BLOGS FOR DECEMBER 2008

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Week ending December 28th 2008
How was your Christmas?

Mine was quiet. I started feeling sick on Christmas eve so I had to take it easy. I pretty much just vegged out. We were off work Weds and Thurs so I took Friday as a vacation day. Most people are off work anyway. We have Thursday and Friday off next week as well. Still considering taking off on Wednesday since I didn't get to go snowboarding after all.

Tuesday night I went out with a friend and had dinner. It was nice! I had steak (yes, I am a meat eater, lol) and lots of salad, onion rings, etc. Maybe that is why I was sick on Weds/Thurs/Friday. I didn't start feeling better until Saturday afternoon, just in time for Saturday services at Horizon. That was great, as always and I really like listening to Pastor Bob. Of all the Churches I have been to, by far Pastor Bob is the one I enjoy listening to the most (even more than Rick Warren -- which says a lot!).

I did manage to get another run in on Wednesday morning. I ran the same path that I ran last week, but managed to run it longer than I did before. I didn't stop until like the last 1/4 mile or so. All of that is uphill so it takes a lot out of you.

I know this is short and there's other things I could be talking about but nothing really worth complaining about, haha. Life is truly good, of that I can say for sure. You just have to keep your chin up and keep trucking, ya know? What else can you do?

2009 -- I am really looking forward to it. Sometimes you just feel that a certain year is going to be great. Maybe it's my optimism or maybe I'm just a little on the 5150 side (crazy) but I still think it's going to be great. Life is really what you make of it. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be sad. Either way, it's still a choice we all make :)

Have a great NEW YEARS and stay out of trouble. I will talk to you all next week!

Later Gators (coz right now, the Bucs are out of the playoffs so I'm looking forward to the BCS Championship game!)

Week ending December 21st 2008
Fun stuff, lol!

Ok -- this was the week I had to serve Jury Duty. I've somehow throughout my years on this Earth been able to avoid it but now they are making it really hard to do so. So on Tuesday morning I got up super early, headed down to the Old Town Trolley Station and rode it downtown. I knew from talking to friends that it would be a long first day and of course it was. They didn't even call my name until 1:30 in the afternoon. I spent most of the day reading a book I brought and texting friends (lol). They finally give us our court assignment and we all walk next door to the Courthouse.

When we show up, they make us stand outside for a good 45 minutes while they are figuring things out inside. When they finally call us in (by assigned seat number I might add) the Judge gives us the lowdown. It's a criminal case and the defendant is charged with misdemeanor assault, on a Police Officer even. There is one Defense Attorney assigned and two Prosecutors. Anyway, as the day wears on they work on the first round of eliminations and I somehow made it through. I think they only sent 7 people home out of 48. The next day it had been raining, really hard all day, so there were people who were late to Court. The Judge wouldn't start the session until everyone was there so we ended up sitting around until almost lunch time waiting on the late people.

When we started (finally) the Attorneys went around asking individuals questions. The Prosecutors didn't ask me any but the defense did. The first question he asked me was "Do you think violence is acceptable?" and my answer to him was "It depends on the circumstances." He then asked a similar question, albeit phrased differently and my answer was still the same! "It depends on the circumstances." Anyway, when the eliminations started I thought "Oh man, they are going to pick me!" As soon as I sat down in the Jurors' Box (after many people had been excused) the defense Attorney "excused" me from service. WOOT! I guess having an opinion and being able to think objectively is not desired on the Jury, haha. I'm glad to have skated the experience for another year :)

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful. Work was quiet, just the way I like it, and probably due to so many people starting their Christmas Vacations early. I did have to lug some 75lb back up batteries on Friday. Four of them to be exact as one of our Storage Devices started going on the fritz. It was a good workout though and you know me, I am never afraid of manual labor.

On Saturday I got up early to play golf with my friend, Jason. I have to say, after shooting an 80 the last time I played Encinitas Ranch I really stunk up the joint. HAHA. I was T-Totally-Terrible! LOL. I mean I've had some bad days playing golf but this one takes the cake. Only a few pars, no birdies and lots and lots of bogeys. haha. Well I will never make it as a pro-golfer so Tiger Wood's career is safe -- for now!! HAHAH.

What are you doing for Christmas? I actually plan on serving at Horizon's on Christmas Eve. They need some "manual labor" so I volunteered. They are taking down the Nativity scene I think so I'll grab my hammer and start breaking things. I'm pretty good at that ;) I'll attend the service earlier in the evening and just stick around. After Christmas I am going snowboarding. No ifs/ands/butts about it. It's supposed to rain here all week so that means lots of snow at Mammoth and me buzzing around the Mountain in 4WD. Hehe. It's what I bought it for so that'll be fun. The last time I went my truck was buried in 3 feet of snow. I had to dig the door area out just to get in and then drive down the Mountain in a blizzard (really!). Fun stuff for sure :)

Before I go I wanted to leave you a link for something I've shared with a few friends and family and maybe you've seen it before. I'm not a big "American Idol" fan nor do I watch the show. Frankly I think Simon Cowell can be rude and inappropriate (hey, it gets ratings though, doesn't it?! LOL). The British version of that show is called "Britain's Got Talent" and THIS GUY (click link) does have amazing talent. You may not appreciate the music but you gotta appreciate someone with that kind of voice. Hope you enjoy it.

Well that is about it for the week. I hope life is treating you well. I have to say, I've got no complaints, that's for sure :) Congrats to Derek and Lena on their new child and my bud Kevin on his new son. Now where's my cigar?! JUST KIDDING.

Have a great rest of your week and a BLESSED CHRISTmas. May peace and joy abound in your life.

Cheers!

Week ending December 14th 2008
Quiet week ...

Things have quieted down at work this week. That's a good thing considering all the layoffs we had. It's definitely disheartening to see people go especially with Christmas coming up. We even had one person let go not related to the lay off. I just have to say, you reap what you sow. I've really been sticking my nose to the grindstone and trying to get my solutions out. My plate at work is full and the days are zooming by. I like staying busy though and am learning a lot so that's good.

This week I worked really hard at the gym. My weight is only 10lbs off my goal and I am the heaviest I've been in my life. I was going to start working with a personal trainer but after seeing the cost, I think I'm doing just fine without it, lol. It was way more expensive than I thought it was going to be. I knew when I started taking the shakes that I would gain some fat (and I have) so I've decided to add in some cardio via running. I really like running because, much like being on a motorcycle, it gives me time to think.

So yesterday I suited up with my jogging clothes and ran down Del Mar Heights to the beach here in Del Mar. From there I headed South and ended up at Torrey Pines State Beach. Even though the weather was "blah" at best (it had been raining earlier in the day). I then headed back East towards the 5 freeway. When I got close I headed North again. Now, the run towards the beach was downhill and of course that means it was uphill the rest of the way. One thing is for sure, I got a heck of a workout.

Christmas is coming up and I think I am going to go snowboarding. I have been checking out some of the lodges that are available and there are some really good deals going on right now. My friend has a season pass and some guest passes as well so I plan on getting a lot of snowboarding in. I also plan on getting in some dirt bike riding as well. The CR250 has been sitting in the garage for some time and it's high time I loaded it up in the truck and had some fun.

I hadn't been to Church in a few weeks so it was good to be back. They are doing a living nativity scene so the campus is really busy. Pastor Bob had an interesting statement to make in regards to Einstein and God. Einstein's "Theory of Relatively" in regards to the speed of light and time makes sense when you think about God. God is everywhere at all times. The faster you come to the speed of light, the slower time goes. It is possible then, according to the theory, to go fast enough that time would stop completely. If you think about it, it makes complete sense that God could be everywhere at all times.

That's really about it for now. Interesting stuff to ponder for the week, eh? As always, you can comment on the blog entry on my guestbook. Go ahead and drop me a line.

See ya next week!

Cheers!

Week ending December 7th 2008
Back to the grind...

Well this was an interesting and odd week. After having spent a really nice vacation in Florida I came back to work on Monday only to see people being politely marched out the front door. One by one, people were being laid off. I don't know how I managed to avoid it. Perhaps God has other plans for me, but it was really scary and I have been keeping everyone in my prayers. It seems many companies will lay people off right before Christmas. It weird, but definitely not the first time I've seen that and very "Scrooge-ish" if you get my drift.

This weekend I did something I haven't done in a long time. I hung out in Hollywood. Back in the day I used to be there every other weekend. Either my band was playing up there that weekend or I was hanging out with friends. Since my friend "C" and I missed our last opportunity to hang out I drove up to OC and picked her and her roommate up. We went to a nice sushi dinner first and then we drove to the "Cat Club" to see her friend's band play. The band wasn't too bad, really, but the Cat Club is still the same, lol. Definitely a dive! It was pretty neat to see some of the music that is coming out of that area.

After that we headed over to the Rainbow (it's not what your thinking, trust me) and ate a tad more before I dropped them off and drove home. It was a late night but definitely fun and worth the trip. It always helps when you stay out of trouble, lol. There were a few famous people bumping around in there but we didn't care. We were hungry and just wanted to grab something to eat before the drive home.

Other than a few "minor" issues when I got back from vacation it's been a relatively quiet week. Everyone at work is walking around on egg shells because they're worried (and rightfully so) about the future. Me too. I am not sure what I would do if got laid off. I don't really have a "Plan B" in place so I guess I should start seriously thinking about it. The economy is terrible at the moment so this is obviously not the best time to be looking for work.

Usually this time every year I put up a Christmas tree and hang up the lights, but I am not doing it this year. Why? Well the more I think about it, the more I don't think the "Santa" stuff is appropriate. Yes, we should celebrate Christmas but not the pagan Holiday that it represents. How about CHRISTmas? You feeling me?!?!? I realize a lot of people are going to disagree with me, lol, but seriously. I'm A-OK with nativity scenes, because that is what Christmas is meant to be about.

It's not about a fat man in a red suit giving out gifts. That has nothing to do with Christ! Correct me if I am wrong, right? lol. Seriously, you can post on the guestbook if you want to debate this with me (to complain about the blog) but I'm pretty firm on my stance with this. I understand some people have kids and they want them to celebrate the Holiday. I just think that there's more to Christmas than Santa, ya know?

That's it for this week. Keep your fingers crossed that the layoffs are done at work and those who were effected by them find gainful, happy employment elsewhere. See you next week :)

Cheers!

PS: Today is "Pearl Harbor" remembrance day. Remember your Veterans!