Roll On
This weekend, I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of my Hodgkin's diagnosis with my incredible wife.
Keeping it a secret until the last minute, she took me to a night in Saugatuck, MI.
On the drive out, despite the fact that both of us hate shopping, we spent a little time at the outlet mall in Howell. Armed with new Skecher shoes, we rolled on to Saugatuck, where we stayed at the Twin Gables Inn - a very nice historic B&B. Then, we went to "the event" - a pre-release party for Fenn Valley wines, in Fennville.
The six wines will be released in 2012, but the winery made it available for tasting to a few of their closest friends (and us!). The wines were paired with original food pairings for a six-course meal.
It was amazing!
We started with wine and cheese, then sat down to a brie and apple tartlet, a crab cake, a salad, salmon, beef, and dessert.
Sheryl and I had an absolute blast. We had good conversation with our tablemates, and after six courses and six wines, we bought some wine, said our goodnights to our tablemates, then came back to the Inn, and chatted while I had a nightcap.
The topper was the drive there and back, where we found we had carved some time out of our lives to talk in detail about some of the things that have been going on lately. It was a nice change of pace beyond the daily catching up with what's happening at work before we have to go to bed.
It was an extremely rewarding weekend, and I cannot thank my wife enough.
10 years ago, I would have never believed you if you had told me I'd have it this good. I am so fortunate.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Moment of Clarity
Someone once told me that all you need in life is Chinese philosophy and a little VO2 max.
I am reminded of this on March 20, 2012. It was 80 degrees out today, so I brought out my beloved Moyo to take a ride. The first bike ride of the year. Ahhhh...
On a whim last night, I pulled out my ragged copy of "Siddhartha". After the last few weeks, I felt like I needed to be reminded of the tale that held me entranced in my college years - I needed to look at life a different way, I needed a mental whack in the noodle.
10 miles into my 13 mile ride, I realized that I had not had a significant thought in the previous 45 minutes. That's the magic of cycling - it changes the way you think. You forget about TPS reports, and work issues. Instead, you worry about basic survival skills - is that car going to stop at the light, or will it turn and hit me? POTHOLE!! Huff-puff, huff-puff, huff-puff.
Sometimes you see things and they don't register right away - was that guy wearing a purple felt hat??
And yet at mile 10, I realized that 10 miles had gone by, and I hardly remembered it.
And I thought back to when I first ran across the statement - all you need in life is Chinese philosophy and a little VO2 max.
Siddhartha is actually Indian philosophy - as told by a translator of Swiss German. Pedalling 14 mph over the course of 10 miles isn't necessarily VO2 max.
But realizing that you've spent the last 45 minutes in Nirvana...
Priceless.
Someone once told me that all you need in life is Chinese philosophy and a little VO2 max.
I am reminded of this on March 20, 2012. It was 80 degrees out today, so I brought out my beloved Moyo to take a ride. The first bike ride of the year. Ahhhh...
On a whim last night, I pulled out my ragged copy of "Siddhartha". After the last few weeks, I felt like I needed to be reminded of the tale that held me entranced in my college years - I needed to look at life a different way, I needed a mental whack in the noodle.
10 miles into my 13 mile ride, I realized that I had not had a significant thought in the previous 45 minutes. That's the magic of cycling - it changes the way you think. You forget about TPS reports, and work issues. Instead, you worry about basic survival skills - is that car going to stop at the light, or will it turn and hit me? POTHOLE!! Huff-puff, huff-puff, huff-puff.
Sometimes you see things and they don't register right away - was that guy wearing a purple felt hat??
And yet at mile 10, I realized that 10 miles had gone by, and I hardly remembered it.
And I thought back to when I first ran across the statement - all you need in life is Chinese philosophy and a little VO2 max.
Siddhartha is actually Indian philosophy - as told by a translator of Swiss German. Pedalling 14 mph over the course of 10 miles isn't necessarily VO2 max.
But realizing that you've spent the last 45 minutes in Nirvana...
Priceless.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Gutpunch
Okay, I know this is going to sound like I'm whining, but I need to talk this through with me. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and hang out and listen. But shhhh, let me talk, 'kay?
Things have been strange in my life lately - and not in the way that I like. Yes, all of the amazing things in my life are there - like my wife, my health, my family - but I've taken a couple of huge gutpunches lately, and me no likey.
Back in September, my boss quit. Upper management decided to let the inmates run the prison, and see what happened. Well, as a result, a core of us really formed a strong team. All but three of us started moving together in a positive direction, and I was happy to have a chance to spread my wings a little.
Last month, upper management decided that we needed a ring leader. And with some reservation, I threw my hat in the ring. I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy the role, but 3/4 of my team were behind me, and were willing to follow where I led them. I was honored and flattered how they enthusiastically supported me.
So when management told me that they went with the other candidate, I felt like I was kicked in the nuts.
I expressed myself to my boss, who truly understood where I was coming from. "Congratulations!", I told him, "You picked a fine manager. Too bad you didn't pick the leader!"
Oh happy daze.
A day later, the team was told about the decision. They all felt like they were kicked in the nuts (and half of them are women!).
I'd be lying if'n I told you that I have gotten past being bitter. After all, management didn't seem to realize who everyone would run to after the announcement. And yep, I had to be the bigger person, and convince everyone that we had to give the person chosen a fair shake.
Got any salt to rub into that gaping hole in your belly, Matt?
So I focused my energies on school. I was going to pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. I was gonna become accredited, and make my own rules!
And I studied. Shhee-it, I studied hard. My so-called free time was taken up with studying. I studied harder than I ever did in high school, or getting my bachelor's degree.
My exam date was March 13 - the day before the anniversary of my dad's passing - I was aligning stars to give me the best possible chance to pass.
On March 12, I went to bed, wanting to get a good nights' sleep ahead of the 7:30 am exam.
Hours later, I was still awake.
As the sun tinted the Eastern sky, I was doing tai chi - trying to jumpstart my head after a night of less than 30 minutes of sleep.
I went to take the exam, and found that it wasn't particularly difficult. Three hours, fifty-nine minutes and ten seconds into the four hour exam, I submitted my answers - praying that I got enough of them right - hell, even if I passed by the skin of my teeth! ...
Sure enough, I was shocked with the result - FAIL.
It felt like I sat there for an hour, staring at the screen in shock and awe and general disbelief.
Hello, gutpunch, meet my nards... again!
I was devastated. Again.
Sheryl and I kept the dinner reservation we had to "celebrate", and had an amazing dinner.
When we got home, I crawled into bed - 7:30pm. I slept til nearly 5am.
Well, I have lessons to learn here, and I think I'm going to take my time in learning them.
Awesomely, my team at work was very supportive (I'm sure you can imagine how amazingly supportive Sheryl was, so I won't even rave about her!). Yep, management picked a manager, not a leader.
Will I take the exam again? Everyone seems to want to know. Well, not really... everyone seems to ASSUME that I will take the exam again. Right now, I don't wanna.
But while I take some down time, and learn my lessons a little bit, I'm sure the need to pass that damned exam will become overwhelming - and yes, I will probably take the exam again.
In the meantime, though, I want to whine and pout a little - and you should let me do that because you can do something I can't - cry.
I think the craziest thing for me to get over is that I don't remember ever getting gutpunched like that twice in a row.
In the meantime, I realize that I don't have a lot of time to feel sorry for myself - in nine days, I will be recognizing the 10th anniversary of my Hodgkin's diagnosis.
Hello, nards, heal up. Get over it. There are worse things in life.
(I miss you, Dad!)
Okay, I know this is going to sound like I'm whining, but I need to talk this through with me. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and hang out and listen. But shhhh, let me talk, 'kay?
Things have been strange in my life lately - and not in the way that I like. Yes, all of the amazing things in my life are there - like my wife, my health, my family - but I've taken a couple of huge gutpunches lately, and me no likey.
Back in September, my boss quit. Upper management decided to let the inmates run the prison, and see what happened. Well, as a result, a core of us really formed a strong team. All but three of us started moving together in a positive direction, and I was happy to have a chance to spread my wings a little.
Last month, upper management decided that we needed a ring leader. And with some reservation, I threw my hat in the ring. I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy the role, but 3/4 of my team were behind me, and were willing to follow where I led them. I was honored and flattered how they enthusiastically supported me.
So when management told me that they went with the other candidate, I felt like I was kicked in the nuts.
I expressed myself to my boss, who truly understood where I was coming from. "Congratulations!", I told him, "You picked a fine manager. Too bad you didn't pick the leader!"
Oh happy daze.
A day later, the team was told about the decision. They all felt like they were kicked in the nuts (and half of them are women!).
I'd be lying if'n I told you that I have gotten past being bitter. After all, management didn't seem to realize who everyone would run to after the announcement. And yep, I had to be the bigger person, and convince everyone that we had to give the person chosen a fair shake.
Got any salt to rub into that gaping hole in your belly, Matt?
So I focused my energies on school. I was going to pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. I was gonna become accredited, and make my own rules!
And I studied. Shhee-it, I studied hard. My so-called free time was taken up with studying. I studied harder than I ever did in high school, or getting my bachelor's degree.
My exam date was March 13 - the day before the anniversary of my dad's passing - I was aligning stars to give me the best possible chance to pass.
On March 12, I went to bed, wanting to get a good nights' sleep ahead of the 7:30 am exam.
Hours later, I was still awake.
As the sun tinted the Eastern sky, I was doing tai chi - trying to jumpstart my head after a night of less than 30 minutes of sleep.
I went to take the exam, and found that it wasn't particularly difficult. Three hours, fifty-nine minutes and ten seconds into the four hour exam, I submitted my answers - praying that I got enough of them right - hell, even if I passed by the skin of my teeth! ...
Sure enough, I was shocked with the result - FAIL.
It felt like I sat there for an hour, staring at the screen in shock and awe and general disbelief.
Hello, gutpunch, meet my nards... again!
I was devastated. Again.
Sheryl and I kept the dinner reservation we had to "celebrate", and had an amazing dinner.
When we got home, I crawled into bed - 7:30pm. I slept til nearly 5am.
Well, I have lessons to learn here, and I think I'm going to take my time in learning them.
Awesomely, my team at work was very supportive (I'm sure you can imagine how amazingly supportive Sheryl was, so I won't even rave about her!). Yep, management picked a manager, not a leader.
Will I take the exam again? Everyone seems to want to know. Well, not really... everyone seems to ASSUME that I will take the exam again. Right now, I don't wanna.
But while I take some down time, and learn my lessons a little bit, I'm sure the need to pass that damned exam will become overwhelming - and yes, I will probably take the exam again.
In the meantime, though, I want to whine and pout a little - and you should let me do that because you can do something I can't - cry.
I think the craziest thing for me to get over is that I don't remember ever getting gutpunched like that twice in a row.
In the meantime, I realize that I don't have a lot of time to feel sorry for myself - in nine days, I will be recognizing the 10th anniversary of my Hodgkin's diagnosis.
Hello, nards, heal up. Get over it. There are worse things in life.
(I miss you, Dad!)
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