Resolution Time Again

Well, it's that time of year again....time for resolutions that I probably wont keep! hahaha

Here they are:

1. Ok, since I know I can't go cold turkey on the pop, I will try to just not drink pop on even days. If that works, I will expand it by the end of the year.

2. Take a vacation. I haven't been on a relaxing vacation in over a year. This year I will take one somewhere.

3. Get everything in order. You know what I mean, personal things.

4. Start an activity that I like. I need to get off of my butt and do something that requires a little physical activity.

5. Do something for myself that I would normally not do because I would feel guilty about it. I really need to start taking care of myself and what I need.

6. Let work bother me less. This started toward the end of this year. I'm not letting things there bother me as much. If I can just get to the point where it never does, that would be good.

7. Teach my son all about baseball. He is really getting into it.

8. Eat more vegetables.

9. Read a popular novel. Any suggestions?

10. Most importantly, go see my BABY!!!

New Year Coming

Well, I just looked at my resolutions for this year. It seems that I was able to keep 4 of the 10. hahaha. Losing 4 pounds counts as losing weight, right? hahaha Well, I guess it is better than none! I will make 10 more resolutions in January.

One thing that will change next year is that I will start to pay more attention to what I want and what I need rather than always doing things for others. I don't mean I will ignore my responsibilities but I will start doing things that will make me happy.

I woke up with a good feeling the other day and it was all because I felt like I had a great burden lifted off of my shoulders. As you can tell, I pay a lot of attention to my dreams. So many of them have come true. So many of them tell me about a situation that will come up and how to respond to it. They point out the things that are not so obvious to me.

Well, next year looks good. I have a good feeling and I can tell change is around the corner. Change is good as long as I can find the positives in it.

I'm looking forward to it but I must warn, some will not be happy about it. The new me will be a lot like the old me. Anyone that knew me when I was younger will be happy about it.

It's about time. This shouldn't have taken so long.

Happy New Year.

Wolves and Rats

I had another strange dream last night. I was at a convenience store near where I grew up. A black car drove up and a wolf jumped out the window. The wolf was black/charcoal gray. It ran toward me and as it tried to attack me, I stuck my hand in it's mouth. It didn't damage my had but it hurt a bit. I looked into the car but the person in the back seat said there was nothing they could do.
Then another wolf jumped out and ran toward me. This wolf was light gray but by the time it got to me it had turned to the same color as the other one. I was able to stick my hand in it's mouth so it couldn't attack me. So there I stood, each of my hands in the mouth of a different wolf.

I was a bit scared but I knew the wolves couldn't hurt me as long as my had was preventing them from biting me.

I flashed to a new office building. As I entered the bathroom in this office building, I saw the two wolves. As I got closer to them I noticed that they were both rats that were eating something in the bathroom sink. The wolves had changed into rats. At that point I wasn't concerned about the rats because they couldn't hurt me. I just ignored them and they were no longer an issue.

I feel good about this dream. I woke up in good spirits. Something good is going to happen.

Congrats to my Baby

Congrats on your new article baby. You are a great writer! I'm so proud of you.

I love you!

Ann Coulter Vs. Sarah Palin

Everyone knows that Ann Coulter thinks she is the hottest Conservative. I don't think she is but I'm sure she does.

I'm just wondering if she hates Sarah Palin because she is hotter?

Probably!

A New Beginning, But Also An Ending

What do you do when someone says that things aren't working as they want it to and want to move on? Do you try to convince them to stay with the status-quo even if you know they are not happy with what has been going on? Do you think about what is best for them? Do you just let them do what they want and hope they are happy?

It's so confusing because you want what is best for them but you don't know how it will affect everything.

I hope all works out the way you want it to. I hope it makes your life better. If not, I'll be here for you if you need to talk about it.

Good luck with your decision.

Horoscopes

I never was one to follow horoscopes very much. I would read them but most seemed to be too generic for me to take seriously.

I read this month's horoscope and it just seemed to hit home. It really would be nice if this one was accurate. I'm not betting my house on it, just hopeful.

Happy monthsary baby! I love you!

Something

Sometimes it takes something bad to happen to remind us of the good.

Old Friend

I met up with an old friend today. He and I grew up together and we used to party together when we were in high school. Every weekend consisted of getting drunk either at "the Tarzan", the golf course, at the end of Covington or at some one's house. We would also play poker a lot.

We talked about the old times. Man, we really had fun back then. We did some crazy things that if I tried now I would probably end up dead. hahaha

After seeing him I realized how I used to be. I sure have changed a lot since then. I started to change when I was married. I was only 19 at the time and I grew up fast. I went from party animal to husband and a few years later to father. I look back fondly on those times. It seems we forget most of the bad things and only remember the good. That's a good thing.

It's good to relive the fun times but I'm not sure I would want to live like that now.

Things are changing again and I wonder if in 20 years I can say that I had a good time. I guess only time will tell.

Anyway, it was good seeing you again buddy, I know all of us from the neighborhood will get together again soon. Good times man..... good times.

Remembering

While I was working the other day, a story I once read popped into my mind. It was "The case of the missing spectacles". I have no idea why I remembered it at that time.

I wonder what's up?

Farming

I have been doing a lot of farming lately. I planted grapes, strawberries, potatoes, sunflowers, coffee and hay. I was able to hire help to harvest it too. The farm is going well. I should be able to buy a house soon.

I really am enjoying it and I enjoy my neighbors.

Great Day!

What a great Father's Day I had. It started with Arleah texting me right at midnight. (Thank you baby!!!!!) Then I received the sweetest gifts from my two little ones. My son got me a stuffed football and a backscratcher that said I was the greatest dad in the world. My daughter got me an aquarium soap dispenser. Both kids made their gifts at school. I was just so happy with them.

After that, I was treated to breakfast at Mc Donalds! My oldest son also called me from Russia. He is studying there. It was great to hear his voice. I was also greeted a happy father's day from my brother, mother, father and a friend that sometimes views this blog.

Great day....I feel much better today. Thanks to everyone that changed my mood!

Growing up

Well, my son leaves for St. Petersburg today. He will be studying there for 5 weeks then traveling around Europe for 3 weeks. I'm really proud of him. He has worked hard for what he has.

It finally hit me that he is all grown up. He turned 19 on Monday. It was very sobering.

He has a good life in front of him, a life much better than mine. I'm happy about that.

Good job son!

They're back! The lion and tiger return!

Well, after a while of not dreaming of them the lion and tiger have returned. This time the lion was a male and the tiger was a female. They posed no threat to me but they were going after 3 pigs. One pig was really big and blackish grey. The other two pigs were small and white. In my dream the tiger had them cornered but the big pig pushed the little ones away from the tiger and saved them. They ran away. After that, the big pig was able to escape also by just running and squeezing by the tiger. The lion was there but was not really a threat.

Arleah and I were on a balcony watching this happen.

Another good ending so I'm not too worried about this one. I'll just watch and see what happens.

Checklist

Things I need to get:

Blueberries
Peanuts
Almonds
Salmon
Peppermint Tea

20 Years

This coming June 11 will mark the 20th anniversary of my grandfather's death. I had a dream about that day. Something is going to happen.

Lion Dream Again

I have been having a lot of dreams about lions lately. They never attack me but are always trying to get me in some kind of trouble. The lions never succeeded.

I think I recently found out who the lion is and have gotten rid of it. Now it all makes sense! Things worked out perfectly.

Sorry lion, it didn't work!

South Park

I try not to get too much philosophy from South Park but this week's episode really hit a nerve with me. It really pointed out something that has been bothering me for a long time.

In the episode, Kyle says to Cartman "Your ego is so out of whack that it will do whatever it can to protect itself and people with a messed up ego can to these mental gymnastics to convince themselves they are awesome when really they are just douche bags."

This is so true. Some people just can't accept who they are or what they have done and have to do these mental gymnastics to convince themselves they are not to blame or not as wrong as they really are.

Lions and Tigers

I had a strange dream yesterday. I was at the house I grew up in. I have had a few dreams about this house lately. This one was strange because I had a lion (mountain lion) and a tiger as a pet. I let them out to run around but all they would do is chase and eat the neighbor's cats and dogs. When I tried to call them in, they wouldn't come in. The animals were nice to me so I had no fear of them.

Strange....

One Big Family Part 2

Well, we finished collecting all the things for the family members overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan. We collected over 900 pounds of items such as toothpaste, soup, shaving cream, soap, playing cards, granola bars, candy and a whole bunch of other things. There were 130 boxes being sent to about 15 service members. I'm really proud of my coworkers. Dave, Mark and Karen lead the way and the rest of us came through. The postage is over $1,500 and through donations from 3 of the unions, the Sr. Plant Manager and other employees we will be shipping them out.

Above are some pictures of the 2nd graders that came at 6:30am to help pack the boxes. Thanks to them too!!!! They were able to make a difference in some one's life at such a young age. Some day they will realize how much they really helped.

Borrowing

Ok, let's say you buy something. Then, someone borrows it. If you want it back, should they return it right away or should they use it as long as they want then return it?

I guess it all depends on how you were raised.

Busy Weekend

I had a busy weekend. On Friday my son came home from school and told me he got an A+ on his reading test. This was great because when he moved back here from the Philippines he needed help with reading. I am so proud that he has excelled and is now doing great. He really wants to impress his older brother. I'm glad he has such a positive role model in his life.

After that I took them to get a haircut. Big brother is coming on Saturday and they want to look good! hahaha. When I looked at my daughter I saw that she had 11 inches of her hair cut off. After the initial shock I asked her why she had so much taken off. She said she wanted to donate it. Some places will accept hair if it is long enough and make wigs for people with cancer. I was so proud of her. I didn't think that a 6 year old would think that way.

Finally, on Saturday my oldest came home. I haven't seen him since November. He will be home for 2 weeks. It's great having him around. I wasn't able to spend a whole lot of time with him while he was growing up because I had to work so much overtime and at night. I really regret that. If I could do it over again I would spend more time with him and less time doing something I hated. I'm glad the lack of me being around as much as I would have liked to didn't affect him as much as it could have. He's an amazing person.

Saturday night there was a birthday party. The woman turned 50 so she got a lot of gag gifts. It was a good time.

I got some bothersome news but nothing I cant work out. Something is always happening so I am used to it by now.

One Big Family

I work with a lot of former military people. I have never been in the military. I tried to join the army when I was younger but they refused me because I was born deaf in one ear. It was a dream I had since I was about six but such is life.

Some people I work with also have children in the military. My one buddy, Dave, likes to talk a lot. He was talking to another coworker, Bob, about their children. Bob mentioned that his son is deployed in Iraq. Well, after talking for a while Dave asked what his son misses most aside from the usual things like family, the food, etc. Bob came up with a list of thing, mostly toiletries, puzzles, cards, hackey-sack and things like that.

Dave decided to get a collection going for those of us that work overnight so that we can send these things to the family members of those deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn't saying that we are either for or against either war, it was saying that we care about them.

Well, to cut the story short, we have collected over 800 pounds of things to send. The whole idea caught on like wildfire and now we are looking outside our facility for more family members. Even a local school is writing letters and collecting things. It's amazing.

I know you don't read this but way to go Dave! Great idea. And way to go my coworkers. Even if we aren't all buddies, we are one big family!

Lent

Well, it's lent again. I'm not Catholic or even Christian but I still like to give up something for lent. I have a few things in mind. I am really going to try this year, unlike past years. Forty days shouldn't be so hard to do.

Hopefully by the time lent is over the snow will be over too. I'm REALLY sick of the snow.

My son is also coming home in about a week and a half. I'm excited to have him here since I haven't seen him since Thanksgiving. I like hearing things from him rather that people telling me what he supposedly said.

Things are getting better as they have been for a while.

Death

There were two tragic incidents of death in the last two days that really hit home to me. The first was the crash of flight 3407. The plane was about to land at the airport that I fly out of. The crash happened about 15 to 20 minutes from my house. In an instant 50 people were dead. Fifty people that were planning tomorrow. As of right now I am not aware of anyone I know on the plane but it is still shocking because of where it happened. We are a close community that bands together in bad times and this is no exception. Even if we don't know anyone on the plane or the one on the ground that was killed we still feel grief and sadness.

The second one hit closer to home. A local man beheaded his wife. The wife had recently filed for divorce and had an order of protection against him. The daughter (I think the eldest child) was a classmate of my son. I'm still in shock as to how a human can do that to another human. Because of this disgraceful four children lost their mother and will soon lose their father.

I have only lost three people that were close to me. They were all my grandparents. When a grandparent dies it is sad but when they are in their upper 70's and 80's it is almost expected. It is almost like there was time to plan for it or that is was just natural. When someone is just ripped out of your life in an instant it must be a horrible feeling.

I know people die all the time. It just never seems to be easily accepted.

Do What You Like

If you don't like liver, don't order it at the restaurant.

If you don't like theatre, don't go see Madame Butterfly.

If you don't like horror movies, don't go see Saw IV.

If you don't like opera, don't go see Carmen.

If you don't like CSI, don't tune in to that station when it is on.

If you don't like a blog, don't read it.

It is that simple!

Music

I am one of those people that really can be affected by music. When I was younger and played sports I would always listen to heavy metal music to get me in the right frame of mind. It would put me in the "zone". Anyone that plays sports knows what I mean.

Sometimes when I have nothing to do I just listen to music. When I listen to music of the 70's I remember times when I was a kid. I listen to 80's to reminisce about high school. I listen to sappy love songs and get sad. I am also inspired by some songs.

I always offer my kids money if they can tell me who sings the song on the radio. My daughter always says "Meatloaf" because she cant believe a guy is named Meatloaf. hahaha My son usually says Paul McCartney. I don't know how he has ever heard of him since he will only be 8 years old next week. hahaha

I guess I just love music.

K & K

I have talked to one of your aunts, 2 of your uncles and several of your cousins and they all said the same thing. This is between your aunt and me and they don't want to get involved. They also said it wont change how they feel about me.

What makes you two so different? Are you trying to prove something? Just let it go. Stay out of what isn't your business. Nothing you can say will change any one's opinion on this. Just leave it alone. In the long run you will be glad you did.

Tag teaming

Well, it seems that one niece couldn't get the job done so a nephew had to help out. As always, Kerwin, your comments made me laugh so hard. They are as funny as when you would play loaded questions. It's also funny that you had to resort to name calling. That is usually a sing that you have nothing.

As for the papers that I haven't signed, have you seen these papers? I haven't. Maybe you should talk to your aunt and ask what is holding it up? If she tells you the truth, you will be surprised.

You also said that she asked me to marry her. You have that wrong. Your aunt asked me to marry her. You are such a confused young man. Maybe all of those hours at work are getting to you?

Your mastery of the English language is amazing. I never saw so many 4 letter words in one statement. It really made you look smart.

As for your sister that remains anonymous, thanks for the compliments! That was really sweet of you. Not only to say that you two are the same age (yeah, she looks much younger than she is) but then to compare me to your bf was really nice. He is a good man so I was really touched.

I'm not sure what you mean about the nurse uniform though. Maybe you are confused. Was I in one? Please explain that one. Thanks.

You guys keep mentioning these divorce papers that I didn't sign. Can I see a copy of them? Oh, bring a pen too, ok?

I think you are going to be shocked when you find out the truth, if you are ever told it. I only wish I can see your face when you do. hahaha

Take care sweetie!!!!!

PS. Didn't your aunt ask you to stop? So who are you commenting for? yourself?

Smart People?

I used to work with this guy named Tom. He thought of himself as a really smart person. In fairness, he is smarter than most people I work with.

The thing about Tom was that he would always believe something if he agreed with it even if the facts didn't add up or weren't there. As long as it was something he wanted to be true, he believed it.

It seems there are a lot of people like that in the world. They don't care to look into things themselves. They will take what they hear as true because that is what they want reality to be. In the end, they look really dumb.

DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just read one of the dumbest comments ever. It wasn't to one of my blogs but I was still able to read it. It seems that someone is just so bitter that they cant got one with their life. It is so funny how they keep digging their hole deeper and deeper. Even a football team knows when to cut their losses and just sit on the ball and let time run out. I really shouldn't complain because it really makes me laugh to see someone squirm like that.

Anyway, I want to clear something up. My parents were born in AMERICA, not Italy or Poland. All four of my grandparents were born in AMERICA, not Italy, Poland or any other country. The "native" language of most Americans is ENGLISH. I have learned the language of my parents and my grandparents. Have you?

You say your background is something you are proud of. Who said you aren't? Sounds defensive. If you read my comment you would see that I said I am glad my son is not ashamed of his background. I never mentioned you are but since you feel the need to defend yourself maybe you are! How sad!

Also, are you saying my son doesn't know any Tagalog? Maybe you are the one that should talk to him about it. I know he wont be writing any essays in Tagalog but he is able to have a conversation and understand what is being said.

You really need to let go and move on. Get a clue. I'm sure you wont so we are looking forward to your next comical comment. Thanks for the laughs. hahahahahahahahaha

Perfect People

Did you ever meet someone that has never failed at anything in life? There are a few out there. Yeah, it's true!

These people never TRY anything so they never fail. I guess the fear of failing keeps them from ever attempting something to make themselves better. Their philosophy is "I can't fail if I don't try." They are always there to point out when others don't reach their goals and why shouldn't they, they never fail to meet their goals. Of course, they don't have any but don't try and tell them that!

There are also those people that never fail because there is always someone else to blame. No matter what they did wrong, they can always find something that someone else did to take the blame. Oh, they will say it is their fault but that is always followed by "but". They will say "It's my fault that the cake I made tasted bad "but" that one bought the wrong butter." Things like that.

I know I will never accomplish EVERYTHING I try but that doesn't bother me. I would rather try and not make it than not try and always wonder what could have been. I have goals, dreams and ambitions. I may not get all of them but I may get some and that puts me ahead of those that never tried!

New Year, New Plans

Well, the new year is here! Welcome 2009! As I say goodbye to 2008 I can honestly say it was a better year than 2007. Many changes occurred for the better. Things look like they are on the right path. Like Johnny Nash sang "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone." It's a good feeling. I am getting back to my normally optimistic self.

I thought up a few resolutions for this year that I am sure to break before Easter! hahaha.

1. Give up soda for the year. I will have to start this one on Monday. hahaha. There was a party at work and I am going to the International Bowl this weekend so I can't start this yet. I am sure I can last until some time in February. By that time I will tell myself that diet soda is ok and that will lead to the real thing. Curse you Dr. Pepper!!!!!!

2. Stop listening to negative people. Did you ever know someone that is always talking bad about everyone that isn't there? Well, guess what? When you aren't there they are probably talking the same way about you! I'm not going to listen to what these people say anymore.

3. Stop believing that things are as obvious as I see them. So many people take silence as admittance. Just because we are silent on an issue doesn't mean we agree. Some of us just see how obvious what is said is wrong that we don't feel the need to point it out. I have to stop thinking that way. People don't always see the obvious.

4. Take a trip to a country I have never been to before. I don't know where or when but I want to go somewhere I have never been. I have a few countries in mind, mostly in S.E. Asia, of course.

5. Try to learn correct punctuation. hahahaha I know I use too many commas.

6. Learn more Tagalog. I know from experience that it is hard for me to teach myself a language. I can do complex equations in my head but conjugate esta? FORGET IT!

7. Take my kids on a vacation. I want to take them to Disney World again. They haven't been there since they were toddlers. I don't know if the oldest will want to go but he may be in Russia for the summer anyway.

8. Lose Weight. I don't think I need to explain this one to anyone that knows me. I am about to be 41. My parents both had heart attacks before they were 50. If that isn't enough insentive to get in shape, what is?

9. Save more money for retirement. This should be easier since I have been able to reduce my debt a lot over the past 2 years.

10. Solve the crisis in the Middle East that has been going on for over 3,000 years. Well, I had to throw in an easy one! hahahaha

I'm sure I will check in December of this year and let you know how I did! Good luck to me!