It's 4:55AM Thursday morning. Time for bed! Good night, sleep tight! Sweet Dreams (even though I don't have them - I figure if I don't remember them then they never really happened anyway! Kind of a different version of the tree falling in the woods question: If you never remember your dreams did you even have them???)!
(The time stamps are obviously left coast time!)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
In order to seize the moment you must first recognize it!
Here goes...A friend suggested I start a blog over a year ago (Thanks, anyway, Mike!). I failed to seize the moment until reading a friend of a friend's blog(s) (Marji's). She also encouraged me to start one so here goes. (Thank you, too, Marji! Apparently I respond to suggestions made from the female persuasion more so than those by the male!)
My blogs like my life and mind will be all over the place; which will be nothing new for my family & friends.
Might as well start w/ a bang: In my quest to listen to my heart and my God more I am going to write about what my minds keeps going back to as I start this blog; which is the fight b/n good and evil, God and the devil if you will or Devil depending on your view.
I can already hear people saying, "Whaaaa....Why....start your blog with something this..controversial?....this ?revealing?"
"Why not?" is my simple reply. This is what my mind-heart is leading me to so I...we are going there.
Recently I have come to the conclusion that if there is a devil, he/she(have to be pc that's what the women's libbers fought for right? Can't give the good w/o the bad!), or at least my devil, works his magic w/ compliments! That's right, compliments! By complimenting me on my brain power or body or financial circumstances or sense of humor he lulls me into a sense of complacency that I often find extremely difficult to overcome; even when I am, for example, over weight though I hide it fairly well; or when I do dumb even stupid things as you will soon come to understand - i.e. read; or when I invest in something that is clearly not a wise choice. Luckily for me my foolish investments, dumb moves, etc... are fewer and fewer b/n. My batting averages are good overall in many, most areas of my life.
See? There he goes again. (And Kevin/Lance/Drew I remind you that I said "FAIRLY" well!)
The fact is I need and want to lose weight yet I continue to prove Newton's first law of motion: A body (particularly an over weight one) will remain at rest! It seems like there is another part of this law doesn't there? But as long as this body stays at rest nothing else matters. The second part of Newton's first law (a body in motion stays in motion) is irrelevant.
I think he's already back. You tell me?
While at the UCincinnati versus UMemphis college basketball game tonight I met and chatted w/ a young (and by young we are talking b/n the ages of 17 and 23 - at the most), French girl-woman. She was very pleasant and from a small town in France called Toulousse which is where my father would go when working for GE Aircraft Engines in the 80's. This young woman was with a group of about 20 people including what I would imagine was a group of chaperones. Her English was 1,000x bettter than my French despite having taken 2 yrs of French classes in HS. One of my best friends, Lance, was with me at the game. He remembered and reminded me of this fact; a fact that eluded me along with all the French phrases save for one that would NOT have been appropriate to use.
So we talked in broken English as I tried to find out what she and her group were doing in Cincy. All I got was that they were staying at the Hilton downtown, went to GE in Evendale and to Georgetown, Ky, for what I am not sure; probably to see the large Toyota plant. Anyway, after chatting for a few minutes and missing part of a very good basketball game we both went back to watching the game. When the game was over I turned to her and said, "It was nice meeting you. I hope you have a good time in Cincinnati!"
According to Lance and I concur, she looked at me with a huge smile from ear-to-ear on her pretty face. Something deep down said to start talking with her again but this was not a voice I heard until I was outside and Lance was practically beating me over the head for not getting her digits (btw for those that do not know: digits=phone #...And btw = by the way).
Of course, I immediately thought, "No! She wasn't interested in ME! Was she? She's from France, what 'digits' was I suppose to get? She's probably leaving soon anyway? She wouldn't want to spend time w/ me?"
"Yeah, dude! Seriously!" Lance said "She was checking you out. She even looked at your butt."
"No. Now I know you're lying!" I argued w/ a quote from the movie "Wedding Crashers."
"Seriously. She looked you up and down," Lance confirmed.
Let me take a moment to explain to those that do not know and remind those that do...Lance and my relationship is NOT, I repeat NOT a "build-you-up" kind of relationship. In fact, it's more of a "tear-you-down" kind of relationship...but in a good way! So hearing this come from Lance was, well, simultaneously humbling and ego-boosting and HAD to be the truth.
"Yeah, I was looking to see if she was looking and she definitely was not looking at me!" Lance continued. And, again, allow me to fill those of you in: this is a major admission from Lance b/c if he could in any way, shape, or form take credit for a 'look', well, HE WOULD! Again, in a good way. (It should be noted that Lance and I are hard on each other b/c we love each other...NOT that way he's married w/ a young'un on the way and neither of us bat from that side of the plate. We just rip on each other for the laughs which come quick and often. One has to be on their toes when Lance and I or Drew are in this 'mode.')
Long story short, Lance was on me about not getting this young woman's digits when, apparently, I had multiple opportunities to do so. And as I stood chatting w/ Lance outside UC's arena in 25-degree weather I thought back to her smile and how she seem to be waiting...wanting me to say something else...to ask her something...and realized...he was right. Which is saying something b/c Lance is RARELY right! Right of center politically maybe but correctly right rarely. (See that was a dig on Lance providing you my most coveted, beloved, and respected blog reader with an actual, live - kinda, and real view of what I mean by our 'tear-you-down' kind of relationship.)
So off I go into this cold night w/o her digits - sounds like a horror flick, wondering how I could have been so blind to miss a door that wide open. Mind you if she would have been under 18 I would not have even consider showing her Cincinnati which is as innocent as this encounter could have been and all I originally wished. (Lance had other thoughts on his mind...for me that is just to be clear as Lance is a very happily married man to a wonderful woman!) And seriously just helping visiting folks out in Cincinnati would make me very happy particularly if they are foreigners, young or old, speaking another language, and/or students of business; not to mention that I love playing the role of Ambassodor to Cincinnati.
So my question is how does one consistently remain in the moment while simultaneously stepping back from it far enough to see all the those things (nuances, smiles, winks...was that awink or did she just have something in her left eye for three seconds, glances, suggestive words or questions, etc...etc...etc...)...all those things that come roaring out at you AFTER the moment has passed!?!
AND, why is it we are sometimes able to do this and other times not? Why, specifically, am I often able to the same thing in a professional setting but not in a personal one? Wait, come to think of it I do the same thing in some professional settings so scratch that one.
Is it God guiding us during those times? Keeping us from doing something we shouldn't?
Am I not close enough to God to hear him leading me toward the most appropriate course? The more I think about it, the situation, her, she was definitely not under age. She had to be at least 19...I think. Then again maybe not. No she was defintely 19...or older.
My blogs like my life and mind will be all over the place; which will be nothing new for my family & friends.
Might as well start w/ a bang: In my quest to listen to my heart and my God more I am going to write about what my minds keeps going back to as I start this blog; which is the fight b/n good and evil, God and the devil if you will or Devil depending on your view.
I can already hear people saying, "Whaaaa....Why....start your blog with something this..controversial?....this ?revealing?"
"Why not?" is my simple reply. This is what my mind-heart is leading me to so I...we are going there.
Recently I have come to the conclusion that if there is a devil, he/she(have to be pc that's what the women's libbers fought for right? Can't give the good w/o the bad!), or at least my devil, works his magic w/ compliments! That's right, compliments! By complimenting me on my brain power or body or financial circumstances or sense of humor he lulls me into a sense of complacency that I often find extremely difficult to overcome; even when I am, for example, over weight though I hide it fairly well; or when I do dumb even stupid things as you will soon come to understand - i.e. read; or when I invest in something that is clearly not a wise choice. Luckily for me my foolish investments, dumb moves, etc... are fewer and fewer b/n. My batting averages are good overall in many, most areas of my life.
See? There he goes again. (And Kevin/Lance/Drew I remind you that I said "FAIRLY" well!)
The fact is I need and want to lose weight yet I continue to prove Newton's first law of motion: A body (particularly an over weight one) will remain at rest! It seems like there is another part of this law doesn't there? But as long as this body stays at rest nothing else matters. The second part of Newton's first law (a body in motion stays in motion) is irrelevant.
I think he's already back. You tell me?
While at the UCincinnati versus UMemphis college basketball game tonight I met and chatted w/ a young (and by young we are talking b/n the ages of 17 and 23 - at the most), French girl-woman. She was very pleasant and from a small town in France called Toulousse which is where my father would go when working for GE Aircraft Engines in the 80's. This young woman was with a group of about 20 people including what I would imagine was a group of chaperones. Her English was 1,000x bettter than my French despite having taken 2 yrs of French classes in HS. One of my best friends, Lance, was with me at the game. He remembered and reminded me of this fact; a fact that eluded me along with all the French phrases save for one that would NOT have been appropriate to use.
So we talked in broken English as I tried to find out what she and her group were doing in Cincy. All I got was that they were staying at the Hilton downtown, went to GE in Evendale and to Georgetown, Ky, for what I am not sure; probably to see the large Toyota plant. Anyway, after chatting for a few minutes and missing part of a very good basketball game we both went back to watching the game. When the game was over I turned to her and said, "It was nice meeting you. I hope you have a good time in Cincinnati!"
According to Lance and I concur, she looked at me with a huge smile from ear-to-ear on her pretty face. Something deep down said to start talking with her again but this was not a voice I heard until I was outside and Lance was practically beating me over the head for not getting her digits (btw for those that do not know: digits=phone #...And btw = by the way).
Of course, I immediately thought, "No! She wasn't interested in ME! Was she? She's from France, what 'digits' was I suppose to get? She's probably leaving soon anyway? She wouldn't want to spend time w/ me?"
"Yeah, dude! Seriously!" Lance said "She was checking you out. She even looked at your butt."
"No. Now I know you're lying!" I argued w/ a quote from the movie "Wedding Crashers."
"Seriously. She looked you up and down," Lance confirmed.
Let me take a moment to explain to those that do not know and remind those that do...Lance and my relationship is NOT, I repeat NOT a "build-you-up" kind of relationship. In fact, it's more of a "tear-you-down" kind of relationship...but in a good way! So hearing this come from Lance was, well, simultaneously humbling and ego-boosting and HAD to be the truth.
"Yeah, I was looking to see if she was looking and she definitely was not looking at me!" Lance continued. And, again, allow me to fill those of you in: this is a major admission from Lance b/c if he could in any way, shape, or form take credit for a 'look', well, HE WOULD! Again, in a good way. (It should be noted that Lance and I are hard on each other b/c we love each other...NOT that way he's married w/ a young'un on the way and neither of us bat from that side of the plate. We just rip on each other for the laughs which come quick and often. One has to be on their toes when Lance and I or Drew are in this 'mode.')
Long story short, Lance was on me about not getting this young woman's digits when, apparently, I had multiple opportunities to do so. And as I stood chatting w/ Lance outside UC's arena in 25-degree weather I thought back to her smile and how she seem to be waiting...wanting me to say something else...to ask her something...and realized...he was right. Which is saying something b/c Lance is RARELY right! Right of center politically maybe but correctly right rarely. (See that was a dig on Lance providing you my most coveted, beloved, and respected blog reader with an actual, live - kinda, and real view of what I mean by our 'tear-you-down' kind of relationship.)
So off I go into this cold night w/o her digits - sounds like a horror flick, wondering how I could have been so blind to miss a door that wide open. Mind you if she would have been under 18 I would not have even consider showing her Cincinnati which is as innocent as this encounter could have been and all I originally wished. (Lance had other thoughts on his mind...for me that is just to be clear as Lance is a very happily married man to a wonderful woman!) And seriously just helping visiting folks out in Cincinnati would make me very happy particularly if they are foreigners, young or old, speaking another language, and/or students of business; not to mention that I love playing the role of Ambassodor to Cincinnati.
So my question is how does one consistently remain in the moment while simultaneously stepping back from it far enough to see all the those things (nuances, smiles, winks...was that awink or did she just have something in her left eye for three seconds, glances, suggestive words or questions, etc...etc...etc...)...all those things that come roaring out at you AFTER the moment has passed!?!
AND, why is it we are sometimes able to do this and other times not? Why, specifically, am I often able to the same thing in a professional setting but not in a personal one? Wait, come to think of it I do the same thing in some professional settings so scratch that one.
Is it God guiding us during those times? Keeping us from doing something we shouldn't?
Am I not close enough to God to hear him leading me toward the most appropriate course? The more I think about it, the situation, her, she was definitely not under age. She had to be at least 19...I think. Then again maybe not. No she was defintely 19...or older.
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