BLOGS FOR FEBRUARY 2009

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Week ending February 22nd, 2009
WHAT A GREAT WEEK!

Probably one of the most fun weeks I've had in a long time! Work wise things are going relatively smoothly even though our first quarter sales results were announced and, rather than a lay off, the company has decided to reduce everyone's pay by 5%. It's ok for me as I am living well within my means. For some people living on the edge though, this is not good news. Hopefully we can all tighten our budgets and make it through. It's still a lot better than a 100% pay reduction, for sure.

So, this was the big weekend for Bx4!!! First off I want to thank my friends for hanging out with me. We had so many people drive down from Orange County for it. I am grateful for all the good friends I have in my life. You know I appreciate you more than you can imagine. Dinner was great! We had sushi until we were royally stuffed then ended up walking around the Gas Lamp, which is a really cool thing if you've never done it. I was going to do some karaoke but really my voice, with this cold, is not in the best of shape. At the very least I would have provided some good laughs. Check out the pictures when you get some time!

Here is a list of 20 random "Goals" (not all) I wanted to accomplish in my life by this age. There are still some things left to do but most of this list is complete!

1. Become a private pilot: CHECK
2. Race Motorcycles as an expert: CHECK
3. Play music for a living: CHECK
4. Play in front of a crowd of at least 20,000 people: CHECK
5. Meet Metallica: CHECK (bonus: Played LIVE on stage with Metallica!!!)
6. Learn to snowboard: CHECK
7. Learn to surf: CHECK
8. Ride longer than 1000 miles one way on a motorcycle: CHECK
9. Fly to Paris on a whim: CHECK
10. Start a career in the IT Industry: CHECK
11. Start my own business: CHECK
12. Find my real father: NO
13. Get married: NO
14. Start a family: NO
15. Own a home either in CA or FL: NO
16. Learn to play golf: CHECK
17. Shoot an 80 or better in golf: CHECK
18. Take a college course and pass with an A: CHECK
19. Drive cross country in a car: CHECK (did it 4 times)
20. See all my favorite bands live in concert: CHECK

The week was relatively uneventful. I did go out with friends for Indian Food which, if you know me, you know that is my all time favorite after Sushi. The place was OK and the food was decent but nothing matches "India Cook House" in Irvine. They have absolutely the best Indian food I've ever had.

This week I am headed up OC on Tuesday to hit my favorite Italian Food place. haha. Yeah I do love to eat I think and I love going out to dinner and hanging with friends. If you have read about Jesus at all, one of his favorite things to do was to sit down and break bread. I won't speak for Him but I will say that He knew that was a good way to interact with people and build up rapport. I'd say he was really on to something, eh? You bet!

Oh, Facebook! I have reconnected with so many of my friends it's almost unbelievable. It's so much better than MySpace, which to me seems more like it's just a place to "hook up" or something. Facebook seems to be centered more around connecting with friends which is the only reason I would use a social web site. I've even found a few of my racing buddies on there too. Since I'm not racing anymore I can live vicariously through them. That's not so bad. I don't need to be the center of attention. And it's good to root on my friends and see them succeed.

Well that's about it for this week. Once again I want to thank everyone for coming out, making the long drive and chilling for the night. See you guys next weekend in OC!!!

Week ending February 15th, 2009
Glad to be home :)

All this week was spent in OC training on the equipment I work on. The classes are for a certification that will GREATLY increase my value as a SAN Engineer. I was really excited to attend the class and learned a lot. I have much to study for and one more week long class to take but all the extra effort will be worth it.

While I was in OC I took the opportunity to have dinner every night with friends from my old stomping grounds and even took a trip up to long beach to have dinner with a new friend. Funny thing is once I got back home to San Diego I realized "Hey, I don't have my wallet!" Well come to find out I had left it at the restaurant. Someone was nice enough to turn it in (with nothing missing even!). So, the next day after class I had to drive all the way back to Long Beach to pick it up. Worth it though as having to cancel all my cards and have new ones sent is a pain. There are good people still left in this world.

I did work out in OC too. The first gym I went to was the 24hr in Irvine. You know the one, right? The one right off the 405 near the airport that you can see from the freeway? It's like the biggest gym ever and supposed to be really nice. Well, it is nice, I'll give it that, but mostly machine weights. There are hardly any free weights so needless to say I had kind of a weak workout. The next time I went to my old gym in Foothill Ranch and actually bumped into several people I used to talk to regularly there. It was good to see them keeping up their workouts.

One of the days in OC we ran up to Westminster and had Vietnamese food. It's the place I used to go to a lot. However, the place had changed and the food they offered now was just soup. It was still good (especially considering it was raining and soup is perfect for cold, rainy days).

Oh, in case you didn't see the photo on the main page I did end up buying a new truck. It's a 2009 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport. It's silver (because black is too hard to keep clean and is too hot during the summer!). I finally managed to find a dealer who would work with me. Because I have excellent credit (and worked hard for that) I didn't feel like the dealers were giving me the best deal. I qualify for the lowest interest rates available but I wanted that PLUS the cash rebate. These are hard times and you have to be willing to bargain. I finally ended up finding a dealer that would give me both so the payments are about the same amount to buy this truck as the lease payments were on the Tundra. Also, I save a LOT in gas with a V6 (avg 20mpg vs 14 on the Tundra).

Two really cool features I like are the backup camera (it shows up INSIDE the rear view mirror. That totally rocks) and the bluetooth phone connection built into the stereo and controlled on the steering wheel. I can pretty much dial and talk to anyone without a headset OR touching my phone at all since the controls are all voice command. One thing it doesn't have is rear window defroster. I guess the side mirrors are auto. It's still a way cool (and sporty!) truck to drive. Handles like a sports car even!

Church was AWESOME this weekend. We had Bob Butterworth come speak and if you haven't heard him, he's just awesome. He has a great sense of humor but the lessons he gives are of real value as well. Since it was V-DAY his lesson was about love (giving and being) and I really took a lot from that. Also, since I finished my daily devotional and didn't pick a new one up I started back on my reading plan. I'm already halfway through the New Testament and plan on finishing a complete read through of the bible again (3rd time). It's amazing how much I realize I missed or didn't understand completely the first couple times through.

Ok, the NFL season is over but my favorite time of the year is rolling up March 1st. Motorcycle Road Racing! MotoGP, World Superbike and AMA racing all start up soon as I am excited about that. Lots of changes in the pits and with Spies moving to MotoGP we finally have another American to root for (cause I wasn't a big fan of Hopkins). Bummer that Hayden is riding for Ducati because I really am not a fan of their bikes OR their whining in WSBK. However, if they treat him better than Honda and give him a bike he can work with, I'll be happy for him.

I think that is about it for this week. As you can tell it was pretty busy. I had a lot of fun hanging with friends. Can't remember when I've had such a good time :) Hope you had a fantastic week and we'll chat with you AFTER Bx4. Once again if you didn't get the invite, drop me an email and I'll give you the details. I didn't invite a ton of people. Just my close, personal friends. It should be fun though and something you don't want to miss!

Have a great FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC week (I know I will!) :)

Week ending February 8th, 2009
Yeesh :)

What a week! I was so busy at work I don't think I had time to think much less get stuff done. I have a lot of things that are either ready to be certified or in the certification process AND I have a huge incentive project I am working on. Yes, a big one. And just at the wrong time I am getting some training that I have been wanting for a long time all next week in O.C. So that means I am going to be a week behind everyone else working on other sections of the project.

To top it all off, the lease is up on my Tundra and I am trying to figure out what to do. I can buy a new truck but the payments are going to be higher and I really don't want a huge car payment. I can buy my current truck but I really don't need a big truck anymore. I'd rather have something a little smaller. Yesterday I went to one Toyota dealer who "misquoted" a price (haha, when has THAT ever happened before?!) so I ended up basically wasting 4 hours doing nothing. Well that's not true. Their computers were all screwy so I had to fill the application out three times. Both times I tried to use their computer system it failed so I had to go to a paper backup.

I also had to go back to the store and exchange some slacks that I bought for work. Unfortunately I didn't really look at the label closely when I bought them. Turns out I bought the "slim fit" ones. When I tried them on at home...well...let's just say it was far, far too tight of a fit. haha. There are certain parts of one's body that you don't want to have squished in tight pants, haha. So I did manage to get those replaced. I still have to get to the grocery store and back to the dealer today before I tie up some loose ends before heading to Irvine on Monday.

I still managed to go hang out with friends on Friday, lol. We hit up the Gas Lamp and had something to eat and then checked out the various establishments. That was fun. It's good to get out and relax. I've been so busy with work and my personal life that letting loose was waaaaay overdue. Oh don't worry, I didn't get crazy, haha. Not that I don't think about it sometimes. All that partying in my early 20s is done with. I have no desire to get drunk or puke my guts out. In fact, if I remember correctly, I was excited about being able to buy beer when I turned 21 oh, for exactly like 5 seconds. Then it was no big deal.

There's something OUT-FREAKING-STANDING in the works for my life and I'll clue you guys in to the news in a couple weeks. Still have some details to work out and, as with anything else that is new, I'm always a little apprehensive. It's funny because when people first meet me I am always on the conservative side. It takes a while of getting to know me before I really loosen up and am comfortable around them. Sometimes it freaks people out. Like "I didn't know you were this funny...." or "Geez, where you been hiding that?!" Haha. It's not that I'm a prude or anything. I think it has something to do with gaining trust. Once you have my trust you get the rest of me. Of course, once my trust is gone it's nearly impossible to get it back. Takes a lot of work :)

Anyway, that's about it for this week's "soap box rantings.." Well actually, it's not much of a rant considering how great things have been going. Now if I can just work out a deal for a new truck.... haha. Have a fan-freaking-tastic WEEK! I'll let you know how my week in OC went.

Oh and don't forget Bx4!!! If you haven't received your invite, I didn't mean to miss you. Drop me and email and I'll give you the details or check my Facebook account (don't use myspace that much anymore!).

B.

Week ending February 1st, 2009
Hey there..

This week's blog is going to be different. In preparation for Bx4 (Brian's Big Birthday Bash!) I thought I would spend a little time reflecting on just a few of the things I've learned over my lifetime. I just jotted down what came to mind. Everyone on Facebook is doing the "25" things about them. I thought I'd take this in a different direction and post 25 personal musings. Things I've learned that have served me well.

"25 Musings". (Some of my own, some from others):

1. Lust is the single greatest betrayer of love. Ever.
2. Preach the Gospel with actions, not just words.
3. Happiness is a personal choice. We either choose to be happy or we choose to be sad.
4. You can not move forward with your life if you're staring at a rear view mirror.
5. The more you want someone, the less they'll want you. The less you want someone, the more they'll want you. We all want what we can not have and when we finally have it, we don't want it anymore.
6. To get what you want in life, you have to be willing to let go of everything else that binds you.
7. When God takes someone away from you, it's not His way of punishing you. It means He has someone better in mind.
8. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results each time.
9. Those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.
10. Experience is what you get when you fail.
11. Living to please others is a hopeless endeavor, doomed to failure.
12. Learn to seek approval from within and people will love you for who you are.
13. If someone takes you for granted, you're not obligated to keep them in your life. You are, however, obligated to forgive them. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me!
14. The measure of a true friend is if they call you just to say hello and see how you're doing.
15. The difference between success and failure is 2%. 99% versus 101%.
16. The greatest way to overcome fear is to face it head-on.
17. When you're truly 100% confident in your own skin, you'll never again say to yourself "I hope they like/approve/love me..."
18. The more beautiful someone is on the outside, the more proportionally unattractive they are on the inside. I have yet to see otherwise.
19. Integrity is knowing what the right thing to do is, then DOING it.
20. The richest people I know are surrounded by those who truly love them, not thick wallets.
21. When someone walks away from you, let them go. They were never meant to be in your life forever. Learn from the experience and grow.
22. Learn to have fun. The most attractive people I've ever met are not the ones that "look" hot, but are just FUN to hang out with.
23. The best way to solve a problem is to spend 90% of your time analyzing it and 10% of your time finding a resolution.
24. We're here for a limited time. Be sure to let those you love know that you love them, for we never know what tomorrow brings.
25. The purpose of a door mat is to wipe your feet on it, not love and respect it. Nobody I've ever known either loves or respects a door mat.

Hope you enjoyed that. This week work was great (busy, but fun) and I just got back from a Superbowl party so I am pooped. Have a great rest of your Sunday and we'll talk to you next week!