some guy-travels thru life

Seaon Greetings

2009-12-25T13:38:00.001-07:00

This one isn't mine, but I thought it was worth sharing. It comes from James Allen's "Book of Meditations." Enjoy, Season Greetings and may your spirit be renewed.

The year is passing, and blessed are they who can let its mistakes, its injuries, and wrongs pass away for ever, and be remembered no more.

December Twenty-fifth.
THE past is dead and unalterable ; let it sink into oblivion, but extract and retain its divine lessons; let those lessons be strength to you now, and make them the starting-points of a nobler, purer, more perfect life in the coming years. Let all thoughts of hatred, resentment, strife, and ill-will die with the dying years ; erase from the tablet of your heart all malicious memories, all unholy grudges. Let the cry, " Peace on earth and good-will to men ! " which at this season re-echoes through the world from myriads of lips, be to you something more than an oft-reiterated platitude. Let its truth be practised by you ; let it dwell in your heart; and do not mar its harmony and peace by thoughts of ill-will.

Blessed is he who has no wrongs to remember, no injuries to forget; in whose pure heart no hateful thought about another can take root and flourish.

I'm writing,,,

2009-11-01T21:00:00.004-07:00

Since I'll be putting all of my effort into writing this novel in November I probably wont post much to my blog, not that I post all that often to it anyway, who knows, maybe I'll have a lot to post in November,

feel free to check my novel writing status at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/509282/

twenty rules for a better life

2009-10-19T15:07:00.003-06:00

I don't know where I found this, but it is worth sharing, so to whoever wrote it, the credit is yours.

Twenty Rules for A Better Life

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
When you say, "I love you," mean it.
When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. Please No name calling.
Don't judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Spend some time alone.

sometimes,,,

2009-10-18T10:01:00.000-06:00

sometimes nothing in the future will be right untill you make peace with the past.

Peace of Mind

2009-10-10T22:37:00.005-06:00

I thought this Duke University study was interesting and worth sharing

Duke University did a study on "peace of mind." Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:

1) The absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.

2) Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.

3) Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.

4) Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.

5) Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.

6) Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty.

7) Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.

8) Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.

I Dare You!

2009-09-29T20:35:00.003-06:00

So my brother Paul invited me to join in during National Novel Writing Month in writing a novel. I think he challenged me or even dared me to do it. So a few days ago I signed up at the website to write a novel in November (I hope it's in November, I'm not ready to do it in October).

Now I'm wondering what have I got myself into? I've got to write a novel. Like 50,000 words from November 1 through November 30. I don't think I've spoken 50,000 words in my life, now I've got to make some up and put them down on paper (well the computer). That's almost 1700 words a day. Wow!

Ok, now what do I write about? I haven't read a novel in years. I've done quite a bit of reading, but no novels. So to brush up on my novel skills I went to librivox.com and downloaded Dante's "The Divine Comedy," burned it onto a cd, burned a really cool label onto it with the lightscribe thinggy. So I'll listen to "The Divine Comedy" over the next few days, I hope it's really funny. Then I'll be ready to start writing my first best seller on November 1. Thanks Paul.

Chief Falling Rock

2009-09-28T23:20:00.003-06:00

In my travels I see a lot of road signs. Some will give you points of interest, some will tell you about roadside attractions. Others tell you how far to go till your destination, while others give you directions. Then there are some that will warn you of possible hazards. And just like the signs in life, I pretty much choose to ignore most of them and do things my way.

But there is one sign that always makes me think of my Dad, he's so funny. Every time I see the sign that warns of falling rocks I think of my Dad. He was always Chief Falling Rock. Whether it was Vacation Bible School, Backyard Bible Camp, or some other church function that required us to be indians, he was Chief Falling Rock.

I just wanted to say thanks Dad for being that Rock. I know I have not always been the best son, defiant and rebellious at best, but you have always been the best Dad, thanks. My son, he has been the best son, he's almost 17 and still has his drivers license, I know he didn't get that from me.

Thanks Dad, "Chief Falling Rock." Me, I'm more like "Runs With Snails" or "Wrestles With Porcupines."

Athletic Fit?

2009-09-17T22:07:00.003-06:00

Today I took a trip to one of the local department stores here in Loveland, CO, to buy some new shirts. Thought it might be nice to get a new look, you know, get away from wearing the t-shirts that say I hate the world.

So I'm looking through the shirts, found some nice long sleeve Henley's that I liked. I figured long sleeve since it is starting to get cold, especially at night and early in the morning. Anyway, I'm looking at this shirts and the tag says athletic fit. So I'm wondering to myself, not out load of course, where are the not so athletic fit shirts, or used to be athletic fit. Well, I liked the style of them so I grabbed a couple of them and headed for the fitting rooms to try them on. Well, what-do-ya-know, they do fit, I guess I am an athletic fit kinda guy after all.

Where were you that day in September,,,

2009-09-11T14:04:00.003-06:00

,,, the day the world stood still, the day the world changed, or did it?

I was in San Francisco, attending an IBEW Convention. I had turned on the news about the time that the second plane hit the second tower. I was stunned, just sat there in disbelief. It changed the whole theme of the convention. The local unions from New York waited for news about their members that worked in the buildings. At the end of the week we had to rent vans to get home to Colorado Springs.

This morning at the conference in Las Vegas we paused for a moment of silence, had a little tribute video. Myself, I got kind of teary-eyed over the whole thing, I think about, not much has changed in this world since then, unless it has gotten worse.

no mans land

2009-09-08T22:01:00.003-06:00

It was a little after midnight last night when I crossed the Colorado state line, headed for Las Vegas. I got a later start than I wanted to, but that's what happens when you wait till the last minute to get things done. Plus I had to turn around at Florissant to go back and get my suit coat that I had left hanging in the closet.

So a little after midnight I crossed the Colorado state line and entered communist Utah. I wonder if that area of distance between the two sings is like a no mans land? Could you squat on that area and be free of the laws of either state? I'm sure the feds would then claim jurisdiction. Then came the age old question of "Where is Joe Hill buried?" And as any Wobblie knows, everywhere but Utah.

shooting star count-2

the vehicle,,,

2009-09-05T11:18:00.016-06:00

I most like to travel in is my 93' Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's green in color (green is such a cool color) and has a tan interior. The passenger area is equipped with all the comforts of travel, cup holders for coffee (occasionally water), seat belts for your safety (although I rarely use them, unless I see a cop), visors to keep the sun out of your eyes, gum (for changes in altitude), a cassette adaptor for the mp3 player in case you can't find an NPR station.

The cargo area contains all the essentials for traveling, there is a sleeping bag, tent, a hammock, picnic blanket, a bucket full of fishing gear, a folding chair, extra clothes (for after falling in the river), hiking boots, walking stick, fishing rods, a box full of Colorado travel brouchers and maps (state and city maps), of course the spare tire (I hope it's good), a cooler for carrying jalapeno cheese spread. bread, peanut butter, jelly and assorted chips and a really cool hat for fishing or when you just feel like being goofy.

At the start of this blog the odometer is already at 193147 miles. How far do you think it will go? Myself, I'm pushing for a half a million miles. Care to come along? Of course I do quite a bit of traveling in my company car as part of my job, but the jeep is my favorite.

a new experience equals a new belief

2009-09-05T10:07:00.002-06:00

Every new experience passes through the filter of past experience to either validate an old belief or create a new belief. A new experience brings the possibility of a new belief depending on how open-minded I am that day, how honest I am about myself and how willing I am to experience it.

My Colorado Experience

2009-09-04T22:54:00.002-06:00

I just love Colorado. There are so many places to go, things to see and activities to do. Whether it is rolling down the Great Sand Dunes, tubing in the Cache La Poudre river, contemplating the fate of the Anasazi's at Mesa Verde, enjoying the view from some forgotten mountain pass, dinner in some obscure diner or watching for shooting stars while lying in the alpine grass, there is always something to do.

There are so many points of interest, roadside markers, wide spots in the road and little towns that are passed by without a second thought. So here is my new experience with the highways, byways, main streets and side streets of Colorado. My travels, my thoughts, my contemplations, my experience.

Disclaimer: Not all post are historically or factually accurate, some of it I've just made up.