Growing up I did not have a television.  I was a veracious reader my whole childhood.  One of my vivid childhood  memories was being in Kindergarden and being able to read already while the rest of my class was just learning the sight words.  My mother had worked with me diligintly to teach me how to sound out words and I enjoyed reading from day one.  When I moved out of my parents house I got a television.  I was glued to it and still find myself watching hours a night rather than reading a book.  There is something to be said for the pure thoughlessness that it takes to watch T.V.   I have found few things more relaxing than changing into my pajamas and watching the history channel.  I do this every night as I drift off to sleep listining to a program on some military genius or some ancient civilization.  Surely there is good to be gleaned from drifting to sleep while listining to an educational program.  I beleive that you hear and process audio even while you are asleep.  I have not given up reading by any means.  As a matter of fact I just got a new book from the library about the history of the secret service in America.   So far so good.  I will review this book after I am finished reading it.  The whole point is like with any thing else, moderation.  I feel that as long as I still am reading there is room for the television and the thoughtless relaxation that it brings.

Have you seen any good movies lately?  I saw Sherlock Holmes on Christmas day.  Now before I tell about it I have to preface my statement with a little qualifying information.  Guy Ritchie is one of my favorite directors.  Two of his movies are in my top ten of all time.  Snatch is one of my all time favorites and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a close second.  Also I think that Robert Downey Jr.  is one of the most underrated actors of our generation.  Needless to say I was very excited to see this movie.    Well after seeing it I was a little disappointed.   It wasn’t that it was a bad movie, it was just that I expected more.  I was really stoked for the cast and director to blow my socks off with a great action movie and was left wanting more.  I would recommend seeing it but I would not spend the extra money to see it in the theatre.  I also recently purchased The hangover.  Now if low-ball sophomoric comedy is your thing than this is a movie for you.  It is very funny, and the highest grossing “R” rated comedy of all time.  I laughed a lot and would recommend it highly.  I also bought The newest Quinton Tarentino movie The Inglorious Bastards.  Historically inaccurate,  extremely violent and wonderful.  I loved it.  I also am a big fan of Tarentino’s movies with Kill Bill and Pulp fiction again among my favorites.  This time I got what I expected a typical bloody, violent, funny movie.   I love movies and am always looking out for new ones to see.  If anyone reading has any recommendations please leave them in the comments.

Today is another slow day at work.  I know it was not long ago that I was wishing for a break from the fast paced days of summer.  It only takes a couple days of boredome and you are ready to be busy again.  Forgetting about being stressed out and tired.  One thing I like about being slow is the ability to really focus on the details of the products.  I recently met with a customer for an hour to help her pick a door.  That is a luxury that I cannot afford in the busy time.  We discussed evry aspect of the door.  From the grill patterns to the color of the hardware and sill.  We talked about different wood species about painting vs. staining.  It was what I love about the job.  To know and have confidence in what you are telling a customer about a product is something that only comes with experience.  I look foward to gettig busy again but in the meantime I think I will try to focus on the positive experience of getting into the details.

My Family

This Christmas started out a little weird.  My sister and Ben were in Mexico on vacation the kids were not due in till 8:30 at night.  So Mom, Dad, Pop Pop, uncle Mark and I went to lunch/dinner at Carrols Creek.  Then Mom Dad and I went to see Sherlock Holmes.  Then we left for my favorite part of the day picking the Kids up from the airport!   After we picked them up we headed back to mom and dads house for present opening.  They had a great time with that.  Nico got a phone and Isa got a digital camera.  We stayed up late and had a great evening together as a family all in all it was a wonderful day.

My coworkers and I have been discussing at great lengths what we thought were the top ten news stories of the last decade.  We had many fun and somtimes heated talks about what we thought, and it provided great conversations for the dull winter days.   Here is ourt finalized list:

10.  Bernie Madoff.

9. Tiger Woods sex scandal.

8. Sadamm Husiens capture and execution.

7. The death of Pope John Paul II.

6. Barak Obama becoming the first African American President of the United States.

5. Hurricane Katrina.

4. The Tsunami in Shri Lanka

3. The Spaceship Columbia Exploding

2. The death of Michael Jackson

1. September 11th

Honorable mentions

Michael Phelps setting an Olympic Record with 8 gold medals.

Stories and Drama with families of multiples (Octomom,  John and Kate The Duggers etc.)

Mass shootings (Virginia tech,  Amish schoolhouse Ft Hood etc.)

If anyone else has any good ones feel free to leave comments.

It is taking over my days at work! I have been busy before but I don’t remember a time that has been more stressful. After January lay offs there have been major restructuring and many people covering multiple positions. Add all of these shifts together with the fact that my customer base nearly doubled with the unexpected departure of my boss and stress has been the result. I have tried to keep all my customers taken care of with the addition of the phone ringing non-stop and walk up customers who are often home owners. Needless to say I am looking forward to a slower time in the winter. I think my gray hair has doubled in the last three months. One thing has helped me to cope with all this stress. That is the fact that I have been able to talk to my kids on Skype at night. That has been wonderful. We have done homework and talked and laughed and argued. Although it is obviously not as good as the real thing it has certainly eased the pain of not being able to see them every day.

Yesterday was my Baby Girls birthday. It got me thinking about where I was nine years ago and how fast time flies. Nine years ago I was an unmarried man about to start a family with a girl that had just graduated from high school four months earlier. I was so nervous and unsure how to do the right thing. One thing I did know was that for nearly as long as I could remember I had wanted to be a father. The day Anny and I went to the hospital was quite an ordeal. I had everything prepared the best I knew how to. I had packed a hospital bag for both of us and stowed it in the trunk of the Camry that I traded my green S-10 pickup for. The car seat was strapped in and triple checked and in my mind we were ready. When she said its time to go to the hospital we rushed right over. It took a long time for Isa to come out. When she crowned I started to cry and by the time my parents came into the room I was nearly hysterical. I remember looking around at a room full of girls and realizing that I was crying more than all of them combined. I was so overwhelmed with joy that my first child was here. It has been a quick nine years since that day and I have a beautiful, smart and well behaved daughter whom I love dearly. I often remind her that she is my “Alma” (my soul). It fills my heart with joy just to talk to her everyday. I never thought nine years ago that I would be where I am today but I thank God that I have had my family through whatever I have gone through. Especially my “Baby Girl.”

Well I have not written since Fathers Day. Too long for sure. Since that time so much has happened. I will be writing about some of the things I should have already written about soon. A recap of the summer with the kids will be included.

My daughter told me the other day while helping me to prepare skewers for the grill that she would like to be a chef. I told her that I thought it was really cool the way that chefs come up with new recipes and make changes to existing ones. She agreed with me and we created some marinade for our chicken using honey and barbecue sauce. Well she must have taken my words to heart about creating new things because Fathers day morning I was awakened by both kids who had prepared breakfast for me to enjoy in bed. The sandwich that she created was a cheddar cheese and grape jelly on a hot dog bun! It was accompanied on the plate with a string cheese and a granola bar. I had to laugh at that one and she assured me that it would be delicious. I ate it and it was wonderful (I had to say that). I did really appreciate the thought and the hard work they put in to give me that surprise. What a lovely Fathers day we had. Beautiful weather and family which are two of my favorite things.

Father’s Day 2007: “Let’s admit to ourselves that there are a lot of men out there that need to stop acting like boys; who need to realize that responsibility does not end at conception; who need to know that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise a child.”

Father’s Day 2008: “Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”

Father’s Day 2009: “We need to step out of our own heads and tune in. We need to turn off the television and start talking with our kids, and listening to them, and understanding what’s going on in their lives.”

These are quotes by Barack Obama made the last three fathers days. Good advice. I have aless than ideal situation with my children but strive everyday to make the most of it. Keeping open communication with Anny hasn’t always been easy but has always been beneficial. The children are respectful smart ans fun to be around. Due in no small part to the ability of two parents that dont always get along working together despite their differences.