WHEN YOU'RE ALL ALONE
Yesterday was like any other day in my life. Got up, kissed the wife goodbye, and went to work. Typical day at the office. End of the month, end of the year mayhem. Since I had already made my month, I was trying to get a few more orders in to get to the next commission level. Nothing big, nothing major. Went home, spent time with my cat and dog and hung out. Put my clothes out for today and started to get ready for bed like I always do. Then her phone rang, it was her mom.
Her Uncle had shot himself in the head while his wife was out getting groceries. He only left the note, "Dont go downstairs, call 911 or the coroner." She called 911 and left it up to the paramendics. They took him to the hospital, that's when we got the call. A few more details I didn't need to hear about and it really shook me. Having seen Bob just a few days ago, he seemed fine, no warning signs there. Nothing to indicate what he was about to do. My last memories of him are listening to his old WW II stories in the living room of Bren's Mom's house for Christmas. He seemed fine, he seemed ok. I sat up for a long time thinking about the whole episode.
There are just too many what if questions you ask yourself. What IF our family was more accpeting of him, what IF we really did want to hear his stories, what IF things were different? I don't know. That's what I'm left with, too many questions and not enough answers. Hopefully over the next couple of days we'll find out more.
These kind of things are always a shock to your emotions. It makes you re-evaluate your life, take inventory, and think you may just be sleepwalking through life - your day-to-day activities that hold little or no meaning. It re-enforces the idea of life's fragility, that you can go at any time. Hearing something like this makes me glad I have such a thirst to live, to look around and smell the roses every day. To get something out of my life everyday. It makes me wonder what it takes to get to a point where you feel this is the only way out.
HAve I been depressed? It's well documented in my blogs my months of depression after the mother of my son left me. No vehicle, no money, and no friends. It would have been easy to take that route and just kiss it all goodbye. At the time, I just looked at as if it was a test of my faith. I needed to stay strong, I knew that someday it would get better, that someday there would be light at the end fo the tunnel. It would pass and things would be better. I knew I would, I knew I could get through it. Maybe Bob didn't think that way. It's a big hole to climb out of, but I believed it would get better, it HAD to get better. Maybe he didn't have the optimism. At age 80, that faith can be tested daily, so I can understand how hard it must have been.
Unfortunately, suicide is the most brutal manifestation of selfishness one can deliver upon another human being. Let alone those who care and love you. It's like a fragmentation grenade going off in a family. EVERYONE is affected, we are all innocent victims when someone does this. Of course, now every year, for a few days, our lives will derail to remember this dreadful, sad day. We'll say a few words, raise a toast and then go with our lvies again. For better or worse, I don't know yet. I dont even know when the funeral is, what arrangements have been made, I'm just trying to cope through these words. the more I express my thoughts, the harder it is to deal with.
For right now I will conclude by saying I hope Bob is in a better place. So long and godspeed old friend, I barely knew ya.
MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME. . .
Something completely different and not so out of right field for once. Remeber all of those posts going back a few years compalining about our indoor soccer team? Yeah, well it seems people were listening, they just didn't care to hear what I had to say - or better yet care at all. This came to a boiling point last night when I was informed by our new manager that I will no longer have a current spot on the team roster. He cracked up by rambling on and on about all the reasons he came to and not wanting me to play with the team anymore. They included such things as, a) my mouth - yeah I'm a fiery competitor, I get loud. b) The number of cards I got was half of the teams total - don't know where he came up with this one, but he stood by it. c) Never played a full session - well, when you lose 14-3 on aregular basis, and have to drive 40 minutes to take part in getting throttled, it loses some of its luster. That was about it. I didn't know what to say, but it seems odd that a few things happened all at the same time.
First of the all, the previous manager had left town and moved too far north to manage the team anymore, leaving the team to this guy. We picked up one good player and suddenly we actually started winning again - which was good. It was easy for me to keep my mouth shut when we were winning, but nobody ever remembers that - do they? Then we go to outdoor and without this same guy, we never would be where we are now. Take away his goals, and you have pretty much nothing. I surmised that when he showed up and the team returned to winning again (as it has) suddenly my services weren't needed anymore. Weird how that happens huh?
Am I pissed? Yeah, I feel like I got stabbed in the back by a guy who was actually in my own fucking wedding, try and figure that one out. Friendship or soccer? Hmmmmmmmm tough one there. Anyways, after thinking about it, I figure they will continue down the same road - getting older, playing younger teams, until they get their asses handed to them too many times for the players to take. I guess what really sucks is that I've wanted to quit for so long, and it just never turned out I could do it on my own terms. That's what sucks shit. I would have felt better if I had walked away, instead of getting a call a week before the season starts. Friend? Friend? I thought so, but I'm glad I never put too much stock in our friendship since I never really considered him a friend anyways (just look at previous posts). Nothing gained, nothing lost - right? It was time to quit this team a long time ago. I don't know why I held out for so long. Maybe I just thought it would get better, sooner and just never did. One winning season over the course of four years. Not exactly anything to write home about. 3 sessions of indoor, 1 season of outdoor. that's a lot of losing mind you over that course of four years.
It's funny to think your teammates love your play on the field, but open your mouth to bitch and suddenly your expendable. What a great bunch of backstabbing a-holes. I guess I never really felt like I was apart of the team, apart of the "inner circle" . Hard to just show up, put on a happy face and play though it. So what do I get for my hard work, busting ass, getting injured, goals scored and effort? I big fucking knife in the back.
They will have fun next year when they end up in a tougher division for outdoor, and still have 13 people showing up for games. I expect to see them in the gutter again, back where they belong. I'll keep watching the scores come up on the Ralia website to see how they're doing. I was thinking of going to some of their games, as a joke. How great would be to show up, watch them get smoked by 8 goals and then walk out laughing - knowing I made the right decision to stay away?
It's time for a change. It was just too stressful for me to play with those guys anyways. Plenty of bitching to go around for everyone, not just me. Which is why I knew it was time. i can play in Burnsville and have fun again and know that at 35, my years of glory are gone. I prefer to play for the love of the game now and am done having to put up with the bullshit that surrounds Manchester.
So long, farewell bitches. May you never reach the top three ever again.
I'm out
THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!
Almost a month under the waves, I thought it was time I came up for some air and drop some thoughts on the catastrophe in Naw Lans (New Orleans for you city folk out there), my new house, and some new conspiracies fresh out of the oven!
So the past week or so, the country has collectively, gasped, sighed and sat with mouths agape as the tradegy unfolded in Louisana. A category 5 hurricane just cold cocked that state in the grill, a levee broke and 80% of the city was flooded. What should have been a standard FEMA operation quickly got ugly when search and rescue people couldn't get into the city, and nobody could get out. With such hopelessness, the human condition suffered terribly. Looting, murder, rape and general chaos was rampant. Reporters basically said that the city was too dangerous to stay in after the sun went down at night.
Read all about it here
I don't know why I just used a British news source for an American story. . don't ask aight?
Aside from all of that, the loony left wingers got out in full force and jumped all over Bush - so what ELSE is new? Having given up on the UFO and Chemtrails conspiracy, these nutbags came up a grand new conspiracy - BUSH WAS AT FAULT for what happened. Not only that, but they also said since he is part of the NWO and Bilderberg group and skull and bones, he actually delayed aid getting into to help the mostly poor black residents since he wanted to see them die?? Kayne West is such a fucking loser. He added fuel to the fire by saying at a televised fund raiser that Bush doesn't care for Black people and is allowing the national guardsmen to shoot them. What does Kayne West do again? Oh yeah - he's a RAPPER. Well maybe YOUR people shouldn't shoot at the rescue helicopter when they're trying to save YOUR people ya fricking idiot!!! What an asshat that guy is. . .
More me and less news, right? What else is new?
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, screwed up my knee playing soccer - big surprise. Although this time I think it may be a bit more serious than I initially thought. I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow in the afternoon to really find out how bad it is. It's been almost a month and it still gets sore and when I turn over it bed I get sharp pains that I don't think are good. On a better note, the team did make it to the championship game - but came up short. We lost 4-1. I have NO idea we would actually get that far in the first place, so I was happy with the season as a whole.
What else? Work is going great. Still making quota and having a blast. Mobile Celluar who?
Some other notes as of late:
- Watched "Miami Ink" again last night. Everytime I see that show I want another tattoo. It will take some time to figure out exactly what I want to do, but some thoughts:
1) BIG Type O Negative logo on my calf or between my shoulder blades
2) Man United crest on my calf or on my quad (top of my leg)
3) Some sort of theme to incldue my fathers initials and the Iron Cross on my bicep.
4) The word B E L I E V E across my back in large letters
Either way, I need some C O L O R in my tatts, and something fairly big, colorful and incorporates what I already have. . . .
- I tried switiching one of our laptops over to Linux. I went to CompUSA and picked up a $50.00 copy of the Linespire OS. Boy was THAT a mistake! You get the OS, and nothing else. Unless you're familiar with how Linux works (mostly at the UNIX/Dos level) then you will get frustrated quite quickly. Linespire has a CNR (click and run) option for these people. Oops! It costs around $50 for the year, and you can only pick and download what they have in their little CNR shop. How lame is that? What I do? I downloaded the free copy of Mandrake and now just have to burn the 3 cd's and load that onto the laptop. Hopefully things will go better with this copy.
- I had an interesting run-in at a nude beach when I went riding at Thodeore Wirth in Minneapolis. Nothing like riding a mountain bike into a nudist beach and dudes looking you up and down like a piece of meat. Not cool, not cool AT ALL. I quickly retreated and had a good laugh afterwards.
- ERIKS has been trying lately. Crazy Eddy has been having girl problems and seems to think it's ok to take them out on his co-workers. Nut up man and either move on or balance your riding lifestyle with your personal relationships. I love the guy to death, but this crap gets on nerves a lot. Even funnier was the store got slapped with a five day penalty for listening to "unacceptable" music, no kidding. Dave-O tried to sneak in on Saturday to check up on us. What a goof. He tries to go all James Bond and park like halfway down the lot so we can't see him coming. Guess he doesn't trust us so much, huh? Until next week, it's ALL Salsa music. *GAG*
- Not much else on the domestci front. My sister's daughter's birthday was on Friday. That was WAY fun. Taco Bar, relatives, got to see my mom and dad, it was all good. Her two daughters just crack me up all the time.
- One disturbing note. My mother switched the beneficiaries on her will from my dad to me and my siter. Don't know why and know I feel bad for my father. i don't know the reasons or the details. Just a bad feeling that if my mother dies, he won't get anything from her. On the flip side, I would make damn sure my father is taken care of and is not left on hardship - ya know?
- Another funny note. MY SON IS HITTING PUBERTY!!! He called the other night and was having some "guy troubles". I can't describe it like he did, but to hear him talk about his "wet dreams" was pretty funny for me. His mother told him it was normal and I had to reassure him it was. After a long talk about what he's going to go through over the next few years, it all made sense to him.
Oh well, that's all I have for right now - time to get back to the grind!!!
Here's the pic for the day too:
My fondness for this band now knows no limits. Their follow up to their scorching intial release "Sweet Vengence" is "Descend of Chaos". I downloaded the single "Being Nothing" and just love it. The song just rips. It's about all fo these people that go through life empty. They take the life out of you, and those around you. No good. Here is a pic fo the band. . .if you want to listen to their single "Being Nothing" you can find it here
Here they are in all of their glory:
LATE
THAT HAUNTING FEELING. . .
Wow! So much to cover in the what, last 4 months. I'm so Catholic, I feel so guilty that I haven't kept this up to date. With my new job, new house (cutting my lawn now takes over an hour!) my son coming this month, I just haven't had the free time to write as often as I would like. There have been so many times while sitting awake in bed that something hit me, I just want to get up, run down stairs and jot it down. Oh well, such is life, you only get one shot. Some of thos impulses you have to lsiten to and others, well, they just drift away as you fall into never never land.
Lately, I've been having these incredible feelings of being inadequate. It hit me again last night when I was watching the show "inked". I won't bore you with the details of the show other than there was a tattoo artist who had a son he hadn't seen in a while since he took this new job at the tattoo parlor in Vegas (his son was in LA). He talked about how he just wanted to spend as much time as he could with his son and how much he missed him and how he had grown up in poverty and he wanted to give his son the life he never had, etc, etc. It was pretty moving for me, and I could tell the guy had his priorities in the right place and was a good guy. So I go to bed and start thinking about what I've given back to my father. And that's when it hit, he gave me everything, he was like the guy in the show. He grew up with nothing, gave me everything, and amde my life SO much easier. With him getting older, I can't escape the thoughts of my parents passing away and it just blows me away. I just broke down in the darkness. I did finally fall asleep, but it was not easy, and the thoughts just kept flooding my brain. I jsut kept thinking I need to make sure I can take of them when the time comes. This means kicking ass at my new job, making every opportunity to build my financial picture with the consideration of taking care of them. My parents are pretty stuborn and I know they will have nothing to do with that - but I WANT to give them back something. This is where these feelings tear at my heart.
Onto something better, and less depressing. . .
So what is new? Not much, you can add another person I know that is going voer to Iraq. My manager at work is getting called up to go over to Iraq. He's a LT. Colonel in the National Guard. He said he'll be back sometime in 2007, and will be in communique during his time over there. This week he's really been a ghost, jsut geting all of his ducks in a row for when he leaves. I feel for the guy, no doubt about it.
Our summer soccer team is kicking MAJOR ass lately. After winning the indoor champioship, we've been rolling the competition in our summer league. The next few games will be critical, but I think we're well on our way to locking up the league.
What's been in the news lately?
The London bombings
Lance Armstrong's 7th Tour De France Victory
Karl rove on Valerie Plame
Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq
Hockey's CBA almost done
Hockey got cancelled, for how long, I don;t know, but for now, while my son is here, all bets are off. I've played two games, and have done nothing to keep my cherubic figure in shape. After my son leaves, it's back on the bike, and back ont he skateboard. My son has my old setup (it's a "new school" set up and I don't like it very much)which means, it's time for a new set up for daddy!!!
That's all I have for now, I'm at work and gotta get back to hittin the phones. I wish I could write more, but you know how it goes. . .
My pledge for August - I'm about to turn 35!!!!!!!!!!! ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Is to keep this bugger a bit more up to date - okay? Okay Dokay.
Gotta get that pic O' the day up too. . .so many choices to too! Should it be Lance? Maybe something Hockey realted in light of the league getting back on it's feet and ending the lockout? Maybe Danny Way jumping the Great Wall of China?
Or maybe just something completely different. . a tattoo I want to get done sometime in the near future. . 
My ANGEL. . .
LATE
LONG TIME. . .NO POSTS?
Yes, its been a while and things have been cruising along just fine. since I've quit my job at MCU, my job here at thomson West has been a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. The people are awesome and everyday is a new challenge, which is something I have not yet had in a long, long, time. So it feels good to use my brain instead of running all day on auto pilot, ya know?
Aside from all the major news happenings in the past month (Terry Schiavo, Pope dying, the Baseball steroid scandal)out in the real world, some good things have begun to take shape.
Frist of all, our soccer team has finally managed to find our form and are actually in the championship game tomorrow. Either way, I'll be happy - win or loose. Then we have one more session before outdoor starts. I joined a team here at work that plays in the recreational division, which will be a nice change of pace from the smashmouth style you have to play in the competitive league. I'm looking forward to keeping my good form and working on a few new moves. Keeping my fitness up will be key, so I'll be prepared when summer finally starts.
One other big thing that has happened is my son wants to go with his church to New Zealand this next spring. It just so happens to take place when he should be here visiting. I'm sure this is going to be the first of many things he will want to do in leu of spending time here with me - his father. I'm going to let him go, but I'm going to make sure his mother makes concessions regarding his visitation so I'm not losing a week of seeing him.
For now I shelved my skateboarding activities. Between soccer and hockey, there's not much time left to partake. I took up skateboarding because soccer had become bothersome and my teammates pissed me off. Perhaps this summer I might take up the plywood again and ride. But for right now, I have no plans in the near future.
I did have one unusual experience yesterday though. Since I am an NDSU grad, I get a nice, glossy, bi-monthly magazine that includes stuff about art, the sociology department, and the general goings on at the university. There never really is anything in the magazine that appeals to me. A few years back, one issue did get to me. It had a three page story of Phil Hansen. He was a stand out football player at NDSU while I was there and he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills and spent 10 years in the NFL. Upon his retirement, they did a story on him. It really brought back a ton of memories about my college experience and what it meant to me. I wrote a long emotional letter to the editor. Unformtunately, it got lost or deleted before I could send it. Since it was a "stream of consciousness" writing style, I couldn't remember a lot of what I wrote and I feared I really couldn't re-capture the feelings I had in another letter, so I just dropped it and forgot about it.
Welllllllllllllllllllll, guess what showed up on my doorstep yesterday? The NDSU magazine, with a really big article on my nemisis professor Dr. Clark. He was a professor of Anthropology at NDSU and for some reason we never got along so well. So when I saw the article and all the incredible stuff he's done with the Archeology department I was pretty happy for him. They had a picture of him and mannnnnn did he look old. Its funny to think the guy was in his mid 40's when I met him, and I figured he was at the top of his game then. In the picture he looked run down, old, and had put on a few pounds. The article strummed up a lot of memories again about my days in the Sociology Department and my college experiences all over again. I was moved to email him and try to mend the fences after so many years and congratulate him on making the department such a success. I also wondered where some of friends and colleagues were that I had spent so many years being around and where their lives have led them.
It all made me wonder how lucky I am to be where I am today. College started out as a joy ride and ended in disaster for me. It never ended on my terms, but somebody elses. To this day, I know I carry that baggage with me. For me, its ALWAYS about having control. When I lost that, it devastated me. Maybe it was some kind of weird pennace I had to go through to understand how destiny works, God's plan and all that jazz. Strange where I could have landed. Its something that makes think everyday how my life could have been different. I don't think of it in any negative terms, just different terms. I love life right now, I made it through and I have a ton to be thankful for. But seeing that magazine and reading the stories of my old university brings back some dark memories. The longing to go back and do it RIGHT this time. I think that is unltimately what kills me in the end. The stern realization that I can't go back and fix it.
Enough of my morbid fascination with the past. . . . .
the pic of the day - as usual:
my boyz, back from the brink. . . ONE SIDE ZERO.
An April 4th gig and rumors of an EP in the making. My life can now go on again. You have NO IDEA how long I've hung with these guys waiting for them to get their shit together and get going again. An amazing band that deserves a lot more run they have received thus far. Oh well, my rant is done. Enjoi!
OUT
EVERYTHING I LEARNED
There is a famous sign that hangs in many offices. There’s actually a book written on the same subject. “Everything I know, I learned in Kindergarten.” It is true in some respects, but in the grand scheme of things, I would beg to differ that my parents had a lot to do with shaping a lot of my opinions, thoughts, idea’s, morality, and the infinite other things you need to equip yourself with before you finally hit the real world. Then, when you finally do end up in the cold hard world of reality, you finally realize what your parents had been telling you along – was all true!
When you get to my age (mid 30’s) you do one of two things. You either have something happen to you, or others around you, that makes you question your mortality. Or, you have an early mid life crisis. You know the kind, where the life you’re living suddenly becomes null and void over night. You don’t know why, but the meaning is suddenly gone, and you embark on a journey to find out who you truly are. I thankfully had the previous happen to me. I had several of my friends loose their parents, either one or both. I went to a few funerals, and started to wonder what life would be like without my parents. When you do such things, it’s the clarity of what they have given you over the course of your life that becomes crystal clear. Not that you would be happy they are gone, but the sudden realization of how deeply they have affected your life becomes apparent. So here I am, at work, writing this little piece of journalism, not for my parents, but more for myself. So I can truly understand and be thankful for everything they have given me. Things so irreplaceable, that loosing one’s wallet and credit cards pale by comparison. These are things you will have your lifetime, which you cannot undo. Yet, every single day for the past two years (the approximation of my examination), I have found something I’ve said, something I’ve thought, something I wanted to do, could all be traced back to something my parents taught me. Scary isn’t it? Not scary in the sense that the idea of freewill is usurped, it’s the mere idea of how large an impact my parents have had in my life. It often gives me time to pause and consider the implications. So the following are just a few of the monumental things my parents have taught me, and how these have no doubt shaped how I see the world, interact with people in this cold, harsh reality of life, and the tools they have given me to survive and succeed, on my own.
Before I do that though, there are a few things I must present in order to frame the following. If you could ever have two parents more diametrically opposed, it would be my parents. My father came from a large family, living in a small suburb of Minneapolis, in a small house. His parents (from what my Mum tells me) were ungodly cruel to him. Physical and psychological torture was the common theme in the household. It was a blue-collar family that struggled to survive every month. My mum, on the other hand, came from a wealthy family, in a rich suburb of Minneapolis. Her father was a self made man. Accountant. Absolutely brilliant, his mind was as sharp as a sword. My parents came from different sides of the railroad tracks, but their philosophies on how to raise my Sister and I was born of their own families. My father wanted us to have everything growing up. My Mother wanted us to know the importance of hard work and effort. This, I suppose was the first thing I was learned. The second was more important, but infinitely tied to the first.
So let’s start with what both of my parents contributed to my “worldview” of reality. The first was to always appreciate the role of hard work in your life. Nothing will be given to you. My Father didn’t want us to have to work for things. He worked his ass off to provide for us, and wanted us to appreciate the better things in life. My Mom wanted us to know the importance of hard work. Both came across, and I blended the two in my own mind to get a greater message. You will be rewarded for your hard work. Don’t take anything for granted. There are no handouts in life, and if you truly want something, you ultimately will have to work hard to get them. When you’ve reached a certain level, things do become easy with money, but never forget where you came from. The old saying, “As soon as you forget where you came from, that’s when you’re headed back there.” certainly applies. So they both instilled in me that hard work pays off. The most important thing you can have in life is to have a great work ethic. Work hard till the job is done, and done right. This brings me to the second thing my parents taught me – compromise.
Although my parents fought over the most minor stuff, somehow they always found some kind of compromise. I don’t think they ever picked up that this really hit home with me, but it did. Having two completely different approaches to child rearing, they always had to find some middle ground. Right? Well, I got that one loud and clear. Sometimes my dad won out, sometimes my mom. In either case, I knew it was important to compromise to get to a solution both people could live with. As I grow older, I don’t have that surly fight in me so much, this one thing has made my life much easier.
Fashion. What could be more important than your first impression? Nothing. My father is an incredibly smart man. He had very little growing up, got a degree in mathematics from the University of Minnesota and made millions selling high technology for many, many years. His work ethic was second to none. Both my mother and father impressed me early on the importance of dressing properly and conservatively. My mother would coordinate, and my father always told me to iron your shirt, press your suit, and polish your shoes. They both instilled in me to dress properly when I would go out for anything like church, an interview, a new job, or a date. Any occasion where making a first impression was important, and to maintain the idea you weren’t a slob.
When I was 14, I went to my first job (because my dad wanted me to work as soon as I was old enough) “interview”. My dad yelled at me for twenty minutes about how I’m not wearing jeans, I have to tuck in my shirt and I shouldn’t go there and present myself like a slob to a potential new boss. I finally relented and did as I was told. It was funny, because as soon as I got there, the manager came over, looked me up and own, and smiled. He asked me two questions, then told me I was hired and to show up the next day for work. It was something I thought was stupid, but when the manager looked me up and down, I knew my dad was right. It was the first lesson, and will always be seared in my memory.
To this day, I always hear him when I’m getting ready for an interview. Black sox, black shoes, black belt. Dress conservatively. Choose a modest tie, conservative pinstripe or solid color suit. I always hear my mother in my mind telling me what colors go with which, what tie will look good, but not overbearing. I see people (CEO’s of companies for Christ sake!) all the time who obviously have never been told how to dress properly. They wear brown belts with black shoes, crazy ass ties that scream “looser!!”, and the most gawdy suits you can imagine. I see all this and look heavenward, and thank God and god for my parents putting me on the right track when it comes to dressing myself. Since I took a lot of what they said together and melded that into one thing, let’s look at some things my mom and dad separately have done to impact my life.
I’ll start with my father. I can honestly say I’ve always held him in high regard and have always been proud and fortunate to have him as my father. There are so many things he’s taught me, the list would be too long to list them all. I’ll focus on some of the things that have struck me in the last few years.
Since sports have always been a big part of my life, my father instilled so many things about sports that I’ve applied to my own life. The single, most important thing I took from his teachings with regards to sports was this: always be a fighter, never give up. I know now, how important this was in his own life, so to hammer this theme a lot over my sports career separated me from the normal jocks who I was always compete ting against. This one thing has served me well. Now don’t think my father basically said to fight everybody, be a cheap-ass and play unfairly. It just meant to never give up. You get hacked from someone; you don’t lie around looking for the call. You get up, and keep going. This always gave me something a lot of guys I knew didn’t have – heart. There were some many jocks at my high school that coasted through sports simply because of talent. When stuff got hard, they got like soft serve ice cream and packed it in. I loved it when the stress levels went up; I loved it when things got tough. It separated the people who were determined to win, from those who simply wanted to showcase their talent. Being somewhat smaller (around 5’6” in high school), I had to have that burning desire to fight through the rough and tumble stuff to survive. Now take this and apply it to any part of your life and you see how important this one lesson is.
Another critical thing my father taught me was to learn how to help yourself, be self-sufficient. It seems an odd thing, but over the years, it has helped me in ways that looking back, were the difference between living and dying. It was THAT important. The one example I always use is when my ex-girlfriend (and mother of my son) left me high and dry in Fargo. She moved back to Minneapolis, and I suddenly had to pay child support, finish off my senior year in college and somehow work 50 hours a week to get by. My daily routine became the same thing day in, day out, my friends abandoned me, and I was left to my devices for months on end. It was a pitiless existence, and I was severely depressed. But just as my father had instilled in me when I was playing hockey, I just never gave up. I got up every morning, I did what I needed to do, and I trudged on. I didn’t want to ask for help, I knew if I wanted to get through it, it was up to me. No counseling, no drugs to numb the pain. I just took it on the chin and never went down. That was the difference between giving up and ending my life, or battling through it, knowing there was light at the end of the tunnel. One lesson, so many applications, but that was the hardest, most difficult time of my life. It was a great life lesson to know what happens when you get left out in the cold in life, and there’s no one around to help you.
Of course, my father gave me something I never fully appreciated until I had my own son. The idea of sacrifice and being un-selfish was something I completely overlooked. I look back now and am simply amazed at how much my father sacrificed to be at my soccer games, my baseball games, my hockey games, my communion, fishing, and a bizillion other things. It meant so much to him to be there for me when I got off the ice, just to pat me on the back and tell me. “Good work, great game.” I always thought this was normal, talking about the game on the ride home, what I did well, what I needed to do better. Now I have my son, I want so much to be that dad for him. It’s only now, I fully understand many of the other kids who had parents who were divorced and one parent or neither one of their parents would show up for their stuff. It must have been really hard on them now that I think about it. I was lucky; my father would work 8 hours a day, drive 45 minutes home, change his clothes and spend an hour outside throwing the football around with me. He never got mad, and never said, “No, not tonight Karl, I’m too tired”. There was so much time he gave me when I was growing up. It showed me how important sacrificing for your kids is, and being un-selfish with your time can have a really positive impact on kids. It did on me. Only now, can I really understand how important that was growing up.
Understand my father was a mathematician. He was so very analytical in everything he did. If he were building something, he would map it out, analyze it, put together an approach and then move on in the order that he wanted to. As a child, this meant actually reading the directions for ANYTHING before we plugged it in or put two legos together. As trivial as it seemed as a child, I now understand how important it was. As an adult, I still read the directions anytime I get a new VCR, DVD player, walkman, etc. His analytical, logical thought process has helped me out of many jams. When all else fails, you still have to read the directions. No jumping ahead, no cutting corners. Read the directions, and everything will be just fine. I saw how he broke things down, examined things and did things in a logical manner. His teachings helped me to sort things out, untangle problems one step at a time. It’s something small, but probably has had the biggest impact on my life overall. This also taught me to be patient. Take your time, and do it right the first time. His attention to the smallest detail showed me you couldn’t overlook anything.
The one thing I do give full credit to my father for is my warped sense of humor. Making me laugh was always the easiest thing to do, but my father had such an intelligent, witty sense of humor to him. Something I latched onto early in my life. The way he told jokes, and the way he told stories were so unique. Just a few nights ago, my wife and I stopped over to give my mother her birthday present and chat a bit. My dad told me an old story about one of his co-workers at one of his old jobs, and how he put in his two-week notice. It was a story I had never heard, but he had me rolling after a few lines. The funny thing? I knew I told stories the same way, with the same facial expressions and the same delivery – VERBATUM. When I always tell a story like the one he told, I can hear my father’s voice, and visualize his expressions in my mind. It’s me talking, but it is for sure my father, always coming through in some weird way. It’s weird to think you would develop your own sense of humor, but mine mirrors my father’s in ways I could never dream of. I often think this is some strange genetic link that will be passed to my son. Something of a sub-conscious family heirloom passed on from generation to generation. So now on to my mother, and the wonderful things she’s inspired in me to do.
My mother is the pacifist, the environmentalist, the activist, and the spiritual superwoman. What my father didn’t give me, my mother more than filled in the blanks. It was the classic case of Ying and Yang. Whatever my father left out, my mother aptly filled in the blanks. Were there was strength, my mother provided restraint. Were there was fight, my mother provided pacifism. Where there was amplified voices and loudness, my mother provided calm. Where there was callousness, she provided emotion and empathy. My mother (and my sister, god love her) took great care in making sure I was in touch with my feminine side. There are many things she taught me, but below are some of the big ones I have carried with me my whole life.
My mother was a pacifist. She told me never to fight, walk away. My father taught to fight. Sometimes I would fight, and other times I would simply walk away. As I grew older, my mother instilled in me that my intelligence was a more dangerous weapon than my fists. Once I started to learn this, it became a fun game to simply outwit the people who wanted to fight me. Mental toughness and metal finesse is what she gave me. Over the years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve simply talked my way out of a jam in a bar with some drunken idiot. Because of this, my nickname quickly became “the weasel”. As I’ve gotten older, I employ these techniques much more frequently. I basically avoid confrontation, and allow my superior mental skills to carry me through. This of course, also gave me the basis for how to properly argue with people. My mother gave me the great foundation; and it was my college professors who sharpened my wit and made my arguing skills far more nimble.
More than anything, my mother fostered my own creativity. Where my father showed me the analytical side of life, my mother always encouraged my artistic, creative side. I could draw for hours, color pages and pages of books, and let my mind explore. My mom could give me some pencils and paper and I was in wonderland for hours. It was a part of my childhood that I loved. My mother always encouraged this side of us, and it served me well in college and in other areas of my life. It was something fairly simple, but gave me another angle to life. She told me my imagination was something very powerful and potent. Simply honing my imagination to use in other areas of my life has been incredible. Without my mother encouraging this side of me, I never could appreciate art, sculpture, architecture and many other things that to so many people see as dour and un-interesting.
Life, how precious is life? My mother instilled very deeply in me the importance of feelings, emotion and empathy. When you hurt other people how does it feel? How does it feel when you hurt? Simple lessons, but something that has grown so deep in me, it’s hard to NOT think of anything on an emotional level. Making sure I’m aware of other people’s feelings, their emotions and being considerate of that is so important. Tolerance is what she taught me. Being reserved, balanced in your emotions. Curb your anger, look inside your own emotions, and think beyond the physical anger you feel. Pretty deep huh? Once you start see the implications, it becomes staggering how important this became in my own life. How to deal with people that have never learned this is scary. I realize she taught something not many people have or cherish. It is the humanistic level some people never get to. It’s a whole other level of emotional stability and feeling.
My mother, even in her non-violent manner, also instilled in me to never underestimate the underdog, and her fiery spirit always taught me to never, ever, underestimate people. She also showed me that sometimes you have go your own way to be successful. The best example is when she (a woman) coached my hockey team in a league that had all male coaches. She got hazed and they dumped on her and what not. She just didn’t listen to the negativity and just pushed on. Well, well, what happened? Only the city championship, that’s all. She never told the other male coaches to go shove it; she just didn’t listen and did her job. Trailblazer? You bet. Strongest willed woman I know? You bet. I was young enough, but smart enough to know this was the example to follow. She never bothered anybody; she just let her work speak for itself. How wonderful is that? She showed me how to take the negative and turn into something positive.
My mother has also been a fiery woman when it came to politics. She really hammered home a ton of stuff that I have taken to heart. She instilled a very strong environmental awareness; she always spoke up, no matter the consequence. She taught me to make sure my voice is heard. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll go for anything was what I learned. Never be silent, speak up. Being an individual is more important than simply going along with other people because they THINK they know best. My mother has never taken shit from anybody, and her fiery, activist attitude is definitely strong with me. Many, many times in college I stood alone in defending my viewpoints and philosophies. I didn’t do it to be cool; I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. Standing by what you believe in is very important to me, and is something I look for in my friends. I would prefer someone who takes a position and defends it, rather than to simply cave in and tell me I’m right. This is something that was instilled early in me and has simply grown over the years.
Some of the very nature of my life, I think a lot of these things have been amplified over the years. People always talk of how their friends influence them. How they take a lot of their beliefs and make them their own. I know a lot of people like that. I know a ton more people who simply follow whatever their friends do or say to fit in. Through my whole life I’ve thought of myself as an individual. I never had a clique in high school to hang out with. I always saw those people as rich snobs. People who saw themselves above everybody else. I was a jock, but didn’t like hanging with the jocks. I skateboarded (much to the dismay of my parents) and even those guys didn’t take to me very well because I was a jock. It’s not that I didn’t fit in; I never WANTED to fit in anywhere. Thus, I cast off my friends in high school, and started a new in college. When shit got bad in college, I found I really only had a few real friends. To this day, I probably have three people who can I honestly say are my real friends. Is that sad? Nope, it doesn’t bother me; I choose to live my life like I have. Having said that, my influences to a large degree were my parents. When I told my parents because of sports I never drank until college, they thought that was good. I knew people who had DUI’s before they were in college. They thought it was funny, I thought they were morons. Is that how you get “cool points” with your friends? Maybe that helps explain why I didn’t get those people. Maybe that’s why now I can look back at the first part of my life and be thankful my parents influenced me to the degree they did. They showed me the right stuff to follow; they pushed me in the right direction. I’m not in drug rehab, I’m healthy and still enjoying life like I’m 25. This isn’t a thank you letter; it’s just a bit of information to tell them they did a great job raising me. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I wouldn’t want any other parents. They should take solace in the fact that there are many parts of me that are them. Many parts of them I hear when I talk to people, when I argue with people, when I tell jokes. When I hold my wife close and love just holding her in my arms. When I hurt when my son cries, when I score a goal when somebody told me I couldn’t. When I close my eyes and dream in vivid color, When I open a new DVD player and grab and read the directions first, when I read a spy novel book and get lost in myself. When I change jobs and my dad says, “You’re doing the right thing son.” When I fall asleep every night knowing my parents have given everything of themselves to make me who I am. I want them to know we are infinitely connected; they are so much a part of me. They can sleep well at night, knowing I intend to pass all of this knowledge to my son and future children. It was all worth it, every day, every minute.
Goodnight now.
Karl
SOMETIMES THINGS HAPPEN SO FAST. . .
First is was the impending lockout, then there were the debates, then the whispers started, and now the circle is complete. . . 
First of all, I'm sooooooooooooo pissed and depressed today. Hockey finally conceded and cancelled it's season after the NHL failed to secure a new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the players. So what happens now? Who knows, but its going to be a very long summer for hockey fans.
Other big news this week was the sacking of Flip Saunders from the Timberpuppies and Kevin McHale took over as the coach. The verdict is till out on McHale as a coach, he's 1-1 so far.
So what good news is there? Well, my Manchester United Red Devils beat their rivals Manchester City 2-0 in one of the most hyped Derby's this eason.
The best news though? I'm leaving my current employer in a handful of weeks and some days. I'm already pumped to see my checks get a shot in the arm. Too many months wondering what the fuck I'm going to do to get by after I get paid. Stability can be such a nice thing sometimes.
That's all I got today, nothing major, just a little update. Can't think of any funny stories, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bored, I guess??
LATE
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SAY "OH FUCK"
Starting a new job isn't easy. Hell, changing careers is in the top ten of stress related life changes. Well, add me to the list of these poor bastards.
As of exactly two days ago, I accepted an inside job at a monolithic company. You see, I just read a funny article about a guy who started a blog after he got a gig at Goggle. It didn't go so well, too much information for Google's likening ended up on the internet. Read about it here. So I will spare you the details of my high profile earnings, comp package, etc. I always wanted to live in the corporate world, tell people I work at some big name place. You know those conversations right?
"So where do you work?"
"insert big corporate name here"
"Wow! That's really cool, what do you do there?"
"I'm in sales, we do (insert really cool product here)"
"So what do those do? "
Instant gratification, instant corporate cred. It makes you look cool, like you have your life together and are in the process of working your way up. It also usually means your making good money and have a stable job. At least that's the perception - right?
Who wouldn't want that? Me! For so many years I lauded my friends who were running en mass to big corporations after their college graduations. Me? Nahhhhhhhh, I would prefer having a dynamic life, do my own thing, make 30K a year and have my personal freedom.
So when does 30K not cut it anymore? When do you get out of your futon in the morning and WISH you had a better bed, a better apartment (or better, an actual house or townhome) to live in, or just better STUFF? Well, for me, it happened right around 34. I figure with no 401K at my present employer, and a hard cap on my earnings, I figured out my dreams had changed, my life has changed, and I want out.
When your 25, you appreciate working in a mall, picking up 18 year old girls with fake i.d.'s. You don't need much else. When your over 30, picking up 25 year old women is hard because you don't have enough money to get yourself a beer. This is when you know things must change.
So I spent many, many, months devouring the internet looking for a job with a big company. I work in wireless (cell phones) so I thought a jump to a major carrier would be an easy fix. I got several interviews with those carriers. However, when you know more about what the people interviewing you do about THEIR OWN product, it creates some animosity. For instance:
"So why do you want to be a sales trainer for Verizon Wireless?"
"Because I know your product inside and out and I know the best way to sell that product and which trainers are good, and which trainers are terrible. So I know what works and what doesn't"
*sarcastic look on woman's face*
"What do you think doesn't work in regards to our trainers?"
(nice - just set me up you pissy bitch. I can't believe she actually asked me that.)
"The trainers that just spew the information to the sales people. The ones who don't give you any good ideas on how to sell something they've never sold. There are trainers who really don't train slaes people, in my opinon"
*another pissy look from interviewer*
"Interesting, would you care to name a few?"
(at this point, it's confrontational, and time for me to go!)
"I don't think that's necessary, and I don't think this interview is going much further - is it? Because (here's where I get pissed and unload some stress) you came and got me 20 minutes late, have asked me poorly stated questions from the get go, and honestly, if you're going to be my boss, I wouldn't last a week. I have much more important things to do then to sit here and be grilled by a bunch of people who couldn't carry my jock in regards to selling your products. So if you want a trainer who can train the hell out of sales people and make them produce, then hire me. If you're just looking for some lackey on a leash, then I'm not your guy - oaky?"
*stunned silence*
So I get up, put my stuff back on and walk out still fuming. So this is how it went. Several interviews, some good, some great, and some just plain miserable. I finally came to the conclusion that I have too much knowledge and too much experience. Oh yeah, got shitloads of retail interest to run a retail store. I've worked retail, I know how it's a grind during the holidays. I don't want that. I don't want to have to work on the weekends. Thanks, but no thanks. Sothese carriers, they don't want people with experience, so they can mold them into their own little robots. I've spent 7 years in this god forsaken industry, which is a lifetime and this is what I get. So here I am, ready to flush all this stuff down and start over.
So I changed gears and started looking at inside sales positions at large companies. Suddenly I started getting stuff here and there. And sure enough I finally got my offer. So as of next month, I'm a ghost in this industry. Gone, see ya, bu-bye!!
I was hesitant at first, but as the time drags on and the more customers I have to deal with, I'm glad I'm moving to cube land. I'm geeked to come in and produce like the top dogs. Go balls out for the next two months and get to where I want to go.
So now its a toss up. My next blog, will it be a book or corporate experience??
The future is uncertain at this point. . .
Which leads me to my picture of the day:
The weather man sez we've only had 12" of snow this winter! How pathetic! So now, at my other work, we're already taking down our snowboard displays and trying to get rid of the stuff. So that means spring can't be too far off, right? So in the midst of of all this tuff, I can't help to post a few pics of mountain biking. Enjoy. Also, I'll be posting pics of my new bike (as of last summer) as soon as I get em' off of my camera.
Yeah, I know, she's riding a POS GT, so save your emails for somebody else!
LATE
ONE FROM THE EDGE. .
I read blogs, mostly for fun, sometimes for material or something to jar a memory loose so I can have something to write about. Today was special though. I just remembered this great story about an old roommate.
Now, I must preface this by saying I've never had any really bad roommates. Most of my roommates in college were on my soccer team. So acting stupid when you're lit up, or peeing in their shoes after a long night of drinking was common. Going days and not showering, using all of your roommates soap (the always dangerous mamalian bar trick), and generally acting like a slob didn't go well with the sort I lived it. It was accepted we all had some class and chose to be respectful of those around us.
When I moved back to Minneapolis, I wasn't so fortunate to pick out decent roommates. You see, I didn't want to live with my parents, so after I got a job (which was a really shitty one) I moved in some of my co-workers. ALL of them were cards in their own right, but the best was probably Terry or Josh. Terry was one of these people that didn't believe in showering or changing clothes for that matter. He would basically work 11 hours in the summer heat, with a full polyester suit. Then come home, lay down on the couch fall asleep, get up the next morning and just go to work. I think his all time record was like 5 days doing this. He FINALLY took a shower after several people mentioned a nostril flaring stench following him wherever he went. Thus, he was nicknamed "DISenterry". Now Josh, he was another ball of wax. I nicknamed him "Yoshi" because he had a glass pot pipe shaped like a mushroom that reminded me of the Super Mario Bros game.
Anyways, the guy was a pothead, and four years older than anybody in the apartment (which put him around 29,30). This guy just mystified me to no end. He got caught up with some English broad that liked fancy gifts and expensive food. It wouldn't be anything for them to go out and blow $200 on lunch. Of course, Josh was a sucker for a nice ass and big tits. He ALWAYS ended up paying the tab. Of course, none of us were making any money, let alone enough to be supporting a fucking English mistress and her expensive habits.
So after several months of doing this instead of paying the bills and more importantly RENT, we were on the verge of being evicted. So one night his skank English bitch comes over for one more roll in the hay before she heads back across the pond.
As fate would have it, they were drunk and started to get pretty loud. She was such a fucking screamer, I always had to put on my walkman in order to avoid hearing them knock boots till all hours of the morning. Tonight was no different. So as they were getting louder, I started to pound on the wall and yell "Put a sock in that bitches mouth motherfucker!! I'm trying to sleep!!" Then it would quiet down for a bit, then escalate again. This is when I finally started to plot. You see, they'd go on and on for like an hour, then break and come out into the living room, then go back in for another session. In between sessions, I went into my other roommates bathroom and got her baby powder and put it all over his sheets, then pulled his comforter back over the evidence. I was banking on it being dark (he liked letting candles burn all night long) when they were getting it on. Of course, being drunk and horny, they never noticed it until they were almost done. The reaction was PRICELESS.
It went something like this. . .
HER: Oh god, pound me baby, pound me so hard!!"
HIM: Oh yeah baby!! Oh yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh!!"
*then abrupt stop*
HIM: "What the fuck did you put on me?"
HER: "Ummmmmm nothing Josh, why?"
HIM: "Because there's shit all over in my bed!!"
HER: *screams*
HIM: "WHAT THE FUCK IS IN MY BED?!?!?!"
HER: "Oh my god, look all this pasty shit in the bed!!!"
HIM: "What the FUCK is IT?"
Just the sheer panic in his voice had me laughing hysterically for hours. Not to mention everytime I thought about it, it just made me laugh out loud. Classic, completely classic.
The funny thing is this. We did get evicted. We moved into another place under the condition with the landlord we would be on a month-to-month lease. Yeah, we moved in in May and on August 31 (that's just four months later kiddies) we got a letter that said our landlord wasn't going to renew our lease. After inquiring as to why he wasn't, it was pretty simple. Josh hadn't paid rent for the past 3 months!! So the landlord simply reclaimed mine and my roommates deposit in order to pay for the rent this dumbass never paid.
Needless to say, everytime I went to go rent an apartment, I got refused because the eviction was now on my renters history. So in order to get this off, I had to take all of my roommates to court, have them sign a shitload of papers about what happened so I could be absolved. It was a MAJOR headache and something I'm glad I've never had to go through since.
After that little experience, I ended up moving in with my best friend. Which was better in many regards, but not all. I'll get a few of those experiences later. . .
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh
the pic, errrrrrrr pics of the day. . .
After John O Shea's goal sealed the deal for the Red Devils. The announcer said he could play for 15 more years and never have a prettier goal.
What can I say? The match was everything it was hyped to be and more. In the end, my Red Devils prevailed. In doing so, they leap frogged Arsenal in the standings and set up an end of the season barn burner between us and Chelsea.
Figures to be a great ending to another great season!!!
LATERS BRAH!
LET THERE BE LIGHT!!!!
So after almost two years in the Chemtrail trenches, I have decided to delete my Chemtrails blog. Ahhhhhhh yes, it was hard, but needed to be done. I've posted my feelings in another post on this blog (Tuesday May 25th, 2004) The link is here if you need it. But just in case you wanted a window to the madness, here you go. DONT FORGET YOUR TINFOIL HAT EITHER!!!
So now I've got more ideas for another blog. I've always wanted to write a book and I think starting another blog specifically for that purpose would be cool. Then having people comment on it and help me edit it would be even cooler. I'll have to get some more stuff down before I start off on this endeavor.
Okay, so what is going in in this bizzaro world we live in? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, some good news here and here. So I was pretty much awash in emotion as the Iraqi election happened. Pretty insane some of the things we take for granted here. People risked their lives to go vote. I would say that's a determined set of people bent on realizing thier own hopes and dreams for thier country. Also a gigantic victory for Bush, who has been burdened with expectations of failure from Libs and Dems alike. Oh well, such is the climate in our country these days.
Another great hope is this movie I just learned about today. The documentary is called "Voices of Iraq" and is a pretty powerful story of the Iraqi nobody has seen up to this point. Check out the trailer Pretty incedible story - I know. Intersting how the editors had no idea how biased the media really were here. There are several examples cited in the movie which was stunning. You can also rent the movie at NetFlix if you want.
My new favorite home. Very cool people, lots of eager debate. Good for the soul I say.
Brutality in all it's glory. That's what the NHL lockout has become. Millionaires bickering with Billionaires. Who gets the shaft everytime? Ummmmmmmm, the players. Last chance is this week to salvage the season. Read all about it here. Like Is aid, stick a fork in the NHL it's over. I mean the NHL is over. Not coming back for probably another 2 years. By then, it won't matter. The fans will be long gone and they won't come back. So here's what I say to the owners. .
Nothin much else going on here, Ive got another brillant story I'll be posting tomorrow. Another one of those stories that will have you saying W T F? ? ?
LATE
oops, forgot, the pic of the day - right??
In honor of those who risked their lives to vote, this is for you FREE Iraqis and your incredible bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.
pretty amazing shit my friend. . . .
WHATS THIS THING FOR ANYWAYS??
When I started my blog, it was basically as an outlet to get out all my deep thoughts and insights that seemed to allude me. You know how you always say shit to yourself like, "That is some deeeeeeeeeeeep shit man!" and you always want somehwere to put all this stuff down so you can reference later - right? I also always thought this would be a great place to expound on my life experiences. My college life (from what I remember) was about as textbook as you could get - right up to the last few years. Those last years have been somewhat "removed" from my memory. I know in January of 1997, I finally moved back to Minneapolis permanently. The two years prior to that are very, very, hazy. I honestly could not tell you one thing that happened during those two years that was good for me. It was depressing, horrific, confusing, and most of all, disasterous. Pretty heavy words, but all true.
ANYWAYS, lest I digress into that abyss. My point being, I would write about my good, funny, indifferent experiences in academia and my life during those times. So I could share them somewhere down the road with my children. I honestly remembered so many funny ass stories, I even had several I wanted to tell right off the bat. But as time drags on, and things take precedent in your life, they get shelved. Since the beginning of this blog (August 11th, 2003) that was my intent. To share some of my life lessons and some of the more crazy college stories I amassed.
So then I ran into this guy - or rather his blog. Dave Lawrence is his name, and this is his blog. Of course, you might want to read the first 16 entries, which are pretty amazing to say the least. The first 17 are here. It's definitely worth a read. This guy reminded me of myself at that age. Although I wasn't a bartender, I lived a well documented alcohol ladden life for a few years.
So what's the point? Well, here's one of those stories. . . .
First of all - I must preface all stories by laying the groundwork for your expectations. I attended North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. For all you geographically challenged - here's a map:
Fargo is the big red star BTW.
So on with the story. . .
One of the best stories during my freshman year happened after a long night of party hopping, women chasing and general mayheim. One of my best friends lived in another dorm. Since he had a corner room, we usually partied in his room since it was quieter and he really didn't have any neighbors. Yes, if you're wondering, NDSU has a dry campus policy. Anybody caught with beer in their room was "written up" for such infractions. If you amassed enough of these, you were kicked out. Something I found out the hard way (another story - sophmore year). Anyways, So it's me Babbs, and Remey. The night is long (we started drinking after dinner around 6pm) and it's around 2am. Babbs roommate, Casey, is pretty hammered and passes out, as usual, on his bed. He crashed around 1am. Since we were all still drinking, we were plotting some horrible practical joke to play on him. As fate would have it, the poor bastard snored SO FUCKING loud we could barely talk before he intterupted us with his log sawing imitation. After about 30 minutes of rolling him around on his bed and the such to try and shut him up, we come up with a brillant plan.
So we cover him up in his blankets, and start taking his belongings (clock radio, posters, end table, etc, etc.) down to the showers. This dorm had community showers, so it was a huge open tiled room with 10 shower heads lined up around the horn. So we take all this stuff and "mock up" his area of the room. The last thing is we took him, still alseep in his bed, snoring like a muthafalker down to the bathroom showers. To top it off, we took a super long extension cord so we could plug in his alarm clock. We set the alarm for around 6am.
We tried, man did we try to stay awake so we could be there to see his reaction. Unfortunately, we all feel asleep until we heard him banging on the door and shouting "Pretty funny motherfuckers!! Let me in and go get my shit!!" We were all laughing so hard, we were all crying. Babbs didn't want to open the door. But he started getting violent(threatening us, kicking the shit outa the door), so we relented and let him in. The look on his face was precious, and I wish I would've had a camera to catch it.
The funniest bit out of all is I guess some sorry sod came in and took a shower while he was sleeping. It was until after the guy turned the shower off did Casey finally wake up. He said it took him a few minutes to get his bearings. He thought he was dreaming he was in the showers, then when he fell outa bed and hit the tile floor, he knew he had been duped.
This set off a huge prank war that had many highlights. One of the better ones was when Casey (Babbs roommate) "accidently" pissed in his shoes the very next weekend while in a drunken stupor. After some prying, he told me he really wasn't all that drunk and did it on purpose. Too funny.
Anyways. . .that's all I got for right now.
Oooops! Forgot the picture of the day!
MY LIFETIME INSPIRATION
NONE MORE NEGATIVE - TYPE O NEGATIVE
out
AND 2005....WERE OFF!
So another year comes and goes. Working on year two of this thingy. Still kinda new, try and un-load my thoughts from time to time. So let's recap the year just in case you missed it.
CNBC Year in Review
Info Please 2004 Review
The CNBC version is more news orientated, whereas the info please covers all the bases. Some of the more important things that changed my life are definitely the presidential election and the ongoing war in Iraq. Those are probably the two biggest. The one story that hasn't gotten more press is the hockey lockout. I guess Wayne Gretzky came out yesterday and said this could very well go on for another year or possibly TWO. Insane shit, just insane. So stick a fork in hockey. Here's a link if you want any of the sordid details so far:
BITCHES!
So it's been a few weeks since I've played hockey or soccer. My son came up for the new year and left yesterday. His plane left at 6:15am, so getting up at 4am did not do me anygood. I crashed HARDCORE last night. In bed, lights out by 9:30pm, what can I say?
So I gots Dido (ala trance version) streaming on my pc right now. So no soccer or hockey over the holidays and now I feel so fucking bloated it sucks. I put skateboarding on hold for a while too. Hopefully I can loose some of this flab in the next few weeks and get back being normal again.
The job hunt continues (as usual). I got a call from Qwest today asking me if I wanted an outside sales job going DOOR TO FRICKING DOOR selling their services. Ummmmmmmmmmmm no thank you. At least my phone is ringing though - therefore I can't complain - right? Hopefully some better things will start popping up. I also applied for a sales supervisor position at ERIKS. I was supposed to call Dave today, but forgot. But alas, that will go to the top of my list for tomorrow now. Aside from not finding a job yet, I have no complaints. I mean, what CAN I complain about? My life is good, comfortable - what more could I ask for? Nothing. Happiness is finally mine!
SO SMILE DAMMIT!!
So here's to hockey, R.I.P. old friend. Maybe someday you'll come back. . .
LATE
