London
Paris
Dublin
Rome
Venice
Moscow
Church
the movies
the lakefront
Culver’s
Steak ‘n’ Shake
Sydney
Wellington
Daytona
Talladega
Bristol
Richmond
Martinsville
St. Louis
Chicago
Work
Home
Day 4: Books
Books to Read:
The Harry Potter Series
The Hobbit
Lord of the Rings
DNS and Bind
The Bible (yes, you [and I] should read all of it)
Steve Jobs’ Autobiography
Powershell for Beginners
The Man in the White Suit: The Stig
The Art of War
Scott Walker’s Wisconson (shameless plug for my friend Cindy Kilkenny’s book)
Dracula
Frankenstein
Any and all Sherlock Holmes
Digital SLR Crash Course
Day 3: Words to live by
Words I choose live by:
“Do or do not. There is no try”
-Yoda
“I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
-Jesus, as recorded in The Gospel of John, Chapter 14, Verse 6
“I love you”
-Holly Hohner
“Printers suck. You will hate printers.”
-Mick Brentar
“You are healthy. Buy a motorcycle and drink more Scotch.”
-Dr. Paul Zuzick (my doctor)
“We know each other! He’s a friend from work!”
-Thor
“I can do this all day”
-Captain America, Steve Rodgers
“I am Groot”
-Groot
Writing challenge, day 2: People who inspire me
Continuing with the writing challenge, the following people inspire me:
Riyan Littlefield: a close friend of mine who works in youth ministry, and pours everything he has his students. Also, huge pop culture nerd, and my go to for anything I don’t quite understand about the Marvel Universe.
Vivienne Gucwa: New York City based photographer. I love her cityscape photos of New York and other travels as a brand ambassador for Sony photo gear.
My wife, Holly: she accepts challenges head on, formulates a plan, and makes it happen. She is a great encouragement to me. Also puts up with my shenanigans and keeps me focused.
Mick Brentar: a teacher and friend of mine in the IT industry. Mick built himself up from nothing to be a respected member of the IT community and loves to pass that knowledge on to others. Also a huge MCU nerd.
Brian Lohnes: voice of the NHRA at the track, and all around gearhead. I met Brian in person last fall while he was call Hot Rod Drag week. His passion for drag racing is unparalleled. In addition to calling the action at the track for the NHRA, he also calls a number of smaller events across the country, is chief, cook and bottle washer of bangshift.com, and hosts and writes the program “Put Up or Shut Up” on Motor Trend on Demand.
Chris Lippert: another close friend who is an All-American badass. Former Coast Guard, gearhead, troublemaker, geek, and great guy.
Things I Love
my friend Diane started this list challenge, and I thought it would be a good way to start writing again.
Things I love:
Holly
Lumos
my family
and the rest in particular order:
Marvel movies
baseball
auto racing
fixing things
nights at home with Holly
photography
good conversation
food (and food loves me…a bit too much)
cooking
music
Back in the saddle
Hello, gentle reader.
It’s been some time now, hasn’t it?
Things change; things stay the same.
Shall we take an adventure together?
Love
Love.
All you need is love, we’re told.
With the outcome of yesterday’s election, I’m seeing a range of emotions from my friends.
Some are thrilled with the result; others are fearful.
Eight years ago, I was afraid of what an Obama presidency held for the country. In my adult life, I had never had a president who’s policies I opposed as much as Obama. Now, with Obama’s presidency drawing to a close, America has withstood his time in office, just as it will withstand a Trump presidency.
I’m not here to tell you that everything will be alright; hell, I didn’t vote for either major party candidate.
I’m here to say that as a fellow human, I love you. I may disagree with you, but I will love you.
It does scare me that some people will be emboldened to act like the assholes they are, but when they do, I will stand up for you.
We don’t have to agree on everything to get along with each other. Stop, listen to one another, and learn from those around you.
It is not the President’s job to micromanage the country; the President is to set policy with the approval of Congress and enforce it.
It’s our job to care for each other, to be kind to each other, to love each other.
November Rain
For the first time in my adult life, I don’t know who I’m casting a vote for in the Presidential race.
I can tell you why I don’t want to vote for the candidates presented to me.
Politcally, I don’t agree with just about anything Hillary Clinton stands for. Nothing she wants to implement aligns with what I believe.
Personally, I think she’s a despicable human being; Benghazi, the personal email server (which KILLS me as an IT guy), her financial dealings, the Clinton foundation and so on.
Politically, Donald Trump isn’t a conservative, but somehow he managed to survive the Battle Royale that was the Republican convention. Now, he’s the nominee. If he chooses to line up with the GOP platform, and learn to hold his tongue a bit more, perhaps he could be ok, but I have my doubts.
Trump comes across to me as a shyster, a hustler who will only make a deal when he comes out on top. He’s a blowhard who can’t handle criticism and has to rebutt anyone who criticizes him. While he did manage increase his wealth from a decent amount of inheritance, what does he *actually* own, aside from naming rights? There’s just something about Trump that makes me feel gross.
Gary Johnson: I want to like this guy, but he’s coming across as either an idiot, or careless. Not everyone can know everything, so I’ll forgive him on the Aleppo gaffe, but he just seems a little too out of it to guide the country. I also think he’s a liberal masquerading as a libertarian.
Jill Stein: yeah, nope.
So where does that leave me? I’m still going to the polls and voting for state and local races, but I’m not sure about the top of the ticket. I believe that the only wasted vote is a no vote, but do I really have to eat a crap sandwich just because it’s served to me?
In the end, I know the God is in control, no matter who is in the Oval Office. That brings me solace.
Spinning wheel, spinning ’round
There comes a time when a man realizes his mortality.
How’s that for an opening statement?
With my birthday coming up, I’ll have one more year in my 30s, then I’ll be “old.” I don’t think 40 is all that old, but I guess old habits die hard. My friends like to remind me that I’m the “old man” in our circle, even though I’m not the oldest one.
This past Saturday, we gathered to lay my maternal grandfather to rest. Grandpa had 87 good years on this earth: husband, father, grandfather, business owner, Korean War veteran. He loved his St. Louis Cardinals and Nascar racing. He loved his family; the day before he passed, my mom had brought my grandmother to the hospital to visit him, and some of his last words were to my grandmother: “Mary, I love you.”
I know that I won’t live forever, that I’m mortal. I also know that I’ve made my arrangements for the afterlife. Now, to live in a fashion that gets the most out of every day, not in some extreme sense, but to live each day in a satisfied manner.
it’s the little things in life
I haven’t written in a while, so I thought it was time to do so.
I’m sitting in my living, on the new to us loveseat Holly and I bought on Sunday, letting my mind spool down from my day. There’s a fire in the fireplace, and Lumos is next to me, wishing he was on my lap instead of my laptop.
I’m so very thankful for many things today.
A great group of friends who get together on a regular basis.
A church family we enjoy.
A solid job.
A warm home.
Food on the table and in the pantry and refrigerator.
Family.
My dog.
My amazing wife. Love, you are truly out of my league.
These are just a few of the things that bring joy to my life at this time. I am content.
Ruminating Out Loud 