Happy New Year!!

Here it is...the last day of 2009.  The old man is on his way out and baby 2010 is ready to take his place...for me this is a welcome site.  2009 has been a long and trying year for many of us.  Personally, this has been one of my least favorite years...one littered with financial struggles and my friends and family have suffered through too many deaths and losses this past year. 

I do know that I am not the only one who will not miss 2009...many of you will not think twice about leaving this past year in the dust.  For those of us that feel this way...take the time to reflect a little bit...think about what we should all do to make 2010 a better year than the last.  I feel extremely fortunate to have the family that I do have.  Please know that you are the ones that make me strive to be a better person.  Also know that it is because of you that this past year had all of the highlights that it did have!  Michelle...Austin...Jordon...I love you all from the bottom of my heart..thank you for being the people that you are!

To everyone out there...have a wonderful and prosperous 2010.  Be safe tonight in your celebrations and embrace the coming year with open arms.  It is up to us to make 2010 all that it can be...I have some resolutions in mind and I will do my best to keep them!

Happy New Year one and all...we'll see you all in 2010...may it be the happiest of times for each and every one of you!

Brant

Post Christmas Let-down

I hope I'm not the only one who is feeling the post Christmas blues!  Honestly we didn't do too much...just kind of kept it simple and tried to relax with family over the long weekend but Monday morning...ughhh! 

It was so rough to get out of bed and to come into work today...shouldn't we all be motivated and fresh after a long weekend?  Shouldn't I be recharged and ready to go once I rolled into work?  Well the simple fact is that I'm not!  I'm staring at the work that needs to be done and instead sitting here writing this blog right now!!  There is a skeleton crew here today...actually most of the week and it's another short week as well!  Why don't we just shut it down until after the new year??  I guess it's a good think I'm not the boss huh??

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with friends or family or whomever who chose to spend your time with!  Merry !  I wish you the best and I will talk to you again before the new year!

moving sucks...

I could really just keep this super short and let the title do all of the talking this time...but I think we all know that I have something to say...HA!

So, we just moved...great house...couldn't ask for anything more....except to find where everything is.  Why is it that no matter what the situation is I can never find what I'm looking for??  I've had a month to prepare for a move and boxed up everything...I've had a couple of days to get everything done and it's always the same thing!  I can't find whatever it is I'm looking for!!

Case in point...last night...searching high and low for laundry detergent...it took me at least an hour to find it...and I was the one who packed it up....I knew what the box looked like...drove me freakin nuts!

Have a great weekend everyone...stay safe and enjoy your holiday season!!!!

Karma

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you all have a wonderful and enjoyable weekend.  So....KARMA....do you believe in it??  I am a true believer....not that I have any huge life changing stories to share here but the real question that I have is do you believe in it?

It is too much to hope that everything comes back around...either good or bad??  There are many times while on my way home from work that I see that dumbass weaving in and out of traffic...cutting people off and nearly causing accident after accident...and I silently (or not so silently depending on my surroundings) think I really hope he gets his...

I would like to think that I make a conscious effort to be nice...polite...helpful...etc...to others.  Someday I will reap the rewards...and I may already!  Who knows how many of the little pleasurable moments are a result of karma??  On the flip side...getting pulled over by that cop on the way home when you're already late...that might just be a little bit of karma coming right back atcha.......

Happy Holidays my friends....

...what the &$!@*

Just a couple of things today...

I was disturbed to learn last night that nothing was mentioned in either of my kids schools about the date yesterday.  December 7....not one teacher mentioned the fact that it was Pearl Harbor Day!  How can that be??  Should we forget the past?  Should we not bring up the fact that this was the day in 1941 that brought the United States into World War II??  Does the fact that 2402 soldiers lost their lives defending their country during an attack on their homeland mot matter anymore?? 

I remember visiting the memorial at Pearl Harbor...and this was 20 years ago.  A truly sobering experience riding out on that boat to visit what amounts to an underwater gravesite...how can this NOT be an important part of our history??  What is going to be glossed over next in our schools?  I do realize that much has happened since then and will continue to happen going forward but I feel that this deserves some kind of recognition.

Ran across a great link yesterday...actually it was Michelle that found it...thanks sweetie!  Follow this link:  www.LetsSayThanks.com
It will take you to a website sponsored by Xerox where you can pick out a card to send to our troops overseas.  These are the forgotten heroes by a lot of us.  We go through our daily grind and don't think twice that there are a lot of people separated from their families, putting their lives on the line to protect our freedom.  


Please...if you don't do anything else today...visit that link and send a card.  It doesn't matter if you support the conflict that is going on or not...not all of the soldiers believe in the reasoning behind it all but they are doing their job!  A job that protects us...that keeps us free and safe...please support them...especially during this holiday season!


Thank you to everyone that has served, or is serving in our military for everything that you have endured and for keeping us safe.  Thank you to all of the family members of the service men and women who lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I am just sorry that I am a day late...Finally, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the murdered Lakewood Police Officers.  Their service is this afternoon...my heart is heavy and my gratitude is great...thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

....kids today....

The more I have dealings with preteens and teens, the more I worry for what lies ahead as our generation ages.  I realize that times are different from when I was growing up but that really shouldn't change how kids should be raised or how they should act around others.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not going to stand up on a soapbox and tell everyone that they are not doing a good job raising their kids, but like everything else, there are exceptions to every rule.  Gone are the days of the married, single income family.  They just aren't around anymore....again...exceptions are there.  In today's society, and economy, it doesn't even seem like two incomes are enough anymore.  So, this obviously means that with both parents working, our kids are left in day care...or after school programs (if there are any left)...or just at home until we get done working.  Obviously the same can be said for single income, single parent families.  Just because we have to work shouldn't give us the right to not take an interest in our kids lives...am I wrong here???

We have tried to instill in our kids to be polite, respectful, obedient and to use manners.  I don't think this is too much to ask.  Yes, we do still have our share of problems and issues but they are because our kids are rude or destructive of just flat out being mean to others.  A friend of mine bought her son a new beanie hat that was stolen and destroyed by some other kids at school...I have heard some of the most vile language outside of various schools as I pick up my kids...seen some of the most disturbing behavior exhibited by kids not to mention thoughts and behavior dripping with malice and violence...I am truly scared...when is the next kid going to bring a gun to school and open up??

I really think that no matter how busy we may think we are...or how tired we are at the end of the day we have to take the time to be there for our kids.  We need to take the time to talk with them...not just plant them in front of the various tv's and computers in our homes.  We may not be able to stop everything, but we can at least keep them grounded and not give them the excuse..or the easy way out.  No matter what happens in our lives...I think that we have to remember that we are parents first.  If we don't step in and try to make some serious changes in our kids lives...give them legitimate role models to look up to instead of movie stars and athletes we are looking at some seriously disturbing times ahead based on what we are all seeing from the youth of today.

Thanks to my Pops...for doing the best job that you could.  I appreciate you every day and whether or not I have told you lately...you have always been my role model.  I hope I have done you proud!

Will it ever stop??

As some of you may know by now, a gunman walked into a coffee shop yesterday (Sunday) morning and executed 4 Lakewood police officers who were going over paperwork prior to starting their shift.  The police are still looking for the suspect, who may have been wounded by return fire from one of the officers.  There was no motive that stands out, although the suspect was out on bail and he showed signs of mental imbalance.

Is there anywhere that we can feel safe anymore??  There were other customers and a barista inside of the coffee shop yesterday morning...How has the world changed so drastically since I was a teenager??  Now, at age 38 (pushing 39) I am more fearful for not only my life as I walk into a convenience store or to get a cup of coffee than I ever was!  What about my family??  Can they feel safe??  What about our freshman son who goes to the local Tully's coffee shop after school as he waits for me to pick him up??  How safe is he going to feel everytime that door opens up?? 

Am I alone in this??  I hope to hell that I'm not! 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and those who are left behind to try to pick up the pieces after this senseless act...For those of you in the Tacoma, WA area, please make it a point to visit a Forza coffee shop and donate to the families that will forever have a void left in their lives....here is the link to the suspect at large...look at it...pass it along...let us try and do something to take back our sanity....and safety:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78106177.html

things to be thankful for....

Well....here it is...Thanksgiving time again. The door to the holidays slams open like it's your favorite (or in some cases, embarrassing) crazy-ass uncle barging onto the scene! This is a great time of year...a time to spend with family and friends.  Even though this past year has seemed pretty bleak...I think that we all have a lot to be thankful for.

I, personally, have endured a lot of losses this year....too many funerals have I attended (with yet another to go to next weekend).  Thinking about this makes me quite thankful for what I do have.  So...here is a short list for everyone:

I am thankful that I get to spend time with my family...especially my pops...he means the world to me and is to this very day a huge inspiration to me.

I am thankful for the health of my family and friends...to my friends...I apologize for not reaching out to you more...we all need to take the time to pick up the phone and say hi once in a while...that just may be in my new years resolutions.

I am thankful for being employed...too many people close to me have suffered this past year...I know what it is like and I feel your pain.  Please know that you are all in my thoughts daily...

I am thankful for my friends...you know who you are...I wouldn't be me without all of you in my life....

Since this is a short list I will only include one more....

I am thankful for you Michelle...you are my rock...you keep me sane (that may be a debatable point).  I love you more than anything in this world and you make me a better person.  I am so thankful that you are not just a part of my life...but what my world is centered around.  Thank you for loving me!

To all of you out there...please have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!  Be safe...be responsible and be thankful for what you have! 

...ahhhh....the holidays.....

So, what is it with the holidays that makes most people so fricken rude??  I know that some people are rude all of the time but there is just something about the holidays that brings out the worst in people!  It's not like this is the very first year that there have been crowds at the malls and grocery stores once the holidays hit....

Well, here I am yesterday....just trying to get my grocery shopping done for Thanksgiving.  I'm minding my own business...trying to be as polite as possible while working my way through the masses that seem to be pulling what is left of their hair out while trying to finish up their own shopping.  I'm staying off to the side...merging in and out of the aisles and apologizing when interrupting someones view of the best buys on black olives.  I get to the end of the aisle with my shopping cart and I stop to look left....then right....you know...make sure the coast is clear and I don't run anyone over.  All of a sudden....BLAM!  Some lady smashed right into the side of my cart and gives me the stink eye!  She then tells me...in not so friendly terms (unless doing certain things with your mother is acceptable in her family....) to watch where I am going and to get the ($*%&)()#_ out of the way.  I stood there for a second...looked at the lady next to me who had to pick her jaw up off of the ground and said matter of factly," Jeez...you would think we were coming up on a holiday the way people are acting..."

Can't we all just take a second...I don't think I'm asking for much...just a second and take a deep breath?  You may be feeling rushed...anxious...scatter brained...whatever but it is no reason and certainly not a license to be rude!  We are all in the same situation...fighting the same crowds....the last thing we need is to put up with jerk offs who can't control themselves and blame everyone else for whatever chaos is going on around them.....the funny thing is they usually bring it all upon themselves!  Gotta love that karma.....

OMG....is it really November????

Almost gave my self cardiac arrest the other day when I really looked at the calendar and noticed that Thanksgiving is next week!!!! Can you believe it?? It just doesn't feel like the holidays. I don't know if it is because of the economy but I have to believe that it plays a pretty big role in it. My sister and I continually express hope that 2010 has to be better...but will it?? That seems to be a pretty big wish...not sure if Santa can bring that one down the chimney! There are so many people out of work with no jobs in sight...I don't think that unemployment has hit it's lowest point yet...I am still seeing businesses go under...different ones every week...

What really needs to be done to correct the downturn that this nation has fallen in?? I don't have the answers...I have ideas and I can't even say that they are original ones! Am I stupid or does small business have to thrive again?? I know we have our struggles...and each and every one of you do as well...is there really a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel? I fear for my job every day...I have a plan so we can eventually survive without it but I just can't pick the right damn lottery numbers....j/k!!! Unfortunately plans take time to develop but at least I'm working on it.....

Please comment...send me notes...pass this along to your friends who might be interested...I'm going to try and post more often as life allows and I really want to hear your feedback...

I know I'll post again before but Happy Holidays to all.....

...sigh....

So here I am on the cusp of my 20 year high school reunion...not sure if I'll be attending but that's not the issue here. I was emailing with a classmate of mine and we were discussing life in general...you know the stuff...when she brought up something that I have known for a long long time and that I distinctly remember my Pops telling me when I was much....much younger: time flies by the older you get!

I remember having this discussion with my Pops way way back when and I remember him telling me to enjoy life and the time that I had because the older you get the faster time seems to go. Now is this some strange phenomenon that occurs to people?? Does time really move faster for me than for any of my kids?? I seriously doubt that it does, but there it is none the less!

I think from here on out I am going to try (and I say try because you can't change everything overnight) to take the time...the time to do the simple things...the little things that bring joy and happiness to those around me and I really think that I'm going to try to stop trying to cram 25 hours into a day (maybe that's why we feel like time zips by)....

Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!

What the *()$*#.....

O.k. Maybe I don't understand how the world works anymore but public schools are really starting to piss me off....

Let's take a look at this...we are talking about a 6th grader (in Middle School now) and a freshman in high school....and I'm not factoring in clothing because that is all on us to decide how or what to buy our kids to wear (although depending on where they go to school you HAVE to make sure they get the right type of clothes so they fit in). High school supplies aren't so bad...I think we had to buy four 3-ring binders for his classes, dividers for the binders, pens, pencils, paper and a scientific calculator. Not too shabby! For the 6th grader we had to buy paper, pens pencils, colored pencils, erasers, a protractor, a compass (for math) composition books and the big killer here...a enclosed 3" 3-ring binder for him to carry around to all of his classes (not exactly cheap if you haven't priced them out...around $20)....and I'm pretty sure I've missed some items here....

Now...on to the "incidentals" as I will call them: High School: $30 for ASB card (kind of a necessity...definitely overpriced), school pictures (I think they are asking for you to sign a pact with the devil in your own blood this year....). Overall...not too bad!
Middle School: $5 for a school planner, $15 for an ASB card, school pictures...see above for cost,...now we get to the fun stuff....every teacher asks for a ream of copy paper (I guess they got cut off from Office Depot??), adult scissors for the teacher (are they selling 30 pair of scissors for each class on ebay??), Kleenex (this I can understand), hand sanitizer....I mean WTF??? I thought there were budgets in place for this kind of stuff?? What's next? Toilet Paper...an espresso machine for the teachers lounge..are the kids going to get hassled in the hallways by the staff for their lunch money??

So, I'm sitting on the couch last night staring at the lint in my wallet when here comes round 3...the 6th grader brings me his class syllibi for two more of his classes and what is mixed in with those??? Requests (maybe we should call them demands) from his teachers for us to kick in more cash for MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS for their classrooms!!!!!!! I mean, SERIOUSLY, if they are going to use a specific magazine for their teaching purposes shouldn't they put it in their FREAKING BUDGET????? Who is running these schools....the government??

Now I am asking you all....where do we draw the line as parents? How much should we contribute to the schools beyond what they ask us to in our taxes??? Do they want us to start paying for their kids daycare next?? Car payments so they can show up to work?? I wonder what would happen if I asked people associated with me at work for some of this stuff....I'm pretty sure I'd be told some pretty choice things.....

Stepping into the way back machine....

A high schooler??? We have a high schooler in the house??? You've got to be kidding! It's kind of odd thinking of it that way...it seems like yesterday he was walking off to elementary school! Not only is he a high school freshman (in 2 weeks) but he is attending the very same school I went to. We went to his freshman orientation the other afternoon so he can get the lay of the land (there are about 1900 students at Stadium High after all...) and I have to tell you...the memories came flooding back!

Yes, the school has changed...a major renovation a few years back updated things and moved others around but it was just like walking in there over 20 years ago. I could still point out my old Chemistry class and my Civics classroom...walking through the courtyard where my friends and I use to eat at lunch...I was almost expecting to turn a corner and run into my old friends. So many memories came rushing back and also one big regret...I wish I would have been more involved. The principal spoke to the incoming freshmen and one of the things she mentioned is that you should become involved in something....anything during high school. It doesn't matter if it is a sport or a club...whatever...it will always be something that you look back on fondly...something that you'll never forget. It will be a bond that you have with a certain group of people that you might never have become friends with otherwise.

I have a great group of friends from high shcool....and earlier, and I wish we spent more time being in touch. We all have families and while some live close by, others are far away. All I know is that our freshman told us yesterday that he didn't want to become involved...but he is...he will...it is far too important of a thing to just let pass by...these are 4 very formative years lying in front of him and I don't want him to look back on those years and say, "...I wonder....."

Why oh why do they waste our time??

Meetings...I'm sure that just reading that word sent a chill down some of your spines while others had to resist the urge to run screaming from the room. What kind of sick people created these monumental wastes of time??

O.k. I am sure that some meetings that are held actually have some merit. There was actually a thought process put behind the planning and execution of it. But honestly...how often is this the case. Just this morning I attended our weekly "production" meeting. It was again one of those not-to-rare instances when I walked back to my desk muttering, "well, there's another hour of my life I won't get back." I don't know how many times we have to sit through these things when the subject matter pertains to only two people in the room.....hmmm...here's a concept...why don't those two people get together and have this discussion instead of bringing a whole room of people in to bore them to death.

Please...don't get me started on the people who have meetings just to have meetings. I actually worked with a person who once told me that she loves to have meetings...just to have them! What kind of asylum was she raised in?? Let's just waste EVERYONE'S time...it's not like we're actually trying to get work done...

If I had to do it all over again.....

....I think I just might have changed my major in college to something a bit more useful. I don't know about your workplace but at mine there seems to be an underlying theme: pass the buck! Can you imagine if this were an actual major...what would you minor in, throwing people under the bus??

It seems like so long ago (or maybe I'm just getting older) that people were not only held accountable for their actions but they accepted responsibility for them as well! All I seem to hear throughout the day...no matter what the subject is...is that, "it wasn't my responsibility...so and so said they were taking care of it...I don't recall that...etc". What happened to owning up to your mistakes?? Maybe I just belong to a small community that still has a sense of moral responsibility and common sense attached to it.

I may catch flak for owning up to what I did incorrectly...incur the occasional ass-chewing but at least I can sleep at night. Actually, some of the "people" I work with who seem to hold a masters (maybe a doctorate) in deflecting blame probably sleep like babies at night as they seem to have no conscience at all...good luck to them...I hear karma is a bitch!

Is cloning of humans legal yet???

It seems to me that my boss really wants to clone me...I mean he expects me to be in 3 places & doing 3 different jobs all at once?? I guess my real question here is if I was cloned...and I was able to jump through every hoop placed in front of me would I get multiple paychecks?? If so...SIGN ME UP!!!!

Welcome to the 2009 workplace everyone!

How am I still sane????

Why do so many people thrive on dysfunction??? Is working or living within a dysfunctional society that much fun?? I'm guessing that I missed the boat on that one...no worries though...I am surrounded by it all through the work week...YAY ME!!!!!

I swear that the majority of conversations around my little cubicle (it has been dubbed Switzerland by the way) can't take place without at least one of the following requirements:

1) yelling at the top of your lungs to ensure that even the dead can hear you
2) using your favorite swear word repeatedly and in all forms and tenses (for those of you that know Mike, ask him for a copy of, "the F Word"...sums this requirement up nicely)
3) assume that your conversation is the most important one going on at the moment and make sure that anyone around you can't carry on a telephone conversation
and...
4) make sure that you are right...even if you don't have any idea what you are talking about

I am afraid to even think about how many times I have been on the phone leaving a voicemail with the chants of motherf&*$er, a*$)ole, s&)#head, etc... in the background. At least I make all personal phone calls that I possibly can on my cell phone away from my desk...

These are some of the people sitting in my little part of the work world:

A guy who is so frustrated that he constantly yells at the top of his lungs...at himself most of the time. I have warned him that if he has a stroke (self induced or not) he is on his own. There will be no attempts to revive him on my part...

Two guys who have flatulence wars who do absolutely nothing all day long...one of which has such an extensive music library that he plays the same 4 awful country songs constantly...mixed in with the occasional Kid Rock hillbilly song...the other is apparently made out of some super industrial strength teflon because he accepts no responsibility for anything

My boss...I am tempted to have a sign made up for his area that proclaims, "CONTAINS MSG!" The man ingests so much sodium and nicotine that he has to be preserved into the next millennium. My daily sodium levels elevate dramatically when I walk by him...counter that with a personality that makes you wish spontaneous public beatings were not considered taboo by the majority of society.

I am continually amazed by the simple fact that I am still sane...or at least what we consider sanity to be. I am sure (and have heard stories) that the faint of heart have run screaming like banshees from this company...unfortunately I have to say that I am thankful to get to come here 5 times a week........

Just some observations...

Well...here goes nothing as they say...

I figured that since most of the world is blogging that I may as well start it up too! I really don't expect that anything I write will be earth shattering or that it will make anyone's life feel more complete. I think this will be a fun way to share things that I see in life...opinions on certain subjects...maybe even a way to vent frustrations at times!

So, we pack up the family a couple of Saturday's ago to attend the end of the year BBQ for the youngest. It had been a pretty miserable baseball season and I think the last thing any of us wanted to do was go and waste away a Saturday afternoon but we were troopers and attended. The "highlight" of the BBQ was a parent vs. kids baseball game. All right...I assumed that this would be a fun way for everyone to get together one last time and have a little fun against our 11 & 12 year olds...right?!? Nope!!!! Here come all of the older brothers that play baseball and take over the team. Now most of the kids who we are holding this "game" for are relegated to either the bench or right field...not exactly getting the warm fuzzies from this one...let me tell you.

Most of the parents begin to show no mercy against the kids...smashing the ball all over the place and introducing a dose of humility. I must say that some of us took it easy (especially when it came to the actual kids on the team). As we were nearing the end of this short game, things really started to go downhill. The parents had some base runners and then came an incident so amazing (and not in a good way) that brought this whole blogging idea into focus for me. The starting catcher for our little league baseball team hunkered down behind the plate...tired..frustrated and pretty much wanting nothing more to do with anything that was going on. It just so happened that his dad was on second base....and the batter hit a shot to the outfield. I still shake my head in amazement at what happened next...here comes good 'ol dad rounding third base and he starts screaming at his son that, "he's coming in.....!!!!" Here is this poor 12 year old (who is taller than most everyone that I know but skinny as a rail) fielding the ball and turning to see his dad barrelling into him at home plate like he is going to score the winning run in the deciding game of the World Series!

Have things gotten so bad for us as parents that the only people we have to show up (or attempt to at least) are our own kids?? I admit...I have been guilty of it, albeit it on a much lesser scale (usually relegated to video games or when they decide they have become kung fu masters). Ironically poor 'ol dad, who just thought he had something to prove, completely whiffed on his kid at the plate and bounced off the ground and into the backstop...I just remember standing there watching this all unfold thinking, "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy....."

I can't promise how often I'll post...usually when I have something to say...or share. Please feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think. Hopefully these will improve over time...baby steps everyone!!!!!!!