I am Dorg

Life Update

2010-10-31T20:20:00.001-05:00

So, has it really been a year?

Well, I am still alive.

And actually pretty good.

Someday I will get back into this thing......

Life Update

2009-10-06T07:46:00.003-05:00

So, I know this is long over due......

Over this past year, I started looking at homes, for a variety of reason. The $8,000 government tax credit was a good incentive. I figured I was going to be staying in Rochester for a few more years. But mainly because I was bored and lonely while my roommate took a week long trip to Guatemala was why I started in the first place.

It was an off and on thing. I was would really excited about looking at houses, then it felt like a chore. Nothing really struck out at me.

Then I round one that I really like. Put in an offer, and after a few weeks of back and forth, we finally agreed upon it. Start getting the ball in motion to ultimately own the house. Had two months to close, plenty of time.

Then it starts to get crazy. Inspection comes and goes; 2 weeks gone by. Appraisal comes back a little lower. Go back to home owner to reach an agreement. Well, that process took 1 month. I could say the details, but lets just say the other realtor cannot follow the flow of money (i.e. in her counter offers, she kept losing $3000 somewhere and could not grasp the concept that I would have to make that money up myself.....I even made a powerpoint for her, but still, over her head). Finally we get that settled, but at this point, I only have 10 days till my original closing.

Well, I put it in overdrive and pretty much get all of the stuff done on my side, including lining up moving help. However, I get an email last friday saying that home homeowner can no longer close on monday! Why you ask? Cause as Power of Attorney for her husband (who is currently in Iraq, which is very respectful), she did not have the proper documents to allow her to close on her end. In other words, you the piece of paper she was suppose to keep? Yeah that went to Iraq with him. And now we have to wait till it gets in the mail.

You would think as a professional realtor who would have to deal with this situation at least occasionally would make sure that all the proper documents were there. My realtor is just as frustrated as I am at this point......

At least I got the OK to move my stuff into the new place. I can't officially live there, but at least I am out of the way at my old place.

Hopefully by friday we will have this all figured out.....if not, I get to live in a house that is not legally mine yet.....

Minor update: No spoilers

2009-08-09T21:52:00.002-05:00

Big things have been happening in my life. Will share more details later.

Just enjoy my twitter posts on the side to enjoy what I have been doing till a real update comes.

Montana and my T-Shirt

2009-06-18T07:42:00.002-05:00

Funny story. Back when I was in college, I my parents bought a ranch. Then a few years later I bought a T-shirt that said "Montana: Yes we do have electricity"

Turns out that shirt was only partially right.

It seems through out my stay here this week, the power has been on and off multiple time. It seemed to focus around two days after some pretty decent storms. First day the power went out about 8 times, mostly just on, off stuff (the type that starts to annoy you as you need to turn things back on such as the DVD player or Computer). The longest it was off that day was about 2 hours.

Then yesterday it started doing the same thing. Except this time around 1500, it just went out. And stayed out. The power didn't come back on until sometime late in the night, so at least a good 8-10 hrs of no power. Thus no shower, no bathroom.

Man, I didn't think I would be roughing it out here this much....

Life Update

2009-06-03T19:17:00.001-05:00

I am alive.

Contrary to my lack of blog postings......

Transparency and why I am so happy all the time.....

2009-05-20T22:06:00.005-05:00

So, I told myself this year, I was going to attempt to me more transparent with my feelings, etc with people. I am a pretty reserved guy for the most part, I think this might help. Plus, it has a bit of awesomeness in it.

So, here you go for a new post:

My sophomore year of college, I think I hit rock bottom. Depression runs pretty deep in my family, and I am not immune. It was a real rough year for me.

I can thank a single person for person for allowing me to come out of that year alive. No kidding. He knows who he is and I really appreciate his friendship at that point in my life.

So, I did a bunch of writing, etc, and out of it came this awesome poem. I have been wanting to share it with everyone, but I felt pretty ashamed about the topic. But here it is:

--------------------------
Shell

You may think it is rage or hate
but it is passion that drives the gun
a passion burning so deep it ignites
and sends its messenger on the run

A gun is just another tool
simple yet ingenious in design
A barrel, hammer, pin and trigger
with a bullet do the motives align

In my hand I hold an empty shell
never loaded or is it already spent
I cannot tell by the case
I don’t know the extent of its torment

I sit here staring at it
its shiny metal skin
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry
if I should run away or grin

I stand here waiting
trying to figure out its meaning
either way my life is spent
my soul is always weaning

Is my soul dead
or am I in a rude awake
is it an inevitable fate
or something that I can try to shake

The shell is like my life
either never begun or already gone
both are useless to me now
the message hit dead on.

And now I have two empty shells
resting in my open palm
my mind becomes opened and clear
and I am lost in the present calm

--------------------------

So, after that horrible year, capped off by a pretty significant moment in my life, I decided that I was sick of living like that. So I decided that I was going to be happy. And I have found that attitude can get a person pretty far in life. So, that is why I am always smiling and saying hi to people. Because such a simple thing can change a person's life. (plus it doesn't hurt finding a few good friends who rock your world).

And I am not here to say that attitude can get you through anything, and that it has made my life perfect. My life still sucks at times, but I find it easier to get through. No more pity parties for me.

So, thanks friend. I really do love you much and have much to thank you for. The last 5 years have been awesome.

So, how is that for transparency?

And disclaimer: if you are thinking about hurting yourself, etc, please please talk to someone about it. People will listen.

Blog vs Twitter

2009-04-28T17:33:00.002-05:00

Or this should be titled "Why I enjoy Twitter more than my actual blog."

Twitter is just so simple. 140 Characters. It really makes you condense all your thoughts and actions. Never having to formulate long articles on what I did. Micro-blogging can be done in almost an instant, and that is what I make Twitter to be for me. My Micro-blog. When I write in my blog I feel almost required to write down all my thought processes (which if you know me, you don't know half the stuff that goes through my brain.)

Updating my twitter several times a day is almost more convenient than logging into blogger and doing the exact same thing.

Also, it allows me to get reduced to what I do best: make up short, clever, and witty remarks and statements.

Short. Sweet. Simple. I love it. You should check it out. Then follow me. @iamdorg

Change

2009-04-22T21:08:00.002-05:00

When people think of change, they think of something immediate. That is what change is right? Going from one thing to another? The biggest changes should be those that you notice instantly, right? Sure, that can be change, but I think there is much more to it.

I think the biggest changes are those that you can't really see until you step back and look at the much larger picture. Instead of looking from minute to minute, day to day, we need to look month to month, year to year. It is amazing how the little changes in my life are magnified when looking through this lens. And it is all those little changes that have brought me to where I am today.

Change should be a constant aspect of one's life. We should always be trying to shape and mold our existence into something that is better than our current selves, and it is not easy. If it was, then wouldn't everyone have already done it? It is a feeling of conviction that should be the driving force.

Right now, my heart is heavy with the many things that I need to do to make myself that better person. I need to be more conscious of my actions, more aware of my presence, more mindful of those around me. I need to do so much more. But I know that change is coming my way because these things are on my heart. And I am not going to change overnight.

Like I said, a few years from now, I will be there. Just got to let the change happen in me.

Something I like about politics

2009-04-17T16:59:00.003-05:00

So this pretty much makes my day.

High Speed Railway corridors across America.

I can hardly wait.....

And my family was afraid Obama was going to destroy America.....

Full Article

Weekend Fun

2009-04-12T16:20:00.008-05:00

So for Easter Weekend, I made my way up to my sister's place. And just cause I never do this, I am putting up some pictures just for her:

Getting ready to use the Zip Line

Right before the jump

Playing dead (well, actually I was a bit exhausted

Just wrestling with Grace

Going really fast with Adie

Lydia just being adorable

So I had fun time. Made some really good food, impressed a bunch of people, and just generally showed off my skills. So a typical weekend.

Not Helpful

2009-04-09T17:44:00.002-05:00

So, since about friday of last week, I am been kind of a hinderance to my roommate.

And it is not anything intentional at all. First it all started when I tried to move her computer a bit and dropped her external hard drive on the table. And guess what? It doesn't work anymore at all. So, we had to send it out to get the information off the disk. And apparently there is 164 Gigs on it, so it is quite a bit of info that I may have lost for her. I felt so bad.

Then on sunday night, our internet stopped working. Well, not the whole thing but our Router was being dumb. We could get internet when we hooked directly up to the modem, so we tried to call in support. Which does not exist because we were off warranty by 4 months. So I came home from yesterday to find a desktop spread out all over the living room with a new wireless router. And Heather was just starting to install the system into her computer. Well, it was not a real simple procedure as it takes about 25 minutes to do. And when we were at about minute number 23, I bumped the power cord and cause power to stop flowing. So, start over number one. And next time when we were at minute 20, I did again.

It was actually kind of funny because it was completely unintentional. We joked about how I have been a major hinderance to her when all I have been trying to do is help her. So, I sat in our chair laughing. Then she asked how long I thought it was going to take her to finish the install. I guessed 17 minutes from that point, so she put me in a "time out" and I was not allowed to leave the chair. So, I was not able to "help".

Man, I feel like such a little child right now......but I am kind of enjoying it......

Michigan and Beyond

2009-04-02T17:46:00.002-05:00

So, a finish to my trip over to Ann Arbor.

Toronto was a blast. Downtown was a cool experience, but I really enjoyed the whole public transit that we used. I think it would be cool to live in a city where you are required to use the subway. It is just very convenient; something I wish could be in MSP, but probably never will......

The CN Tower was also really cool. We kind of touristy, but it still was fun. Tyler had too much fun watching planes land in the near by airport...... Definitely recommend going to see it if you have the chance.

Once Toronto was done, we made our way to Niagara Falls. For some strange reason, someone once told me that the American side is cooler than the Canadian side. So, we went to Goat Island in New York (the island between a few of the falls. And it was cool, but most things were closed due to the season. There still was a bunch of snow around so we were unable to make it down underneath the falls....bummer

Then we went over to the Canadian side. And wow.....very breath taking. With all the snow that was piled up and carved by the mist, it was very beautiful.

Then we made our way back to Detroit. And got stopped by border patrol. For some strange reason, they did not understand that we only need to stay in Canada for 28 hours.......apparently we are drug smugglers or something. So they searched our car and we very close to being detained. It was exciting.

And back to Ann Arbor. Nice tour of the campus thanks to Tyler. We also hit up the museum on campus and saw a really cool exhibit on architecture. And I got to meet a few more of this friends.

Also, I don't think I have played that much Scrabble in my life....

All in all, I really did not want to come back to work. Was very tempted to call in sick......

Weekend Trip part 1

2009-03-31T18:15:00.002-05:00

So I got a few minutes here while my friend is busy doing something....

So, I decided a few weeks ago to visit one of my good college friends for the weekend plus. Not that I wasn't expecting it to be, but I have had a blast.

I just love Tyler. A really great guy, and he knows how to have a good time.

I flew to Ann Arbor MI late friday night, and stayed up late (gasp...I know). I got to meet a few of his friends, but the funnest friend that I met of his was Josh. I am hoping that even though I only knew him for a few days, that I am able to be a friend of his as well.

Anyways, but we spent the day saturday touring Ann Arbor. It is a beautiful city.

Then we went to Canada. It was a blast. I was mostly expecting it to be lame (not really), but it was a cool. We spent Sunday night walking around Downtown Toronoto. The subway was a fun experience as well....

Anyways, I have to jet out to eat, so the rest of the trip will be described in detail in posts to come......this is not even half the trip....

Wait to hear about Customs!

Contradiction

2009-03-06T14:33:00.002-06:00

So, I basically suck that this whole blogging thing, as evidenced by the lack of posts. The idea is to be transparent and ramble etc., but that is not me at all.

I am envious of those who can be blunt and open with their lives. I wish I could be like them in some ways, but fundamentally I am reserved and self-aware of the things I let others know. I censor myself to not allow anyone to get a grasp on who or what I am, which is the antithesis of the whole blogging community.

In nerddom, I would be known as a "lurker." I actively pursue the details of everyone's lives and opinions while I myself sit in relative anonymity.

I am a voyeur who lives behind his own curtains.

What makes The Amazing Race amazing?

2009-01-25T10:04:00.003-06:00

I just watched one of the promos for the new season of The Amazing Race, and I think it perfectly exemplifies why this show is so great.

It isn't the thousands of miles travelled.

Or the exotic countries you visit.

It isn't the exhaustion or the exhilaration.

It's not the unexpected turns in the road.

Or even the million dollar prize.

Its 2 ordinary people at a starting line with nothing but the whole world in front of them.

(and yes, I did just steal the transcript.....)

I am really pumped. You all should definitely watch in 3 weeks. Feb 15, 7:00 PM CST.

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives/The Killers

2009-01-20T09:27:00.003-06:00

So last night, I got done with work and had a really fun night planned with a co-worker. We had previously bought tickets to The Killers concert at the Northrop Aud, so we decided to make an afternoon out of it.

Well, we had originally decided to this restaurant the was featured on the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We were uber excited and started to make our way there. Well, we get there and realize that it is closed. How bummed were we. Apparently it is not open on Mondays, something we had failed to find anywhere. So we started thinking about plan B for dinner with time running out due to use only planning an extra 2 hrs to eat before the concert.

Also on the same show, another place in MSP was shown, so we decided to hit that one up. Well it took us some time to find it, but once I got was able to determine out location, it was a simple breeze. Now this is 1.5 hr before the start. Well we drive up and see all the chairs on the tables. What the heck. Seriously, is nothing open on Monday? Apparently not as this diner too was closed on Mondays. So now we have a little over an hour to find a place and eat. Oh, Guy you have seriously lead us astray today.......

We decided to just drive down University and find something that would catch our eyes. We ended up finding this nice Neapolitan Pizza restaurant called Pizza Nea which turned out to be really good. I would highly recommend it if you are in Minneapolis just driving down University.

We finally got to the concert about 30 min late, and just missed some of the opening band, M85. The last few songs in the set I actually liked, so I may look into them a bit more.

But the highlight was definitely The Killers. Great concert. I had a blast, and their set list spanned all there albums, picking out not just the commercial popular songs, but also the song that enjoyed just from their albums.

This concert made me want to so see several other of my favorite bands live. So heres to looking online for tour dates.......

Lost Day

2009-01-16T07:42:00.002-06:00

All this week, it feels in my body/brain as if I am supposed to be a day ahead in the week.

I got done with work on Tuesday all excited to think the Wednesday was done the weekend was near. Immediately I realized my folly and droned on about my added day to the week....

Well, It was not an isolated incident. Wednesday at work I thought it was Thursday for a period of about an hour, and once I was done with work on the real Thursday, I was happy that the weekend was already here. Heck, I almost started to watch TV waiting for my Friday show to come on.... All Thursday night I had to correct myself.

And even now, as it is Friday morning, I feel like it should be a Saturday.....a nice lazy Saturday morning. But alas, it is Friday and I go to work in about 4 hours......

I have been trying to figure out why my body/brain want themselves to be a day ahead. Maybe it is just preparation for something coming up......who knows with me and how everything functions.......

MIA and Home Alone

2009-01-04T10:48:00.003-06:00

So, I have been MIA from my blog for nearly a month. And it has been kind of nice.....

Quick Updates:
Christmas came and went--it was great seeing family. I seemed to get a lot of food gifts; wonder if that is supposed to tell me something.

New Years: Went to some random person's house; it was a little awkward at first, but then was ok

I seem to never be working. Just had 5 days off in a row, and thought about going back to GF, but the possible snowstorm kept me down here.

Saw a friend on thursday night before she flew down to Miami friday morn for a cruise this week. A mutual friend then flew into Roch Friday night to hang out with me prior to his leaving for Miami to go on that said cruise.

Watched the movie WALL-E. Spoiler alert: I may or may not have cried.

I think that is it for the quick updates.

Heather has left for Guatemala/Columbia. I don't see her till the 17th, so we shall see what fun or lack there off I get into while she is gone. The house is kind of quiet and I don't think I like it. But I did fix the furnace, so at least the den is not cold anymore while I am sitting watching TV.

I have been bored, so I found a cool video promo for HaMerotz LaMillion which is the Israeli version of The Amazing Race. Makes me want to be on the show even more...

Other major updates, I still haven't decided for sure, but I think I may live in Rochester for an extended period of time. Mainly because I have started looking at more permanent living situations i.e. buying a house.

More to come in the future as I have a couple of ideas in the pipes......

12 days till Christmas

2008-12-13T07:38:00.002-06:00

So my roommate and I have been getting into the Christmas mood.

Well mainly her and she is slowly breaking my Grinch heart......

Last night we went to go pick out a tree. It was kind of fun, and now I feel fully prepared to have to do it myself someday. As we were walking down the rows of trees, picking them up and looking at them, it felt as if it was a completely normal behavior for me.

It is weird because, while I am not a complete Scrooge/Grinch, I am not a fan of all the commercialism and exorbitant spending that goes into this one holiday. Especially this year with all the financial issues around. I can do simple, but grand has always been distasteful in my mouth. So for the past 5 years my Christmas decorations have included absolutely nothing.

And now, Heather and I are starting do decorate the house. With nice simple christmas decor. And so far it looks great.

And our tree looks and smells awesome by the way.......

Oh, and Christmas shopping.....pretty much done.

Sick Day part Trois

2008-12-09T10:24:00.002-06:00

Shoveling 5 inches of snow when you are sick is not fun. No fun at all.

I am completely over this cold.

Now back to drugs and sleep.

Sick Day part Duex

2008-12-08T16:52:00.002-06:00

Worse

Worse

Worse

I literally just want to rip off my face and scrap every single sinus cavity out.

The pressure that is being produced by my face is causing me to get light headed and make my brain not function.

It is not fun.

At least I got the ok to not come into work today last night, but I was hoping that I would be better today and not worse then I have been feeling all weekend. I slept all morning and was hopped up on drugs. And still....

I really don't want to have to call into work sick tomorrow, but I might end up having to. Man this paycheck is going to royally suck......

Sick Day

2008-12-07T10:59:00.003-06:00

So, I am kinda of, sort of sick this weekend.

And it has been a couple days coming. I started getting a feeling come wednesday that something was coming down the pipes. Early thursday morn, I woke up and my throat was aching. But I didn't want to call into work sick as I was charge that evening and it would have been a jerk thing for me to do. I then felt better on Friday, but yesterday was just a doozy....

I have never felt completely ill like I have in the past, but my throat is burning and really sore (but I still talk normal, no rasping yet). But yesterday it was just so weird in that my body was not reacting to the messages I was trying to send to it. It was if I was drunk, but without all the carefree attitude. Completely uncoordinated body.

Then I put myself into a drug induced coma last night (which I thankfully was able to wake out of to open the door for my roommate who just got back from Honduras.) But last night was a good solid night of sleep. I woke up this morning not feeling the way I have the past few mornings. I throat is at a constant burn now, but at least my face is not conjested and still no rasping.

Here to hoping that I beat it before it got bad.....

Weekend of Thanks....

2008-12-01T17:25:00.004-06:00

So, I suppose I should send out the required post of thanks etc......

This past weekend, I was very fortunate in that I got to go out to the Ranch in MT one last time this fall. I just love it out there. There is something to be said about being in the middle of no where. One of my favorite thing about being out there is actually looking at the sky at night and actually seeing millions upon millions of stars. It is almost eerie to see everything without light pollution. Awesome.

The weekend was very nice and relaxing. Not having to focus about going to work was a nice break.

I had a great time with the family too. Thanksgiving dinner was actually on Friday and we had Roast Beef, potatoes, and green beans. One of my all time favorite meals and I wasn't even the one who ordered it! I feel very fortunate in that I do have a pretty close family. And we all like each other. Plus it is always a competition to see who the favorite uncle is....and it should be me, but my brother wins only cause he let them be flower girls in his wedding.....completely not fair. Oh well.....

My life right now is actually pretty dang good all things considered. I have a great job that I am not afraid of losing. (As people always seem to need heart surgery....) My co-workers are awesome as well. I am living with an awesome roommate in an awesome house which I am very thankful to the owners everyday. Plus living here lets me realize how living on my own would eventually turn out. I got to shovel snow last night! Well not !, but it still is fun (wait till I have to do it more than once a week, and we will see if I am still enthused.) I have great friends who know all about my neurotic brain and its ramblings at times. And they still like me for some reason.

And only to throw the word out there one last time: Awesome

Chris's Inappropriate Weekend....

2008-11-23T20:41:00.003-06:00

So before your minds start wandering too far, the title was taken from my roommate. Heather labeled this weekend as Chris's Inappropriate Weekend, not me....

And actually, it was not that inappropriate at all. I got many productive things done, such as winterizing the house, and various small projects completed.

The reason why I was apparently inappropriate was mainly due to a few things that I did. First, I have discovered a really fun new band. 3Oh!3 (pronounced 3 oh 3). And they just happen to be two white dudes from Colorado who can best be described as having an electronic rap-hop feel to them. And while their lyrics are not something that I normally would listen to, they are just so addictive and infectious. So, I downloaded their CD and have been listen to it non stop all weekend.

Well, not quite so non-stop as in between I have been taking breaks and watching a show that added to my inappropriateness. I don't know why I like this show, but It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia so inappropriate and not PC at all. So I began my rewatch of the show. And just cause the episodes that I watched dealt with racism, underage drinking, cancer, and abortion, it does not mean that it doesn't have some redeeming qualities. Actually, not so much at all.

So that was my "inappropriate" weekend. I really went off the hook.......

The Forks

2008-11-19T10:45:00.002-06:00

So.

I finally got the family forks. Kind of surprising, but hey I was almost half expecting it......

Little Background Info on them:

The forks are from my grandmothers old silverware set, and my dad/his siblings hated getting them to eat with as they are quite heavy. So you could always tell who was not on good terms with the table setter as they would routinely get these heavy ones instead of the lighter ones.

Fast forward a couple years, and the forks started circulating around as a "gift" between the siblings. It didn't matter the occasion, but it was a surprise to find out that you were now in possession of the forks. They have been baked in multiple cakes, put into cement, even soldered into a metal box. They have travelled across the US and abroad. And then they disappeared. No one knew who had them and no one seemed to recall that they existed. The last known person in possession was my sister who obtained them as a wedding present 7 years ago.

And then I opened my mouth. And my sister found them. And sent them to me as a gift from my nieces. Tricky Tricky.....

And current home is now Rochester. At least until I can get them back into circulation.......

Why I am in Love with TAR

2008-11-14T17:11:00.002-06:00

...especially when they go to India!

So, I am hopelessly in love with The Amazing Race. Border-lining on fanatic. As evident by my acronym in TAR. This season has been really great as well. On its 13th installment, you would think that it would get pretty redundant. However, the major strength of this show is that they have the entire world to use as a background. The show is not so much about the race, but in how the contestants deal with the stresses of being in completely foreign situations. And India has always brought out the crazy in the contestants!

Perfectly placed mid season when killer fatigue (KF) is prime to set in, and India has set almost every contestant out of their comfort zone. Crowded, busy streets, language issues, heat/humidity; almost all are guaranteed. It is amazing to see how the racers react. Some very memorable moment include: the rat temple from season 1, how Emily and her mother Nancy were treated very poorly in their attempt to get a train (also season 1), The balking at head shaving (season 5), Joyce actually deciding to do that to her head two seasons later, getting your Indian driver's license and then having to drive to the pit stop (season 10). But nothing can compare to the last visit. It may be what I consider to the be the greatest episode of TAR yet.

You must watch. Check it out here: TAR 13, Episode 7: India in Technicolor

The color fight is enough for this show to win its 7th emmy in a row. It is that good.

And people wonder why I love this show.....

Weekend in MT

2008-11-13T08:45:00.002-06:00

So, I spent the weekend in MT at the 'rents ranch. I really like going out there, and now that I am professional adult, I don't get many opportunities to do it. I spent 5 days there in Mid October, and was thankful to get back out there again this time.

I could do without the drive, but hey, sacrifices. I had a great time with my brother, as we spent most of the two days tooling around on the ATVs. (Mostly for fun, but also rounding up the cattle.) We also got to work the cattle through the handling facility that my brother just built, and I must say, I am impressed at how good everything went. We had a nice steady flow, and no major hick-ups. Which doesn't necessarily happen when moving cattle.

Now, the trip back was a bit long. Only had a few things slowing us down.....rain/sleet/snow, and the occasional house in the middle of the road......but I made it back earlier than I expected.

Now, just had to wait two weeks till I get out there again........Thanksgiving is going to be awesome, now that I know that I don't work and get to make it out there.....

The Ballot Card of Life

2008-11-09T21:01:00.005-06:00

So, election day has come and gone. America has completed its (at most optimistic) yearly duty and the power now rests with our elected officials.

How sad is it that this is the mentality of many Americans today. Yes the Vote is important, but there is a much more powerful statement we make.

Throughout this year I have been learning more about myself and about life in general. One of the biggest ideas that I have learned is that every action or non-action that we choose to take is very similar to a vote. In this way, we are truly voting for what we value and believe. And we are not even aware that we are making such huge statements in our life. Our ballot card is in front of us every moment of everyday.

For example, earlier this week I stopped off at the grocery store and picked up a convenience meal (one that you cook in the microwave). I didn't even put much thought into it. Now, looking back, at that moment I valued time much more than other values. I didn't take into account the amount of plastic and other materials that is used and wasted with such items and the effect that those would have on the environment. I didn't think about how I was choosing to spend the money that I earned on an item where the distributors (aka company) instead of the producers (aka farmers, etc) get a larger portion of the profits. I never thought of these things prior to my decision. Now, I value conservation/preservation of the environment and support for local producers, but looking back on it, my choice showed that I valued my own time above these.

I could give several other examples, but the point is to learn that all of our actions, not matter how big or small give an insight into who and what we are as individuals. And I am not here to convince someone that their choices are wrong. I just want people to realize that those choices reflect to the world who they truly are.

So, for all of you who feel that your values and what not are reflected in their vote last Tuesday, I am here to tell you that you are wrong. Your values and beliefs are much better reflected in your own actions and words, not a simple ballot card....

Life on the way to MT

2008-11-06T07:27:00.002-06:00

So, what can I say. I really love my job. Or it is more like I really love getting out of work and it is really easy to do with my job.

So far this pay period, I have missed 3 full days of work. (But I did get called in for 8 hrs on Sunday, so it is more like 1.5 days now, and I am ok with that.) And now I have the next 6 days to go on a short vacation.

So first stop is to St Cloud where I will get to wish my Niece a very happy birthday. (Have to work on being coolest Uncle). Possibilities there include bowling and using the Zip Line.

Then I am headed to Sauk where I will probably only spend the night before I head out to MT. Then 3 nice days out there where I don't have to do much, and then I am coming back home.

Oh, and then in 2 weeks I will be doing the same thing over Thanksgiving.

Life is good to me right now........

Wednesday is finally here....

2008-11-05T10:14:00.002-06:00

So the Wednesday that I have been waiting for is finally here.....

And how do I feel? Kind of relieved actually. I am excited and intrigued to see where Obama is going to take our country. Now, most people that I know probably feel like his election is near horrible levels, but I honestly don't see that. I think Obama will be a good president.

I spent all Tuesday morning actually researching our local elections, and I actually found them to be easier to decide than the president. It was actually the last one that I officially marked down on my template. Now, I did vote for McCain/Palin, but I am fine with an Obama win. I had a feeling all morning that come 2100, he would be our President Elect. Do I agree with all of his policies that he is planning on making? Not really, but hey, I will have to live with it. (As long as Socialized Health care does not come through.....) He does have some great ideas and hope that some of them make it through (Yea for Renewable energy.....)

The one thing that I am most impressed with is the reaction that his win has gotten. Not just here stateside, but in the world. Now if I could just get people to stop gloating about it and move on......

In actuality, both are not as far to their respective sides as the other would have made them out to be. So that was why it was kind of hard for me to vote this election. But I am glad I did.

Well, I wish President Obama the best with his four years and I hope he guides our country to where we need to be these next four years.

Wednesday can not come soon enough.....

2008-10-31T12:59:00.004-05:00

I think the title says pretty much everything.

I am sick of this election crap already. The longer it has been, the more and more I am turned off by all of the politicians on both sides. It is at this point that I don't even really care who wins, just so we can move on.

It is hard for me because I am an issues guy, not a party guy. Both parties suck in my opinions; too polarizing. I am fiscal Republican with Democratic Ideals. It is a frustrating position to be in......

First. John McCain. Seems he has been trying to dig himself out of a hole. Literally and figuratively. Man that guy is old. Also, one of the major issues that I care about, the environment and alternative energy, he seems to be far less concerned than other candidates. Drill for more energy....not going to be as productive as investing into an energy infrastructure overhaul. Temporary solution to a longer term problem. Plus, I feel he has turned into a former shell of his original self and is now just spewing out Republican propoganda.

Next, Obama. Man that guy can speak! I bet you he could convince us he invented the internet..... He is all about change. I am for change, but some of his promises are ridiculous. First, "share the Wealth" Biggest concern with democrats. I grew up learning that if you succeed, you should benefit. And it was a hard lesson cause I usually wasn't always the winner. To me it seems like they are almost punishing success. And that is not a way to fix this economy. Heck yeah I would benefit more under Obama's Tax Cuts, but I feel everyone should have to pay an equal percentage of what they make. Democrats make people feel like victims and the people holding them down become scapegoats. Plus I think Obama would run into some hard times with his budget, considering he is promising half of America a portion back. And he want to reform healthcare? (Fat chance), schools (lofty ideal), and get out a Iraq (not a smart decision to do an immediate pullout).

Both candidates pretty much suck in my opinion and I am forced to chose between the lesser of two evils. And combined throughout the Primaries and the presidental campaign, they would have spent almost nearly $1 billion dollars to convince us that they deserve to be our president. I am thinking that the $1 billion dollars could have been spent much more productively....

Side Tangent: People are stupid and only live in the here and now. Frustrating that everyone pretty much focused on just the economy. People are talking about how the Bush Economic Plan was the worse thing that could ever happen to our country. When if you look at it, the Dow Jones average actually was increasing shortly after 9/11 (when the markets tanked due to, you know, those planes). They were rising and actually went above bush's starting level. Then the housing market collapsed thanks mostly to sub prime mortgages. (which were only possible thanks to Congress basically requiring that banks and lending companies give out risky loans, and then allowing those risky loans to get traded between various agencies until they were finally collected on). Some people just thought they should be able to live above their means and now here we are. What did they think was going to happen. Those people should have lost their houses. I don't get a redo on most of my mistakes.... Ugh.....

Won't even talk about the VPs. They really don't matter at all.

When will people realize that our president really won't be able to achieve all the promises that they make. Their hands are tied by the congress which has the real power in this country, yet people seem to forget this. Minus Bush trying to attain more executive power for himself, the legislative branch is the real area where change can and should be made. They are the ones that make the laws, pass the budgets, etc. Yet they too are stuck in "Washington Limbo" cause they can't seem to work together on anything.

Ideally, there should be term limits on politicians in Washington. No lifers.

It is frustrating for me because most politicians feel that once they are elected, they take that as a validation that their personal beliefs are what matter to their constituents. When in fact they should be basing all of their decision on how their vote would best suit their constituents overall.

So, I guess if I had an ideal vote, it would be for change. A change to how everything is going down in Washington right now.

"The world's a mess, and I just want to rule it....." Oh, if only that were true......

Lazy Saturday

2008-09-13T14:40:00.002-05:00

So work this past week was good, but maybe a bit stressful. I had a lot to do, and not much time to do it in. I still don't have my list of things to do done, but I think I am going to take a relaxing saturday to chill. It is drizzling on and off, so there is not much I can do outside (cuts some of items on my to-do list).

I finally got my freezer from home here. Now I can fill it up! Never again should I run out of food choices.....most people don't understand my desire to have 13 cubic ft of freezer space. But when you grow up with 2 chest freezers as well as 2 more on other refrigerators, you can begin to understand why I love having freezer space.

Putting off cleaning my room. It is a mess, but hey, I can live in it still. I did lose a notebook that I need, so maybe that will give me the desire to clean it up a bit. Hopefully it is in that mess, or I am really going to start worrying (well not really, but it is something that I do need eventually).

No other plans for the weekend. Should be nice and relaxing.

Volunteering in India

2008-09-02T10:06:00.004-05:00

So, one of the side effects of me being bored is I start thinking about all the places that I want to go to in this world. I love traveling and would be a in a car/airplane every other day if I could. So during this weekend when I was working overnights, I had a lot of free time on my hands. And you can only guess what I ended up finding.

I don't know how I found the site, but I just started to look at projects-abroad.org. It is a website with volunteering projects all over the world. At first I was interested in their China trips (cause everyone knows that I am secretly half chinese in my soul.) However, I started to get really interested in their Conservation and Environment projects. All of them look to be a blast. From saving rainforest in Peru or Costa Rica to helping with Reef conservation in Thailand or turtle hatching in Mexico, I really thought these would be cool projects to do. Strange as it may sound however, the one that got me to most interested was working on a sustainable farm in India. And I really do not know why for sure. Maybe because this is the one that would be the most out of my comfort zone.

Maybe it is because I have started to be more self sustainable in my own life, that the farm idea kind of fit in with that. I never thought that a farm would draw me back into farming. Ha, wait till my dad hears about that one! It only took on half way around the world to do it. Another aspect of the India trip is to plant trees and teach local farmers about conservation etc. I really think it would be a blast to do.

The thing is, this project lasts about 1 month. Or 2 if you want it to. I would probably have to quit my job, and I can only imagine what my parents/family would say about that. I do take their advice, but at the same time, I am the one who ultimately gets to make this decision. So here is what I am thinking. When I decide to move to another job, I may just end up taking about 3 months off in between and go off on some crazy adventure like this.

So who knows, maybe in the next few months I will be over in India watching worms compost material......

Busy weekend

2008-09-01T12:58:00.002-05:00

So I had to work my first Holiday of work. And I was lucky to pull (aka get left with) Labor Day weekend. And not just the weekend, but overnights. Now I shouldn't complain because I could work on a unit or floor where I have to do nights more frequently, but man was it rough having to switch to a new schedule.

Friday night was probably the most difficult for me. However, the night itself was not so bad. It was busy prior to us getting there, but once 2300 hit, the OR was silent.

The next night was not as hard to stay awake. Granted that may have been because I slept from 0800 to about 1830 waking up a few times in between. We did have an ortho case on, but I didn't have to do too much for it. I was supposed to do a general case (lap appy), but the other nurse loves doing them and wanted to do it. I had no qualms in giving it to her.

Sunday, I kept hearing the helicopters flying and landing on the hospital the whole day. I kept telling myself that the night was going to be rough if they kept bring people into the ER. Well when I got there, there wasn't anything going on, but like I thought the ER was crazy busy. So always on alert down in the OR (well actually just fingers crossed that nothing would have to come down). Finally we heard about a speenic laceration, and not only did we get ready, we got ready for 2 separate rooms. Because charge did not now where he wanted to put it. Ugh. But after we rushed to get this emergency case set up, they decided that they did not need to actually come down to the OR till the morning. Fine by me. This poor kid sounded like he was beat up pretty bad. Lesson learned: Always wear your seatbelt and physics will always win over a human body.

The rest of the night was probably my favorite. Myself and a coworker were trying to see if one of the ghosts that haunts the core would show itself, but nothing happened. Bummer. I also found a website where I can watch old seasons of The Amazing Race! Best part of my weekend! Now I will get to finish watching all the seasons/episodes that I never was able to catch. Awesome. Except now I have a time waster at my disposal.......

Just woke up from only about 4 hrs of sleep hoping that I can stay up till the night, where my body will fall asleep, thus returning to its normal sleep schedule.

Heres to hoping.

Nap time

2008-08-27T19:13:00.002-05:00

So....the older I get, the less and less likely I get to take rest periods during the afternoon. AKA a nap. And today I had the perfect opportunity to do such a thing as I don't have to fall asleep early tonight as I don't work till Friday 2300. And I just woke up refreshed and in a much better mood than I had been in prior to sleeping.

I had been getting frustrated with work situations and started to have a negative attitude, so I told myself that I was just tired and cranky like my nieces get when they too need a rest. And man I feel like my brain is relaxed and calm and able to better process things. Thus I am in a much better mood.

Naps rule!

My current life statements

2008-08-23T13:57:00.003-05:00

Life is not just a set of random happenstances.

Words that come from my mouth should be spoken in truth.

I am on a path to better not only myself, but everything around me.

Green is more than a color.

Life is much more than what we have or don't.

Do no harm.

Leave no trace.

Happiness is found beyond circumstance.

Find yourself and others will find you.

If you do not give 100% of yourself everyday, who can say that you have truly lived?

Science!

2008-07-27T11:31:00.004-05:00

So I went to the Science Museum yesterday with a good friend. We had a blast! First, when we got there, we thought that we would have to miss the sole reason for us wanting to go....the Star Wars exhibit.

Well, it just so happens that the one ticket guy told us that the tickets for the 130 entrance were still available when in fact they were not. So what does he decide to do? He gives us entrance tickets for 1130, so we did not have to wait in line. He officially became our favorite person who works at the Science Museum.....

And after about 1.5 hrs, I was over Star Wars, but Audrey still need to get her fix. I was ready to head out and see real science....

The rest of the day was fun. I got to see my dinosaurs. Which made me happy. I got to play and learn at the same time. Favorite exhibit was the video globe. I want one in my house just so I can see the entire planet at once.

I did realize though that the Science Museum is set up more for little kids. I don't mean to brag, but I feel like I knew almost everything in there already. But it was still fun. I got to play with Fire, water, watch a brain surgery on a video (which is not a cool as seeing the real thing....I know cause I have seen it....).

All in all, it was a good day to go to the science museum. But I think I would have enjoyed the Zoo a little more. Oh, well, there is always next time.