and napped for three hours. Now that I am awake I have things waiting for me around the house, but I am still tired. This isn't the tired you get when you stay up late, but the tired you get when recovering from the flu. My whole body aches with a need for rest. I didn't feel this way before the nap. Then I was mentally tired, not thinking straight due to a lack of sleep.
Now you'd think that this would be the perfect time to post the rally follow up, and I would agree with you. However, I am going to have to postpone that for a couple of hours so that I can get started on other things around the house. As a micro review, I would say two thumbs way up. I had a great time.
Now you'd think that this would be the perfect time to post the rally follow up, and I would agree with you. However, I am going to have to postpone that for a couple of hours so that I can get started on other things around the house. As a micro review, I would say two thumbs way up. I had a great time.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Belief-o-matic
I took the beliefnet belief-o-matic quiz. Here are my results. I don't remember if this is identical to the last time I took the quiz, about two years ago, but it looks very, very similar.
Giving credit where it is due, Amy mentioned that she might do this, so I stole her idea.
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Giving credit where it is due, Amy mentioned that she might do this, so I stole her idea.
Vacation?!?!?!?!?
I am taking the next two days, Friday and Monday off from work. No computer over the weekend, and while I will have a phone, I don't know how good of reception I will be getting. Why? Because I will be at the North Texas YRUU rally. My church is hosting this year, and it is my first rally, so while I am not really expecting a vacation, I am expecting to have loads of fun. Last I heard, we were expecting about 100 youth. I'll try to write more later, but alas it won't be until after the rally, and by that time I may be tired of talking about it (I will be tired.)
Wish me luck.
Wish me luck.
Wanna Cookie?
A couple of nights ago, I was up late working on putting music on my shiny new iPod. Around 1:30 AM, while I wasn't tired, I decided to go to bed. Around 2:00 AM, unable to sleep I got up to get a quick snack. On entering the kitchen, I saw a bag of cookies on the counter. My wife has been working to clean out the pantry, so I assumed that these had come from there. After pulling out a sandwich cookie (white cream between two shortbread cookies), and sniffing it, I took a bite, rummaged for some milk (there was none), ate the rest of the cookie, drank some water and went to bed. The cookie tasted a bit stale and flat, but not too bad. I hadn't wanted to spit it out, which I was prepared for when I took that first bite.
Last night, my wife comes home as dinner is finishing up, and grabs herself a plate. She sees the cookies on the counter, and asks if anyone has had one. Feeling that I may have inadvertently eaten someone's special cookie, I confess, hoping to make amends to whichever child I may have slighted. My wife laughs, and asks if I noticed the decoration on the cookies or on the bag. I say "no" (it had been 2:00 AM), and ask why. She tells me that there are fire hydrant's and police badges on the cookies, and paws on the bag. She then calls Allegra over, asks her if she was upset that I took one of her treats, and proceeds to give her what I now know to be a dog cookie.
Update (2007/03/22 10:26 PM): Amy suggested a picture of a cookie like the one I ate. Unfortunately, my wife gave the last one of the sandwich cookies to the dog. Here is what the bag looks like with the remaining cookies in it:
Update (2007/04/07 11:22 PM): Here is a picture about of the kind of cookie that I ate.
Last night, my wife comes home as dinner is finishing up, and grabs herself a plate. She sees the cookies on the counter, and asks if anyone has had one. Feeling that I may have inadvertently eaten someone's special cookie, I confess, hoping to make amends to whichever child I may have slighted. My wife laughs, and asks if I noticed the decoration on the cookies or on the bag. I say "no" (it had been 2:00 AM), and ask why. She tells me that there are fire hydrant's and police badges on the cookies, and paws on the bag. She then calls Allegra over, asks her if she was upset that I took one of her treats, and proceeds to give her what I now know to be a dog cookie.
Update (2007/03/22 10:26 PM): Amy suggested a picture of a cookie like the one I ate. Unfortunately, my wife gave the last one of the sandwich cookies to the dog. Here is what the bag looks like with the remaining cookies in it:
Update (2007/04/07 11:22 PM): Here is a picture about of the kind of cookie that I ate.
Monday, March 19, 2007
...To Forgive, Divine.
Back in November, I said something in IM to a friend. It was hurtful and accusatory. Since then, until this last month, we had barely spoken. I should have apologized immediately. Instead, I let it wait while trying to find the right way to do it. Well, yesterday I did it. I apologized for the rudeness.
The email response came early today. "No reason to apologize - none at all. I don't remember you ever sending me a rude IM or anything negative at all." Months spent thinking about those comments. If I had apologized, I wouldn't have wasted so much time worrying.
Thanks for being so forgiving.
The email response came early today. "No reason to apologize - none at all. I don't remember you ever sending me a rude IM or anything negative at all." Months spent thinking about those comments. If I had apologized, I wouldn't have wasted so much time worrying.
Thanks for being so forgiving.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Shh.....
Well, I just told the first person ever that I have a blog. I didn't tell him the address, so if he found it, Welcome Drew!
Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end.
This morning I read the above quote, and saw it attributed to Stephen Hawking. I loved that. I relished the quote through lunch. I was looking for the source of the material, and found that Hawking was quoting Woody Allen, and that he has used that quote before. What makes no sense is my sense of disappointment in hearing that quote from Allen. It sounds just like him. It still has it's meaning, yet since the author changed, I appreciate it less
I think this is likely a perceived value. Allen works in comedy. It is expected from him. Hawking's tapestry is is a scientist. We aren't expecting humor to roll off of his tongue, so when it does, it's perceived value is that much greater. In a way, it reminds me of a episode of MASH. In the episode, BJ and Hawkeye go around telling the same joke. BJ gets the laughs, even when Hawkeye has told the joke to the same person first. In the camp, BJ is more of the straight man. Sure, he is a jokester, but comparing the two, he is the straight man. So people enjoy the joke more when it comes from him.
I think this is likely a perceived value. Allen works in comedy. It is expected from him. Hawking's tapestry is is a scientist. We aren't expecting humor to roll off of his tongue, so when it does, it's perceived value is that much greater. In a way, it reminds me of a episode of MASH. In the episode, BJ and Hawkeye go around telling the same joke. BJ gets the laughs, even when Hawkeye has told the joke to the same person first. In the camp, BJ is more of the straight man. Sure, he is a jokester, but comparing the two, he is the straight man. So people enjoy the joke more when it comes from him.
Monday, March 12, 2007
My Bed(room)?
Nothing tawdry here.. move along, move along. Actually, what has my interest today, is a pair of articles that I saw in this past Sunday's Star-Telegram. Specifically, they deal with the master bedroom. I'll update this post if I can find the links.
The first article discusses parents yielding their beds to their children. It describes many parents who, rather then fight their children's habit of crawling into bed with them in the middle of the night, either accept the children into their bed with them, or get up out of their own bed and go sleep in their child's. I know this happens. It happened this morning. But the people the story is writing about have it happen to them every night. This isn't just a problem, it's a bad habit. I'm amazed that people would let it go on for so long that this habit would set in. Maybe their bed is bigger then mine, but as it is, between my wife, myself, and the dog (small), I barely have enough room for myself. Add a child into that, and I may as well sleep elsewhere. And usually not sleeping in my bed means waking up in pain, if I get to sleep at all. Therefore, this has been an easy call for me. No children in my bed. That attitude also makes it easy for me to shut and lock the bedroom door when I need to. (wink wink)
The second article details how architects are designing new homes with dual master suites in order to accommodate a growing number of spouses who wish to sleep separately. This is something else I do not understand. Yes, both my wife and I have chosen, on the rare occasion (sickness usually, though restlessness has kept me out of the bed for half of a night before) one of us will chose to not sleep in the same bed, but that is rare. This is another thing that, to me, appears to be a bad habit that people have fallen into. In the article, it states that the couples don't suffer sexually, and their marriages are bettor for the separation, but I can honestly say that I don't ever foresee that happening to me. There is too much non-sexual touching and physical intimateness that goes on to split us up between two rooms. Besides, it aides spur of the moment sexual touching.
(This is also not to knock the dual master suite setup for something it's really good for, namely non-intimate cohabitational relationships among equals, i.e. roommates. This setup was a fairly popular apartment layout in Austin when I was in college.)
Why did I choose to write about these. It's not particularly revetting. I guess they just caught my eye this weekend, and the coincidence of my daughter crawling into my bed last night just kept it in the center of my mind recently.
Update 2007-03-15 9:06 PM CDT: Added links.
The first article discusses parents yielding their beds to their children. It describes many parents who, rather then fight their children's habit of crawling into bed with them in the middle of the night, either accept the children into their bed with them, or get up out of their own bed and go sleep in their child's. I know this happens. It happened this morning. But the people the story is writing about have it happen to them every night. This isn't just a problem, it's a bad habit. I'm amazed that people would let it go on for so long that this habit would set in. Maybe their bed is bigger then mine, but as it is, between my wife, myself, and the dog (small), I barely have enough room for myself. Add a child into that, and I may as well sleep elsewhere. And usually not sleeping in my bed means waking up in pain, if I get to sleep at all. Therefore, this has been an easy call for me. No children in my bed. That attitude also makes it easy for me to shut and lock the bedroom door when I need to. (wink wink)
The second article details how architects are designing new homes with dual master suites in order to accommodate a growing number of spouses who wish to sleep separately. This is something else I do not understand. Yes, both my wife and I have chosen, on the rare occasion (sickness usually, though restlessness has kept me out of the bed for half of a night before) one of us will chose to not sleep in the same bed, but that is rare. This is another thing that, to me, appears to be a bad habit that people have fallen into. In the article, it states that the couples don't suffer sexually, and their marriages are bettor for the separation, but I can honestly say that I don't ever foresee that happening to me. There is too much non-sexual touching and physical intimateness that goes on to split us up between two rooms. Besides, it aides spur of the moment sexual touching.
(This is also not to knock the dual master suite setup for something it's really good for, namely non-intimate cohabitational relationships among equals, i.e. roommates. This setup was a fairly popular apartment layout in Austin when I was in college.)
Why did I choose to write about these. It's not particularly revetting. I guess they just caught my eye this weekend, and the coincidence of my daughter crawling into my bed last night just kept it in the center of my mind recently.
Update 2007-03-15 9:06 PM CDT: Added links.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Life rears it's head
Between work and home life, I haven't been as able to post recently as I want to. I figure that it's a good idea to post something just to get back in the swing of things.
Calling the Kettle Black
In the session, the young man is affable.
Light-Hearted contrarian,
he argues for the debate.
In the group, his stories induce
hearty laughs among all,
but some see other reasons.
In the late night, he stands
alone.
The rain falls as he stares
with bloodshot eyes.
Light-Hearted contrarian,
he argues for the debate.
In the group, his stories induce
hearty laughs among all,
but some see other reasons.
In the late night, he stands
alone.
The rain falls as he stares
with bloodshot eyes.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Feelings
Since I received news that my grandmother had died, I have noticed that my feelings appear to be amplified somewhat. I am more quick to anger, and more joyously in love. I feel more empathetic to others' feelings. I don't know if this is because I am paying more attention to mine and others' feelings, or what. So far it's a mixed bag, with a slight tilt to the positive.
Update(1:33 PM): I just left the funeral for Laura's husband. I don't know if it was the service, or just belated emotion from my grandmother's funeral, but this was powerful. I cried many times during the service, and I didn't at my grandmothers. It felt good to cry there with so many others also crying. I felt the pain when the deceased's uncle thanked Kevin for doing all that he could.
There are two quotes that struck me while looking into what to say, and what not to say at a funeral.
"The funeral not only is a declaration that a death has occurred, it also is testimony that a life has been lived."
"The funeral provides the fitting climate for expressing our true feelings. Pain suffered in solitude is harder to bear than anguish which is shared."
Update(1:33 PM): I just left the funeral for Laura's husband. I don't know if it was the service, or just belated emotion from my grandmother's funeral, but this was powerful. I cried many times during the service, and I didn't at my grandmothers. It felt good to cry there with so many others also crying. I felt the pain when the deceased's uncle thanked Kevin for doing all that he could.
There are two quotes that struck me while looking into what to say, and what not to say at a funeral.
"The funeral not only is a declaration that a death has occurred, it also is testimony that a life has been lived."
"The funeral provides the fitting climate for expressing our true feelings. Pain suffered in solitude is harder to bear than anguish which is shared."
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Unthinkable
Earlier this week, while trying to help my mother go through my grandmothers things, I received a call from a friend at work. Based on her voice, I knew she wasn't calling about work. My thoughts instantly flash to her daughter. I was wrong.
Thirty minutes later, I am over at a mutual friends house. Her husband had diedthe day before. Her brother was there when it happened. Her brother tried to prevent it. But he couldn't.
I feel so bad for my friend. She has lost her husband, the father of her child. I feel so bad for her young daughter. She lost her father when she was so young. She won't have him to look over her, to play tea party with her.
I really feel bad for my friend's brother. His close friend, his sister's husband, his niece's father.
It's a nightmare that will take a long, long time for him leave behind. I know they will. I hope he can.
Thirty minutes later, I am over at a mutual friends house. Her husband had diedthe day before. Her brother was there when it happened. Her brother tried to prevent it. But he couldn't.
I feel so bad for my friend. She has lost her husband, the father of her child. I feel so bad for her young daughter. She lost her father when she was so young. She won't have him to look over her, to play tea party with her.
I really feel bad for my friend's brother. His close friend, his sister's husband, his niece's father.
It's a nightmare that will take a long, long time for him leave behind. I know they will. I hope he can.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Stress
With the funeral for my Grandmother coming up on Thursday, and the move from our current building to our new building at work, I am under a little stress. I woke up last night with a severe headache caused by the stress knots in my neck. I need to forget about the funeral for the next day, and focus on what I can do to move the move forward.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Loss
At about 12:45 Am this morning, I got a phone call. My maternal grandmother had died.
It wasn't unexpected. She had been diagnosed with cancer(melanoma) of the liver in the late spring of last year. She had a small series of minor strokes that culminated at about that time. While she could communicate, it did impair her speech, preventing her from finding the right word. When she was released from the hospital last June, after the last stroke and the cancer diagnosis, the doctors thought it was only a matter of a couple months at most. I know that those predictions are not always accurate, but the doctor is trying to give the patients and their families a realistic expectation based on the condition that they are currently observing. At this point, i started steeling myself for the inevitable.
Just before last Christmas, she started to take a turn for the worse. She had been losing weight, but all of the sudden, she dropped a lot, and needed help to get around. After Christmas, she started using a wheelchair and using a hospital bed instead of her regular bed. For the last few weeks, she was confined to her bed.
I received the phone call last night, and while not fully awake, I understood.
Like I said, I've had a while to prepare. But you are never prepared.
I miss her.
It wasn't unexpected. She had been diagnosed with cancer(melanoma) of the liver in the late spring of last year. She had a small series of minor strokes that culminated at about that time. While she could communicate, it did impair her speech, preventing her from finding the right word. When she was released from the hospital last June, after the last stroke and the cancer diagnosis, the doctors thought it was only a matter of a couple months at most. I know that those predictions are not always accurate, but the doctor is trying to give the patients and their families a realistic expectation based on the condition that they are currently observing. At this point, i started steeling myself for the inevitable.
Just before last Christmas, she started to take a turn for the worse. She had been losing weight, but all of the sudden, she dropped a lot, and needed help to get around. After Christmas, she started using a wheelchair and using a hospital bed instead of her regular bed. For the last few weeks, she was confined to her bed.
I received the phone call last night, and while not fully awake, I understood.
Like I said, I've had a while to prepare. But you are never prepared.
I miss her.
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