Oh Holy...


Sheryl and I went to Sheila's house last night for a Christmas Eve visit. We had a very nice time, met some very nice people, and we are extremely thankful for the mysterious (and not so mysterious) forces that brought Zakk and I back together after so many years. To say I am humbled to be so blessed on this Christmas day does not give the words justice.

Thanksgiving

It's not quite Thanksgiving, but I wanted to blog before a potentially crazy day confronts us.

Thanksgiving brings me many fond memories... particularly pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie, and the year that pumpkin pie. Come thanksgiving, though, I always remember my Grandma Rodgers. She was a great woman, and having been born in the "Nineteen-oughts", she was around during the great depression, and shared stories with me about those days.

Grandma was cool, and she loved to follow my life excursions. I think she really would have loved Sheryl.

Sheryl is whom I am most grateful for. Not just at thanksgiving, but every single moment of my life. Grandma Rodgers was a very religious woman, and I have no doubt that she had a hand in bringing this angel to me. Looking back on my life before Sheryl, I see my life going nowhere. My life has changed drastically since, and it's all been amazing.

I am so fortunate and thankful that Sheryl agreed to marry me back in 2007. The way I feel about her should not be a surprise to her. In fact, Sheryl and I both try to live lives of gratitude - where we recognize how lucky - how blessed - we really are.

I hope that all three of my readers have a most wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. "..If you can't be with the ones you love, love the ones you're with..."

Thanks 2B Given

I am always thankful for my mother. Not only are we son and mother, but good friends, too - a true blessing!

Gvng Thx

Now this process gets easier. There's no thinking involved in these last few days of giving thanks. Although this exercise is coming to a close, don't think I ever cease to be grateful.

Today, I am thankful for my brothers and sister. I am thrilled that they are in my life.

Danke

Today I am thankful for my health. Although I am not the healthiest 43 year old, I am grateful that I am healthy enough to live a happy and productive life. Plus, I can still do almost everything that I still want to do.

Giving Thankz

Sitting here, with the night winding down, it is after midnight, and a new day.

So today I give thanks for dreams.

Dreams, like hope, can change the world. They can make life magical and mystical.

Don't stop dreaming. Dreaming is free.

Givin' Thanks (2day)

Today, I am thankful for second chances.

Giving Thanx

A couple of weeks ago, an anomaly showed up on a check of my social security number. So I requested a credit report, which I pored over last night, making sure that everything was in order - and it was. While looking at it, however, it was easy to see when my being laid off for nearly two years finally caught up to me. Seeing those numbers in black and white were something of a slap in the face, and a reminder of how close I was to losing my house.

Now that Sheryl has been living in that house with me, it definitely has the feeling of a home. And although we are so ready to find a home together, I am incredibly thankful that I still have a roof over my head.

Giving Thanks - More!

Okay, today I am thankful for my sense of humor. It has helped me get through some very difficult times. My sense of humor also makes my wife laugh and smile, and that means so much to me.

Giving Thanks Again...

Today, I give thanks for my former bosses and mentors.

Melissa and Mark recognized my abilities, and gave me a chance to prove myself, which in turn, gave me a shot at my current job. I am extremely grateful for that.

Duane, George, Murf, and even my Dad were amazing mentors. They saw my potential, and worked with me to help me become the man I am, and helped me obtain the knowledge that helps me be successful in my endeavors.

Giving Thanks, part two

Today I give thanks for my heart. It works hard to allow me to ride, live and breathe, which in turn allows me to enjoy my life.

Giving Thanks

Yesterday, my mom and I were talking about this thing she is doing on Facebook, where she gives thanks for something different each day until Thanksgiving. I thought this was an interesting concept, and thought I would give it a try - although the likelihood of me posting every day is ummm, not very likely. :)

It's been a blah-type evening here at home, and now that my eyes feel like pissholes in the snow, I am waiting for beautiful, wunnerful sleep.

Each night, when I go to bed, I say my thanks for three major things: the opportunities given to me and Sheryl throughout the day that has passed, the time I was able to spend with Sheryl, and for our friends and families.

This evening, as part of this little experiment, I want to give thanks for Dr. Carbajo, my general practitioner who really seems to care about me and my health. Through my interactions with him, I can hope to spend more time on this earth, in hopes of achieving something truly great.

Dream big, my friends...

Along Timmy Go (Perhaps)

Seven years ago - almost to the date - I celebrated my cancer survival in two ways.

First, I splurged and bought myself a ticket to see Peter Gabriel at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Second, I "escaped" on a trip down South.

These two events were turning points in my life. At the concert, I stood all by my lonesome. In my lone seat. All by myself. And all of a sudden, three guys popped up in the seats next to me. I looked over, and surprised as all hell, I realized that the guy next to me was a great friend - Dave Hurst. Dave and I inspired each other (he still inspires me!), and it was an amazing coincidence that we would end up side-by-side at a Peter Gabriel concert.

Every moment of that concert was a celebration of survivalism. A feeling that is stirred up each time - like now - when I watch the DVD of Gabriel's "Growing Up Live". It's so good to be alive.

About a week later, I split town. I went to North Carolina to spend time with my Uncle Jack, then further South to Miami to stay with my friends Liz and Dave.

At that time, there was nothing better than sitting in the warm sun, thinking about my future... something I hadn't allowed myself to think about for a number of months.

These days, the one thing that would make that experience better is if my wife was there with me.

Recently, my first week at my new job was tough. The second week brought its own challenges. Now, as I sit blogging for my three or four fans, while simultaneously watching/listening to Peter Gabriel, I remember that everything is relative.

I typically start a new job with a box of smiles and hellos. It's a great first impression, considering that I'll likely become a grumpy co-worker in due time. But things need to be different at this job. We have huge potential, and I need/want to make it work.

With the child-like love of life that November 2002 brought me, and its ever-present spirit, I should struggle to contain myself.

Seven years. A long time ago in some ways. My life now is completely different, and just like every moment in my life, if you asked me what I would change - if I could change anything, my answer stays the same - nothing.

I am a blessed man. That, oh yeah, is the bottom line.

Sweet Change (Chocolate Coins?)

Now that I got that last post out of me, let me say that this first week on the new job - aside from being stressful, was very fulfilling. There is a new vibe in the office - everyone is excited about being on the ground floor of a new project.

There will be challenges for our team, and for me as a leader, but we have a chance to do things right, and I'm encouraged by the opportunity.

The biggest change is that all of the negativity that hung around the last job is not present at the current job. It makes going to work a lot easier!

So with a new start, we can do great things... and I can't wait to see what those things are!

Work It!

Started my new job this week, and all I can say is that I am embarrassed.

I can't believe how such a simple concept as developing a schedule in Microsoft Project could be so demanding.

While trying to get my arms around the scope of the project, starting the project, and learning the ropes, I was tasked to develop the project schedule, and simply could not get a handle on it.

Ultimately, I got it done ahead of schedule, but not without some difficulty.

I put a lot of time into it, and I am definitely glad that that project is done. I just hope that my boss doesn't think I am too much of an idiot!

So now that the schedule is done, I've got some goals to meet. That part is very exciting to me. Hopefully I can get this embarrassing week behind me, and kick butt throughout the rest of this program!

The Art and the Television

Yeah, watching TV and blogging don't mix. Heed my words.

The Jig is Up

I'm sitting, watching a German movie about the Stasi in the late 80s. The Stasi was in charge of watching people, ensuring there was no upheaval of the Eastern bloc communist regime. People were scared and distrustful of their neighbors, and secrets and lies abounded.

So the jig is up. My big secret has been uncovered, and everyone at work now knows that I have accepted another position.

It's nice to be free of the burden of that secret. I am excited about the opportunity I am about to partake in, and relish the ability to talk about it.

Hell-to-the-yeah, I got me a new job!

I am so blessed and grateful to have this chance, and I hope to accomplish great things.

For now, I will click on Ghost Hunters and anticipate the great things tomorrow may bring!

Bouncing Round the Room

The dead weather draws near once again, and sure enough, change comes along with it.

For what seems like my entire life, fall has been the harbinger of change. And because I - like most people - am slow to embrace change, fall has a tendency to be my least favorite time of year.

This year, many of the changes I mention are VERY VERY good - yet, they are changes nonetheless.

So what's a boy to do, if not bounce around a room?

October 23 is going to be a big day for a couple of reasons - one of which I cannot mention at this point. The other reason is because it heralds my 7th rebirthday.

I would never be the person that I am if not for two things: Sheryl and cancer. And you could easily make the argument that I wouldn't have even met Sheryl if not for cancer.

So October 23 - the anniversary of my final cancer treatment - is a pretty huge day for me. Geez... 7 years... time does fly.

Great things are afoot at the Circle K. This weekend is going to be a good one for the soul. I'll be watching movies while supporting the Children's Leukemia Foundation, and the family is getting together to hang out - which is a strange thing for us outside of holidays. And of course, how can you go wrong on football sunday?

Seeing as that today is Tuesday, though, I'll have to put my head down and grind out the next coupla days. And grind, I mean... with tomorrow's visit to the dentist...

See? So much going on, and I haven't even started telling you about the GREAT things! :)

Change is the only constant. Like Bruce Lee said, be like water - resilient strength that goes with the flow.

It's time to get wize...

Hope and faith - that's how I roll.
You could say I'm ignorant, and see the world through rose-colored glasses, but the fact of the matter is that when things get real, I am become survive.

I consider myself blessed to be here, and to have the friends and family that I have. I also have a good relationship with karma, and don't have a reason to fear.

Not everyone in the world is blessed like that. There are a lot of things out of our control that can grab us around the throat and stifle our breath of life. But we can control how these things affect us, and how we react to them.

If we combine wisdom with luck, there should be nothing that can stop us.

Except for the ninja vampires. They really suck!

And that's totally a good enough reason to brush up on your mad ninja skills.

Seriously.

A Quarter Shy

Alone in the stone cold silence
No joy, no cheers, no violence
Even the crickets stop and listen
Cats and snakes stop their hissin'
The bells in my ears ring and toll
Like thunder in the sky: roll roll roll
The sound of my soul quietly sings
Magic nirvana dancing on strings
I listen for answers, yearning for truth
A quarter shy in god's great phonebooth
But rather than feel sadness and dread
I allow dreams and hope to fill my head
Just cuz I listen doesn't exactly mean
That answers will fill my noggin-like bean
I will sit and listen with all of my sense
Alone in the cold
Stone cold silence.