Hmmmm

So, as I was telling friends yesterday about my latest failed date, one mentioned I should blog about it...

I'm not sure how I feel about that...

1.  Does anybody really want to hear my stories?

2.  Couldn't it be seen as a pathetic cry for attention through passive aggressive means and a woe is me, pity my type thing?

3.  On the other hand... I do feel better when I laugh at the ridiculous things that happen on my dates...

4.  Putting it in print could help others avoid my misfortune, lol.

5.  Isn't there a TV show about a guy trying to find his wife?  So... maybe people would like to read of my misfortunes in dating... or the good things too... and maybe other things like how I fell through the ceiling on a jobsite while inspecting the underside of the roof deck...  anything can be funny and entertaining if delivered the right way... right?

So... I'll do it.

Stay tuned for stories of my dating mishaps... tales from the crypt (where romance goes to die) as I like to think of it.

Confirmation hearings

is there anything uglier than supreme court confirmation hearings?  no sooner is a person nominated than the party that didn't nominate them goes digging and throwing out allegations, some true and some not true, to see what sticks and what makes the person look the worst.

i understand the importance of making sure the person is competent to be a supreme court justice, but it just seems that their knowledge of the constitution and how it should be applied is more important than some of the petty things that get brought up.

Listening skills.

"Due to budgetary cutbacks in this tough economy, we have to make the tough decision to spend less and so we have to make the following cutbacks and eliminate the following programs/job positions..." does not equal "We hate the following programs/job positions and the people that benefit from them/are employed in them and are cutting them and keeping the money for ourselves..."

Groundhog Day

Yesterday was Groundhog Day.  In case you happened to not know, this is the day when the tradition holds that if the groundhog comes out of his burrow on February 2 and sees his shadow, he returns to his burrow and there will be 6 more weeks of winter.  If he doesn't see his shadow, there will be an early spring.  The official groundhog is supposed to be Punxsutawny Phil up in Pensylvania.  However, there are many groundhogs all over the country.  This year, Phil saw his shadow, so there should be 6 more weeks of winter.  Well, the groundhog in Lilburn, GA, General Beauregard Lee didn't see his shadow forecasting an early spring.  Now, putting aside the fact that a groundhog seeing his shadow as a predictor of weather makes about as much sense as a watery tart distributing cutlery to the masses does as a basis for a system of government, I'll go with the groundhog from Atlanta as I live a whole lot closer to Atlanta than I do Pennsylvania.

Had a cow poop on my truck today... as I went to pass a cow trailer, I saw a cow rear end sticking out ahead of me.  It pooped and I thought I missed it, but it apparently splattered off the road onto the truck.  I had to wash it off when I stopped to get gas.  What a way to start the day.  But, that was the worst thing that happened to me today and really, it is more funny than bad.  Just think about it... A COW POOPED ON MY TRUCK ON THE INTERSTATE!!!  That is funny.

I did run tonight.  Tried to run Monday, as well, but after slipping on the ice (maybe more than once, ahem), I went back inside and did burpees.

Keep on truckin'

Exercise is continuing on... on week 3 of the running program.  Still swimming 3 days a week in the mornings.

Not much else going on right now, work, exercise, church, that's about it.

Well, see you later.

Training...

Just got back from running.  Normally I try to run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but with the rain yesterday and a bunch of other things going on, I didn't.  So, I swam this morning and ran this afternoon.  Now I will run on Sunday and be back on my regular schedule for running and swimming next week.

Run today went better than last time as I felt a twinge of cramping in my legs which are normally the precursor to shin splints for me.  Today - nothing, and I felt I could have gone farther but not going to push it.

I did see a girl of about 10 or 11 walking a great dane, or I should say I saw a great dane walking a girl of about 10 or 11.  The mom was about 20 feet behind them and laughing.  It made me smile.

The valleys...

Yesterday was a rough day.  In no particular order, neither in terms of chronology nor magnitude:

A lot of things came together at work to make it a long, hectic day.  I won't go into detail, because frankly, even I'm bored by the details of it.  But it involved a lot of tedious work and uncomfortable confrontation (which is necessary, but still not fun).

When I got home, I got a phone call from a person whom I love dearly and will always love dearly... they were trying to encourage me not to go into youth ministry.  I am not going into detail, but it was a very discouraging call that was not in line with another conversation we had recently.  I trust they were trying to look out for what was best for me, but the way they did it wasn't encouraging at all.  I believe they think I am jumping into this on a whim and seeking to just go have fun and not work.  I have tried to convince them this decision was a long time in the making and not an easy one and not one I believe I could have made any other way. 

And I went to the going away party for dear friends, the Hunts, who are leaving to go to Prague as missionaries. The Hunts are incredible. Not because of anything about them, not because of their oldest son Sam and his cool hair, not because of their youngest son Foard and his awesome name but because God poured out blessings through them and onto those around them. God has used them to make me a better person.

And I learned that a girl I knew at church (I didn't know her extremely well, but everybody that I knew that did loved her and she seemed a wonderful personand what I did know of her confirmed that) had been involved in a car wreck and died last night.  It is a time of mourning to lose a sister in Christ and a time of rejoicing that she is in Heaven now and experiencing complete joy and peace with the Father.  All I have heard about the wreck is another vehicle crossed the center line and hit her car head on.  I do not know what caused the vehicle to cross the center line, but I lift the driver up in prayer now with Aimee's family and friends.  I was in a car wreck in 2001 where I had a seizure and left the interstate.  I spent 2 weeks in the hospital and the greatest comfort to my soul in that whole time and even now is that nobody else was involved.  I pray that God would comfort this driver and, if they do not know Him, that He would use this to draw them to himself.  And then what an incredible display of His providence if He uses the death of this daughter of a missionary family to draw another soul to Him.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." - Hab. 3:17-19