If you remember reading tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, etc. the hero or heroine always had a tragic flaw that led to their downfall. Not that I'm a hero, but I know what my tragic flaw is. I am too sensitive and too easily hurt. Hopefully this trait will not lead to my undoing like it always did for the tragic hero, but it is definitely my most glaring flaw. I am not the type of person that normally worries about things outside of my control, but when something happens that makes me feel hurt, slighted, or forgotten by someone, it really does bother me and it takes me a long time to get over it.
There was a recent incident at work related to the holidays where my feelings were really hurt and it took me several days to get over it. The night that it happened, I spent hours thinking about it and being upset over it. It really consumed me that night and most of the next day and I had difficulty getting to sleep and didn't sleep well that night at all. After a few days, I kind of came to terms with the incident and it didn't bother me so much, but then I got to thinking about how the incident had dominated my thoughts so much over the course of those days. I realized that I have to try and rewire my brain so that my psyche isn't so bruised over incidents similar to the one that happened at work. I realized that I can't let things like that get to me so much. That is definitely something that I will be working to improve this year.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Darn It! Missed!
Well, two Saturdays ago I had the chance to bag that first buck with my new deer rifle and I missed. I took a shot at about 100 - 120 yards and I knew the instant that the gun went off that I had missed. It just wasn't a clean shot. Let me give you the play by play in case you're interested in the details.
I was sitting in a great spot. I was perched on the trunk of a huge fallen tree that gave me a commanding view of a ridge line about 150 yards to my left and the hillside down below for about 140 yards where it met the ridge line sweeping over from the left. I had spotted the fallen tree while walking down the trail that bisects the ridge line and I knew right away it was a good place to set up.
I sat down on the log and got comfortable. It was very cold out that day with highs only reaching the upper 20s. When I initially sat down, I was warm, but after an hour to an hour and a half of sitting there, I began to get chilled. I was just thinking of pouring myself some coffee from my thermos to warm my chilled core when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my left to see a deer trotting down the ridge line. It was probably 130 to 140 yards away. I pulled up my rifle to check out the deer in my scope. I immediately saw antlers and knew that it was a buck, but with him moving steadily through the trees and brush, I couldn't count the points on his antlers. For those of you unfamiliar with Pennsylvania hunting laws, the law now requires that a buck have at least three points on one antler for it to be legally taken.
The buck continued making his way down the ridge line. He never moved at more than a trot, but he never slowed down or stopped either. I lost sight of him several times behind trees and saplings. I kept trying to scope his rack, but it was just too tough to tell. Once he reached the bottom of the hill where the ridge line to my left met the ridge line in front of me, he turned right and began moving from my left to my right. At this point, he was probably about 120 yards away from me.
Between the cold and the excitement of seeing the buck, I was breathing heavily and I was shivering. Looking down the hill, I knew that if the buck was legal, I only had one open shooting lane in front of me. There was a section of woods at the bottom of the hill where there weren't many saplings or much underbrush. The shooting window I had might have been twenty yards wide. I knew that as he entered that lane I would need to determine if he was legal and take the shot if he was.
As he trotted out into my shooting lane, I scoped him and saw that his right antler had an uneven "Y" at the top with the back point longer than the right and that there was another point about two inches below the "Y". That was all I needed to see. By that time, he was halfway through my shooting lane and proceeding steadily toward a dense thicket of underbrush below and to my right. I knew that it was now or never. I put the crosshairs right at his neck to lead him a little as he was moving and pulled the trigger. Because I was shivering from the cold and excitement and because I was a little too hasty with the shot, I knew that I didn't keep the rifle steady enough. At a distance of 100 - 120 yards, the slightest deviation in the position of the gun results in a big deviation at the point of impact. I knew as soon as the rifle cracked that I had missed. A split second later the deer hopped in the air, turned 180 degrees and began running from right to left along the top of the ridge line. I cranked another bullet into my bolt-action rifle and tried to follow his progress through the trees. I tried to predict where he would enter a clear spot so that I could take a second shot. This was difficult to do as he was moving fast through a dense copse of trees and brush. I did fire a second shot as he bounded through the underbrush, but it was more of a desperation shot than anything else. After my second shot, he disappeared down over the top of the ridge line to my left.
After about 30 seconds, I radioed my Dad and told him that I had just missed a buck. Just in case I had hit the deer, we spent about 45 minutes searching the forest for any signs that I may have hit him (e.g. blood or hair), but we didn't find anything. I wasn't surprised by this as I figured that I had missed and I also knew that a deer would not so easily shake off the wallop packed by a 30'06. He would have gone down if I had hit him.
So in the end, it was an unsuccessful day of hunting. I returned to that same spot the following Saturday in the hopes of seeing the buck again or maybe getting a shot at another buck, but I had no luck with either. It was disappointing, but if no one else bagged that buck after I missed him, he'll hopefully still be out there next year. I'll be out there waiting for him. I foresee the purchase of some warmer clothes and some serious range time within the next year.
I was sitting in a great spot. I was perched on the trunk of a huge fallen tree that gave me a commanding view of a ridge line about 150 yards to my left and the hillside down below for about 140 yards where it met the ridge line sweeping over from the left. I had spotted the fallen tree while walking down the trail that bisects the ridge line and I knew right away it was a good place to set up.
I sat down on the log and got comfortable. It was very cold out that day with highs only reaching the upper 20s. When I initially sat down, I was warm, but after an hour to an hour and a half of sitting there, I began to get chilled. I was just thinking of pouring myself some coffee from my thermos to warm my chilled core when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my left to see a deer trotting down the ridge line. It was probably 130 to 140 yards away. I pulled up my rifle to check out the deer in my scope. I immediately saw antlers and knew that it was a buck, but with him moving steadily through the trees and brush, I couldn't count the points on his antlers. For those of you unfamiliar with Pennsylvania hunting laws, the law now requires that a buck have at least three points on one antler for it to be legally taken.
The buck continued making his way down the ridge line. He never moved at more than a trot, but he never slowed down or stopped either. I lost sight of him several times behind trees and saplings. I kept trying to scope his rack, but it was just too tough to tell. Once he reached the bottom of the hill where the ridge line to my left met the ridge line in front of me, he turned right and began moving from my left to my right. At this point, he was probably about 120 yards away from me.
Between the cold and the excitement of seeing the buck, I was breathing heavily and I was shivering. Looking down the hill, I knew that if the buck was legal, I only had one open shooting lane in front of me. There was a section of woods at the bottom of the hill where there weren't many saplings or much underbrush. The shooting window I had might have been twenty yards wide. I knew that as he entered that lane I would need to determine if he was legal and take the shot if he was.
As he trotted out into my shooting lane, I scoped him and saw that his right antler had an uneven "Y" at the top with the back point longer than the right and that there was another point about two inches below the "Y". That was all I needed to see. By that time, he was halfway through my shooting lane and proceeding steadily toward a dense thicket of underbrush below and to my right. I knew that it was now or never. I put the crosshairs right at his neck to lead him a little as he was moving and pulled the trigger. Because I was shivering from the cold and excitement and because I was a little too hasty with the shot, I knew that I didn't keep the rifle steady enough. At a distance of 100 - 120 yards, the slightest deviation in the position of the gun results in a big deviation at the point of impact. I knew as soon as the rifle cracked that I had missed. A split second later the deer hopped in the air, turned 180 degrees and began running from right to left along the top of the ridge line. I cranked another bullet into my bolt-action rifle and tried to follow his progress through the trees. I tried to predict where he would enter a clear spot so that I could take a second shot. This was difficult to do as he was moving fast through a dense copse of trees and brush. I did fire a second shot as he bounded through the underbrush, but it was more of a desperation shot than anything else. After my second shot, he disappeared down over the top of the ridge line to my left.
After about 30 seconds, I radioed my Dad and told him that I had just missed a buck. Just in case I had hit the deer, we spent about 45 minutes searching the forest for any signs that I may have hit him (e.g. blood or hair), but we didn't find anything. I wasn't surprised by this as I figured that I had missed and I also knew that a deer would not so easily shake off the wallop packed by a 30'06. He would have gone down if I had hit him.
So in the end, it was an unsuccessful day of hunting. I returned to that same spot the following Saturday in the hopes of seeing the buck again or maybe getting a shot at another buck, but I had no luck with either. It was disappointing, but if no one else bagged that buck after I missed him, he'll hopefully still be out there next year. I'll be out there waiting for him. I foresee the purchase of some warmer clothes and some serious range time within the next year.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Just Checking In
Not a whole lot new to say this week, but I am excited for Thanksgiving and deer hunting next week.
My Dad and I shot our rifles at the range on Sunday just to make sure that they're still shooting straight. My 30'06 was shooting an inch off the bulls-eye at 100 yds - not bad. My Dad had to adjust his scope down a few inches and an inch or so to the right as he was initially shooting high and to the left. After a few adjustments he was within two inches of the bulls-eye. We rarely shoot much farther than 60-70 yards as there is generally too many saplings and too much underbrush to see clearly beyond that. Hopefully, we'll see more deer this year than we did the previous two years.
I got my deer rifle last April and I think that Sunday was only the third time that I fired it. It shoots really nice and boy does it pack a punch! After shooting about a dozen shots, my shoulder was pretty numb. I'm hoping to bag my first buck with my new rifle this year. Last year I didn't get a chance.
After Halloween, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's so much more laid back than Christmas. There's good food, family, friends and of course, football. You hang out with family, eat, enjoy each other's company, and then watch football. What more could you ask for? If everyday could be like that it would be Utopia.
Over the last few years, I've become somewhat jaded about Christmas. Not about the true meaning of Christmas and goodwill toward man, etc, but all of the marketing, commercialism, and cheapening of the holiday that goes on. It just irritates me. The commercials are the worst. I love the Lexus ones where they show a husband or wife buying their spouse a Lexus for Christmas. Come on, how many normal people really buy those kinds of gifts for people?
The other thing that annoys me is that everyone is so impatient and rude at Christmas time. The stores and malls are packed with crazed-shoppers who are always cutting you off, jumping in front of you, and just generally being miserable. I usually make one trip to the mall to do all of my Christmas shopping. I just can't bear it anymore than that. We were at the mall last weekend and it's already getting crazy.
So that's pretty much it right now. Work has been fairly laid back this week as a lot of people are on vacation for the holiday week. I'm looking forward to finishing up my week tomorrow night.
My Dad and I shot our rifles at the range on Sunday just to make sure that they're still shooting straight. My 30'06 was shooting an inch off the bulls-eye at 100 yds - not bad. My Dad had to adjust his scope down a few inches and an inch or so to the right as he was initially shooting high and to the left. After a few adjustments he was within two inches of the bulls-eye. We rarely shoot much farther than 60-70 yards as there is generally too many saplings and too much underbrush to see clearly beyond that. Hopefully, we'll see more deer this year than we did the previous two years.
I got my deer rifle last April and I think that Sunday was only the third time that I fired it. It shoots really nice and boy does it pack a punch! After shooting about a dozen shots, my shoulder was pretty numb. I'm hoping to bag my first buck with my new rifle this year. Last year I didn't get a chance.
After Halloween, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's so much more laid back than Christmas. There's good food, family, friends and of course, football. You hang out with family, eat, enjoy each other's company, and then watch football. What more could you ask for? If everyday could be like that it would be Utopia.
Over the last few years, I've become somewhat jaded about Christmas. Not about the true meaning of Christmas and goodwill toward man, etc, but all of the marketing, commercialism, and cheapening of the holiday that goes on. It just irritates me. The commercials are the worst. I love the Lexus ones where they show a husband or wife buying their spouse a Lexus for Christmas. Come on, how many normal people really buy those kinds of gifts for people?
The other thing that annoys me is that everyone is so impatient and rude at Christmas time. The stores and malls are packed with crazed-shoppers who are always cutting you off, jumping in front of you, and just generally being miserable. I usually make one trip to the mall to do all of my Christmas shopping. I just can't bear it anymore than that. We were at the mall last weekend and it's already getting crazy.
So that's pretty much it right now. Work has been fairly laid back this week as a lot of people are on vacation for the holiday week. I'm looking forward to finishing up my week tomorrow night.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Faith and Pride Restored
The momentous events that transpired two weeks ago have at least partially restored my faith in the American people and made me once again proud to be an American. I have never been very interested in politics, but this year's election definitely got me interested in a big way. In my opinion (and apparently in the opinion of many others) our country has suffered greatly over the past eight years. The economy is in shambles, jobs are disappearing, we're fighting two wars that have cost the lives of thousands of young American men and women, while scores more are disabled and scarred for life by the horrors of war. I don't doubt that John McCain is a good man and he has served our country well both as a soldier and as a senator. But despite what he tried to claim toward the end of his campaign, I saw his administration as just four more years of the same failing policies. Most of the world hates us, even more now than ever before, and we are failing to take care of our own people. Our country will always have problems; every country does, but we need a President who understands these problems and is truly committed to remedying them.
I have never put much stock or confidence in politicians, but there is something about Barack Obama that makes me truly believe in him. I'm sure that he's not perfect as none of us are and I don't see him as a savior, etc. He's a man, but the way he carries himself with distinguished pride, the way that he speaks with well-educated polish, and the passion he shows for making a difference, have made me believe that he is somehow different than the rest. I am usually a very good judge of character, and there is something about Obama that makes me think he could prove to be one of our greatest Presidents. He has a monumental job to do and it won't be quick or easy, but I do think that he is the person to get us headed in the right direction.
We were on our cruise the night of the election so we had cast our votes through absentee ballot, but we had CNN in our stateroom and I was glued to the TV for several hours watching the election results unfold. I stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech, and I must say that I was both moved and inspired. By the end of his speech, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. He spoke like a man ready to lead our country out of its doldrums and back to being a world leader and beacon for all of the free world.
I must admit that prior to this year's election, I didn't think that I would live to see the day that we had an African-American President. As a society, we have come a long way in the last 40+ years, but I still see racism and bigotry often. For some reason, when you're a white person, other white people think that it's perfectly okay to express to you their racist or prejudiced views. This really irritates me. I personally know quite a few people who would not vote for Barack Obama precisely because he is black. This tells me that we still have a long way to go as a society. Despite the long journey that lies ahead, the reality that Barack Obama won this latest Presidential Election shows that we have taken huge strides forward since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60's. Over the years I have learned that you need to form your opinions of people based on their character and their actions, not by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. I was raised in a small, predominantly white (at the time) town and while I was never racist, I had certain preconceived ideas about certain minority groups. It wasn't until I got to college and really got to know people from these different groups that I realized how wrong and narrow-minded my thinking had been.
As I listened to President-Elect Obama's speech, I saw a new day dawning for this country. A day where anyone can dare to dream of standing at the helm of this great nation. Our new President certainly has his hands full and he will need to utilize all of his political skills and diplomacy to pull us out of the nosedive we've been in for the last several years. I can unconditionally say that he has my full support. I look forward to the "change we need" in this country. A new day has certainly dawned and it has dawned brightly.
I have never put much stock or confidence in politicians, but there is something about Barack Obama that makes me truly believe in him. I'm sure that he's not perfect as none of us are and I don't see him as a savior, etc. He's a man, but the way he carries himself with distinguished pride, the way that he speaks with well-educated polish, and the passion he shows for making a difference, have made me believe that he is somehow different than the rest. I am usually a very good judge of character, and there is something about Obama that makes me think he could prove to be one of our greatest Presidents. He has a monumental job to do and it won't be quick or easy, but I do think that he is the person to get us headed in the right direction.
We were on our cruise the night of the election so we had cast our votes through absentee ballot, but we had CNN in our stateroom and I was glued to the TV for several hours watching the election results unfold. I stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech, and I must say that I was both moved and inspired. By the end of his speech, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. He spoke like a man ready to lead our country out of its doldrums and back to being a world leader and beacon for all of the free world.
I must admit that prior to this year's election, I didn't think that I would live to see the day that we had an African-American President. As a society, we have come a long way in the last 40+ years, but I still see racism and bigotry often. For some reason, when you're a white person, other white people think that it's perfectly okay to express to you their racist or prejudiced views. This really irritates me. I personally know quite a few people who would not vote for Barack Obama precisely because he is black. This tells me that we still have a long way to go as a society. Despite the long journey that lies ahead, the reality that Barack Obama won this latest Presidential Election shows that we have taken huge strides forward since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60's. Over the years I have learned that you need to form your opinions of people based on their character and their actions, not by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. I was raised in a small, predominantly white (at the time) town and while I was never racist, I had certain preconceived ideas about certain minority groups. It wasn't until I got to college and really got to know people from these different groups that I realized how wrong and narrow-minded my thinking had been.
As I listened to President-Elect Obama's speech, I saw a new day dawning for this country. A day where anyone can dare to dream of standing at the helm of this great nation. Our new President certainly has his hands full and he will need to utilize all of his political skills and diplomacy to pull us out of the nosedive we've been in for the last several years. I can unconditionally say that he has my full support. I look forward to the "change we need" in this country. A new day has certainly dawned and it has dawned brightly.
Cruise Vacation
The most exciting thing in my life since my last blog post back in July was the cruise that we took. I will try to post some pictures at a later time. We took a Royal Caribbean cruise through the Western Caribbean the first week of November. We sailed from Miami and then had stops in Labadee, Haiti; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.
Overall, the cruise was a really neat experience that gave me the opportunity to visit four countries I had never previously seen and see a little bit of a US city that I had never visited. Of the four ports of call where we docked, Cozumel was my favorite. The water there is so blue (almost teal actually) that it's difficult to believe that it's real. We visited the Mayan city Tulum while we were there and it was stunning with the azure blue Caribbean Sea as its backdrop. Apparently, Tulum as a coastal city was an important trading center in the Mayan culture. I am something of a history buff so getting the chance to see a city that is probably close to 2000 years old was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me. Tulum is actually located a few hours down the Yucatan Peninsula from Cozumel so we didn't actually get to spend much time in Cozumel itself. We did a little shopping and I sampled the local selection of potent potables - tequila and Dos Equis. I would definitely love to plan a return trip to Cozumel to do some snorkeling and just hang out on the beach.
Grand Cayman is another place I wouldn't mind visiting again as it rained pretty much the entire time that we were there. We visited a farm where they raise sea turtles and got to hold some of the smaller ones. We also went to Hell - and back nonetheless, which is basically just a little village (read tourist trap) that has black limestone formations that give it the appearance classically associated with Hell. Funny, I thought that I was already there every day I'm at work - ha, ha.
I was not at all impressed with Jamaica. It is dingy and run down. I wouldn't recommend visiting the shops there unless you enjoy being hounded constantly to buy stuff. I understand that the people are just trying to make a living and that the tourist trade is their livelihood, but in all honesty, I am much more likely to buy something when you're giving me a fair deal and I can shop in peace. When I'm on vacation, I don't want to be incessantly harassed. They always say that they'll give you a deal and they keep slashing the price, but that just makes me think that they were trying to rip me off in the first place. I'm not going to be pressured into buying. That's not how I roll. We did go to Margaritaville, which was cool, but that was about the best part of the day and they have a Margaritaville at just about every port city. Apparently, Jimmy Buffett is quite the entrepreneur.
We had a very nice, sunny and relaxing day in Labadee. Royal Caribbean leases land from the Haitian government and has their own private beach. We rented snorkeling gear and I spent a few hours observing fish, sea urchins, and coral in the shallow waters just offshore. I didn't go out too far because the current was pretty strong and it was my first time snorkeling. I was also either alone or with just one other person who had never been snorkeling before either. I thought it wise to just stay close to other beach bathers and patrol waters where I knew I wouldn't get into any trouble.
I enjoyed the cruise, but if I take another one it will probably be one that sails directly to a single port and stays anchored there for the duration of the trip. I'm glad we did the four port cruise so that we could see what different places had to offer, but now that I know what they're like, I would probably just take a cruise to one different place like Bermuda or the Bahamas.
Overall, the cruise was a really neat experience that gave me the opportunity to visit four countries I had never previously seen and see a little bit of a US city that I had never visited. Of the four ports of call where we docked, Cozumel was my favorite. The water there is so blue (almost teal actually) that it's difficult to believe that it's real. We visited the Mayan city Tulum while we were there and it was stunning with the azure blue Caribbean Sea as its backdrop. Apparently, Tulum as a coastal city was an important trading center in the Mayan culture. I am something of a history buff so getting the chance to see a city that is probably close to 2000 years old was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me. Tulum is actually located a few hours down the Yucatan Peninsula from Cozumel so we didn't actually get to spend much time in Cozumel itself. We did a little shopping and I sampled the local selection of potent potables - tequila and Dos Equis. I would definitely love to plan a return trip to Cozumel to do some snorkeling and just hang out on the beach.
Grand Cayman is another place I wouldn't mind visiting again as it rained pretty much the entire time that we were there. We visited a farm where they raise sea turtles and got to hold some of the smaller ones. We also went to Hell - and back nonetheless, which is basically just a little village (read tourist trap) that has black limestone formations that give it the appearance classically associated with Hell. Funny, I thought that I was already there every day I'm at work - ha, ha.
I was not at all impressed with Jamaica. It is dingy and run down. I wouldn't recommend visiting the shops there unless you enjoy being hounded constantly to buy stuff. I understand that the people are just trying to make a living and that the tourist trade is their livelihood, but in all honesty, I am much more likely to buy something when you're giving me a fair deal and I can shop in peace. When I'm on vacation, I don't want to be incessantly harassed. They always say that they'll give you a deal and they keep slashing the price, but that just makes me think that they were trying to rip me off in the first place. I'm not going to be pressured into buying. That's not how I roll. We did go to Margaritaville, which was cool, but that was about the best part of the day and they have a Margaritaville at just about every port city. Apparently, Jimmy Buffett is quite the entrepreneur.
We had a very nice, sunny and relaxing day in Labadee. Royal Caribbean leases land from the Haitian government and has their own private beach. We rented snorkeling gear and I spent a few hours observing fish, sea urchins, and coral in the shallow waters just offshore. I didn't go out too far because the current was pretty strong and it was my first time snorkeling. I was also either alone or with just one other person who had never been snorkeling before either. I thought it wise to just stay close to other beach bathers and patrol waters where I knew I wouldn't get into any trouble.
I enjoyed the cruise, but if I take another one it will probably be one that sails directly to a single port and stays anchored there for the duration of the trip. I'm glad we did the four port cruise so that we could see what different places had to offer, but now that I know what they're like, I would probably just take a cruise to one different place like Bermuda or the Bahamas.
Neglected Blog
Okay. I must admit that I feel a little bad that I've neglected my blog so badly. But I only feel a little bad because no one reads it anyway and it's more for my own cathartic and self-expressive needs. I actually started writing posts a few times, but then never finished or posted them. I have a few different topics that I would like to write about so I'll break them up into a few different posts. I just like working that way. I won't promise that I'll consistently write more on my blog because I only write when I feel the need and sometimes I just don't feel the need.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
New Perspectives and Appreciation
By nature, I am a person who does a lot of self-reflection about my feelings, strengths, weaknesses, and attitudes. This part of my personality is both good and bad. The good part is that I'm always learning from my life experiences and thinking about what I could do better next time (Event + Response = Outcome). We don't control most of the events in our lives, but the power we have is to control our response, which can greatly influence the outcome. The bad part of all this reflection is that I can sometimes be overly sensitive about things that happen and I get hurt easily. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm just not good at hiding my feelings.
I'm not sure exactly why, but over the last several weeks, I have been doing a great deal of thinking about all of the things in my life. Between the leadership books that I've been reading, the books on CD that I have been listening to, and the things that I've been watching on TV, I feel like I have gained a whole new perspective on life and have a much greater appreciation for it.
I just finished listening to Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on CD and found it to be paradigm-shifting. Between Stephen Covey, the leadership stuff, and the Planet Green network, I feel like I am a newborn looking at the world for the first time. Stephen Covey says that we think we see the world as it is, but we don't. We see the world as we are, and the only true objectivity lies in understanding that we are inherently subjective and understanding what assumptions, opinions, and biases make up how we see the world. Wow! I had never really thought of it that way before, but Covey is totally right. We are so quick to make assumptions and judgments based on our past experiences and those assumptions are so often wrong. He tells a story about a store manager overhearing an employee say to a customer, "We haven't had any and won't be getting any soon." After the customer walked out, the manager chastised the employee and told him never to say that to a customer. He told the employee to tell customers that we'll soon be getting whatever it is that they're asking about. He then asked the employee about what the customer had inquired and the employee's response was, "rain."
For me, a personal example of making snap judgments is a woman that I dated shortly after I finished college. She was so quick to judge people after only knowing them for a few hours and then she would make disparaging statements about them. Most of the time these statements were superficial and elitist. This really turned me off and was the main reason that I knew her and I had no future. Some of the people that she was judging were people who I had grown up with and whose backgrounds I knew well. She made all of these assumptions without knowing or attempting to understand what they had experienced in their lives that shaped who they were.
The end result of all this self-reflection and self-analysis that I've been doing recently combined with all that I have been learning is a fresh perspective on my life. I appreciate my friends, family, coworkers, and loved ones more than I did even a few days ago. All of my relationships seem more important to me now and I cherish them all more dearly.
I'm not sure exactly why, but over the last several weeks, I have been doing a great deal of thinking about all of the things in my life. Between the leadership books that I've been reading, the books on CD that I have been listening to, and the things that I've been watching on TV, I feel like I have gained a whole new perspective on life and have a much greater appreciation for it.
I just finished listening to Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on CD and found it to be paradigm-shifting. Between Stephen Covey, the leadership stuff, and the Planet Green network, I feel like I am a newborn looking at the world for the first time. Stephen Covey says that we think we see the world as it is, but we don't. We see the world as we are, and the only true objectivity lies in understanding that we are inherently subjective and understanding what assumptions, opinions, and biases make up how we see the world. Wow! I had never really thought of it that way before, but Covey is totally right. We are so quick to make assumptions and judgments based on our past experiences and those assumptions are so often wrong. He tells a story about a store manager overhearing an employee say to a customer, "We haven't had any and won't be getting any soon." After the customer walked out, the manager chastised the employee and told him never to say that to a customer. He told the employee to tell customers that we'll soon be getting whatever it is that they're asking about. He then asked the employee about what the customer had inquired and the employee's response was, "rain."
For me, a personal example of making snap judgments is a woman that I dated shortly after I finished college. She was so quick to judge people after only knowing them for a few hours and then she would make disparaging statements about them. Most of the time these statements were superficial and elitist. This really turned me off and was the main reason that I knew her and I had no future. Some of the people that she was judging were people who I had grown up with and whose backgrounds I knew well. She made all of these assumptions without knowing or attempting to understand what they had experienced in their lives that shaped who they were.
The end result of all this self-reflection and self-analysis that I've been doing recently combined with all that I have been learning is a fresh perspective on my life. I appreciate my friends, family, coworkers, and loved ones more than I did even a few days ago. All of my relationships seem more important to me now and I cherish them all more dearly.
Longest Run in Ten Months
On Sunday night, I completed my longest run in 10 months - six miles. I know, pretty pathetic, but I still feel good about completing it. Baby steps, grasshopper, baby steps. The most encouraging piece of it is that I felt good on the run and didn't really tire at the end. Not running in the heat of the day definitely helps; although the temperatures at night are only dropping into the lower 70's. I ran 17 miles back on August 26th of last year. At the time, I was training for my ninth marathon before I realized that my heart wasn't into it and quit training. I enjoyed the six-mile run last night, but the thought of running 11 more miles on top of that is really just not appealing to me.
There is a really nice, local half-marathon at the beginning of October that I'm thinking about running. It will give me a goal to work for that isn't too daunting. I could go out right now and run 13.1 miles if I was of such a mind. I'm not saying that I would feel good doing it, or that it would be at any kind of respectable pace, but I could do it. Considering my past exploits, running a half-marathon isn't a big deal to me. I know that I can run at a good pace and still feel good at the end. If I want to do 12 weeks of training for the half, I would need to start on July 14th (two weeks from now). I'm still deciding, but I'm leaning toward running it. I think that it will be fun. Plus, I love running in the Fall.
There is a really nice, local half-marathon at the beginning of October that I'm thinking about running. It will give me a goal to work for that isn't too daunting. I could go out right now and run 13.1 miles if I was of such a mind. I'm not saying that I would feel good doing it, or that it would be at any kind of respectable pace, but I could do it. Considering my past exploits, running a half-marathon isn't a big deal to me. I know that I can run at a good pace and still feel good at the end. If I want to do 12 weeks of training for the half, I would need to start on July 14th (two weeks from now). I'm still deciding, but I'm leaning toward running it. I think that it will be fun. Plus, I love running in the Fall.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Going Green
I recently started watching the planet green network on TV - I'm actually watching it right now. You know, I always thought that I was somewhat knowledgeable about environmental topics, but in just a few weeks of watching planet green, I realize how ignorant I really am. I have moved from being unconsciously incompetent to consciously incompetent - I now know what I don't know. We just had our basement remodeled a couple of weeks ago and though we did inadvertently include some green concepts like durable materials (brick on the front of the bar and back splash, bar top made from granite, natural slate on parts of the floor sealed with water-based polyurethane) it was all completely by accident.
We are planning to have our master bathroom remodeled next year and I've already decided that we'll be going green with any future renovation projects - greenovation if you will (just like the show I'm watching on planet green right now). In the redone bathroom, we'll be using a low flow shower head and faucets, a dual flush toilet, low VOC paint, some type of counter top and flooring made from reclaimed or recycled materials, and LED lighting.
Watching this planet green network has really opened my eyes to a lot of things. It's amazing how much of an impact each of us can have on our planet. We don't think about it most of the time or stop to consider it, but that's wrong on our part. We need to stop and think about everything that we do. If each and every person was a little more aware and made a few small changes, the overall impact would be enormous.
I was just recently telling someone that maybe the skyrocketing cost of oil and gas is a good thing. Since the end of the WWII era and the space race against the Soviet Union, the U.S. has lost its way as a world leader. As a culture, we have become fat, lazy, and complacent. We need to take back the mantle of leadership and show the world the ingenuity and inventiveness that our country used to be famous for years ago. We need to explore alternative fuels and energy sources, green construction, and so forth. With the average American really feeling the pinch of oil and gas prices, we may be forced to lead the way if we don't want to watch our economy collapse. I apologize if this post sounds preachy, but I warned you about how my mind works when I'm running.
We are planning to have our master bathroom remodeled next year and I've already decided that we'll be going green with any future renovation projects - greenovation if you will (just like the show I'm watching on planet green right now). In the redone bathroom, we'll be using a low flow shower head and faucets, a dual flush toilet, low VOC paint, some type of counter top and flooring made from reclaimed or recycled materials, and LED lighting.
Watching this planet green network has really opened my eyes to a lot of things. It's amazing how much of an impact each of us can have on our planet. We don't think about it most of the time or stop to consider it, but that's wrong on our part. We need to stop and think about everything that we do. If each and every person was a little more aware and made a few small changes, the overall impact would be enormous.
I was just recently telling someone that maybe the skyrocketing cost of oil and gas is a good thing. Since the end of the WWII era and the space race against the Soviet Union, the U.S. has lost its way as a world leader. As a culture, we have become fat, lazy, and complacent. We need to take back the mantle of leadership and show the world the ingenuity and inventiveness that our country used to be famous for years ago. We need to explore alternative fuels and energy sources, green construction, and so forth. With the average American really feeling the pinch of oil and gas prices, we may be forced to lead the way if we don't want to watch our economy collapse. I apologize if this post sounds preachy, but I warned you about how my mind works when I'm running.
Another Midnight Run
Look out! I may be turning into a midnight runner. I'm going to change my name to Dexy. Well, I was bad and didn't run all week. Not to make excuses, but I had some late nights at work and I had trouble getting up in the morning/afternoon. I can usually operate easily on 7-8 hours of sleep a night, but this week for some reason, I seemed to be sleeping closer to nine or ten hours a night. I think maybe I was fighting something because I had quite a few nasty headaches - allergies maybe?
So I got home around 10:00pm last night, and decided that I would go for another late night run. I left around 11:30pm. It was a humid night. It was weird that even though it was pretty warm outside, I could still see my breath in the beam of my headlamp. I guess that was due to the humidity. It was a nice, peaceful night for a run; although I was accosted by a dog that ran across the road barking at me. I stopped dead in my tracks, stood my ground, and put my hand out palm down in case the dog wanted to check me out. He stopped when he got to me and just kind of looked at me. I turned to continue on my way and he chased me another step. I stopped again, and by that time, the dog's owner had called him back across the street. It's a good thing that this incident didn't happen in the middle of the day because the road along which I was running is a busy one.
I had an enjoyable run and spent the time making plans for my week of vacation in my head. Thursday and Friday are holidays for me at work so I took off the other three days to make it a full week. We don't have any big plans so I have a bunch of small recreational activities that I am considering. I came up with a few ideas on my run. I had forgotten how active my mind always is after a run. I couldn't seem to stop the thoughts and ideas running through my head after I got back.
I still can have a good week. I hit the treadmill after my workout on Thursday night for a brisk and hilly walk, I ran after getting home on Friday, and I'm going to run again on Sunday. I won't get my three runs in for the week, but I'm going to run a little farther on Sunday, which I had planned to do anyway. I'll have my vacation week to get back on track with the running. I won't have the gym at work to do my weight workouts, but I'll do push ups and crunches a few times to compensate.
So I got home around 10:00pm last night, and decided that I would go for another late night run. I left around 11:30pm. It was a humid night. It was weird that even though it was pretty warm outside, I could still see my breath in the beam of my headlamp. I guess that was due to the humidity. It was a nice, peaceful night for a run; although I was accosted by a dog that ran across the road barking at me. I stopped dead in my tracks, stood my ground, and put my hand out palm down in case the dog wanted to check me out. He stopped when he got to me and just kind of looked at me. I turned to continue on my way and he chased me another step. I stopped again, and by that time, the dog's owner had called him back across the street. It's a good thing that this incident didn't happen in the middle of the day because the road along which I was running is a busy one.
I had an enjoyable run and spent the time making plans for my week of vacation in my head. Thursday and Friday are holidays for me at work so I took off the other three days to make it a full week. We don't have any big plans so I have a bunch of small recreational activities that I am considering. I came up with a few ideas on my run. I had forgotten how active my mind always is after a run. I couldn't seem to stop the thoughts and ideas running through my head after I got back.
I still can have a good week. I hit the treadmill after my workout on Thursday night for a brisk and hilly walk, I ran after getting home on Friday, and I'm going to run again on Sunday. I won't get my three runs in for the week, but I'm going to run a little farther on Sunday, which I had planned to do anyway. I'll have my vacation week to get back on track with the running. I won't have the gym at work to do my weight workouts, but I'll do push ups and crunches a few times to compensate.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Mission Accomplished
I hope that the title of this post doesn't bring "W" to mind. What a joke! No, I actually did accomplish my first mission. I ran three times this week! I know that's not really a big deal, but it is when you haven't accomplished that feat in six-plus months and you were very sore after the first run of the week. I will take all of the small victories I can get right now.
The human body is amazingly adaptable. On Wednesday, I was still hurting a bit from Monday's run. At that point, I was somewhat doubtful that I would run three times. By Friday though, I felt pretty good and went for my late night run. I was a little sore on Saturday, but nothing serious. I was actually surprised by how good I felt today. Nothing hurt and I was able to move at a respectable pace considering that it was very humid outside. Today's 4-miler brings me to a total of 12 miles for the week. Next week, my goal is to run three more times and I plan to step up the mileage by a mile or two. I want to take it slowly at first so that I don't overextend myself. When I started running after my stress fracture in 2004, I started training for the Knoxville Marathon almost immediately and my body was not ready for that kind of training load. I struggled throughout most of the training and did not run well at Knoxville. I don't want to make that mistake again.
It was a good week for me and I feel like I'm solidly back on the road to being in shape again. The battery on my laptop is getting dangerously low so I need to sign off for now, but I have some other topics to post later.
The human body is amazingly adaptable. On Wednesday, I was still hurting a bit from Monday's run. At that point, I was somewhat doubtful that I would run three times. By Friday though, I felt pretty good and went for my late night run. I was a little sore on Saturday, but nothing serious. I was actually surprised by how good I felt today. Nothing hurt and I was able to move at a respectable pace considering that it was very humid outside. Today's 4-miler brings me to a total of 12 miles for the week. Next week, my goal is to run three more times and I plan to step up the mileage by a mile or two. I want to take it slowly at first so that I don't overextend myself. When I started running after my stress fracture in 2004, I started training for the Knoxville Marathon almost immediately and my body was not ready for that kind of training load. I struggled throughout most of the training and did not run well at Knoxville. I don't want to make that mistake again.
It was a good week for me and I feel like I'm solidly back on the road to being in shape again. The battery on my laptop is getting dangerously low so I need to sign off for now, but I have some other topics to post later.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Midnight Run
I had originally planned to go for a run on Thursday or possibly even Friday before going in to work, but I hit the gym both Wednesday and Thursday nights after work and consequently didn't get to bed until very late both nights. As a result, I slept pretty late Thursday and Friday mornings. Working 2nd shift fits my "night owl" side to a tee, but sometimes it fits a little too well and I stay up later than I should, which causes me to sleep in later than I would like when I have things that I want to do before work. The end result is that I didn't get any runs in since I ran in the afternoon on my vacation day last Monday.
I usually go in to work early on Fridays so that I can leave early and get home at a decent hour after completing the hour and fifteen minute drive. I got home tonight around 10:40pm. I hit the Starbucks machine at work (mmm...free Starbucks) prior to leaving. So between drinking coffee and jamming to Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin on the drive, I was feeling pretty alert once I arrived home. After talking to Lisa for a bit and cleaning up my work stuff, I decided that I was going for a late-night run.
I left the house to run around 12:30am. I wore my Petzl headlamp and my iPod. I was going to run sans iPod to enjoy the quiet serenity of the nighttime, but I was in the mood to listen to music so I ended up wearing it. It was a very nice night for a run. I would guess that the temperature was in the upper 60s and there wasn't much humidity. The moon was just full on Tuesday or Wednesday night so it was still looming pretty large and bright in the sky, but it was partially obscured by clouds. I ran the same 4-mile out and back course that I ran on Monday afternoon. I felt fairly decent running tonight and was able to maintain a much quicker pace than I did on Monday. Amazing the difference that not running in the blazing sun can make. After I got back from running, I walked around the block to cool down before stretching. The night was so nice and so peaceful that I must admit that I really enjoyed just being outside tonight. The run was good too, but the most enjoyable part was just the tranquility and solitude of a pleasant summer night.
Now I only need to get one more run in this week to accomplish my first mini-goal of running three times this week. I will probably run on Sunday so that I'll have a day of rest. I will most likely be sore tomorrow so I want to give my body a little time to heal itself.
So far it has been a good week both personally and professionally. I had an interesting week at work also. I will report on some of those events in a separate post. It was really nothing major, but some of those small victories that you cherish as reassurance that you're doing an effective job.
I usually go in to work early on Fridays so that I can leave early and get home at a decent hour after completing the hour and fifteen minute drive. I got home tonight around 10:40pm. I hit the Starbucks machine at work (mmm...free Starbucks) prior to leaving. So between drinking coffee and jamming to Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin on the drive, I was feeling pretty alert once I arrived home. After talking to Lisa for a bit and cleaning up my work stuff, I decided that I was going for a late-night run.
I left the house to run around 12:30am. I wore my Petzl headlamp and my iPod. I was going to run sans iPod to enjoy the quiet serenity of the nighttime, but I was in the mood to listen to music so I ended up wearing it. It was a very nice night for a run. I would guess that the temperature was in the upper 60s and there wasn't much humidity. The moon was just full on Tuesday or Wednesday night so it was still looming pretty large and bright in the sky, but it was partially obscured by clouds. I ran the same 4-mile out and back course that I ran on Monday afternoon. I felt fairly decent running tonight and was able to maintain a much quicker pace than I did on Monday. Amazing the difference that not running in the blazing sun can make. After I got back from running, I walked around the block to cool down before stretching. The night was so nice and so peaceful that I must admit that I really enjoyed just being outside tonight. The run was good too, but the most enjoyable part was just the tranquility and solitude of a pleasant summer night.
Now I only need to get one more run in this week to accomplish my first mini-goal of running three times this week. I will probably run on Sunday so that I'll have a day of rest. I will most likely be sore tomorrow so I want to give my body a little time to heal itself.
So far it has been a good week both personally and professionally. I had an interesting week at work also. I will report on some of those events in a separate post. It was really nothing major, but some of those small victories that you cherish as reassurance that you're doing an effective job.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Made a Decision
I made a decision today. I am going to start running again. I know, big deal right? For a while now I've been saying that I want to get back to running, I want to get back to a good base of conditioning, but I haven't really committed myself to it. Now I'm not saying anything about weekly mileage or that I'm going to start training for a marathon or anything that ambitious, because that is beyond my area of focus right now. I want to start by setting small, manageable short-term goals for myself and then reevaluate as I meet each one.
I ran four miles today in the heat of midday. I did alright considering. My pace was fairly slow, but I'm not concerned about that. That will all come in time. My first goal is to run three times this week; one down and two to go, but that could possibly go down to two runs for the week if I'm sore to the point of being debilitated after today's run. We'll have to just wait and see. Next week is a definite three runs, and then I'm on vacation the following week. That will give me time to sit down and assess where I am, how I feel, and where I would like to go.
I took a vacation day from work today. I had some stuff that I wanted to do around the house, plus the weekends just never seem long enough. I took Toby for a walk and then went for my run. I didn't really have anything going on at work today, and I'm reachable by cell for any issues that may arise on my shift. I've also been checking email and doing some other work from home. Doing work on a vacation day may not sound like much of a day off, but I haven't really been doing all that much and it's a small trade off for the flexibility that my manager allows me. I really don't mind giving a little in return for what I'm given. My company takes good care of me so I plan to take care of it in return. It's a two-way street.
I ran four miles today in the heat of midday. I did alright considering. My pace was fairly slow, but I'm not concerned about that. That will all come in time. My first goal is to run three times this week; one down and two to go, but that could possibly go down to two runs for the week if I'm sore to the point of being debilitated after today's run. We'll have to just wait and see. Next week is a definite three runs, and then I'm on vacation the following week. That will give me time to sit down and assess where I am, how I feel, and where I would like to go.
I took a vacation day from work today. I had some stuff that I wanted to do around the house, plus the weekends just never seem long enough. I took Toby for a walk and then went for my run. I didn't really have anything going on at work today, and I'm reachable by cell for any issues that may arise on my shift. I've also been checking email and doing some other work from home. Doing work on a vacation day may not sound like much of a day off, but I haven't really been doing all that much and it's a small trade off for the flexibility that my manager allows me. I really don't mind giving a little in return for what I'm given. My company takes good care of me so I plan to take care of it in return. It's a two-way street.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Merry-Go-Round
I remember when I was much younger going to playgrounds and having fun on the merry-go-round. I'm not talking about the carousels that you see at amusement parks and the like, but the simple, child-powered rotating platforms with bars or handles to which children can cling while riding. I recall trying to spin the merry-go-round so fast that people would be clinging to the bars and hanging on for dear life while their legs were jutting out parallel to the ground from the centrifugal force created by the rapid spinning motion of the ride. Gosh, that was fun.
I've never been a huge fan of Seinfeld, but I must have received that in an email at some point and hung onto it. I'm glad that I did because it's humorous and has the ring of truth.
I often feel that my life is that merry-go-round and I am the kid holding on white-knuckled to the bars of sanity and the handles of normalcy as my life spins wildly round and round threatening to make me lose my grip. Only now, it's not so much fun anymore. Now it's a struggle to maintain some semblance of control over all of the "stuff" that life throws at you on a daily basis.
Life just seems to whiz by way too rapidly. I know that most everyone probably feels this way, except maybe those who are suffering somehow or are in prison, but as I get older it is bothering me more and more. The question that I keep posing to myself is, "How do I get off the merry-go-round or at least slow it down slightly?" I just feel that there is not nearly enough time to do everything that needs to be done (work, household chores, etc) along with doing the things that you really want to do (spend time in the wilderness, write, visit with family, hang out with friends, travel, etc). I guess the most frustrating thing is that no matter how many times I ask myself that question, I just can't seem to come up with an answer. I'm not sure if there really is an answer. In our modern culture, I think my question is the eternal question that gnaws at everybody. How do I find time to do it all?
Don't misunderstand my meaning here. I'm not saying that I have a bad life; quite the contrary. I need more time and opportunity to enjoy the things in life that are meant to be enjoyed: love, friends, family, adventure, and so forth. The problem is that "real life" gets in the way all too often. There are people who say that money isn't everything and I would agree with them 100 percent, but the unfortunate truth is that you need money to live and if you want to live comfortably and have money to be able to do things, you generally have to work hard . Few of us luck out and win the lottery or come into vast amounts of money some other way that is legal. It is a sobering fact that most of us won't really have any extended time off from work (healthy) until we're retired. Let's be honest, will we really enjoy things in our 60s and 70s like we would in our 20s, 30s, and 40s? I don't think so. It's just too bad that we don't have all that leisure time when we're young and can enjoy it to the fullest. A friend of mine from college was recently relating his similar frustration to me, and I came across this (sorry, it's somewhat difficult to read).
I've never been a huge fan of Seinfeld, but I must have received that in an email at some point and hung onto it. I'm glad that I did because it's humorous and has the ring of truth.
I guess that the bottom line is that I want to slow down the merry-go-round that is my life and I just don't know how. In the longer term, I am going to come up with a basic plan of how I will set myself up over the next several years so that I can slow things down in the future. At least then I will feel like I am headed in the right direction instead of just spinning and getting dizzy.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Situational Friends
Gather round kiddies, the term for the day is situational friends. I coined this term to describe the people who are your friends for a certain phase or phases of your life, but eventually disappear despite all the promises of keeping in touch. This phenomenon is a sad reality of our harried and overbooked culture and lifestyle. You can't really blame your situational friends when they fade from your life. It just happens sometimes. I know that I am more sensitive than many people and that I often take things too much to heart. Lately though, I have lost a large number of situational friends and it hurts me to think that they don't even have the time to exchange emails with me or give me a call. Some of these people were my "friends" for several years. I changed jobs back in December, which has led to this latest bout of situational friendism (yes I know that's not a word).
Let me describe the situational friend in a little more detail. It's a person who at some point in your life, you see and interact with often (at work, at school, at the gym, etc). From this frequent interaction, a friendship develops. Over time, you may grow closer to this person and really think of them as a genuine friend instead of as a situational friend. The true test of this friendship occurs when the situation that facilitates the friendship changes (e.g. you change jobs). If the person is a genuine friend, they will maintain some level of interaction with you. Granted, it may be less than before, but they'll make the effort to stay friendly with you. As an example, I haven't seen my roommate and very good friend from college for two years, but he still manages to email me once in a while despite being extremely busy. There is also the guitarist from my college band who was also one of my best friends in college. Even though I haven't seen him since my wedding nine years ago, he still calls and emails me every so often. These people are true friends - which I am finding out are rare treasures in life. Sadly, most of the people in our lives that we think of as our friends are really just situational friends. Don't believe me? Try changing jobs and see how many of your former coworkers will bother with you in six months. Once the situation that brought you close to them (in this case work) changes, it just becomes too much effort to stay friends. Instead of having a lunch or water cooler conversation with you about your weekend, they would need to shoot you an email or pick up a phone and they just don't have time for that. Or is it that they don't make time because they really don't value your friendship as much as you had thought?
I don't intend for this post to sound negative. Situational friends are just a tragic result of the pressures of modern existence. We always have so much to do that we often don't make time for our friends when it's no longer convenient to just stop by their desk and chat. I guess what saddens me is that over the years, I considered many of these people to be my friends, but they gradually faded from my life. I know the question that many people would probably ask: did you try calling or emailing them? The answer to that question is yes I did. When you email someone and get no response at all or two sentences followed by, "Gotta go, very busy," you quickly get the message. I often wait to see if they'll take the initiative to send me an email instead of just replying to me. After months go by and I haven't heard from them, I add them to my list of situational friends from the past and write them out of my life. The worst part of it is that the list grows ever longer with each passing year. I guess that is just the way that life goes. The one good thing that has come out of all this is that I have learned to really appreciate my true friends whose presence in my life persists in the face of all obstacles. True friends are rare treasures indeed.
Let me describe the situational friend in a little more detail. It's a person who at some point in your life, you see and interact with often (at work, at school, at the gym, etc). From this frequent interaction, a friendship develops. Over time, you may grow closer to this person and really think of them as a genuine friend instead of as a situational friend. The true test of this friendship occurs when the situation that facilitates the friendship changes (e.g. you change jobs). If the person is a genuine friend, they will maintain some level of interaction with you. Granted, it may be less than before, but they'll make the effort to stay friendly with you. As an example, I haven't seen my roommate and very good friend from college for two years, but he still manages to email me once in a while despite being extremely busy. There is also the guitarist from my college band who was also one of my best friends in college. Even though I haven't seen him since my wedding nine years ago, he still calls and emails me every so often. These people are true friends - which I am finding out are rare treasures in life. Sadly, most of the people in our lives that we think of as our friends are really just situational friends. Don't believe me? Try changing jobs and see how many of your former coworkers will bother with you in six months. Once the situation that brought you close to them (in this case work) changes, it just becomes too much effort to stay friends. Instead of having a lunch or water cooler conversation with you about your weekend, they would need to shoot you an email or pick up a phone and they just don't have time for that. Or is it that they don't make time because they really don't value your friendship as much as you had thought?
I don't intend for this post to sound negative. Situational friends are just a tragic result of the pressures of modern existence. We always have so much to do that we often don't make time for our friends when it's no longer convenient to just stop by their desk and chat. I guess what saddens me is that over the years, I considered many of these people to be my friends, but they gradually faded from my life. I know the question that many people would probably ask: did you try calling or emailing them? The answer to that question is yes I did. When you email someone and get no response at all or two sentences followed by, "Gotta go, very busy," you quickly get the message. I often wait to see if they'll take the initiative to send me an email instead of just replying to me. After months go by and I haven't heard from them, I add them to my list of situational friends from the past and write them out of my life. The worst part of it is that the list grows ever longer with each passing year. I guess that is just the way that life goes. The one good thing that has come out of all this is that I have learned to really appreciate my true friends whose presence in my life persists in the face of all obstacles. True friends are rare treasures indeed.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Feeling Philosophical
I have been thinking about a lot of things the past few days, so this blog post will be more philosophical than most. When I started my blog, I titled it The Legacy that Endures because it was an interplay of two very important concerns in my life at the time: the legacy that I leave behind and the fact that I was running marathons. I thought that the title was a clever play on the fact that you want your legacy to live on long after you've departed and the fact that marathons required endurance. Even though I'm not running much anymore, I still like the title and think that it's very felicitous considering how I approach life.
Lately, I have been ruminating about my legacy and I am somewhat bothered about a few things. First, I don't feel that I'm doing enough really important things in my life. I feel that I have many talents that are just not being utilized. The worst part is that I'm not really sure how to remedy the situation. I guess I always thought that what I did in my career would help me to build my legacy, but so far, that hasn't really happened the way that I've expected. Most times, I don't feel challenged intellectually or creatively at work. It just isn't really that stimulating. I guess maybe I should have expected that all along, but what can I say, I set the bar high. When I started my current position a few months ago, I really thought that I would be able to come into the role and make a significant impact on the way things were done. I was really looking to come in and help to make improvements. Thus far, the going has been a lot tougher than I had anticipated. It has been an uphill battle against the wind. The only differences day to day are how steep the hill is and how hard the wind is blowing. Don't get me wrong, I have made some improvements concerning items directly within my control, but while noticeable, they don't seem to have the huge impact for which I was hoping.
I know as time goes on that I need to continue to try and find a niche job that will allow me the creative freedom, influence, and opportunity that I crave. I'm hoping that someday I will find myself in that ideal job, but for right now, I just need to continue learning and growing so that I don't become stagnated in work and in life.
Last night, I finished reading Authentic Leadership by Bill George - the former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic. The book is all centered around being a true leader; not just in your job, but also in all other aspects of your life. In one of the final chapters of the book, he talks about leaving a legacy and I felt as if he had written that chapter to me personally. It really made me think and stop to assess where I am in life. There were many passages in that chapter that really resonated within me, but this particular excerpt is what really prompted my current state of self-realization, "What will be your legacy? At the end of your days, what will you tell your grandchild you did to better humankind? No matter how large or small a difference you make, it will become the legacy that you leave the world." He then calls out all of the problems and challenges currently facing humankind: poverty, discrimination, abuse, health care, etc. He later goes on to say, "As an authentic leader, you can change these things. You only need to be your own person, lead in your own style with purpose and passion, be true to your values, build your relationships, practice self-discipline, and lead with your heart.
It's funny, but I've never really thought of myself as a leader. I tend to be mostly quiet and reserved; especially at work, but I have come to realize that a person doesn't need to be vocal and outspoken to be seen as a leader. When I first became a supervisor, I did it more as a developmental tool rather than through any real desire to influence, inspire, and develop others. I have been in a supervisory position for almost three years now, and I've had as many as twenty-two people who have reported to me. I've learned a great deal about my leadership style and personality along the way, and I've also gotten much better at communicating with people and understanding the best way to motivate my employees. Bill George's book as a whole inspired me, but that last chapter made me realize that I want to be a leader. I am quiet, but very passionate, and I truly care and sincerely want to make a difference both at work and in life. As I read those passages I mentioned earlier, it became clear to me that I have the tools to lead and I need to build my legacy through my leadership.
The legacy that I leave behind when I'm gone is of utmost importance to me. I want to be remembered as a person who cared and made a difference. I want the things I do in life to have a lasting influence on the lives of others. I recently saw the following quote by Benjamin Franklin about being remembered posted on a person's cube, "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." I actually want to do both. Wish me luck.
Lately, I have been ruminating about my legacy and I am somewhat bothered about a few things. First, I don't feel that I'm doing enough really important things in my life. I feel that I have many talents that are just not being utilized. The worst part is that I'm not really sure how to remedy the situation. I guess I always thought that what I did in my career would help me to build my legacy, but so far, that hasn't really happened the way that I've expected. Most times, I don't feel challenged intellectually or creatively at work. It just isn't really that stimulating. I guess maybe I should have expected that all along, but what can I say, I set the bar high. When I started my current position a few months ago, I really thought that I would be able to come into the role and make a significant impact on the way things were done. I was really looking to come in and help to make improvements. Thus far, the going has been a lot tougher than I had anticipated. It has been an uphill battle against the wind. The only differences day to day are how steep the hill is and how hard the wind is blowing. Don't get me wrong, I have made some improvements concerning items directly within my control, but while noticeable, they don't seem to have the huge impact for which I was hoping.
I know as time goes on that I need to continue to try and find a niche job that will allow me the creative freedom, influence, and opportunity that I crave. I'm hoping that someday I will find myself in that ideal job, but for right now, I just need to continue learning and growing so that I don't become stagnated in work and in life.
Last night, I finished reading Authentic Leadership by Bill George - the former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic. The book is all centered around being a true leader; not just in your job, but also in all other aspects of your life. In one of the final chapters of the book, he talks about leaving a legacy and I felt as if he had written that chapter to me personally. It really made me think and stop to assess where I am in life. There were many passages in that chapter that really resonated within me, but this particular excerpt is what really prompted my current state of self-realization, "What will be your legacy? At the end of your days, what will you tell your grandchild you did to better humankind? No matter how large or small a difference you make, it will become the legacy that you leave the world." He then calls out all of the problems and challenges currently facing humankind: poverty, discrimination, abuse, health care, etc. He later goes on to say, "As an authentic leader, you can change these things. You only need to be your own person, lead in your own style with purpose and passion, be true to your values, build your relationships, practice self-discipline, and lead with your heart.
It's funny, but I've never really thought of myself as a leader. I tend to be mostly quiet and reserved; especially at work, but I have come to realize that a person doesn't need to be vocal and outspoken to be seen as a leader. When I first became a supervisor, I did it more as a developmental tool rather than through any real desire to influence, inspire, and develop others. I have been in a supervisory position for almost three years now, and I've had as many as twenty-two people who have reported to me. I've learned a great deal about my leadership style and personality along the way, and I've also gotten much better at communicating with people and understanding the best way to motivate my employees. Bill George's book as a whole inspired me, but that last chapter made me realize that I want to be a leader. I am quiet, but very passionate, and I truly care and sincerely want to make a difference both at work and in life. As I read those passages I mentioned earlier, it became clear to me that I have the tools to lead and I need to build my legacy through my leadership.
The legacy that I leave behind when I'm gone is of utmost importance to me. I want to be remembered as a person who cared and made a difference. I want the things I do in life to have a lasting influence on the lives of others. I recently saw the following quote by Benjamin Franklin about being remembered posted on a person's cube, "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." I actually want to do both. Wish me luck.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Just Checking In
I don't really have a whole lot of any substance to post about tonight, but in the interest of maintaining my blog revival drive, I thought that I would "stop by" and pen a few words.
I had a very nice weekend that consisted of not really doing much of anything important, but I did get a lot of little things done around the house that have been nagging at me for a while. I took Toby (my beloved canine son) for a walk on both Saturday and Sunday. Toby loves to go for walks or "w's" as we call them because it's very dangerous to say the word "walk" around Toby unless you're ready to take him right that minute. The exercise is good for him - and me.
On Saturday, I did play several hours of Rock Band on PS2. Let me just say that game is an awful lot of fun. I alternated singing songs, playing guitar, or playing drums. My favorite song to play is Celebrity Skin by Hole. That is a cool tune on the guitar. I can play most of the songs on the game at the "hard" level and have tried and completed a few on "expert". The interface to the game is much the same as Guitar Hero so playing Rock Band came easily. I can play through almost all of the songs on the GH franchise at the expert level. Playing the drums for the songs on Rock Band is rather difficult. I can get through most of them on medium, but sometimes, even that is too much.
I am still trying to get plenty of exercise and eat right and I can tell that I'm making progress because the pants are fitting more loosely and the shirts are getting a little tighter around the arms, shoulders, and back.
That's all for now. I'll make sure to check in again soon.
I had a very nice weekend that consisted of not really doing much of anything important, but I did get a lot of little things done around the house that have been nagging at me for a while. I took Toby (my beloved canine son) for a walk on both Saturday and Sunday. Toby loves to go for walks or "w's" as we call them because it's very dangerous to say the word "walk" around Toby unless you're ready to take him right that minute. The exercise is good for him - and me.
On Saturday, I did play several hours of Rock Band on PS2. Let me just say that game is an awful lot of fun. I alternated singing songs, playing guitar, or playing drums. My favorite song to play is Celebrity Skin by Hole. That is a cool tune on the guitar. I can play most of the songs on the game at the "hard" level and have tried and completed a few on "expert". The interface to the game is much the same as Guitar Hero so playing Rock Band came easily. I can play through almost all of the songs on the GH franchise at the expert level. Playing the drums for the songs on Rock Band is rather difficult. I can get through most of them on medium, but sometimes, even that is too much.
I am still trying to get plenty of exercise and eat right and I can tell that I'm making progress because the pants are fitting more loosely and the shirts are getting a little tighter around the arms, shoulders, and back.
That's all for now. I'll make sure to check in again soon.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Awesome Concert!
I took a vacation day from work yesterday to go see a concert at the Bryce Jordan Center. The concert was Seether, Three Days Grace, and Breaking Benjamin. Wow! What a show! I was very impressed by how clean the sound was. It was loud of course, but not so loud and distorted that it just sounded garbled. Sometimes when you go to a concert, it's very loud but yet you can't really "hear" anything but a bunch of noise.
A band called Neverset (who I'd never heard of before) from Dallas, TX actually opened the show. They played like four or five songs. The music was decent, but the singing IMO was horrendous. All that the guy basically did was scream. I don't think that I understood one word that he uttered the whole time.
After that, Seether came out. They were heavy, tight, and solid. Shaun Morgan's voice sounded incredible. They played about seven songs including Fake It, Jesus Christ, Rise Above This, Broken, Fine Again, and Remedy. I was totally impressed by them.
Next up was Three Days Grace. I actually saw all three of the bands from last night back in September, 2007 in Hershey along with Live and Collective Soul. I thought that all three were better last night than in September, but Three Days Grace displayed the greatest level of performance elevation. They put on a fantastic show. From the very first song, they sounded great, they had the crowd into it, and they had all kinds of flames and explosions erupting that added to the effect. They really blew me away. They put on the best performance of anyone last night. Their singer was really into it and he kept inciting the crowd to stand up, get loud, sing along, and generally just get crazy. It really pumped everyone up.
Breaking Benjamin headlined the show. They are my favorite band, and last night they reinforced my appreciation for their music. What can I say; they totally rocked. If you haven't ever heard Breaking Benjamin and are in any way a fan of hard rock, do yourself a favor and check them out. I think that the reason I like them so much is that they meet all of the criteria that I love in music. Ben Burnley has a great voice, there are heavy, crunching guitars, catchy riffs, and pounding drum beats. Their lyrics are thoughtful and intelligent and they mix in just the right amount of raw emotion and power.
All in all, it was a power-packed concert. My wife and I both had a great time. The Bryce Jordan Center is a really cool place to see a concert. We got right in to park and right out after the concert. Up there, they are accustomed to handling large numbers of people as they have to deal with the 100,000 plus that pack into Beaver Stadium six or seven times every Fall.
My next concert will probably be over the summer or in the Fall. I would really like to see Nickelback again, but I'm open to checking out almost any band that plays hard-hitting tunes.
A band called Neverset (who I'd never heard of before) from Dallas, TX actually opened the show. They played like four or five songs. The music was decent, but the singing IMO was horrendous. All that the guy basically did was scream. I don't think that I understood one word that he uttered the whole time.
After that, Seether came out. They were heavy, tight, and solid. Shaun Morgan's voice sounded incredible. They played about seven songs including Fake It, Jesus Christ, Rise Above This, Broken, Fine Again, and Remedy. I was totally impressed by them.
Next up was Three Days Grace. I actually saw all three of the bands from last night back in September, 2007 in Hershey along with Live and Collective Soul. I thought that all three were better last night than in September, but Three Days Grace displayed the greatest level of performance elevation. They put on a fantastic show. From the very first song, they sounded great, they had the crowd into it, and they had all kinds of flames and explosions erupting that added to the effect. They really blew me away. They put on the best performance of anyone last night. Their singer was really into it and he kept inciting the crowd to stand up, get loud, sing along, and generally just get crazy. It really pumped everyone up.
Breaking Benjamin headlined the show. They are my favorite band, and last night they reinforced my appreciation for their music. What can I say; they totally rocked. If you haven't ever heard Breaking Benjamin and are in any way a fan of hard rock, do yourself a favor and check them out. I think that the reason I like them so much is that they meet all of the criteria that I love in music. Ben Burnley has a great voice, there are heavy, crunching guitars, catchy riffs, and pounding drum beats. Their lyrics are thoughtful and intelligent and they mix in just the right amount of raw emotion and power.
All in all, it was a power-packed concert. My wife and I both had a great time. The Bryce Jordan Center is a really cool place to see a concert. We got right in to park and right out after the concert. Up there, they are accustomed to handling large numbers of people as they have to deal with the 100,000 plus that pack into Beaver Stadium six or seven times every Fall.
My next concert will probably be over the summer or in the Fall. I would really like to see Nickelback again, but I'm open to checking out almost any band that plays hard-hitting tunes.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Blog Revival
It has been over seven months since my last blog post. In that time, there have been some changes in my life. In summary, I've changed jobs (same company; new plant and new role) and I have given up running for the most part. I still run occasionally, but it's no longer the cornerstone of my exercise program that it once was.
First, the new job. I don't like to give too many personal details on my blog, but the critical information is that I've moved back into Quality Assurance from Operations. This is a good thing as I've always felt more at home in the QA role. It just fits my personality and approach better. I now have three people who report in to me as opposed to 22 in my last job. This is a huge win for me; especially during mid-year and end of year review time (22 reviews = an awful lot of work). The new job really wasn't a promotion per se as I actually moved from the Ops organization into Quality, but the compensation is better and there is a lot more opportunity for advancement. The plant where I previously worked had about 250 employees. My new plant has about 1500! The plant houses our corporate headquarters and there are whole departments in the building that didn't even exist at my old facility.
Now, on to the exercise portion. For the longest time, I kept trying to convince myself that I needed to get back to training for and running marathons. It got to the point where I was forcing myself to do something that I didn't really want to do. As a result, running became a real chore and something to be dreaded. I've come to realize that I just don't have a desire to run marathons right now. Will I ever run another? Who knows? Right now, I have no interest in doing any more, but someday that could change.
I finally had the epiphany that I don't need to be a marathon runner to be in good shape. There were times in my life prior to my marathoning days that my overall fitness and conditioning level was better than during the marathon era. I have completed eight marathons and each time I greatly enjoyed the experience of training and racing, but that chapter of my life has passed. I have nothing to prove. Now it's time for me to move on to new and different things. Being fit and strong is important to me, but I don't need to run 30+ miles a week to meet that goal. It's how I feel and look that is most important to me. As Kevin Spacey said in American Beauty, "I wanna look good naked."
We have a really nice fitness center at our facility that I've been using three to four times a week. I lift weights, walk on the treadmill, run on the track occasionally, hit the heavy bag, and ride the recumbent bike. After I quit marathon training (and essentially running) at the end of August, I gained about 15 pounds. Right around Christmas, I decided that I'd had enough and started eating better and working out. As of right now, I've only actually lost about eight pounds, but I feel much better. I know that I have gained some muscle from working out because I can see it in my performance and in the mirror. I still need to lose about ten more pounds, but I'm more concerned about how I feel and look. I'm not hung up about numbers on a scale. Back in December, there actually came a point where bending over to tie my shoes was uncomfortable because my gut got in the way. That is no longer an issue. I've been working my abs hard three days a week and have lost a considerable amount of fat. I'm doing a variety of activities now and plan to add more including some running in the near future. The key is that I'm enjoying working out again and not dreading every workout.
That is all I will write for now. I really want to try and start blogging more. It's a good release for me and a novel way for me to encapsulate my thoughts on life. More to come.
First, the new job. I don't like to give too many personal details on my blog, but the critical information is that I've moved back into Quality Assurance from Operations. This is a good thing as I've always felt more at home in the QA role. It just fits my personality and approach better. I now have three people who report in to me as opposed to 22 in my last job. This is a huge win for me; especially during mid-year and end of year review time (22 reviews = an awful lot of work). The new job really wasn't a promotion per se as I actually moved from the Ops organization into Quality, but the compensation is better and there is a lot more opportunity for advancement. The plant where I previously worked had about 250 employees. My new plant has about 1500! The plant houses our corporate headquarters and there are whole departments in the building that didn't even exist at my old facility.
Now, on to the exercise portion. For the longest time, I kept trying to convince myself that I needed to get back to training for and running marathons. It got to the point where I was forcing myself to do something that I didn't really want to do. As a result, running became a real chore and something to be dreaded. I've come to realize that I just don't have a desire to run marathons right now. Will I ever run another? Who knows? Right now, I have no interest in doing any more, but someday that could change.
I finally had the epiphany that I don't need to be a marathon runner to be in good shape. There were times in my life prior to my marathoning days that my overall fitness and conditioning level was better than during the marathon era. I have completed eight marathons and each time I greatly enjoyed the experience of training and racing, but that chapter of my life has passed. I have nothing to prove. Now it's time for me to move on to new and different things. Being fit and strong is important to me, but I don't need to run 30+ miles a week to meet that goal. It's how I feel and look that is most important to me. As Kevin Spacey said in American Beauty, "I wanna look good naked."
We have a really nice fitness center at our facility that I've been using three to four times a week. I lift weights, walk on the treadmill, run on the track occasionally, hit the heavy bag, and ride the recumbent bike. After I quit marathon training (and essentially running) at the end of August, I gained about 15 pounds. Right around Christmas, I decided that I'd had enough and started eating better and working out. As of right now, I've only actually lost about eight pounds, but I feel much better. I know that I have gained some muscle from working out because I can see it in my performance and in the mirror. I still need to lose about ten more pounds, but I'm more concerned about how I feel and look. I'm not hung up about numbers on a scale. Back in December, there actually came a point where bending over to tie my shoes was uncomfortable because my gut got in the way. That is no longer an issue. I've been working my abs hard three days a week and have lost a considerable amount of fat. I'm doing a variety of activities now and plan to add more including some running in the near future. The key is that I'm enjoying working out again and not dreading every workout.
That is all I will write for now. I really want to try and start blogging more. It's a good release for me and a novel way for me to encapsulate my thoughts on life. More to come.
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