Finally. A new post!

Sorry it's been so long. Easter came and went, and I got sick... again... so the blog wasn't exactly a priority for a little while. I'll put it in writing though, for those of you who have been asking me about this... and you can bring it up to me if I fall behind again... but unless there are extreme circumstances, I will post twice a week minimum from here on out.

We have been busy working on our project that we hinted at in earlier posts. Tomorrow night, we are taking some steps to further this project, so don't expect to see us hanging around on facebook. We are allowing ourselves half an hour to read our email etc. and then we shall be hard at work trying to launch our new business.

Part of the reason for the lack of posts here, I must admit, was a slight feeling of discouragement. We ran into some snags. With some help from a friend, and a few ideas of our own, I believe we have worked out a temporary solution to the issues. Here's the thing though. This "business" has an extremely low start-up cost, so it's very low risk, and has a pretty good potential to bring in some money. My original thoughts on it were that it would be highly profitable right away, but I've toned down my expectations a little. The thing is, if we net a profit of more than a few dollars, then everything else beyond that will be gravy. I'm hoping for lots of gravy, but will accept whatever comes from this. Then, if it doesn't turn into a money maker, I won't be crushed and afraid to try the next idea I get. Dawn and I will simply learn from it, and move forward.

Last point. The other night I had a few beers. I never drink enough to get drunk anymore, but a few beers will loosen my tongue. I was a little whiny at first I think. But then I said to Dawn, "We are two extremely capable people. At work, we are always the people who get things done. We are going to get things done for ourselves." We came to a decision about money. It's just a game. The paper it's printed on is not worth much more than the fancy stationery she keeps in her drawer. The number that the bank has in their computer that shows what we're worth is just a number. 1,234,567.89 It's just a number. That one over there is a whole lot bigger than the number that our bank has for us, but we know it's just a number; not the end-all/be-all of human existence. Money is just a game, like monopoly or Risk. I'm good at those. My attitude is changing. Maybe that's what I've needed for years.
John

8 things to do when you've had a bad day

8 things to do when you've had a bad day
It seems like everyone I've talked to today had one of those days. Nothing tragically bad or anything... just a garden variety crappy day. Just so you know... I'm no therapist, so if things are really awful for you, then go see someone. But, if you're just crabby, or work sucked, or your spouse is giving you a headache, or the car broke down... here are my 8 things to do when you've had a bad day... in no particular order of course.

1. Stare at stuff. Some people choose the TV, some the computer... me, I just stare at whatever for as long as I can stand it. Does it help? Heck no, but after a while, I get really bored and go to sleep. Which is a good thing as long as I don't dream about my crappy day.

2. Make fun of other people. Nothing makes me feel more special than making fun of someone who can't spell or mispronounces things. You might be spelling impaired... that's okay. Just make fun of the bald guy (that would be me) or the lady who loves Coldplay (Dawn). Whatever it is that makes you feel like you're better than someone, laugh at them for it. Maybe not in their face unless you're a close friend (my friends can make fun of my lack of hair all they want because it won't bother me) and you know it won't make them sad.

3. Do the Safety Dance. You can dance if you wannoo, you can leave your friends behind. Cuz yer friends don't dance and if they don't dance well they're no friends of mine. Youtube it. Great fun.

4. Look at your high school yearbook. This is especially good if you went to high school in the 80's. Oh my gosh were we a bunch of dorks. Look at that hair. What was she thinking? What was I thinking when I thought she looked cute? Oh, and that guy was Mr. popularity? HAH! The guys who were the big nerds... bet that several of them made their fortunes and are laughing at that guy who was on the football team and now all he has to show for it is a bad knee and a big gut.

5. Tease your pets. Nothing says fun like putting tape on the bottom of kitty's paws and watching her go a little crazy. Unless of course, it's feeding Fido a stick of chewing gum or a tootsie roll and watching him try to chew it up.

6. Do something awkward in public. Stuck at a stop light? Put your finger in your nose and turn to the window and look at the person in the next car. Go to the safeway and when a song comes on that you know, sing it... and be loud! If you see someone in the aisle that you don't know, walk right toward them as they walk toward you and make them do that little dance with you. You know the one. Both go right, both go left, trying not to run into each other. It's much more fun when you do it on purpose. Trust me.

7. Embarass your kids. You gotta love turning your kids all red. Especially when they are with friends. It's just too much fun to talk about things they did when they were younger... or things you did last night. They love that. Trust me on this one too.

8. Smile. It could be worse.

John

If you could only see...

... the way she loves me, maybe you would understand. I know we said this blog was about goal setting and accomplishments, but I hope you'll excuse me if I ramble on about my best friend for a couple of paragraphs. I've never been a mushy, touchy feely, emotional kind of person. Dawn has changed me somewhat in that regard. In marriage number one, my guy friends were extremely important to me. I needed a whole lot of hanging out with the guys... poker games, going to a bar, golf, and bowling once a week. With Dawn, I really don't need that. We truly are each other's best friend, and I never believed that was possible between a man and a woman. I thought it was just an overused cliche, or that maybe some women believed it was possible, but never experienced it. The problem is, most couples form because of physical attraction, and as they age, maybe one of them doesn't have the same sex drive they did when they were in their 20s, and because of that, the relationship suffers. With Dawn and I, it was honestly "friends first." We weren't trying to get into each other's pants. We learned each other's likes and dislikes and how to make each other laugh. It was a great foundation to what has been a pretty amazing relationship.

Now just so you know, if you are married, and this doesn't sound like your relationship, I am not telling you to go looking for someone else! What I would tell you to do if you are in an uncommunicative relationship is... drum roll please... TALK TO EACH OTHER! Sounds tough right? Not. But, it's WAY easier said than done. Married people, or people in long term relationships tend to set a pattern after a few years and it gets exaggerated over time. It's almost like developing a habit. After the initial lovey-dovey portion of the relationship has worn off, lots of couples tend to take each other for granted. Stop right there! Don't let it happen. If it has happened, take some time to find the woman or the man you fell in love with once upon a time. Don't expect it to turn around overnight. Your partner will still be expecting the same relationship that you had the day or the week or the month before. If you keep putting forth the effort to bring your relationship to a new level, more than likely, your "better half" will respond in kind at some point.

Dawn and I talk to each other. It's become a habit to share each other's day. When it's been a bad one, we know to give some space... at least for a little while. We rarely fight, but when we do, it's not over a period of days where we are keeping it in and holding a grudge towards the other. I said this post was not about goals, but it really is. One of my most important goals is to have a happy marriage for "As long as we both shall live." Seriously. It's way higher than money or vacations or things. I want to be able to look back in 40 years and know that I did everything I could to make her happy. That I was the best husband I could've been. Because she's worth it.

We are HUGE in India

Just a quickie here tonight as it is late and I am in dire need of some sleep. Something happened to me today that I never expected and I think it's worth sharing here. I know that the vast majority of you reading this are Dawn's and my facebook friends. Many are friends in real life, but we have not met all of you in person. Dawn and I have recently gotten into Mafia wars in a big way. To "grow our mafia" we decided to post links to ourselves on several Mafia Wars groups. In order for someone to join your mafia, they first have to be a friend on FB. So all of a sudden we went from having 100-150 real life friends that were also FB friends, to having around 600 "close" FB friends who we have never or rarely chatted with. Then Mafia Wars added a feature called gifting. There are some "Rewards" you get added to your vault when you complete a task. You get rings, cigars, poker chips and playing cards along with a few others. The gifting feature allows you to trade with other players you have in your mafia. I went a little nuts with the trading. Sort of like I did with Baseball cards when I was a kid. Just had to have the whole set. I built up a bit of a rep as someone to talk to when you needed to make a trade. Made several FB friends who I actually talk to now.
One of these friends said hello to me tonight. He lives in India. I've also traded and chatted with someone in Singapore, England, Ireland...even Boston if you believe it. Oh yeah. Boston! Anyway, my friend from India... says hi. Asks if I need a card for my collection. I told him no. I've filled the whole set. He says "Cool. Me too." A few minutes go by and he says, Nice blog BTW. I like it. Dawn's too." I was happy he had checked it out, but it didn't sink in immediately what had happened. Something that Dawn and I had written was read in India. Never in my wildest dreams, or Dawn's for that matter, had we imagined that. I mean it's just a silly little blog, but still. A 21 year old guy read my writing on his computer screen in India. How flippin' cool is that?
John

Immortality musings

I watched Twilight last night. Not really by choice. Dawn and her sister made me. They actually tied me to the chair and propped my eyelids open with toothpicks so I had to watch. Can you believe that? No? Fine... I'm a liar. Truth be told, I wasn't against watching it, but not all that excited about it either. I've never been into vampires, and action movies don't really do it for me either. I know, I'm a guy and I'm supposed to be into action flicks, but a lot of them have all these chases and fights and that's the whole plot. I like action to advance the plot, not to BE the plot.

So anyway, I really liked it. If you haven't seen it and want to, don't worry, you can read further. I'm not going to spoil it for you. The film goes into more of what these people are thinking and their internal conflicts than it does into car chases and fights. There are both of those, but they are secondary to the movie. Part of it got me thinking though. Just after Bella realizes that Edward is a vampire, they show him playing the piano, and doing it well. My thought was, what would I do if I were immortal? What special talent would I try to develop over the years? I know I'd want to learn to play an instrument, and learn a new language or two. But really, what I'd want to do is to be the best writer I could be. I have a love/hate relationship with writing. At the moment, this post is proving to be a little difficult for me. Don't know why. Sometimes the words just flow and I love it. Not right now.

Here's my point though. We aren't immortal... at least not as far as this world goes. In actuality, I wouldn't want to be. But why shouldn't I be living my life as if I were immortal? Why am I not doing everything I can do in this finite life to try to live up to my imaginary immortal one? Why do I waste so much time, considering I only have a limited amount of it? Time is something we cannot get back. Warning, here comes a cliche... Carpe Diem! Seize the day! We should develop our skills each and every day as if we were going to use them for all eternity. I'm still going to waste time, I know that I can't change that overnight. But I'll tell you this. I'm sure going to try harder to live like an immortal.

John