Brewster – picked up from a coworker of Sue. Lots of potential for being a great family pet…
Genesis – Undertow
The curtains are drawn
Now the fire warms the room.
Meanwhile outside
Wind from the north-east chills the air,
It will soon be snowing out there.
And some there are
Cold, they prepare for a sleepless night.
Maybe this will be their last fight.
But we’re safe in each other’s embrace,
All fears go out as i look on your face –
Better think awhile
Or i may never think again.
If this were the last day of your life, my friend,
Tell me, what do you think you would do then?
Stand up to the blow that fate has struck upon you,
Make the most of all you still have coming to you, [or]
Lay down on the ground and let the tears run from you,
Crying to the grass and trees and heaven finally on your knees
Let me live again, let life come find me wanting.
Spring must strike again against the shield of winter.
Let me feel once more the arms of love surround me,
Telling me the danger’s past, i need not fear the icy blast again.
Laughter, music and perfume linger here
And there, and there,
Wine flows from flask to glass and mouth,
As it soothes, confusing our doubts.
And soon we feel,
Why do a single thing to-day,
There’s tomorrow sure as i’m here.
So the days they turn into years
And still no tomorrow appears.
Better think awhile
Or i may never think again.
If this were the last day of your life, my friend,
Tell me, what do you think you would do then?
Stand up to the blow that fate has struck upon you,
Make the most of all you still have coming to you, [or]
Lay down on the ground and let the tears run from you,
Crying to the grass and trees and heaven finally on your knees
Let me live again, let life come find me wanting.
Spring must strike again against the shield of winter.
Let me feel once more the arms of love surround me,
Telling me the danger’s past, i need not fear the icy blast again.
A new year wouldn’t be worthy if it didn’t include a reflection on the past and a discussion about the future. In that light, I want to document my desires for this new year. Some call them resolutions, I call them encouraging words. I will review them during the year to measure progress, and make mid-stream adjustments hoping to keep myself on course.
1. Look out for my wife more
My wife is the most wonderful person. I take her for granted and must stop. She is the most giving, tireless person I know, and puts all of the energy into our family – and no time into herself. Treat her more and love her more, not letting her put herself behind all others. Buy her flowers and leave work early to make dinner. Take her out on a real date occasionally. Take her to an adults only movie – or just send her by herself (or with a friend). Have her take the night off. Have her actually be ready to enjoy herself on vacation this summer.
2. Look out for my children more
Spend time with them doing what makes them happy. Go on dates. Play. Go to the movies 1 on 1 so you have a special experience to talk about later. Teach your daughter how a man should treat her. Show your son how to be a man.
3. Look out for me more
I spend little time working on me – my body, my mind, and my spirit. I’ve somewhat lost my personal drive in my job. Exercise and sleep more, eat and drink less. Watch more inspirational movies and less garbage sitcoms. Read two good non-technical books this year.
4. Take a vitamin every day
Easy to do, yes. Keeping myself healthy is the real goal, and I think about these things when I take the vitamins. Eat out less, eat less junk. Take your lunch to work and spend time on improving some aspect of my mind during that time.
5. Spend less time working for “the man” and more time working for myself
I spend many more hours working in my head than actually at the office, but I will check in less mentally, so I can be more productive when I’m actually there. Stop work at 5 and go home. Your family is more important than any job is. Give it a full 8 hours, but not 9 and not 10. Sleep in on vacation and weekends, then give full attention to your family.
6. Exercise more
Knees withstanding, walking several times each week keeps my head clear. It provides room for random thoughts – the title of my blog, afterall. I listen to music when I walk and find that I enjoy the solitude. Walking is free exercise that takes dedication. Every day is a challenge, but every day is a chance for success.
7. Consider leaving the safety and comfort of my current job to find one more challenging and with better pay
Remember what it is like to have a passion for my job. Stop working with slackers. Stop putting up with coworkers that think that they are good at what they do when they are not. Stop putting up with a lack of career path. Figure out how to build your own career path since it will not be built for you. If this means going back into management, so be it.
8. Listen to comfortable music more
Add selections of Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, and others to the walking music. Remember that this is the music that you know, and that you can work while listening to it.
9. Allow new memories to replace old ones
Remember that stuff that happens today is more important than what has happened in the past. Friends of old are not your friends today. Love the memories they bring, but build new memories that blow away the old ones in satisfaction.
10. Talk to my parents, rather than keeping it burning inside
Ignore what your parents do if you can’t talk to them. Tell your mother what it is that bothers you – since you know that she just doesn’t know. She loves you but doesn’t have any idea how her actions make you doubt the love. Tell her that her grandchildren want to see her and know her – but that the time is rapidly slipping away. Fly your father up to see you and your children so they can see him outside of the choking experience his wife brings. Show him your wonderful, loving kids and let your son show him that you are a good father.
11. Play more
Find a hobby that has nothing to do with computers and attack it with a passion. Do something that you love. Do something that defines you. Be the best at that hobby that you can be. Share it with others – be a mentor.
12. Take care of my body
Besides what is said above, go to the doctor and your complete blood work done. You’re over 45, so you need to grow up and take responsibility for your own body. Make sure that you are not a burden on your children later.
If you EVER get the chance to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert, do whatever you can to see them. They were in Richmond, VA last night and put on a mind-blowing, multi-dimensional show that was part classical concert, part rock concert, part laser light show, part broadway. I didn’t really know what to expect but know that I have become a huge fan of the music that they weave together. Their history is interesting, their performance remarkable.
On the way home, I asked both kids what they thought of the whole show. My daughter (11) simply said, “AWESOME!” A similar reaction was held by my 13 year old son. He especially liked the lights and the pyrotechnics.
You can check out the band at their official web site:
CLICK HERE
My son’s new blog:
West End Rocketry’s Blog
It was apparently started (at least the content) while he was in school, on the county provided computer. Our tax money at work. Only one post to date — I’m glad it’s not consuming his thoughts. Now I need to wonder, are there other blogs he’s started?
We just returned from a couple of days in Williamsburg. We spent Monday heading there and browsing at a few of the crappy outlets (and a few nice ones). Got separated from half of the family but finally reunited hours later. I think we were at the biggest outlet mall around.
On Monday night, it stormed as hard has I have seen since living in Virginia. The lightning was centered in Williamsburg – lightning for hours and hours. The bathroom started leaking around the fan close to midnight, prompting a frantic call to the front desk to be moved. The resort was very quick (less than 10 minutes) and met us with a new key to the closest room they had. A quick dash outside and we were dry again. It was a difficult night to get sleep, though. Up at 6:30 again so we could fetch our belongings from the original room (jumping over puddles along the way), it made for a very short night. All in all, the resort handled things very well.
Tuesday, we spent the day at Busch Gardens. It is a great amusement park – very clean and lots of shade. It was a steaming hot day, though, so lots of water was consumed! We got there before anyone else (an early opening special), so got to ride a few rides with NO lines at all. I even rode Alpengeist for the first time (with no wait at all!). What a thrill. It is smooth, unlike the other coasters that bounce you around. Looking at it from the rest of the park makes it seem bigger and more dangerous than it really is. However, I have now ridden all four of the coasters at Busch. Pretty cool for this mid-40’s guy!
Wednesday was spent at Water Country with few crouds until late in the day. Our son overcame many fears and rode on some of the biggest non-tube water rides at the park, and had a great time. He’s really maturing and I think made great strides with the personal fears. I think he also realized that he can trust his parents to not push too far. Later in the day, we returned to Busch Gardens for dinner, a couple of quick rides, and “Imaginique” – a Cirque du Soleil style show that starts after dark.
Thursday was a short Water Country day before heading home. It was hot and had long lines and many rude people. More on that later. Sue is working for part of the day today, so didn’t get to spend much time at all on vacation. Time to look elsewhere for her since I’m staying for a while.
I ran across the following free online dictionary web site a few weeks back. I have used it for more things than other online sites, especially because it has a computer dictionary, a medical dictionary, a legal dictionary and links to other free sites.
So, if you ever had the hankering to find out what a SONET ring was, just look it up!
Since moving to Virginia in early 1998, we have met some people whom only one word describes – awesome. There are many couples, families to be more exact, with whom we share so much. Friendship really took on a new meaning shortly after moving here. On the very first day we moved in, a few couples on our street invited us to sit on the street while the kids played and grab a brew to talk. We watched the kids play and instantly made friends. It was that night that we met a couple down the street (see previous post), with whom we hit it off right away. The boys were in scouts and in school together. I will post a more specific post about them before they move. The “going away for a while” party is happening on Saturday. I know that tears will be shed that night.
We have one friend who has been through many changes – a child that died from a mystery illness, a divorce from an abusive drunk, a rebound relationship with another, older, even more abusive drunk, and the development of a wonderful relationship with her second husband. He treats her kids better than they have been treated with their father. This spring, one of her twins (8) had medical problems that were very sudden and very serious. We heard an ambulance coming down the street early one morning only to have it stop in front of our house. Our hearts were in our throats not knowing what had happened. The girl ended up having a problem very similar to the child that died. It was during that time that the mom I think realized who her real friends were. We were there for her day and night, taking care of the kids without her asking. I think she was overwhelmed with the support that some gave and with the support that others didn’t provide. The true friends were there to provide the unconditional support. Thank God, her daughter came out if it with little problems and a much better understanding of why her son died (and how to protect the family from this condition). But, I digress.
The point of this post that I have skirted around is that friends matter. They matter to us and they should matter to you. You will smile more and live longer when you have someone to share your heartbreak, your joys, your tasks, and your downtime with.
We attended another neighborhood party last night. It was the 7th almost annual Olympic Party, held at a friend’s house down the street. There were so many people there that we knew — and got to meet a handful of others. This party was started close to a summer olympic year, and has the wackiest challenges ever. Of course, they are really challenging when you have been drinking all evening. Teams were choosen ahead of time, and all couples were split between the two teams. This makes for a competitive environment. Of course, cheating is not encouraged, but is thought to occur regularly (cheating with the games, not with your neighbors ;-).
The first event was a “get to know your neighbor” event. You had to stand next to two people of the opposite sex and have your hands tied together (strips of cloth were used for this). When everyone was tied up and the game began, you had to thread an illuminated (that would electrified) string of lights in your left sleeve of your shirt, across your chest, and out the right sleeve. On to the next person. Once it hit the end of the line, you had to go the opposite direction, and thread it through the sleeves and over your back. The first team to run out of lights won. Definately an ice breaker!
When all was said and done, I wondered home just before 3:30. Good thing most of our neighbors were at the party and drinking as much as we were!
The hosts of the party are moving to Pennsylvania in the next few weeks. They are very good friends of ours – and have been for the seven + years we’ve been in Virginia. They are probably the closest couple to us from a relationship / reality / work ethic perspective. While we have two other couples that we are really good friends with (and actually spend more time with), these guys are level headed and really consistent with what can be expected. They actually understand when work gets in the way of kids demands, or when paying the bills is not even a question of priority.
Last year, Bill (the hubby here) had a real scare with cancer. It didn’t overwhelm their lives, it was just part of it. I must say that with that, I realized what a great person he is at acceptance of things he cannot change. However, they also realized that they were not to finish life but continue it and change the things they could. Over the past 2 years, Bill has lost 45 lbs., runs several days a week, all while driving 60,000+ miles every year. It’s just what is needed to keep things in motion. I respect that, and will miss the weekend (since he’s gone most weekdays) friendship that we’ve shared over the past 7 years.
Thanks for another great (but final) Olympic party friends.
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