Its 9:10 am
Up early to jot a few thoughts down before heading off to the eye doctor. I was going to post my interview with Lacye Presley today. She and I had a nice talk via IM but after 40 minutes she had to go. I sent her the rest of my interview questions...she sent them back but I didn't know she was doing a full renovation on her home. The answers were by someone being pulled like taffy so I am going to wait until Lacye has the time to sit,relax and take her time to write back. I feel I owe her that courtesy and I really want to show my readers just how amazing this young lady really is.
I ended up working last Sunday so I missed the airshow. But what Lori told me,I didn't miss anything. Her store actually has a great viewing spot for folks. About 200 people park in the huge lot and watch the planes every year. But since this year's show only featured prop planes and the only two jets flown were privately flown,the crowds didn't show up. The jets didn't practice during the week as well due to the high cost of fuel so I think that really hurt the attendance this go around. My neighbor didn't go either...
Got this the other day from Tiffany Hendra,the wonderful lady who created Sanctuary of Style and did a episode of her show about how women with cancer can still rock it with style and helped awareness how hard it is for women to get a good wig.
Hey coolest guy on the planet (ok, besides Aaron.lol)
I have been mentoring 2- 17 year old girls that are SOS followers and now are practically like family. They live in Ontario. One is battling the system because she was orphaned last year. The other has cancer and just got out of the hospital for 2 months. She was suppose to start chemo on tues but doesn't want to go through it all. Her 19 yr old sister died last year from the same cancer and she watched her go through chemo- the horrible sickness, hair loss, etc. She's asked me for some advice but I don't feel qualified. I can just listen and make her feel love and comfortable. Is there any great sites geared for younger people with cancer. I know you have great blog posts but may be a bit over her head.
Any guidance or books would be great! Her parents are wonderful and I'm sure they're helping her with resources, but sometimes kids don't want to discuss certain things with their folks.
It's also great to have some knowledge to guide the BFF to understand cancer as well. She lost her mom to a drug OD and has lots of unanswered questions and anger. Seeing her BFF become ill has pushed her over the edge.
Happy Friday xo
Its my first letter asking me for help with someone who is fighting cancer. I have thought about this the past few days. I could have taken the easy way out and Googled some sites but I decided to do this instead...
This is a open letter to Tiffany's two warriors from me to them.
Hello.
I know you two young people are facing some long odds. One of you is fighting cancer and the other is now without parents. I could sit here and say "it will be okay" and "Keep on going" and other rah rah crap and I know you would zone out. So I am not going to do that...I'm going to be honest with you two.
You have been dealt some harsh cards. I myself grew up in foster homes because my parents married too young and my birth mother went to jail. Bounced around in a county orphanage and three homes including one where I was molested and abused until I was united with my birth mother. Lucky for me,the last home I was in,I was placed with Lou and Anna Weirton,who I consider my real parents. I was blessed to have gained a moral center with them. Because when I landed with my birth mother,it was like a slow slide into hell. During the eight years I lived with birth mother,I experienced things I never saw I would see....drug abuse,weapons,fights,my mom being beaten bloody. We moved 5 times in 8 years. The last stop was the worst. While there,I saw the first friend I made die in his uncle's arms are being accidently shot by his 4 year nephew,another friend and I discovered a dead body of a hooker who had overdosed. I saw many of my friends in the neighbor go from playing sports to shooting heroin. I had a good friend who roomed with me tell me I had to leave the area within a year or risk never leaving at all. I was gone 8 months later.....but my friend,who didn't even live but 5 months in my neighborhood,developed a nasty crack habit back when no one knew just how deadly that shit was.
Tough cards....but not impossible to overcome.
Lived in San Jose for 16 years on my own. Had some missteps there as well....ended up in a hospital ER at the age of 21 because I made a serious run at suicide. Didn't know clinical depression ran in my family so I had to learn to deal with that,still do to this day....one of the reasons I write,it helps me get out my feelings,a journal is a great tool to do that with.
But some of my best moments were there as well.....I became a talent buyer in clubs. Met some awesome people like my buddies Jimmy,Rees,Monte,Eddie,Fil and Adrian. Had people really believe in me and my talent for the first time....men who trusted me to help run their businesses....Eddie,Jacek and Kristoff. Kept plugging away.....because you have to. You can never give up...
Fell in love for the first time in San Jose...but fate had other ideas. Lost my brother when living there as well...killed by friend who had a bought a stolen weapon. But all that did was my bond with my other brother all that more special,had great friends like Chris Esparza and Chris Elliman reach out and made sure I was thought and loved. Do you see a common theme here? For every dark day,there is ALWAYS a tomorrow. It may not seem like it and I can understand how you may think there is no tomorrow but there is.
Met my soul mate and moved from San Jose in '99. Has life suddenly become a fairytale? Nope....we both have lost jobs when our companies closed doors,my mother-in-law developed Alzheimer's and is slowly dying a little each day. My wife narrowly escaped serious injury when she was rear-ended by a man who was talking on his cellphone.
You look at these things and wonder "am I jinxed or does God hate me"? But take a good look around,I mean a GOOD look around. Someone is always in a worst place then you....be it the homeless man we helped find his family after 8 years,the journalist who was blown up in Iraq just doing her job,or the medic who helped save that journalist's life being drummed out of the Army just because she chose to love another woman. A young 17 year old man,poised to perhaps gain a college scholarship,breaks his neck playing football and can't fulfill his own dreams.
Or my wife who had stage 3 ovarian cancer and faced a 35% survival rate. The one thing they have in common is they all believed in themselves and the power of a family,a spouse or complete strangers (like I am to you) to help them overcome some very long odds. To get a chance to live life,no matter what hurdles we face.
Sort of like I how met Tiffany....through her website Sanctuary of Style. While her message is both fashion and empowering women,she and I connected as well...and when she was asking for ideas for her SoS web series,I shared with her about how hard women cancer patients have with finding cute fashions to wear while having no hair or a wig. Tiffany then created a episode that told folks about just how hard it was for women to get good wigs and little or no fashion tips. She reached out and helped impact not only my wife and I but others as well..making what could have been a sad situation into one that made spirits rise.
I started writing this blog entry two weeks ago...work and a trip to see said mother-in-law have kept me from running it. I don't know if anything as changed in your lives since Tiffany contacted me...but you two have been in my heart everyday since. I hope you can find the strength to overcome the very dark times in your past lives to make one more real good effort to find the light that is happening now. Every day we wake up and are able to breathe,see our friends and families,to drink coffee,to pet a cat,to pay our cellphone bill....we have to consider it a great day.
Hope this helps.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Planes,chickens and fast food
Its 1:40 pm
Another hot summer day in SE Michigan. Its been a summer to remember as far as the heat goes,that is for sure. But you can tell by two signs that fall is almost upon us....the political robocalls are increasing and its almost college football time!
I know,I know.....I always get geeked for the upcoming San Jose State season....until we get our breakfast,lunch,dinner and late night Taco Bell run handed to us in the first game. It takes a little steam out of a fan when his/her favorite school gets drilled by 40 points.
While I am hopeful that we won't take any beatings like that,I do think SJSU does have a legit shot at winning the last season of the Western Athletic Conference and getting to a bowl game.
And of course the political fever is now in full effect with Obama and Mittens waging a bitter yet somewhat disconnected battle to become the figurehead of Big Business aka the One Percent. And of course all the local talking heads are only now making their only public appearances begging for votes which is the ONLY time they care what the public has to say. Full of empty promises and lies,ads filling our mail boxes with negative attack pieces....yep,fall is now upon us.
This weekend is the annual airshow "Thunder Over Michigan". Its a two day show that takes place about 15 miles from our house. The past two years we have had a great show right in our backyard as we have seen several F-18s fly over us.
This year is a little different,the Navy is not flying a program this year,they are allowing a single static F-18 SuperHornet at the show. This year has a more throwback feel to it as it featureS over 20 P-51s,the best fighter of World War II
I have already seen at least four Mustangs fly over our house,while completely bad ass,it just doesn't quite compare to seeing F-18s blitz across the sky! The show also will feature a couple of B-17s as well.
But the real buzz will center around a pair of jet fighters this as a F-86 Sabre and the only privately owned Sea Harrier (which is still in use by the Marine Corps) will be taking part of the show. Haven't seen either of those jets as of yet but the day is still early...
The F-86
The BAE Sea Harrier
Plus there will be a huge World War II battle reenactment featuring a Panzer battlegroup (including armor) and an American force. Plenty of tanks,tank destroyers and other vehicles will be display for the public. The proceeds help the Yankee Air Museum raise funds to help restore old warbirds. A few years ago,a huge fire destroyed several planes and shut the museum down for a long time. But it has it made a nice comeback and this airshow is very popular. While Lori is working early Sunday,I am hoping my neighbor Al will want to motor out and take in the show....
I was channel surfing the other day and ran across Morgan Spurlock's acclaimed 2004 film "Super Size Me". I had never seen it so I decided to watch it for a while before heading to work. And I was just blown away...at just how horrible McDonald's crap really is. For those who may not have seen it as well the premise is pretty simple: Spurlock eats and drinks nothing but food from McDonald's for a month. He has to eat every item on the menu and if the Mickey D's employee asks him if he wants it super sized,he has to to say yes.
Morgan started out as a happy go lucky 184 pounder when he started,by the 17th day he was at 203 and was showing serious health issues. I didn't get to finish it but have added this movie to my "bargain bin watch"so I can see how much weight he finally gained.
Going to have wrap this up....Lori had a port flush today,she is doing very well and we are on track to have a good visit with Dr. Johnston. A clean PT scan will enable us to look forward to get that port removed and get back to doing everything we want to do.
Just got my answers back for my next "8 Questions with....." interview and I'm pretty damn excited about it...and think you'll be as well.
What is a Chick-a-Fil anyways? Don't think we have them here in Michigan....not that it matters anyways since we only eat fast food chicken 1-2 a year anyways. But with all the hoopla being driven towards it by the media,you know the company is secretly overjoyed by the coverage as it spark a surge in sales. Chickens may be unhappy but what can you do?
And as far as Dan Cathy's opinion goes.....he has every right to voice it,not everything that is said is always agreed on. But we all have to support the right to express it...if you don't agree with his stance,just take your business elsewhere. Staging "kiss-ins" is just so much classless bullshit...and changes nothing. But taking your money to say Popeye's or Kentucky Fried Chicken will catch the stockholder's attention much more then showboating for the TV cameras.
Like to wish Lisa Ann Walter a very Happy Birthday!
Like to send warm vibes to Michelle,Laurel and Candye who are battling some serious health issues and need some good news and prayers to brighten their days.
Alright,that is all I have for today.
Another hot summer day in SE Michigan. Its been a summer to remember as far as the heat goes,that is for sure. But you can tell by two signs that fall is almost upon us....the political robocalls are increasing and its almost college football time!
I know,I know.....I always get geeked for the upcoming San Jose State season....until we get our breakfast,lunch,dinner and late night Taco Bell run handed to us in the first game. It takes a little steam out of a fan when his/her favorite school gets drilled by 40 points.
While I am hopeful that we won't take any beatings like that,I do think SJSU does have a legit shot at winning the last season of the Western Athletic Conference and getting to a bowl game.
And of course the political fever is now in full effect with Obama and Mittens waging a bitter yet somewhat disconnected battle to become the figurehead of Big Business aka the One Percent. And of course all the local talking heads are only now making their only public appearances begging for votes which is the ONLY time they care what the public has to say. Full of empty promises and lies,ads filling our mail boxes with negative attack pieces....yep,fall is now upon us.
This weekend is the annual airshow "Thunder Over Michigan". Its a two day show that takes place about 15 miles from our house. The past two years we have had a great show right in our backyard as we have seen several F-18s fly over us.
This year is a little different,the Navy is not flying a program this year,they are allowing a single static F-18 SuperHornet at the show. This year has a more throwback feel to it as it featureS over 20 P-51s,the best fighter of World War II
I have already seen at least four Mustangs fly over our house,while completely bad ass,it just doesn't quite compare to seeing F-18s blitz across the sky! The show also will feature a couple of B-17s as well.
But the real buzz will center around a pair of jet fighters this as a F-86 Sabre and the only privately owned Sea Harrier (which is still in use by the Marine Corps) will be taking part of the show. Haven't seen either of those jets as of yet but the day is still early...
The F-86
The BAE Sea Harrier
Plus there will be a huge World War II battle reenactment featuring a Panzer battlegroup (including armor) and an American force. Plenty of tanks,tank destroyers and other vehicles will be display for the public. The proceeds help the Yankee Air Museum raise funds to help restore old warbirds. A few years ago,a huge fire destroyed several planes and shut the museum down for a long time. But it has it made a nice comeback and this airshow is very popular. While Lori is working early Sunday,I am hoping my neighbor Al will want to motor out and take in the show....
I was channel surfing the other day and ran across Morgan Spurlock's acclaimed 2004 film "Super Size Me". I had never seen it so I decided to watch it for a while before heading to work. And I was just blown away...at just how horrible McDonald's crap really is. For those who may not have seen it as well the premise is pretty simple: Spurlock eats and drinks nothing but food from McDonald's for a month. He has to eat every item on the menu and if the Mickey D's employee asks him if he wants it super sized,he has to to say yes.
Morgan started out as a happy go lucky 184 pounder when he started,by the 17th day he was at 203 and was showing serious health issues. I didn't get to finish it but have added this movie to my "bargain bin watch"so I can see how much weight he finally gained.
Going to have wrap this up....Lori had a port flush today,she is doing very well and we are on track to have a good visit with Dr. Johnston. A clean PT scan will enable us to look forward to get that port removed and get back to doing everything we want to do.
Just got my answers back for my next "8 Questions with....." interview and I'm pretty damn excited about it...and think you'll be as well.
What is a Chick-a-Fil anyways? Don't think we have them here in Michigan....not that it matters anyways since we only eat fast food chicken 1-2 a year anyways. But with all the hoopla being driven towards it by the media,you know the company is secretly overjoyed by the coverage as it spark a surge in sales. Chickens may be unhappy but what can you do?
And as far as Dan Cathy's opinion goes.....he has every right to voice it,not everything that is said is always agreed on. But we all have to support the right to express it...if you don't agree with his stance,just take your business elsewhere. Staging "kiss-ins" is just so much classless bullshit...and changes nothing. But taking your money to say Popeye's or Kentucky Fried Chicken will catch the stockholder's attention much more then showboating for the TV cameras.
Like to wish Lisa Ann Walter a very Happy Birthday!
Like to send warm vibes to Michelle,Laurel and Candye who are battling some serious health issues and need some good news and prayers to brighten their days.
Alright,that is all I have for today.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Back in the saddle
Its 2:46 pm
Wow,I go away for 10 days and all heck breaks loose...
Its a cloudy day here in SE Michigan. Which is a welcome sign here as summer has been very warm so far. We had our first real rain for the first time in months yesterday and we picked up about 2 inches. Not sure if this breaks up our drought but it sure can't hurt.
Thank you all for stopping by and supporting my interview with the cool and classy Evon Cassier. I hope that some of you maybe even dropped by her site and ordered a handbag from her! I can't thank Evon enough for taking the time and answering my questions!
I'm so out of practice in writing a blog,I'm having a hard time getting going.....
So last week was Lori's vacation....since I had to work,we did a staycation. This included finally painting our deck,hosting Lori's team from her store for a great dinner and visiting the Ann Arbor art fair. I accidently took both sets of car keys to work one day so she was very unhappy she was on "lockdown" for a day.
We made a dash out to Taylor and on the way back home,we decided to stop at the deli in Garden City that we had attempted to eat at before. It was closed because of a armed robbery at the jewelry store next door that was owned by the same family.
When we got there again,it was closed again....this time for good. I dropped by the jewelry store and asked what happened. Said the business never really got off the ground so they had to close the doors.
But the owner actually remembered us and thanked us for coming by and that he was sorry he was closed.
I asked about the crew who robbed them....the four men got anywhere from 3-4 years only being that they were young and this was their first offense! For armed robbery!
That ended that and we headed home.
As far as Colorado goes......who cares? We as a nation sure do not...
Its now 8:37 am on Wednesday,August 1st.
This is one crusty,rusty entry. But I'm sort of not in a real hurry to post a new entry as the Evon Cassier interview is doing very well. I have to go back and tweek a couple of errors and give a photo credit to the gentleman who took the excellent pictures for her website. Have no problem with doing that for such a great interview.
A case of the "good news/bad news".
Bad news,a neighbor of ours lost his job a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't liked by his supervisor and the same supervisor managed to hang enough of a paper trail to get him the hook. He had worked at the job for 11 years.
Bad news,the same company fired a woman who loved the company and had worked there for 17 years. Supposedly she had made a certain mistake "one too many times" and that was enough to let her go. Instead of demoting her,moving her to another department or giving her a refresher training class,they sat on their hands and let the woman mistake her way out of a job.
Good news...this company gives bonuses out twice a year. Its based on years worked,hours worked and sales. So far within the last six weeks,an assistant store manager was transferred,3 employees with between 3 to 14 years have quit and the two employees with 11 and 17 years have been fired. How is this good news? If you're the store manager...you have just seen YOUR share get a lot bigger!
Good news...my seasonal job became a regular one as I was hired in. I'm now have gone from unemployed to underemployed.
The bad news......guess which company I'm working at?????
Our neighbor Marlene went on vacation this past week and we got to catsit for her. Her cat,Crash,is one of the coolest cats around. While Derek and Crash are about the same age,that is where the things in common end. Crash is a talker and a real "I love people in my house"type of cat. He always greets you with a ton of meows and likes to be petted.
Derek is more aloof,he loves HIS people but is shy around strangers. We feel that is because we don't have much company all the time so he isn't used to folks. We have only seen him really love a guest once in the 12 years we have had him as our cat.
Crash loves to still play and is very active when you play with him where as Derek isn't quite so playful other then playing "flop" and spiderfingers. He still will stalk me when I rattle the catnip can but he doesn't chase toys and chase me up the stairs anymore. Of course Crash is about half of Derek's size as well.
We had a great time cat sitting and hopefully will get to do it again very soon....
Gore Vidal passed away today...
That is all I have in the tank for today. Hopefully I'll bounce back Friday with a good entry,just feeling sort of blah-ish this week.
Wow,I go away for 10 days and all heck breaks loose...
Its a cloudy day here in SE Michigan. Which is a welcome sign here as summer has been very warm so far. We had our first real rain for the first time in months yesterday and we picked up about 2 inches. Not sure if this breaks up our drought but it sure can't hurt.
Thank you all for stopping by and supporting my interview with the cool and classy Evon Cassier. I hope that some of you maybe even dropped by her site and ordered a handbag from her! I can't thank Evon enough for taking the time and answering my questions!
I'm so out of practice in writing a blog,I'm having a hard time getting going.....
So last week was Lori's vacation....since I had to work,we did a staycation. This included finally painting our deck,hosting Lori's team from her store for a great dinner and visiting the Ann Arbor art fair. I accidently took both sets of car keys to work one day so she was very unhappy she was on "lockdown" for a day.
We made a dash out to Taylor and on the way back home,we decided to stop at the deli in Garden City that we had attempted to eat at before. It was closed because of a armed robbery at the jewelry store next door that was owned by the same family.
When we got there again,it was closed again....this time for good. I dropped by the jewelry store and asked what happened. Said the business never really got off the ground so they had to close the doors.
But the owner actually remembered us and thanked us for coming by and that he was sorry he was closed.
I asked about the crew who robbed them....the four men got anywhere from 3-4 years only being that they were young and this was their first offense! For armed robbery!
That ended that and we headed home.
As far as Colorado goes......who cares? We as a nation sure do not...
Its now 8:37 am on Wednesday,August 1st.
This is one crusty,rusty entry. But I'm sort of not in a real hurry to post a new entry as the Evon Cassier interview is doing very well. I have to go back and tweek a couple of errors and give a photo credit to the gentleman who took the excellent pictures for her website. Have no problem with doing that for such a great interview.
A case of the "good news/bad news".
Bad news,a neighbor of ours lost his job a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't liked by his supervisor and the same supervisor managed to hang enough of a paper trail to get him the hook. He had worked at the job for 11 years.
Bad news,the same company fired a woman who loved the company and had worked there for 17 years. Supposedly she had made a certain mistake "one too many times" and that was enough to let her go. Instead of demoting her,moving her to another department or giving her a refresher training class,they sat on their hands and let the woman mistake her way out of a job.
Good news...this company gives bonuses out twice a year. Its based on years worked,hours worked and sales. So far within the last six weeks,an assistant store manager was transferred,3 employees with between 3 to 14 years have quit and the two employees with 11 and 17 years have been fired. How is this good news? If you're the store manager...you have just seen YOUR share get a lot bigger!
Good news...my seasonal job became a regular one as I was hired in. I'm now have gone from unemployed to underemployed.
The bad news......guess which company I'm working at?????
Our neighbor Marlene went on vacation this past week and we got to catsit for her. Her cat,Crash,is one of the coolest cats around. While Derek and Crash are about the same age,that is where the things in common end. Crash is a talker and a real "I love people in my house"type of cat. He always greets you with a ton of meows and likes to be petted.
Derek is more aloof,he loves HIS people but is shy around strangers. We feel that is because we don't have much company all the time so he isn't used to folks. We have only seen him really love a guest once in the 12 years we have had him as our cat.
Crash loves to still play and is very active when you play with him where as Derek isn't quite so playful other then playing "flop" and spiderfingers. He still will stalk me when I rattle the catnip can but he doesn't chase toys and chase me up the stairs anymore. Of course Crash is about half of Derek's size as well.
We had a great time cat sitting and hopefully will get to do it again very soon....
Gore Vidal passed away today...
That is all I have in the tank for today. Hopefully I'll bounce back Friday with a good entry,just feeling sort of blah-ish this week.
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