My feeble attempt every year is to do a better job at writing frequently. I almost always end up failing miserably when I look back at my post history and can usually count them all on my two hands. Hopefully 2009 will be better. (In case you haven't noticed, I've also change the layout in an attempts to inspire myself!)
I've decided to apply my writing skills (if you can even call them that) and follow The One Minute Writer. I can't promise that there will be a post every day, but my intentions are to at least post weekly with each topic and/or question and my response below. I also can't promise that it will only be a minute, give me a little credit for trying something new!
Hope everyone has a Safe and Happy New Year!
Please check back on January 1st for my new series of posts.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Welcome To The Party, Pal!
It's been quite a long, involved and rather tumultuous year for me. Things were anything but "by the book" in 2008. Where should I start and attempt not to rehash what I've already said from posts in the past?
LIFE CHANGING EVENTS
Reality Check Slap In The Face:
Getting "Fired" For The First Time
If there's one lesson I've learned at the beginning of the year, it's to never take anything for granted. After having a long successful streak of employment, I lost my job due to a clerical error causing accounting books not to balance. There were additional circumstances that surrounded my termination, but I'm not going to get into them; it's been a long and hard ten months.
I've had a very difficult time letting go of my anger over the entire situation, but I have finally started to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't where God wanted me to be, or I would still be there. With that being said, I wash my hands clean of this unfortunate sore personal subject.
But The Sign Says She's A Lab Retriever Mix:
Not Getting The Dog You Originally Wanted
After serveral months of subtly (and not so subtly) hinting that I wanted to get a dog, Lisa finally gave into my request on Memorial Day Weekend. I should make a note that Lisa had wanted to get a dog as well, but I was the ever-persistent one who kept asking the question, "How 'bout now?"
I had worked a very long day performing my first physical inventory in over two years in a retail store that I had only been employed with for two weeks. Needless to say, it was just a tad chaotic. When I finally arrived home, Lisa asked me a variety of questions at an attempt to cheer up my not-so-sunny disposition. The mere mention of going down to PAWS (our local animal shelter) and just looking at what they may have to offer transformed me mentally into a child in a toy store: "I want this one, and this one, and ooooh... this one too!"
However, like the title of this segment, the sign stated that the dog we (and when I say we, I really mean me) picked out was a lab retriever mix. That was all fine and dandy until two months into puppy parenthood when our dog started to become much more aggressive than I ever remember having experienced in the past. The answer quickly came to surface once we started researching her changing physical features and discovered that the dominate part of her mix was more than likely from a bully breed (Pit Bull, Boxer, etc). Can you all say "uh-oh" boys and girls?
If ever there was a dog that we were both trying to avoid, it was a dog whose breed caused fear in the general public. However, I'm glad to report that Amity's goal in life is not to devour little children nor is it to continually find new ways to puncture, bruise or bite my wife's hands, arms or any other body part that happens to get in the way (most of the time). Almost everyday Amity does something that makes us both laugh and smile including drinking from the faucet in the bathroom, chasing one of her whiffle balls throughout the house, or watching her eviscerating the quickly depleting supply of stuffed toys.
Her current and most consistant general disposition is mostly sunny with only a 20% chance of retarded. She's now nine months old, weighing in at around 55 pounds and has finally been welcomed in our home as one of the family.
YEAR END HIGHLIGHTS
So This Is What It Was Like To Earn A Paycheck:
Finding Employment Again
I was finally able to gain full-time employment after three months. Unfortunately, it was in retail. Not my first choice, but as you'll read a little later, I discovered that the whole "finding a new job is your job" really didn't work for me.
The downside to this entire situation is that I'm currently working for a company that decided to announce that it was closing 155 stores, as well as filing for Chapter 11 under the federal bankruptcy court, all within a week of each other. So, even though I have been able to establish steady employment, who knows how long that will last.
I Think We Better Stick To The Slower Rides:
Our First Anniversary
Lisa and I celebrated our first anniversary on October 13th. We had made plans to take a few days off and head up to Cedar Point (considered by many as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World) in Sandusky, Ohio. Our plans also included a day trip to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame (maybe even a shopping spree at Winfred-Lauder). Unfortunately, we had to seriously curtail our plans as our current funds could not support this lavish and extravagant affair. We settled on Six Flags Over Georgia instead.
This provided several benefits which included a maximum travel time of only four hours compared to the nine plus needed to reach the south side of Lake Eerie. We had a wonderful time, until we got off the second mega coaster. Lisa discovered that her childhood motion sickness had reared its ugly head, so we stayed away from those rides and stuck with the more traditional wooden style coasters instead. Once she regained her composure, we had a blast! I discovered that people must have been much smaller back when they first constructed some the older rides, or that I'm so big that the seat just couldn't contain me. (Maybe a little of both!)
20/20 HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS
Video Games & Puppies:
How To Strengthen Your Spousal Communication Skills
I always felt our marriage had a strong grounding in our communication; and I still firmly believe that. However, it was quite an eye-opening experience to realize sometimes how much we didn't do it when it came to some of the more basic things.
My first clue was my well-seasoned talent of "hearing without listening," most evident when playing co-operative video games over the past year. Lisa would tell me a couple of times to do something, and after a fair amount of time, I would then end up suggesting the exact same thing. This moment was usually followed by a blank stare, the rolling of her eyes and then followed by a comment like, "I just said that two minutes ago." Little did I know that this would be a commonly repeated phrase in our household.
Puppy parenthood opened up a whole new can of worms in learning how to sharpen our dulled skills on saying exactly what we mean. This issue reared its ugly head with Amity's major bout with subborness and aggression. Lisa would repeatedly make a small comment such as, "it makes me nervous when..." or "it bothers me when..." I took these in context of each individual incident rather than collectively. She tiptoed around the subject instead of saying, "this issue is a serious concern of mine and we need to get this resolved if we're planning on keeping Amity." Thankfully, a majority of these issues have been addressed, as well as those issues with the dog, and we're very proud to say that we've grown even closer because of it.
Unemployment, Cabin Fever & You:
Uncovering Old Bad Habits And Discovering New Ones
Being unemployed sucks. It sucks not bringing in money. It sucks receiving goverment assistance for three months (but ever-so-thankful for it). But worst of all was that being unemployed seemed to suck my will to be productive.
My last stint at being jobless was back in 1998 and it lasted for a whole six weeks, but this time it wasn't that easy. I quickly discovered that I was my own worst boss, or I was my own worst employee; both descriptions fit depending on the situation. Without any structure, I failed in my job searching. I was treading in foreign territory, not at all familiar with the philosophy of "your job is looking for a new job."
I blame a very small part of that on living in an age where the internet super highway is right at your finger tips, with a virtual cornicopea of wonderful (as well as not so wonderful) distractions. However, I take the blame for my lack of focus, inner drive, self-pity, and procrastination. I'm learning how to manage my time better when looking for a new job. I now set small goals to complete everyday. It's amazing how much more productive you'll be and how much more you can accomplish.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Where Is This Water Coming From:
How To Spend Your Day Off Installing A New Toilet
Installing a toilet was something I never truly saw myself actually doing. Be that as it may, we had discovered a leak somewhere around the toilet, which inspired the need for some home repair. So, one Saturday morning not too long ago, I found myself rocking a toilet free from the bathroom floor. The discovery of sewage, however, seeping underneath the linoleum, was something we weren't expecting. Thankfully, there wasn't much damage to the hardwood floor.
By the time the sun had set, the wife and I had laid down new linoleum and installed our brand new Jacuzzi Perfecta commode. Aside from the weird concave seat, which makes it feel like your posterior is firmly planted inside the bowl, the new chair-high toilet is a welcomed addition to our bathroom.
Crock Pot Turkey v2.0:
Surviving The In-Laws During Thanksgiving
Knowing that North Carolina wasn't on our destination map this Thanksgiving, Lisa and I invited her mother and grandmother to our home. We had sucessfully cooked a turkey breast in the crock pot last year, when we invited my cousin and his wife to dinner. So I thought, why not try it again, but this time let's make sure we have a large enough breast so we can have a decent amount of leftovers. What is Thanksgiving, if you can't have leftovers to munch on for the remainder of the four-day holiday weekend?
We purchased a seven and a half pound turkey breast from the local grocery store and tucked it away for a few weeks. When Thursday morning came, I dragged myself out of bed, took the dog out, and proceded to prep the turkey. I rinsed off the bird, dislodged the gravy packet, and patted the bird dry. I then placed it in the crock pot and attempted to put the lid on top. I was amazed to discover the top lacked a good half inch in closing, as the bird was too tall and too long to fit when it's frozen solid.
Not knowing what to do next, I rubbed a thin coat of butter on the bird, generously sprinkled soup mix atop the bird, and shrugged my shoulders as I placed the lid back on top. After I washed my hands and hopped back into bed, I hoped that once the bird began to cook, it would shrink and the lid would close. Thankfully it did, and it was absolutely delicious; perfectly moist, tender and pleasantly seasoned.
If you haven't crock-potted a turkey before, I highly recommend it. The instructions are just about as simple as I described them, but you can click here if you're interested in preparing this extremely easy dinner.
I've really started to enjoy cooking and Lisa couldn't be happier. Getting home early from work four out of five days a week allows me to have supper ready by the time she's arrived home and had time to relax.
As this year slowly winds down and as Christmas and New Year's quickly approaches, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of what Corporate America and Consumerism has turned this holiday season into, please don't forget the real Reason for the Season.
"We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Savior was born, it is the 25th of December....Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give thanks to God for the gift of His dear Son."
- Charles Spurgeon
Until Next Time, Dear Readers.
LIFE CHANGING EVENTS
Reality Check Slap In The Face:
Getting "Fired" For The First Time
If there's one lesson I've learned at the beginning of the year, it's to never take anything for granted. After having a long successful streak of employment, I lost my job due to a clerical error causing accounting books not to balance. There were additional circumstances that surrounded my termination, but I'm not going to get into them; it's been a long and hard ten months.
I've had a very difficult time letting go of my anger over the entire situation, but I have finally started to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't where God wanted me to be, or I would still be there. With that being said, I wash my hands clean of this unfortunate sore personal subject.
But The Sign Says She's A Lab Retriever Mix:
Not Getting The Dog You Originally Wanted
After serveral months of subtly (and not so subtly) hinting that I wanted to get a dog, Lisa finally gave into my request on Memorial Day Weekend. I should make a note that Lisa had wanted to get a dog as well, but I was the ever-persistent one who kept asking the question, "How 'bout now?"
I had worked a very long day performing my first physical inventory in over two years in a retail store that I had only been employed with for two weeks. Needless to say, it was just a tad chaotic. When I finally arrived home, Lisa asked me a variety of questions at an attempt to cheer up my not-so-sunny disposition. The mere mention of going down to PAWS (our local animal shelter) and just looking at what they may have to offer transformed me mentally into a child in a toy store: "I want this one, and this one, and ooooh... this one too!"
However, like the title of this segment, the sign stated that the dog we (and when I say we, I really mean me) picked out was a lab retriever mix. That was all fine and dandy until two months into puppy parenthood when our dog started to become much more aggressive than I ever remember having experienced in the past. The answer quickly came to surface once we started researching her changing physical features and discovered that the dominate part of her mix was more than likely from a bully breed (Pit Bull, Boxer, etc). Can you all say "uh-oh" boys and girls?
If ever there was a dog that we were both trying to avoid, it was a dog whose breed caused fear in the general public. However, I'm glad to report that Amity's goal in life is not to devour little children nor is it to continually find new ways to puncture, bruise or bite my wife's hands, arms or any other body part that happens to get in the way (most of the time). Almost everyday Amity does something that makes us both laugh and smile including drinking from the faucet in the bathroom, chasing one of her whiffle balls throughout the house, or watching her eviscerating the quickly depleting supply of stuffed toys.
Her current and most consistant general disposition is mostly sunny with only a 20% chance of retarded. She's now nine months old, weighing in at around 55 pounds and has finally been welcomed in our home as one of the family.
YEAR END HIGHLIGHTS
So This Is What It Was Like To Earn A Paycheck:
Finding Employment Again
I was finally able to gain full-time employment after three months. Unfortunately, it was in retail. Not my first choice, but as you'll read a little later, I discovered that the whole "finding a new job is your job" really didn't work for me.
The downside to this entire situation is that I'm currently working for a company that decided to announce that it was closing 155 stores, as well as filing for Chapter 11 under the federal bankruptcy court, all within a week of each other. So, even though I have been able to establish steady employment, who knows how long that will last.
I Think We Better Stick To The Slower Rides:
Our First Anniversary
Lisa and I celebrated our first anniversary on October 13th. We had made plans to take a few days off and head up to Cedar Point (considered by many as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World) in Sandusky, Ohio. Our plans also included a day trip to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame (maybe even a shopping spree at Winfred-Lauder). Unfortunately, we had to seriously curtail our plans as our current funds could not support this lavish and extravagant affair. We settled on Six Flags Over Georgia instead.
This provided several benefits which included a maximum travel time of only four hours compared to the nine plus needed to reach the south side of Lake Eerie. We had a wonderful time, until we got off the second mega coaster. Lisa discovered that her childhood motion sickness had reared its ugly head, so we stayed away from those rides and stuck with the more traditional wooden style coasters instead. Once she regained her composure, we had a blast! I discovered that people must have been much smaller back when they first constructed some the older rides, or that I'm so big that the seat just couldn't contain me. (Maybe a little of both!)
20/20 HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS
Video Games & Puppies:
How To Strengthen Your Spousal Communication Skills
I always felt our marriage had a strong grounding in our communication; and I still firmly believe that. However, it was quite an eye-opening experience to realize sometimes how much we didn't do it when it came to some of the more basic things.
My first clue was my well-seasoned talent of "hearing without listening," most evident when playing co-operative video games over the past year. Lisa would tell me a couple of times to do something, and after a fair amount of time, I would then end up suggesting the exact same thing. This moment was usually followed by a blank stare, the rolling of her eyes and then followed by a comment like, "I just said that two minutes ago." Little did I know that this would be a commonly repeated phrase in our household.
Puppy parenthood opened up a whole new can of worms in learning how to sharpen our dulled skills on saying exactly what we mean. This issue reared its ugly head with Amity's major bout with subborness and aggression. Lisa would repeatedly make a small comment such as, "it makes me nervous when..." or "it bothers me when..." I took these in context of each individual incident rather than collectively. She tiptoed around the subject instead of saying, "this issue is a serious concern of mine and we need to get this resolved if we're planning on keeping Amity." Thankfully, a majority of these issues have been addressed, as well as those issues with the dog, and we're very proud to say that we've grown even closer because of it.
Unemployment, Cabin Fever & You:
Uncovering Old Bad Habits And Discovering New Ones
Being unemployed sucks. It sucks not bringing in money. It sucks receiving goverment assistance for three months (but ever-so-thankful for it). But worst of all was that being unemployed seemed to suck my will to be productive.
My last stint at being jobless was back in 1998 and it lasted for a whole six weeks, but this time it wasn't that easy. I quickly discovered that I was my own worst boss, or I was my own worst employee; both descriptions fit depending on the situation. Without any structure, I failed in my job searching. I was treading in foreign territory, not at all familiar with the philosophy of "your job is looking for a new job."
I blame a very small part of that on living in an age where the internet super highway is right at your finger tips, with a virtual cornicopea of wonderful (as well as not so wonderful) distractions. However, I take the blame for my lack of focus, inner drive, self-pity, and procrastination. I'm learning how to manage my time better when looking for a new job. I now set small goals to complete everyday. It's amazing how much more productive you'll be and how much more you can accomplish.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Where Is This Water Coming From:
How To Spend Your Day Off Installing A New Toilet
Installing a toilet was something I never truly saw myself actually doing. Be that as it may, we had discovered a leak somewhere around the toilet, which inspired the need for some home repair. So, one Saturday morning not too long ago, I found myself rocking a toilet free from the bathroom floor. The discovery of sewage, however, seeping underneath the linoleum, was something we weren't expecting. Thankfully, there wasn't much damage to the hardwood floor.
By the time the sun had set, the wife and I had laid down new linoleum and installed our brand new Jacuzzi Perfecta commode. Aside from the weird concave seat, which makes it feel like your posterior is firmly planted inside the bowl, the new chair-high toilet is a welcomed addition to our bathroom.
Crock Pot Turkey v2.0:
Surviving The In-Laws During Thanksgiving
Knowing that North Carolina wasn't on our destination map this Thanksgiving, Lisa and I invited her mother and grandmother to our home. We had sucessfully cooked a turkey breast in the crock pot last year, when we invited my cousin and his wife to dinner. So I thought, why not try it again, but this time let's make sure we have a large enough breast so we can have a decent amount of leftovers. What is Thanksgiving, if you can't have leftovers to munch on for the remainder of the four-day holiday weekend?
We purchased a seven and a half pound turkey breast from the local grocery store and tucked it away for a few weeks. When Thursday morning came, I dragged myself out of bed, took the dog out, and proceded to prep the turkey. I rinsed off the bird, dislodged the gravy packet, and patted the bird dry. I then placed it in the crock pot and attempted to put the lid on top. I was amazed to discover the top lacked a good half inch in closing, as the bird was too tall and too long to fit when it's frozen solid.
Not knowing what to do next, I rubbed a thin coat of butter on the bird, generously sprinkled soup mix atop the bird, and shrugged my shoulders as I placed the lid back on top. After I washed my hands and hopped back into bed, I hoped that once the bird began to cook, it would shrink and the lid would close. Thankfully it did, and it was absolutely delicious; perfectly moist, tender and pleasantly seasoned.
If you haven't crock-potted a turkey before, I highly recommend it. The instructions are just about as simple as I described them, but you can click here if you're interested in preparing this extremely easy dinner.
I've really started to enjoy cooking and Lisa couldn't be happier. Getting home early from work four out of five days a week allows me to have supper ready by the time she's arrived home and had time to relax.
As this year slowly winds down and as Christmas and New Year's quickly approaches, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of what Corporate America and Consumerism has turned this holiday season into, please don't forget the real Reason for the Season.
"We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Savior was born, it is the 25th of December....Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give thanks to God for the gift of His dear Son."
- Charles Spurgeon
Until Next Time, Dear Readers.
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