Doing what we can to not raise a jerk…
C.S. Lewis: Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
Hang in there kitten!
Maybe it’s just me? My life has been a series of giving in order to get. I cannot seem to move forward or get ahead, unless I leave something behind. These offerings need to have meaningful, or at least perceived to be, at the time. I tried to look up the meaning of this, like the scientific name or buzzword, but all I got was a bunch of inspirational quotes that could be used for a poster that hangs on the wall of your 2nd grade class. A quote that would be accompanied with a picture of a kitten dangling from a tree hoping to not fall. You know the poster I am talking about…#hanginthere Could be my catholic upbringing […]
Are you the engine, the boxcar or the caboose?
A few weeks ago a friend of mine called and asked for a pep talk. He just wanted to get everything off his chest and complain about how things were going at work. Sometimes these life talks happen over a beer, but when you’re long distance, a phone call works just as good. In his opinion, the new boss was making poor choices and he didn’t agree with the direction the group was going. “If they would just listen to me” was the phrase he repeated multiple times during his “selling” of the situation. He was stating his case to the new boss and his co-workers, but didn’t feel he was being heard or taken serious. I pride […]
Where the hell am I?
I have zero sense of direction. Pretty funny for the guy who’s become somewhat famous for posting bad parking jobs. No really, if someone told me to “get lost” I probably would and do so rather quickly. North, south, east, west…none of that stuff matters to me because I don’t know what direction I need to go from my current location. I’m over the age of 40 and I don’t think I’m suddenly going to wake up one day and figure it all out. Even if I did, my driving instincts would take me in the wrong direction. In my previous vehicle, I got lost so often that there was a dent above the driver’s side roof from […]
You Have Zombie Brain
Life can become mundane. Even performing at a high level, you can still fall into a rut or routine. Let’s be honest, we “execute” life more often than we live it. We go through the motions. Not always numb to the world, but falling prey to the groove of comfort and execution. It’s not that we don’t try, it’s just that we get comfortable and fight to stay in that level of comfort. Predictable comes without drama and stress. If we stay physically and emotionally “stuck”, then we get to make it through another day without having to deal with the shift and distraction. We say we embrace change, but we don’t. We like everything to make sense, have […]
Stepping Stones
“You don’t have to have it all figured out. The decisions you make today do not need to control the rest of your life or even the rest of your career. Nothing is absolute and hardly ever final. What you do now is merely a stepping stone to whatever is NEXT”. These are the words that were used when I spoke to a friend of mine this past week. I quickly typed them into the notes app on my iPhone because I thought that they might have some value to others that read them. I write everything down in my phone. This is not an endorsement for Apple, but I did write my last book #Tryharder and the new […]
One cockroach was harmed in the making of this chapter.
The Catholic Church that I go to has been under renovation for the past few months. Each Sunday, as I take a seat, I look around to see the changes from the previous week. The new carpet, hardwoods, upholstery, paint on the walls, etc. It was a pretty dated looking church when I started going, but now it looks a little more “fresh” and modern. I don’t know anyone that attends the church when I do and even through the renovation, I’ve continued go for the following reasons. 1). It’s close to my house. 2). they do a 7:30am mass and 3). I need to worship somewhere. The 7:30am mass is important because, as I was doing my research on […]
Fish Tales
When I was a kid, I loved to fish. Fishing was pretty much my favorite thing. I loved baseball, football, riding my bike and fishing. My mom and dad used to make the joke that if it wasn’t for class pictures, there wouldn’t be any pictures of me that didn’t also have a fish in them. (Likely taken with one of my mom’s super sweet disposable cameras). I could tie my own line and bait my own hook by the time I was nine years old, but I still needed my parents to help me out with all the times I got hung up on a rock or cast my line into a tree. My dad never got to […]
Why?
Why? You know the close elevator doors buttons? They don’t actually work. Not since 1990 as part of legislation to allow wheelchairs enough time to get in. Yet, all of us, as we find ourselves in a hurry to get to work and avoid the smelly guy from riding in the same elevator, frantically push that button not once, but repeatedly 83 times before they close. Because I work on the 19th floor of a 20 story building, I see it every day. I’ve known about this close elevator door button thing for a few years and I’m just now sharing my knowledge with others. Honestly, I enjoy being the only person on the elevator that knows this secret and […]
Stand by Me
Sitting in bed, about to fall asleep and I stumble upon the movie Stand by Me. One of the few movies I still own on VHS and one that helped to define much of my childhood. To be honest, I don’t believe I have a way to watch any of the movies I own on VHS. Does anyone anymore? I guess I could always sell my collection of VHS movies in the next neighborhood garage sale, but the 50 cents that I would make off of each tape is not equal to the memories and lessons they have provided me. So, for now, they will sit in a box in the garage till VHS becomes cool again. It’s only a […]