BLOGS FOR JANUARY 2009

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Week ending January 25th, 2009
So how did your week go? Mine was awesome, as always!

Work-wise, there are some interesting things going on, especially with this high priority project I've been assigned. In fact, as soon as I am done with the blog (and after eating this huge bowl of rice, chicken and beans - yum!) I have a couple of ends to tie up. I have my laptop from work and all my docs so I'll listen to some music and try to finish things up.

Most of the rest of the week has been rather uneventful. I guess I've been working myself so hard at the gym that I *think* I might have either torn a biceps muscle or maybe tore a ligament in my right arm. Whatever it is, it hurts a lot when I try to lift my arm up so I might have to make a trip to the doctor's office to see what's going on. I know I was pushing my heaviest weight last week (presses) when it happened. Funny but it was more or less the remnant of my broken collar bone that is limiting how much I can lift. I should have forced them to screw the bone together instead of letting it heal all screwy like it did.

Over the weekend I took it easy. Watched a few movies and vegged. Of course I got the other things done that needed to be done. I was going to run but as much as I've been pushing myself I felt that I needed to recharge. Church on Saturday night was great as always. It's funny but our Pastor admitted he's "looked" at another woman with is wife right there and apologized to her. It's good to see that he admits to be weak and human, just like we all are. The difference, he said, was recognizing when you make those mistakes and doing your best to correct the behavior. Something I myself have been striving to do for some time.

Oh! Great news! We (my friends and I) have decided on a place to have Bx4 (Brian's Big Birthday Bash). If you have a facebook account and are on my friends list the invitation is already there, just RSVP. If not, drop me an email: brian at brianspad dot com and I'll give you the info. The place we're going to has 1/2 off sushi rolls "happy hour" specials. By the way, it's February 21st which is on a Saturday so no excuses! You don't need to bring anything but yourself (or a friend, lol). Your presence is all the "gift" I need. There's already like 20 people confirmed so DON'T MISS IT! (Seriously)

My bud still hasn't set a date for snowboarding. Can you tell I am jonesing to go? I mean seriously, that's something I have been looking forward to since winter started rolling in and first snow fell.

On a sad note, it doesn't look like my Grandmother is doing well -- or that she is going to make it on this planet much longer. My Aunts told me that since my mom died, she has been on a downward slide. I can't imagine being a parent and out-living your child. I didn't want to upset her, but part of me wanted to talk to her and see if there was something I could do for her. I'm at peace where my mom is now (and she's in a better place). I hope "Nana" has found that peace as well.

Hate to end the blog on a sour note, but everything's in God's hands and I trust Him completely.

That's it for this week. Talk to you later!

B

Week ending January 18th, 2009
All is quiet this week -- and that's always a good thing!

How was your week? Things were pretty quiet all around and certainly no complaints. Definitely at the office. I like it when it's quiet, ya know?! Especially when I am trying to hammer out documents for important projects.

The weather this weekend has been beautiful but I haven't really taken advantage of it. I've been a homebody all weekend. Plan on getting a run in tomorrow since we're off work on Monday. Yay! I'll probably end up spending most of the rest of today (after the playoff games of course!) cleaning the house and playing "Mr. Domesticated" - haha. Yes, I do chores and keep my house clean. Pig-styes are not my style :)

Speaking of the NFL (this is the boring part if you want to skip over), Jon Gruden got fired. I was coming back from the gym on Friday after work and normally don't listen to the sports stations but something told me to flip it on. The first announcement was the firing of Jon Gruden. Then the announcement the Bucs were hiring our Defensive Backs Coach as Head Coach. We also fired our GM and hired from within. Lots of big changes in Tampa. I hope that translates into better play on the field, lol.

I guess if I am able to talk about sports then overall it was a pretty good week, right? LOL. Saturday night services were great. Pastor Bob was back. It's also good to hang out there as I have a co-worker who attends the same service I do so occasionally we hang out together. I stopped bringing my cell phone in to the services as well. I prefer to leave it my truck so I am not distracted and can listen intently. Some poor lady apparently didn't share the same idea. Her phone went off during the service and it was one of those odd, LOUD ring tones. She nearly dropped everything out of her purse trying to shut it off. It was hard not to chuckle when Bob smiled her way :)

Since tomorrow is a day off and I won't be going to the gym (those are bonus gym "days off" and allows my body time to recoup) I will probably go ahead and run 5 miles. It's always good to get some cardio in since I have really packed on a good balance of muscle and a little fat. Gaining fat is inevitable but at least I can manage it somewhat with cardio work. I really should lay off the pizza (and I have been lately) more haha. I just love relaxing on a lazy Sunday with a pizza while watching the games.

Oh! Cool news! The guy who bought my race bike sent me some pictures from his race this past weekend. I guess the first real ride on the bike and he qualified and obtained his WERA racing license. I have to admit it was weird seeing him on my race bike with my old number (602) still prominently displayed on the bike. It's all good though. I was really happy to sell the bike to someone who was going to get the most out of it and bring them as much joy riding it as I did.

Well I guess that is about it. I know, nothing really exciting to report. Like I always say, some things you just gotta keep the very personal info tight to the vest and I do :) Hope you have a great rest of your weekend and be safe out there!

B

Week ending January 11th, 2009
Well -- how are you doing?

Hopefully the first week of your New Year has started out well. On my side, things are OK. Some things are great and other things just so-so I suppose. I really don't have anything to complain about -- it's just that some situations could use some improvement. That's why having faith is so important in one's life. The more faith you have in God, the more you are rewarded with His will in your life.

The not so good thing is the migraine headache I had on Friday (and it's still lingering a bit today). I haven't had one that bad in a while. A co-worker said she had the same thing and she had to take the entire day off on Wednesday. I woke up with it on Friday morning and would have stayed home except for the fact that I had some important meetings. I didn't end up going home until 2:30 (which would have been most of the day anyway). Either way the meeting went well and a lot of issues that need to be worked out with this new solution are going to be fine I think.

Being that ill on Friday meant that I missed the gym, which I hate doing. But on top of that I had no appetite either so I didn't eat for a good 48 hours (maybe a divine way of saying "It's time for you to fast, young man!" haha) Either way, I do plan on getting back to the gym on Monday. Don't want to ruin all the good gains I've had lately. If I didn't mention it already I am almost to my weight goal. That means I'll probably back off the heavy weights and start mixing in more cardio. I've been doing that already with the running but I'll have to start running more than once or twice a week.

Saturday night I did end up going out again (after Church) with my friend. Definitely keep her in your prayers. She is going through a rough time in her life. I want to rush in and help her but I also know from past experience that it's better to help those who want to help themselves. You can figure out what that means I am sure. She is a good, Godly woman and I really want her to get her life in order.

As for Church, Pastor Bob took a needed weekend off for his birthday so we had the Children's Ministry come in and speak. Kind of hard for me to relate to a lot of what they have to say. In fact, it always is when they talk about marriage or kids being single your entire life, It's not that the message isn't welcome or received (it is). It's just that I have a hard time relating for the most part, lol. Maybe that's God's way of preparing for things to come? We'll see on that. haha.

Oh and might I say: YAY GATORS! NATIONAL CHAMPS! Robert, if you're reading this bro, that's two in the past three years. Whatever they are paying our Head Coach, they need to double it. It's not enough. Hopefully he stays for a long time and makes Florida a powerhouse in NCAA football.

Nothing to really complain about so I guess that is a good thing. Well unless you want to count the number of times I've been behind someone on the freeway lately and they toss out a cigarette butt (light ones mind you). You would think after the fires we had here in October of 2007 that people would think twice about throwing a lit cigarette out the window. I guess they don't respect the beautiful area we live in.

Well hopefully my friend gets his butt in gear and we hit the slopes soon. We've been talking about it for weeks but so far it hasn't materialized. I'm really looking forward to getting away for a weekend and having some fun.

That's it for this week. I know, nothing really great to talk about but hey that's also a good thing. Remember to keep your chin and your EYES up. Being happy is a choice :)

Cheers!

Week ending January 4th, 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I trust your New Year went well! Mine was excellent, thank you. We had a short week at work so that meant I got to leave early on Wednesday and get in a little golf. Haha. Well, we played a 9 hole executive course and I played badly. I am really hooking the ball (opposite of slice) on all of my iron shots. I have to figure out why that is happening -- and maybe more time at the range is in order? Well see :)

As I mentioned earlier, work was a short week so I did a lot of cleaning up. My board is wiped clean and I will start with a new slate on Monday. That's good because I have a lot of projects to finish and then start on some really cool new ones. I still have this one really big project to take care of that may have a huge impact on the account. Only time will tell, I guess. The work overall has stayed interesting and I really like what I do and where I work. That's always a plus :)

New Years Eve I went out with a friend. She's a performer so we went to Orange County for her show. It was this private party thing (don't worry, I kept myself out of trouble haha) and overall it was really G rated. That's good because I don't normally do these kinds of things but it was a long drive and we had plenty of time to chat on the way there and back. That does remind me, the fog was completely terrible. The thickest I've ever seen it and I am not kidding. There were several times where I had to slow down to about 20 miles an hour. On the freeway that's just dangerous. Needless to say I didn't get to bed until around 4am. haha.

Friday was "chill out and watch bowl games" day. Actually I got a lot done around the house. Halfway through the day though both my mouse and keyboard decided to go kaput so I had to run out and get new ones. The reason I mention it is because I've never had BOTH go bad at the same time. I bought replacements but don't really like the keyboard as much as the old one. The buttons are more nice but the layout is rather blah. Haha. I'll get used to it I suppose.

Saturday I got some things done in the garage and then went out again with my friend. We went to Claim Jumper and I had a huge T-Bone steak (sorry if you are vegetarian -- I'm not haha). Needless to say I pigged out a lot. Then we did some shopping (coz I hardly every go -- maybe it's just a guy thing lol). Anyway, I did get to watch the Charger game earlier in the day. She lives right by the stadium and we were leaving as the game ended. We saw all the fireworks go off so we figured the Chargers won. So I turned the radio on the sure enough, I was right.

So today is Sunday and I am taking it easy. Life is good, ya know? Get my chores done, watch a few NFL games and hang out with friends. What more could you ask? haha. I trust your 2009 will be great because I know that mine will be. I am grateful for a pretty remarkable 2008 as well. So many great things have happened in my life and God, as always, is taking exceptional care of me. I wouldn't change anything that happened for anything! As I have said time and time again, God has your life planned out and if you just give Him control, everything works out. No stress, no anger and no disappointment.

That's it for now. Talk to you next week and be sure to take it easy, mmmk?

Later!