Words to Live By

I haven't watched too much of this current season of Survivor . . . but I did catch a little of this last week's episode. One of the contestants, Yau-man, said that he lived his life by this mantra, which I really thought was good.

Love Many,
Trust Few,
Do Harm to None

Weekend Warrior (blogger)

This is killing me ... I really would post everyday if it were not for the hectic schedule during the week. I can't tell you how many items on my to-do list get pushed to the next day/week ... over and over and over again. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.

I wake up at 5 a.m every morning to get ready for work and get there between 6:30 and 7:00. Then I usually figure out what I am going to teach that day. As soon as the students come in, I have no time to make personal phone calls or work on personal stuff . . . and then by the time 3 o'clock rolls around I am beat and usually have things to work on or finish up for the next day. So, then I usually get home around 5, and then sometimes there is soccer or drum/guitar practice to get the kids to. By this time, it is too late to make all the phone calls/appointments during business hours.

Am I making excuses? Yes and no. It makes me feel better, but I know that successful people are ones who can figure out how to get things done no matter what the situation. I hope to be one of those people when I grow up!

Any suggestions?

Deep thought - Is the level of success proportional to how much time someone is willing to be available on their cell phones?

Truth . . .

Deep Thought - The truth always lies somewhere in the middle.

Agree? Disagree? Discuss . . .

How can I help you?

It often occurs to me, that the most amazing people in the world are not those that our vain culture would tell us they are, but the people who quietly look around them and ask "how can I help those around me?"

Deep thought . . . the world be an incredible place if every single person asked that question . . . often.

Trash

Last night, L and I picked up some of the BEST Chinese food last night. It's called Heaven Dragon, and supposedly it is where George W. Bush eats when he is in Colorado. Anyway, my purpose in telling you this is because it spawned another deep thought . . .

First of all, we had to unpack this giant brown bag of food that was all in it's own container . . . 2 soups in styrofoam containers with plastic lids, a "tub" of fried rice in the typical, double stacked, laminated paper Chinese take-out rice container with the little metal handle. Then, the two entrees in their plastic containers and lids. I think we had some eggrolls and crab wontons (with real crab!) in a paper bag.

So, I am sitting there, mouth watering, as we dole this delicious dinner onto our plates, looking at the trash that was created just so we could bring this dinner home. Then, it made me think of all of the trash that we, just our family, creates in a week. Then, I thought of how many people there are in the United States that create trash EVERY day. Think of all the packaging that we have, whether it is for food or toys or whatever that just gets thrown away. Where does it all go?

Then, my mind went really deep into thinking about all of the trash that has been created in the history of man . . . billions and billions (say like Dr. Evil) of people that are living and have lived create waste. Now, I realize that most of this trash problem has been exacerbated (what does that mean? Watch Shaun of the Dead!) in the last century or two since the industrial revolution and mass production.

Of course, all of this rambling thought (that happens within about 4 seconds) begs the question . . . "How long can we keep this up until we reach a point of undeniable damage to life, ecosystems, health, etc.?"

I admit that I have definately been a typical U.S. consumer who has contributed an un-godly amount of non-biodegradeable and hazardous trash to this planet we call home. In fact, sometimes I will even wonder where all of my trash is in the world right now. I don't know if this is because I am getting older and wiser or just more aware of it, but I would like to certainly do my part to reduce my (and my family's) impact on our finite resources and capacity to deal with trash.

So, to conclude this expansive post . . .

Deep Thought - Have you ever thought of all of the trash created in a day by yourself? By your neighborhood? By your city, state, county, etc.? What about the 6 billion people in the world . . . in one single day???

New Years Resolution Addition - I would like to find out how I can do a better job of recycling and reducing our family's trash. Any suggestions?

Deep Thoughts

Deep Thought for today - "The world would be a very different place, a safer and more peaceful place, if people did not have the ability to lie." ~ An original quote from me, but certainly not an original thought.

Being a father ...

Deep Thought - Being a father is an AMAZING responsibility!

Last night, the boys came home from visiting family in Nebraska after Christmas. I was happy to see them both for a little while, but soon after CJ was off to his friends house for a sleepover. So that left CT home with us. It was nice to have some one on one time with CT.

We played Connect Four for a while and discussed many seemingly simple things that held such greater meaning . . .

Life and Death - We talked about the death of Denver Bronco Darrent Williams. and the fact that he won't get to play football anymore and that he will be missed. Life is precious and we are never guaranteed a new day, so we need to make the most of the ones we have.

Ethics - We talked about what it means to think about our actions and why we do things. We talked about how the satisfaction of an action is so much more meaningul if it is done in the right way (ie. not cheating).

Critical Thinking - In the course of playing the game, we were able to talk about why we made the moves we did and how to think ahead. You can play the game from offense or defense.

Anyway, then we watched one of the most amazing football games I have ever seen! The Boise State Broncos (David) vs. the Oklahoma State Sooners (Goliath). BSU had an undefeated season and were ahead 28 to 20 when we started watching, but ended in regulation tied at 28-28. OU scored easily in overtime, and then BSU was able to match it and went for two to win the game with an amazing "Statue of Liberty" play. It was awesome, and I was so glad to share that moment (memory) with my youngest son.

Then we finished off the night watching Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.

It was a great night . . . and it made me realize that being a father is such an amazing responsibility. Being a mom is obviously equally important, but I am a dad. We have to teach our children what is right and wrong, how to be good friends, how not to take the easy way out, how to work hard, how to view women (men), how to love people, manners, etc. The list could go on for miles. Not only do we have to teach it, but we have to model it too. That's the hard part sometimes isn't it?

I love my kids and I love being their dad . . . I just hope I can do a respectable job. They are growing up so fast. I can't fix past mistakes, but I can do my best not to make those mistakes today!