Life of an Ant

Life Altering Moment in Time.

2007-10-15T08:29:00.000-05:00

After much thinking and prayer I made a life altering decision I thought I might never make. I have decided to switch jobs. I applied for a junior programmer / junior dba (database administrator) and actually got the job. I figured without a degree or years of expience I'd never find a place that would let me get my foot in the door but I was able to. I am excited yet scared. I know there is a lot of stuff I am going to have to learn both on the programming/dba side as well as the business side but I learn quick and have a desire to learn. I turned in my resignation almost two weeks ago and so tomorrow (Tuesday 10/16) will be my last day at my current employer. I am jumping right in the things at the new place so no time off for me. Not that I really take much time off anyways.

But as with all sunny days there are rainy days. We found out last week that Kathrynn has a lump in her breast. They are not 100% sure if that is the only one so they are going to be doing some additional tests soon to see what kind, how many, etc. Fortunately we have the support of so many friends and family. I think without all of that support it would be a lot harder to bear than it is. We are optimistic.

Craziness

2007-09-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello to all! Been a really long time since I have written. Life has become extremely hectic. The most hectic part is my work. I have been given more job functions that keep me so extremely busy I barely have time to breath. On top of that my semester started up and so now that classes have started I really stay busy.

Synopsis:

Things are fairly good. I am taking 2 of 3 of the remaining classes for my associates degree. Kathrynn resigned from her job in July and has been at home sewing baby blankets and such. She has been looking around but hasn't found anything yet. It has been a bit stressful being the only income but we get by.

Overall things are good. Just busy. I'll try to keep up on things here. =)

A new day = A new chance

2007-07-24T15:19:00.001-05:00

The best thing I love about waking up, in the morning, is that it is a new day. The things I did wrong yesterday I can correct today. I am grateful that I was given one more day to live and I wish I could say that I don't take that for granite but I do. That's probably why our lives are filled with trials. So that we are reminded of our place. At least, that's what I think. =)

Life is short!

2007-07-20T14:35:00.000-05:00

My wife and I just found out that a family friend has an agressive cancer and they are telling her that she has 6 weeks or less. My prayers and thoughts are with the family. This made me think about how short life is and the following is a rambling of my thoughts.

If I was to die tomorrow how would I be remembered. I have decided my life should be about doing the most good I can and living each day as that day would be my last. I want the world to know that I existed. I was here and I lived. I was loved and I loved. I laughed and I cried. I learned and I taught. I was happy and made others happy. I lived and my exsitance lives on in others. I think my greatest fear is not to die, but rather that my existance will be a faint memory that passes away just as the seasons pass away.

My heart is full of sadness that life has to end and those we love pass away. But I know that it is part of a plan and thankfully knowing that helps ease the sadness and with time turns the sadness into understanding and gratitude.

Catch up

2007-07-17T10:39:00.001-05:00

My apologizes! I haven't posted in a about a month. I sort of got blogged out. Lets see what has happened in the past month. Kathrynn went to Utah to visit some of my relatives there. She was gone a week and had a blast. She quit her job yesterday. I am still floating out there in space working for the man trying to stay afloat. Let's see, yep that about does it. My goal now is to try and find the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.

Tetris

2007-06-20T08:47:00.001-05:00

I love this game. So because I love this game I want to share it. Now, I didn't code this game and I am not taking any credit for it what-so-ever. All rights are reserved to the coders of this flash game. This game along with a few others are hosted on my website.

Tetris

Have fun and post your scores.

Bridge Builder

2007-06-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you a bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

-- Will Allen Dromgoole

Are we building bridges or destroying them?

Interview with God

2007-06-11T15:05:00.001-05:00

I love this poem. What a beautiful message it has whether you believe in God or not.

Click to see this post on Cinderella goes Hispanic.

A man's role in the family

2007-06-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

If we, as men, want to be successful in our lives, marriages, and families I believe we need to broaden our understanding of our role. I call these the five B's.

Be a Provider
There is more than one type of provider than just financially. A good man should provide spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally for his family. For a time I thought being a good provider meant that all the bills are paid, a roof is over our head, and there is food on the table but I was mistaken. Being a good provider means providing and contributing to the well being for all of the listed categories above.

Be a Helper
There is a myth that has been circulating for centuries that the woman is the cook, the maid, and the day care service. Who wrote that?? Well, it doesn't matter because the job of cooking, cleaning and raising the children is just as much the man's responsibility as it is the woman's. Guess what? When I am off I help cook and clean (don't have kids yet). Being part of a family isn't about how much you do. It is about working together, laughing together, crying together, and being together.

Be a Protector
Being a protector doesn't necessarily mean beating up the guy who insults your wife. It means protecting her self-esteem, self-worth, and her life as well as those of your children. It also means protecting their financial, spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional way of life.

Be a Teacher
Teaching is a life long calling. Teach your boys how to talk, act, and treat a lady. Teach your girls to date those with the understanding of how to treat a lady. How you treat your spouse is probably how your children will treat theirs. Teaching is not only verbal but visual. Your children will listen to how you talk to them. They will see how you treat them. They will listen to you how speak to your spouse and they will see how you treat him/her. If you have a disagreement, do it in private. Teach your children love, respect, honor, chastity, and self-worth. Set high standards and teach them by doing.

Be a Leader
Remember the game follow the leader? Be the leader and take the initiative. A marriage isn't 50/50. It is 100/100. Give all with out expecting anything in return. Do this and you will never be disappointed. Be a leader to your children. Set the example and lead by it. Actions always speak louder than words.

Being a man means being a provider, helper, protector, teacher, and a leader. If you are these things by the definition above you will also be a good employee, citizen, and friend. This is the life we should all strive for.

Out of confinement but still confined

2007-06-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

Well, I made it out of the clinic with everything God blessed me with and nothing extra. Some of my co-workers thought I would grow an arm out of my head or something. I still have some outpatient visits that end tomorrow (Friday) so after that I will truly be free. I am glad for it to be over. I am not a clinical trial virgin anymore. =o) I won't get paid until next week. They have to wait until Friday since the outpatient visits are part of the payment. Over all it was a very positive experience. I am already working on setting up my next one but this one doesn't involve any medication. It is cognitive based.

During my stay there I learned that there are people that do this kind of thing for their full time job. They move between Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. I wouldn't make a career out of it but a few of these a year wouldn't be bad. I am very careful to get ALL of the information before I decide to go through with it. I had fun although getting stuck 26 some odd times throughout the whole trial was a bit rough.

Checking in from the Clinic

2007-06-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

Ok, this clinical trial is definetly worth $1500 but not without it's consequences. On Friday I checked in, had my vitals, blood, urine and ECG. It wasn't too bad. The day I was fearing was Saturday. According to the schedule we would have to get our blood drawn 18 times or so. No, they weren't going to stick us just once and leave a cathader. They said because of them having to draw blood over the course of the whole day that there was a greater risk of infection and blood cloting it. So here I am Saturday at 5:00pm CST. Yes, they have been poking me everytime I had to give blood. It started out before dosing and then when I dosed they drew it every 15 minutes for an hour and then it went to every 30 minutes for two hours. Next was every hour and I just hit the point of every two hours until 10:00 tonight. Then there is one 4 hour and then a 12 hour and on and on. I have about another 16 time still to go before the study is completely over. URG!!! My arm is so sore and bruised, but like I said I feel it is worth it. Plus the food isn't too bad at all.

Secrets in Marriage

2007-06-01T07:37:00.000-05:00

"You have the right to privacy--in marriage, in a family, in any relationship, in any group--the right to keep a part of your life secret, no matter how trivial or how important, merely because you want it to be that way. And you have the right to be alone part of each day, each week, and each year, to spend time with yourself." - From the Valley Mental Health

Is honesty the best policy or are there things that should be left undisclosed?

I believe there are both "yes" and "no" answers to this question. I believe there are secrets about my past that I don't want to reveal. Maybe it is too personal, maybe it is because I promised another party I would never reveal, or maybe it is not relevant to my marriage. Perhaps it is to embarrassing or hurtful to reveal. I feel the sense of space, the idea of a private me is important to many people. The key is to know when should you share a secret?

Knowing when to share a secret isn't always easy. There are certain physiological responses that our bodies make that can help us determine if we should share. These responses are similar to those used in polygraphing. When you are hiding a secret look at your blood pressure, see if you breathing is heavier, if you are perspiring more, of if you "seem" more nervous. If you have some of these symptoms then the diagnosis is to revel the secret. If you are keeping a secret because you don't want to face the responsibility of marriage then this can create some serious problems. If you withhold information from a spouse that they need to know in decision making than this is serious harmful manipulation. Some secrets that should be shared that can hurt a marriage are once concerning job problems, not paying bills, spending money without the others knowledge, see friends and/or family secretly, hurting yourself or someone else, having an affair, or lying.

When to share a secret is very important and can take stress out sharing it and by the person hearing it. There are times when not to share a secret. Some of those are listed below.
•At bedtime.
•When someone is upset, ill, angry, drunk, or tired.
•During stressful situations

Honesty, trust, and communication are vital to the success of a marriage. Hiding something can haunt and individual and hurt a marriage. If there is something that needs to be shared and you can't find the strength to do it on your own seeking a professional counselor and/or a minister would be my next advice. Having someone there that can help mediate the event can help relieve some of the tension.

Have a happy relationship!!

Single Mothers

2007-06-01T07:27:00.000-05:00

To all you single mothers out there you rock!!

I enjoyed this post about single mothers.

Great advice for bloggers

2007-05-31T12:24:00.000-05:00

Katherine@Raising Five has some great blogger advice about commenting and such. You should give it a read. Kudos to her!

Clinical Trial

2007-05-31T11:36:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks I have been involved in a screening for a clinicial trial. This is an inpatient clinical trial so I will be confined for a period of 3 days at their lab. It involves a drug that has been approved by the FDA and is already on the market. The trail pays $1500 if I am able to complete all 3 days of the confinement as well as the 4 follow up visits. I won't be out until Monday June 4th sometime if everything checks out on my vitals, blood, urine, physical, & ECG.

Many of my friends and co-workers suggest that I not do it. They say that I will come out all messed up. I have already made up my mind that I want to go through with it so in case I am not the same when I get out it was nice knowing me.

Lol! Ok, on a serious note I am not worried at all. I will be given the drug only once and I will be monitored. They are going to draw my blood and check my vitals every hour during a 16 hour period. The next day they will check my vitals, draw blood, etc in the morning and the evening if everything checks out well on the day of dosing. Then on the day of release they will check everything again to make sure I can go. Then there are 4 follow-up visits one each day after I am released. I think I will be fine.

A New Blog

2007-05-30T12:27:00.001-05:00

Kathrynn wants to start up her own blog. You can view it here and it is called Cinderella goes Hispanic. She has always loved the story of Cinderella and yes she is hispanic.

Been a while

2007-05-30T11:07:00.000-05:00

So it has been a while since I have posted (before the #@$%!!!!!! post). I have been consumed with fixing my house, starting summer college classes, working on getting into a 4-year university since I will have my 2-year degree completed by the end of this year, and whatever else has popped up since then. I have been so busy. But Terri@SteelMagnolia posted a comment to me asking how I was so I thought the time was overdue to post again. Thank you for asking how I was by the way.

As of today I am much better since the plumbing incident. I started class yesterday and I found out last week that I was accepted to the University of Texas at Arlington for the Spring of 08. I have finally decided to get a move on and finish my schooling. I have been chugging along for long enough. Time to put the peddle to the metal. I guess better late than never but I want to be done and moving on, right?

#@$%!!!!!!

2007-05-30T10:54:00.001-05:00

****Warning, there isn't any profanity but I lost my nerve. This post has been chilling in the draft section since May 11th which was a Friday. Thats when the event occurred

Freak, Freak, Freak, Dang it!!

I've had my brand new house for less than 4 months and my freakin' pipe breaks. This stupid thing floods my bathroom, guest bathroom, hallway, & the guest bedroom. What a freakin' mess this has made. I had to pull up all the carpet and rip out the old padding. The only upside, and I do mean the only, is that the warranty will cover this. But still, what an inconvenience. I appear to have the same curse my friend Amyerj (Warning! Clicking on this link will take you to an article with profanity) has because this isn't the only plumbing problem I have had. I've had many others while in apartments and such. FREAK!! Amy, when you were talking to me in my office about the plumbing issues you were having at the time did you pass me the plumbing flu or something?? =o)

Ouch!

2007-05-07T13:17:00.000-05:00

Poor Kathrynn! She feel Sunday night while running with our nephew and busted up her knee. Now it is all swollen and she can barely walk on it. The scrapes look pretty gross so I won't post those but I did think about posting them. =o)

Survey Follow up

2007-05-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

Wow, this was definitly worth $100 dollars. So I show up to this place and they get me to sign in. They then take me back to this secluded area to wait for the other participants and tell me that I can eat the snack food they provided. There is soda, cookies, chips, sandwhiches, etc. I fill out this paper and they give me a name tag. Promptly on the hour it was supposed to begin we are taken into a conference room that has one of those two way mirrors, cameras, and microphones for taping. I almost felt like I was going to be interrogated but since I didn't see a polygraph machine I didn't worry too much. The study felt more like my psychology class then a study. It was related to Pace Picante sauce. It was really a lot of fun. I will certainly do these again.

Why didn't they think of that?

2007-05-02T08:03:00.000-05:00

A number of years back they made this really great addition to automobiles. They added a timer on to your headlights to turn off a short while after you have exited the vehicle. That's awesome I think. Now, why couldn't they have invented a dome light that you push the button and it stays on for a time period? Maybe they did and my car doesn't have it. Monday night I thought, "where is my cell phone?" "Oh, it's in the car." So I go get it and leave the dome light on. Come out on Tuesday morning and my car is dead. Hum, that is freakin' great!!

On a better note, my wife and I finally decided on some landscaping stone that we BOTH like and could agree on. Whew, now that we are past that I guess the next step is to get them.

I also have that survey today so I will report on that tomorrow. Should be interesting to find 1.5 hours worth of stuff to talk about salsa.

Survey Time!

2007-04-30T14:51:00.000-05:00

I am really excited. I have been trying for months to get accepted to a paid survey and I finally got accepted. I will be participating in a survey about salsa. It will last 1.5 hours and I will get $100 bucks. Woot!! I hope that I get to go to another one. Maybe I can start the "Survey-to-buy-the-Xbox360-fund" and get myself caught up with technology on the latest gaming platforms. Not that I do that much these days but hey, at least I could say that I caught up. Right?

If I had been there . .

2007-04-18T15:17:00.000-05:00

I have been watching the news regarding the VA Tech incident. I keep thinking to myself if I had been there and had my gun, even though it is a gun-free zone, I would have tried to stop that guy. That made me reflect to an event that happened a few weeks ago when my family was down. My dad and both brothers were over my house helping me landscape. My mother, wife and brothers wife were on their way over when they saw a girl being raped on the side of the road. My mother jumps out and grabs the guy and pulls him off her. They scuffle where he manages to push my mom into some bushes and gets in his vehicle. They call the cops. Turns out they guy was the girls boyfriend and took off with their kid after raping her. I say to myself if I had been there would I have killed him? That outrages me!!! I have my CHL and I carry all the time except at work, school, and places I can not. I ask myself all the time, "If I had been there, what would I have done?" I role played so many times over what would I do in this situation or that. Each time I make a plan of what I will do. I hope that I never have to kill another human being but if it means to protect myself or someone I love I would give my life taking the life of whomever is trying to hurt me or them.

Subch. C. PROTECTION OF PERSONS

PC §9.31. SELF-DEFENSE. (a) Except as provided in Subsection (b),
a person is justified in using force against another when and to the
degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to
protect himself against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful
force.
(b) The use of force against another is not justified:
(1) in response to verbal provocation alone;
(2) to resist an arrest or search that the actor knows is being
made by a peace officer, or by a person acting in a peace officer's
presence and at his direction, even though the arrest or search is
unlawful, unless the resistance is justified under Subsection (c);
(3) if the actor consented to the exact force used or attempted by
the other;
(4) if the actor provoked the other's use or attempted use of
unlawful force, unless:
(A) the actor abandons the encounter, or clearly communicates
to the other his intent to do so reasonably believing he cannot safely
abandon the encounter; and
(B) the other nevertheless continues or attempts to use
unlawful force against the actor; or
(5) if the actor sought an explanation from or discussion with the
other person concerning the actor's differences with the other person
while the actor was:
(A) carrying a weapon in violation of Section 46.02; or
(B) possessing or transporting a weapon in violation of Section
46.05.
(c) The use of force to resist an arrest or search is justified:
(1) if, before the actor offers any resistance, the peace officer (or
person acting at his direction) uses or attempts to use greater force
than necessary to make the arrest or search; and
(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the
force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the peace officer's
(or other person's) use or attempted use of greater force than
necessary.
(d) The use of deadly force is not justified under this subchapter
except as provided in Sections 9.32, 9.33, and 9.34.

PC §9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person
is justified in using deadly force against another:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under
Section 9.31;
(2) if a reasonable person in the actor's situation would not have
retreated; and
(3) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly
force is immediately necessary:
(A) to protect himself against the other's use or attempted use
of unlawful deadly force; or
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated
kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault,
robbery, or aggravated robbery.

PC §9.33. DEFENSE OF THIRD PERSON. A person is justified in
using force or deadly force against another to protect a third person if:
(1) under the circumstances as the actor reasonably believes
them to be, the actor would be justified under Section 9.31 or 9.32 in
using force or deadly force to protect himself against the unlawful force
or unlawful deadly force he reasonably believes to be threatening the
third person he seeks to protect; and
(2) the actor reasonably believes that his intervention is immediately
necessary to protect the third person.

PC §9.34. PROTECTION OF LIFE OR HEALTH. (a) A person is
justified in using force, but not deadly force, against another when and
to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary
to prevent the other from committing suicide or inflicting serious
bodily injury to himself.
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force against
another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force or
deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve the other's life in an
emergency.

House Warming

2007-04-17T14:03:00.000-05:00

We had our house warming for our family this past Saturday. Man, what a lot of work to get things ready. We plan on having a house warming for our friends & co-workers sometime soon. I will post pics of the house as soon as I take them . . lol!

I like guns and even more I like women that like guns.

2007-04-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

When I was dating Kathrynn I had mention to her that I owned, at the time, two guns. A Glock Model 26 and a Bushmaster AR-15. She didn't know what any of that meant so of course I had to take her shooting. The first time I didn't want to scare her off so I only brought my Glock 9mm. This is the gun that I carry with me now since I have my CHL. Anyways, I thought for sure she would hate guns because he mother doesn't like them and none of her brothers or sisters have them. She was a little aprehensive at first, who wouldn't be their first time, but she really, really liked it. Now she owns a few of her own that we have purchased since we've been married. She is a really good shot with a rifle. The other day we went shotgun shooting and this is the first time she had ever shot a shotgun. I bought her a Remmington 870 20 Gauge. She did really good with that too. Guess she is a natural. Anyways, I am glad that I married such a wonderful woman and even more . . she likes guns too. We have a hobby that we enjoy.

This is Kathrynn holding my Glock 26 9mm.

Our Family Shrinks

2007-04-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

On Monday someone took our little kitten. She sqeezed through the welded wire I put up and snuck under the fence. I was told that she was last seen by someone picking her up and taking her. =o( We put up some signs but with no luck. We only have Cala (short for Calabaza which is spanish for pumpkin b/c we got her on Halloween).

My bikes

2007-04-11T13:46:00.000-05:00

I love riding bikes . . both of them. There is something about the freedom that comes from being on a bike then that of a car. You lean and the bike leans with you as your make a turn. It's like you and that machine have become one with the road. It is amazing how that feels. I suppose there is a certain "cool" factor that often gets placed with motorcycles but I don't do it for that. Of course, I'd be lying if I said that I don't feel "cool" when I am riding that and I pull up to a car with cute girls in it that are shouting at me to take them for a ride or something of that nature. Sorry ladies, I am a married, FAITHFUL man. Or when I pull up to some young kid who revs his engine on his truck thinking he can smoke me and I pull of and hit 60 before he ever hits 40. I don't know, maybe I am just over rating it. Tell me what you think?

The Boys are Back in Town

2007-04-02T11:22:00.000-05:00

My brother Eric and his wife flew in on Saturday to surpise my brother Steven who, as you may know, just got back from a two year mission to Brazil. This has been the first time in over two years that all 3 of us boys have been home. I also got to meet my brothers wife for the first time. I wasn't able to attend my brothers wedding in Utah because I was in my finals for college at that time. It was nice being able to see everyone. They are here for the week and leave this coming Sunday. We are taking family pictures today so I will post some of those once we get them back.

Our family grows

2007-03-28T09:26:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we got a new addition to the family. Her name is Anna Mae and if you say it really fast it sounds like anime. No we didn't do that on purpose. Kathrynn wanted the name Anna and I like the name Mae as a middle name so I suggested it. It wasn't until we said it all together that we wondered if it was a good idea.

How bad do you have it?

2007-03-26T08:55:00.000-05:00

"I complained I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet"
--The Gulistan, Story 19

I really have no room to complain. There is always someone out there that has it worse than me.

--My thoughts

Steven is Back from Brazil

2007-03-26T08:31:00.000-05:00

So my brother has returned from his two year mission in Brazil. He actually came in earlier than he was supposed to and he ended up sitting up at the airport for 3 hours before he got a hold of someone. He wasn't supposed to be in until Thursday afternoon and he came in Wednesday afternoon. So if he hadn't gotten a hold of someone who knows how long he would have had to stay up at the airport. LOL! That would not be fun!

Get out of Debt

2007-03-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

Can I just testify that everyone needs a budget and needs to stick to it. America is in too much debt. I have talked before on a good plan to get out of debt but you need to stay away from it in the first place. If you don't have the money to get it then you don't have the money to get it. Does that make sense? I'd say much today's worry is about how to pay off tomorrows debt. Live within your means and you will note how happy you are without all that debt.

Of course some debt will be necessary. I call this a necessary evil because debt is evil. Isn't it said that money is the root of all evil. I am not here to argue whether or not it is but I will argue that debt is not a good way to live life with the exception of a college educaction and a house. Those are two very good investments but staying in debt all of your life to obtain these isn't. You can minimize the effects of getting an educaction and a house.

First lets examine how to save on getting an education. Your first two years of college are normally spent working on your basics. Why not go to a two year college like a community college. Did you know that it is a lot cheaper and you have smaller classes which mean more individualized teaching. This can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Plus, most small colleges work with the larger colleges/universities to do just that. Here is an example of the price difference. I have spent the last few years going to TCC where the tuition is $50/hour. Now I live in the county in which the college resides so that is the cheapest rate. If you lived out side of Tarrant county it is a bit more. Like $63/hour. UTA tuition which is also around the corner from me is about $250/hour. Your average class is 3 credit hours so the total expense: TCC is $150 and UTA is $750. If you went to TCC that would be a savings of $600 for just that one class. Don't forget you have to buy books for the class which is also very expensive, sometimes as much as the class.

Next lets examine purchasing a home. This can be a great investment or a curse depending on how and what you finance. Most people want a really big nice home. You need to figure up a budget to see if you can afford the house. You need to remember to include not just the mortgage loan itself but also the property taxes, home owners insurance, electricity & water. These are essential and can be very expensive. Also, watch out for those interest only loans. Those are designed to allow you to afford a bigger house by paying only the interest. Thats takes you back to the days of renting. You aren't purchasing it, you are renting it. Sure you can make higher payments but that's IF you actually make those higher payments. My guess is you won't because most people don't. They spend that extra money on other stuff. Stay away from those. Also, it is better to get a 15 year loan instead of a 30 year loan. But if you must get a 30 year loan at least you are purchasing the home rather than renting it like in the interest only loans. You don't need a large elaborate house. Stay conservative so you can pay off your house early and be debt free. That is true happiness in my opinion, just like the entire article is just my opinion.

We have plenty of freedom in this country but not a great deal of independence.
--John W. Raper

Emerson Corner #4

2007-03-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

All diseases run into one. Old age.

-- Emerson

Health is the slowest rate at which someone can die.

-- My thoughts

What the . .

2007-03-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

So I installed a solar power motion sensor security light. It said to allow 3 days of sun to charge the battery before turning on. So I wait a week and a half to ensure that it is charge. Last night I go to turn it on and nothing. The FREAKIN' thing doesn't work! I was so mad that I went and grabbed our shovel and started attacking the weeds in our yard. I am not a violent person but I was a little hot last night. The worst part is I don't know where I put the receipt and I threw the box that it came in away already. Arrgg!!! Manufaturer warranty my butt. I can't even prove that I purchased it. For all they know I stole it and now I am trying to get a new one. Can you hear this Home Depot . . I AM NOT A THEIF AND I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!

House work and House warming

2007-03-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

Well Kathrynn and I have been working on the house almost non-stop. Last night she started painting the guest bathroom. She is a better painter than I thought. I walked in there and she had a good portion of it taped up and almost ready to paint before I knew she was even going to paint. I started work on the shutters I am building for the house. I want to build working board & batten shutters. Everyone I seem to tell this to laughs at me. I guess they don't think I can do it. Well, I started them last night and got 1 side of the window shutter completed. I must say I think I did a swell job especially for someone that never took wood class. I would have posted a picture but my email with the picture that I sent myself got quarantined. I will try to post a picture tomorrow on this article.

2 Year Anniversary

2007-03-09T09:46:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is March 10th. It will be our 2 year anniversary. Wahoo! I can't believe two years has gone by. This also means that my brother Steven will be home from his two year mission in Brazil. He comes home on March 22nd so we are really excited. Here are some quotes I found about our anniversary, marriage, etc.

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. ~Rita Rudner

Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. ~Hoosier Farmer

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. ~Mignon McLaughlin

If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? ~Source Unknown

Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that. ~Michael Leunig

Remember, if you smoke after sex you're doing it too fast. ~Woody Allen

All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble. ~Raymond Hull

A dress that zips up the back will bring a husband and wife together. ~James H. Boren

Never feel remorse for what you have thought about your wife; she has thought much worse things about you. ~Jean Rostand, Le Mariage, 1927

A man's wife has more power over him than the state has. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journals

Three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. ~Author Unknown

My wife says I never listen to her. At least I think that's what she said. ~Author Unknown

I never knew what real happiness was until I got married. And by then it was too late. ~Max Kauffman

Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without. ~Dr. James C. Dobson

My personal favorite because it is so true is: A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he's finished. ~Zsa Zsa Gabor

Reviews, Bonus, & Job Security

2007-03-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

Well, it's that time of year when companies review their employees for merit increases and bonuses, etc. I've been doing a lot of wondering how this year is going to fair out. I have been really concerned the past months with our buyout from a bigger company. Some of my co-employees have had their positions eliminated because of redundancy. Also, the whole point of this company building a brand new building in the DFW area is to consolidate all of their call centers into one building. I have been really worried that when we move into the new building that my position or rather my dept will be consolidated. I've seen this in the past with other businesses and friends so I know that it is bound to happen. The question is how long do I have. I have been putting my resume out to see whats out there. I don't want to be caught in the rain without an umbrella. Especially since I just bought a new house. I believe I am a loyal employee but I also have to protect myself.

Fire Alarms Work

2007-03-05T09:50:00.000-06:00

This past week my wife tried to bake brownies. Instead of turning the stove off to let the brownies finish up cooking she turned it on broil. All of the smoke alarms went off in no time. The sad part was not that the house was full of smoke and the fire alarms going off but that we couldn't eat the brownies with caramel swirls. Looked so good too.

Any loss of a friend is a loss of mine

2007-02-27T08:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I found out that a co-worker, a friend of mine, that used to work with me lost her husband in a boating accident on Saturday. My only thought is that of grief. Why does a good man have to pass away with so many bad people still living. I know there is a reason, which can only be answered by God. My heart and prayers go out to my friend, her family, and her daughter.

Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

“Be Still, My Soul,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 124"

Count your many blessings . .

2007-02-23T08:41:00.000-06:00

Have you ever tried to count all your blessings? It's not as easy as it sounds. I never realized just how blessed I am and what an unfaithful person I am. I am going to try to count my blessings here.

I am alive.
I have a healthy and functioning body.
I have a healthy and vibrant mind.
I am loved by Heavenly Father & Christ.
I am a son of God.
I have a beautiful wife.
I have a funny wife.
I have a beautiful wife.
I have a smart wife.
I have a beautiful wife.
I have a motivated wife.
Did I mention I have a beautiful wife.
She has a healthy and functioning body.
She has a healthy and vibrant mind.
We have a beautiful brand new house.
We have good jobs.
We have a car that is paid off, is reliable, and has only 59,000 miles.
I have a motorcycle that is so much fun.
We have full bellies.
We have a big screen TV.
We have computers that work great including a Tablet PC.
I have an Xbox, Playstation 2, and GameCube.
We have wonderful family.
I have good friends.
I was married to my wife for all time, not just death.
I like my new church ward.
I have a new table saw.
I have an office in our house.
She has a sewing machine and makes baby blankets.
I like what I do at my job.
We get paid really well for where we are at in our lives.
I am in school and I love to learn.
I am not sick.
I have family that lives close by and we can visit them.
Our family helps us out.
I have an understanding of the gospel and the plan of salvation.
I have joy and happiness from know about the above.
I am loved by my wife.
I am loved by my friends.
I am loved by my parents.
I am loved by my grandparents.
I am loved by my mother-in-law.
I am loved by my grandparents-in-law.
I am loved by God.

I am so blessed that I cannot name them all.

Good day

2007-02-20T10:18:00.000-06:00

Today is a wonderful day. I feel good. I feel loved. I feel happy. I love myself and my life. Sometimes it is hard but I know that I am loved by so many people and by Heavenly Father and by his Son. I have a good wife who loves me. I have great friends that support me. I have wonderful family members both mine and in-laws.

I have been busy with the house. Last night I assembled my recently bought table saw. I insulated the water heater. Put up a rack/garden tool holder. I bought another board to add to the shelves I have put up in the garage. I spent this entire past Saturday putting up garage shelves and prep-ing the garage door opener my dad is helping me put up. What a pain that is. The builders didn't reinforce the area where the motor for the door open has to go so we are having to build a series of braces to put up in the attic so the mount will be strong enough. We'll see how that goes. Should be fun to install that.

Two in a row

2007-02-15T08:49:00.000-06:00

So I posted two in a row now. That is good right. I mean, I want to get better. Anyways, valentines day was good. Got a few laughs out of the it. Went to Joe's Crabshack and just had appetizers and desert. They brought out this chocolate cake with a fire cracker on it. You know, one of those sparklers. It was really cool. I am not big on chocolate or sweets eater for that matter but this was really cool. It took forever to get seated too b/c it was so busy. Everyone else wanted to go out for dinner as well so it was very crowded. We had fun though.

Catching up

2007-02-14T09:47:00.000-06:00

Wow!! So much has happened in the past few months that it would take me days to explain everything. Not that I want to get personal in cyber-space but life has been really hard the past few months. Those that know what is going on or hear rumors have asked me if I am alright or how are you dealing with this. Frankly I don't know. I want to believe I am strong and that I can handle what comes my way but the past few months have challanged my inner strength. There are times where I don't feel I can cope with what is going on and wish it was all a dream. I want to wake up and realize that everything is fine, but then reality kicks me and I realize this IS happening to me. I want to feel sorry for myself but I know that it is useless and doesn't get me anywhere. I am physically, emotionally and mentally tired from it all and I am tired of talking about it.

But I am a positive person and I know that I can get through this. I have so much in my life to be thankful for and things could always be worse. I am not unhappy but I know I could be happier if I were to change some things in my life. Change is hard but I have already made a few steps forward and I will continue to try to make steps forward.

Update

2007-01-30T13:35:00.000-06:00

It has been several months since I have last posted. A lot has happened since then. The biggest news by far is that we are purchasing a brand new home and hope to close on it by the second week of Feb. It is located in South Dallas between Cedar Hill and Duncenville. It is a 3 bed 2 bath 1288 sqft single story home. We are really excited about getting it.

My brother Steven comes home from Brazil where he has been serving a 2 yr mission. Kat and I are excited for him to be coming home.

I am really sick with an upper respitory cold or something so I will write more at a later date.

My website

2006-11-09T07:22:00.000-06:00

I have been working the past week or so to get my website up and running. There is still a lot of work to be done but I have the basic site up and running which was designed and built by me. Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. I will be creating a photo gallery, blog spot, a flash game section but this will take some time to get these things built since I am doing them in flash and don't have a lot of free time. I will post updates in my Whats New section every few days or so. It won't be every day since I don't have internet in my house and I have to FTP the files to the website server. Anyways, check it out!!

www.innovativeability.com

License to carry

2006-10-31T12:09:00.000-06:00

Exciting news!! I received my Concealed Handgun License this past Friday. I am so excited. Just thought I would share.

Should I be worried

2006-10-31T11:45:00.000-06:00

For the past month or so some consultants from our parent company has been here interpreting what we do. Usually this kind of thing happens when bigger companies buy out little companies. My boss, who has been with the company for about 10 years, says that this is just to help create some manuals for new hires and such. Well about a week and a half ago I found out that our director of IT's position will be eliminated. He is one of the foundation stones for this company, has been here forever, and has the most knowledge of our loan software. Also, a good portion of our software that our company thrives on will be converted over to what our parent company uses. Our parent company is building a massive call center which they will use to consolidate all of their other call centers around the US to bring them to one and we will move in with them in less than year. They have also consolidated a lot of their employees in their own company. It seems to me that there is no such thing as employee loyalty or job security. I love my job and what I do but I just don't think that this will end well from the events that have taken place already. A friend of mine in the economics field says these are the same signs that they study when big companies buy out little companies.

So the question is, do I need to worry?

My personal philosophy is, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." So with that in mind I will update my resume and start looking in the near future just in case. I don't want to be left in the rain without an umbrella.

The struggle to survive

2006-10-24T14:03:00.000-05:00

Well it has been a while since I have posted. Ok, it has been about 3 months. I have had a war raging inside me about what I am going to do with my life. What do I want to be (occupation)? It has actually been something that has been bothering me for the better part of the year but more so in the last few months. I think I have finally decided to not go to pharmacy school just yet and go to UTA to work on my BS in Biology and minor in Spanish. I don't know what I will do after that but at least I will have a degree in something. All of this has made me realize that struggles will always be apart of life. After I start a career there will be something else that I will struggle with. What I have learned is how each of us deals with that struggle. That reminds me of a story. [Story: Struggle] "A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly...

As with this story if I didn't have struggles I would probably never have the strength to fly.

What's New

2006-07-25T09:59:00.000-05:00

It has been a good while since I have last written. I have been consumed with school and work. Mostly school since I am in the summer section. I just finished physics, which I got an A in, and I am now in American Lit II. Kathrynn is working at LoanLink with me and she likes it. She has learned a good deal about the finance world and credit. I also bought a brand new motorcycle. It is a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R (see link for a picture). I love it and so does Kathrynn. We take it to work and I drive it to school. [Story: Bugs vs. Jeremy] I was riding my motorcycle to my parents a few Saturdays ago to show them the bike. As I rode along Ragland Rd I found myself playing dodge ball with all the bugs that are attracted by the many, many sunflowers along the roadside. At first it was fun but then it became tedious. It really wasn't that big of a deal until this huge butterfly, which I thought I had cleared, splattered on my helmet visor. What a huge mess it left. The cool thing was that I learned something new. I didn't know butterflies were so colorful on the inside too! Anyways, the bike gets incredible gas mileage, 50 city and 65 hwy. It only cost me about $8.00 to fill up too. Anyhow, we are just in limbo as we work, I go to school and the triple digit heat cooks us. I really dislike the summers here in Texas, hot, humid and no rain. I guess that is the way of the Texan.

Give It a Second Thought

2006-05-18T07:54:00.000-05:00

An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle's egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
All its life, the changeling eagle, thinking it was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. It clucked and cackled. And it flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that's how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.
Years passed. And the changeling eagle grew very old. One day, it saw a magnificent bird far above in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
"What a beautiful bird!" said the changeling eagle to its neighbor. "What is it?"
"That's an eagle - the chief of the birds," the neighbor clucked. "But don't give it a second thought. You could never be like him."
So the changeling eagle never gave it a second thought and it died thinking it was a prairie chicken.

The Christophers
Bits & Pieces
Economics Press

Emerson Corner #3

2006-05-16T15:39:00.000-05:00

People only see what they are prepared to see.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What else can be said? We only see what we want or are prepared to see. I think a lot of life’s wonderful blessings are missed because we fail to see them.

-- Jeremy Kofoed

Marriage and Divorce

2006-05-02T07:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in my Sociology class we listened to group presentations that we have been working on for about 2.5 months. One of the groups talked about Marriage and Divorce. They said that 4 in 10 marriages end in divorce. That is a high number, which is almost at 50%. I think they said 47%. Almost 1 in every 2 marriages will fail. Which one am I?

Well, I told Kathrynn while we were engaged that I would never divorce her, so I am the 1 in 2 that will not fail. I will do whatever it takes to make the relationship work. When we have an argument I will not be prideful. When I get upset I will not yell. Perhaps the most important that I feel the strongest about is that I will never lay a hand on my wife no matter what she does to me. I never have, and I never will. I will say I am sorry. I will make amends. My greatest remedy for when I am mad is to remember when I saw her in her wedding dress looking softly into my eyes as we prepare to marry. That feeling I get conquers all other feelings and I am no longer mad.

We made a promise to each other, while dating, that we would not go to bed mad. That we would talk about it, however long, until we have resolved the issue. This has been the greatest idea. Of course she came up with it so I can't take credit for that. There were some nights that we were up until 1:00am working it out even with school and work the next day.

So why is the divorce number so large? Why do marriages fail? How can we help our marriage survive?

1. The divorce number is so large because it is more socially acceptable to divorce. 20 or 30 years ago divorce was frowned upon in so much that some families would disown their own relatives for divorcing.

2. Marriages fail because of selfishness. That is the bottom line. Everything can be related to selfishness. Money, intimacy, etc are deemed the major reasons fro divorce. But if both partners weren't selfish there would be no disagreements. Also, most people go into marriage with one eye on the exit. They are going into the marriage half expecting to fail and when a little bump comes along the way both parties bail out. You can't do that! Of course marriage will have its bumps and sometimes-even potholes. The secret to a successful marriage is work from both people. One person can' t be putting in while another is taking out. If both people are committed to making it work it will work.

3. So how do we help our marriage survive? That is probably an age-old question. Here is the answer, do whatever you did to make him/her fall in love with you in the first place. Gentleman, do you remember opening the door to the car or restaurant when you were dating and even engaged? Why did you stop when you got married? I have yet to let my wife open a door. In fact, when she tries to get out of the car I ask her to get back in so I can let her out. Do you remember asking her out on a date at least once a week? Don't stop asking her out on dates. My wife and I do date night once a week. Sometimes we just watch a movie together at home or we might go to the dollar theatre and catch a movie. We might go to the park or just ride bikes. You don't have to spend money just to take her on a date. Be creative. It really just comes down to spending time together. Make sure you ask her out. Don't assume she will just go. Did you ever surprise her with flowers, chocolate or a kiss? Don't stop that just because she said I do. Keep trying to win her over everyday. Just because you are married doesn't mean you don't have to try to win her. If you want your love to grow you will try to win her love everyday. Ladies, do you remember getting dressed up for a date? Keep doing that. My wife sure does and she is prettier today than I ever remember. Do you remember trying to surprise him with a meal you made? Don't stop just because he married you. Surprise him every now and again. You can still act cute like you did when you were trying to catch his attention. Do whatever you did to get him to fall in love with you the first time. Love is not about sex. Do not confuse the two. My wife and I did not have sex before we were married. This helped us to build a non-intimate relationship first before we were ever intimate. You need a foundation before you can build. Otherwise the building will not stand the test of time. I promise you it won't.

Those are my thoughts and I stand by them now and forever.

School

2006-05-01T15:07:00.000-05:00

Well, this semester is coming to a close. I have a Chemistry II lab final tomorrow, Sociology final Monday of next week and my Chemistry lecture final Tuesday of next week. That's enough to keep my real busy. I then have a mini-semester and a full summer with physics in summer I, and literature in summer II.

Also, after having checked out when they give the PCAT test, when Kaplan PCAT classes are offered and when I have to have everything turned in to the universities to apply it appears that I won't be able to go to Pharmacy school until Fall of 2009. I will be 29 by then, which means I will be 33 when I get out. That is scary to think of that especially since I am 25 now (turning 26 in August). Oh well, that is the way life goes right?

72 Hour Kit

2006-04-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

With so many natural disasters happening it is easy to be left without power for days and even in extreme cases no water. We all remember New Orleans and the events that transpired there. So how can we combat unexpected natural disasters or at least, better withstand them. I echo the voice of the prophet for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who says that each of us should have a 72-Hour Kit. This will have enough supplies to get us through 72 hours in case help can not be sent in for that amount of time. Below I have included a checklist. I have one for both me and my wife and I am working on larger kits for us to survive a week if needed. My 72-hour kit isn't exactly as below but I do have all of the essentials. If you have questions please me at jkofoed@theloanlinkcenter.com.

72-HOUR CHECKLIST

Every individual needs to be prepared to exist for the first 72 hours after a disaster. It could take up to three days for relief workers and necessary supplies to reach some areas. With a well planned 72 Hour Kit, your time after a disaster can be changed from a miserable experience to one that is more pleasant. Plan your kit well, and inventory it's contents every six months to change the types of clothing and items that may change with the seasons.

72-Hour Supply of Water and Food
3 - 5 gallons of stored water for sanitation and drinking. Per individual
Method of water purification
Food - easy to prepare and nonperishable, 3 days worth Per individual

Warmth and Shelter
Wind proof/waterproof matches
Tent/shelter
Wool-blend blanket or
Sleeping bag
Emergency reflective blanket
Lightweight stove and fuel
Hand and body warm packs
Poncho
Second method to start a fire

Light Sources
Flashlight with spare batteries
Candles
Light Stick

Tools
Pocketknife
Shovel
Hatchet or Axe
Sewing Kit
50-foot nylon rope
Duct Tape

First Aid Kit and Supplies
Personal meditations and supplies
Plain Bleach - water and other disinfectant
Personal Comfort Kit (include soap, toothbrush, comb, tissue, sanitary items, razor), and other needed items Per individual

Extra Clothing
A complete outfit of appropriate clothing. Include extra socks, underwear, hat, sturdy shoes, and gloves. One set per individual.

Money
At least $20 in your kit. Include change for pay phones.

Important Papers
Copies of documents important to your family (such as birth certificates, wills, insurance forms)
Phone numbers you might need
Credit card information

Stress Relievers
Books
Hard Candy
Small toys, paper and pen, favorite security items for children

Communications
Radio with batteries or other power source
Whistle with neck cord

Additional Items
Mess kits and cooking utensils
Sun Block
Insect Repellent
Extra Food
Camp Stove
Portable Container
Durable water resistant duffel bag, frame pack or daypack.
Copy of your plan, kit inventory with re-check date

Important Things To Consider
Your kit must be portable. Select a suitable container and keep it near an exit of your home. Do not overload the kit, as you may have to carry it for long distances to reach shelter or safety.

Family members should have their own kit with food, water and clothing. Distribute heavy items between kits.

Wrap extra clothing, matches, personal documents and other easily potential smoke or water-damaged items in plastic to protect them. You can use the plastic later for many uses.

Keep your light source on top of the kit, so you can find it easily in the dark.

Personalize your kit. Make sure the needs of your family have been met.

Inspect you kit at least twice a year, rotating the food and water supplies. Adjust the clothing to meet seasonal needs. Check expiration dates on batteries, light sticks, warm packs, food and water.

Consider the needs of elderly persons and those with special needs. Make sure appropriate supplies are packed for babies (diapers, wash cloth, ointment, etc.)

Emerson Corner #2

2006-04-27T09:21:00.000-05:00

The wise man in the storm prays God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A true test of character is in the face of danger. Only few people ever stand up and shout back, do your worst.

-- Jeremy
(In memory of those aboard United Flight 93. The flight that fought back)

Motivational Story #1 [Special Teacher]

2006-04-25T08:02:00.000-05:00

Years ago a John Hopkin's professor gave a group of graduate students this assignment: Go to the slums. Take 200 boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, and investigate their background and environment. Then predict their chances for the future.

The students, after consulting social statistics, talking to the boys, and compiling much data, concluded that 90 percent of the boys would spend some time in jail.

Twenty-five years later another group of graducate students was given the job of testing the prediction. They went back to the same area. Some of the boys - by then men - were still there, a few had died, some had moved away, but they got in touch with 180 of the original 200. They found that only four of the group had ever been sent to jail.

Why was it that these men, who had lived in a breeding place of crime, had such a surprisingly good record? The researchers were continually told: "Well, there was a teacher..."

They pressed further, and found that in 75 percent of the cases it was the same woman. The researchers went to this teacher, now living in a home for retired teachers. How had she exerted this remarkable influence over that group of children? Could she give them any reason why these boys should have remembered her?

"No," she said, "no I really couldn't." And then, thinking back over the years, she said musingly, more to herself than to her questioners: "I loved those boys...."

Bits & Pieces - June 1995 Economics Press

Good Movie

2006-04-24T14:10:00.000-05:00

Kat and I went this weekend to watch the Chronicles of Narnia. Can I just say what a good movie that was? I really enjoyed it. It had some nice plots and twists. If you like Harry Potter and The Secret Garden you will probably enjoy the Chronicles of Narnia. I think I might even read the books. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not that much of a reader. But there are some books that really catch my interest. I am more in to science books and the scriptures. Those are about the only books I read except for college of courses that require me to read other books. Don't get me wrong; I like to read but only if it can keep my interest the whole way through.

I also took pictures of everything we own this weekend. That way if a fire burns everything down we have evidence of what used to be. I think it will be easier to show the insurance and get the money from our renter's policy. I also created a spreadsheet and logged serial numbers and descriptions of the items. I didn't realize how much junk we have until I did that.

Anyways here is a picture from a few months ago. I have put on 30 pounds over the last year. Getting a bit chubbie. I have picked up exercising again but not as often as I should. =)

Emerson's Corner #1

2006-04-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

If we want to change our selves we must start from the inside and work out. Not the other way around.
-- My thoughts

Poetry Response #1

2006-04-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

Self-Portrait
By: David Whyte

It doesn't interest me if there is one God
or many gods.

I want to know
if you belong or feel abandoned.

If you know despair or can see it in others.

I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world with its
harsh need to change you.

If you can look back with firm eyes saying this
is where I stand.

I want to know
if you know how to melt into that fierce heat of
living falling toward the center of your longing.

I want to know
if you are willing to live, day by day, with the
consequence of love and the bitter unwanted
passion of sure defeat.

I have been told, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
60-Second Analysis: (after reading the poem write down the first things that come to mind for 1 minute. Don't erase anything.)

My 60-second analysis:
How well do I know myself. Can I delve within my own thoughts, feelings, ideas, passions, and experiences to understand what it all means? Where do I stand in my understanding of the events around me? Am I strong enough to withstand the trails I am going to face? Am I sensitive enough to understand my feelings and the feelings of those around me? Am I kind enough to share with those around or I am selfish and keep what is mine? Can I bear the consequences that love has to offer, both good and bad, or would I rather stay hidden? To be our best is to be our better self. Each day I get up I have the choice to decide who I am going to be today. Will I be my better self?

Did I win?

2006-04-20T12:20:00.000-05:00

Two nights ago Kathrynn handed me a little scratch off card that was passed out in the mail system and it had four spin areas to scratch off. She had already removed all four-spin areas to see if we won anything. You have to have 3 matching symbols to win. The first spins there were two bars and a number seven for $50. Second spins there were two cherries and a number seven for $150. Third spin there were three cherries for jackpot. Could this be real? Did we really win something? So yesterday I decided to call the number on the back of the card to see. I usually don't win anything so I am always skeptical about winning. I tried to call for 5 hours with the number always being busy. So on my way to school yesterday I decided, while waiting in rush hour traffic, that I would call. After 10 minutes of calling, getting a busy tone, hanging up and recalling I got through. "Yeah!” I thought until I looked around and couldn't find the card. It had fallen through the cracks of my seat and the emergency brake. So I hung up. After digging around for a few minutes I found it and tried the number back again. No luck on getting through. My luck had it that I didn't get through after trying for another hour until they closed. So I come in today and decided what the heck. I will give them a call. So I did, and no luck at first. But finally I got through and it appears that I am one of four jackpot winners for either a $1,500 cash prize, $400 Sony surround sound system, something I didn't hear, or a $150 fuel card. I setup an appointment at the store that is opening, which is who sent the cards, for today at 1pm. So I am going to find out what I won. My luck will have it that I will probably get the fuel card by hey, that is $150 in gas so I can't complain. Ah, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I will report what I won. That is my hype for the day.

Good News & Bad

2006-04-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

I will start with the bad news. Kat is sick again. I was up with her last night off and on while she was throwing up. I am exhausted and she is sick. Lose - lose situation. Being sick is no fun. The good news is we found Kat a job. She is going to work at the same place I do. We searched and searched but all the jobs she interviewed for didn't pan out. My company is growing so they are hiring like crazy so I thought what the heck. She starts on May 15 and is in training for 4 weeks. She will be a loan counselor/MSR making really good money. We are going to pay off all the debt we have which isn't much. Car loan, and some student loans we both have. That reminds me of some counsel [Counsel: Debt]. I know, you thought I was going to tell another story. Not this time.

What is debt? Most of us know it as purchasing something with someone else's money with the intent to pay it back. Have you ever looked at the cost associated with borrowing someone else's money? This is known as the interest rate. Do you know that 98% of lenders base the interest rate off of your credit score? Let's take a look at something. Let's say you borrow $2,000 at 10% for 24 months. Do you know what your payment will be? The answer is about $93 dollars a month. Sounds nice and low for a new TV right? But what about the money you are spending extra just to have that TV? Multiply $93/month for 24 months you get about $2232. You are spending and extra $232 on the TV. You could have bought surround sound with that. My advice is to save money and purchase with cash.

However, there are times that you have to borrow money like when purchasing a car, school or a house. Debt is pretty much unavoidable unless you are rich. So, what can we do about that since it is inevitable? The answer is to get out of it quicker. How do you do that you ask? Ok, first get the amounts you owe on all your debt. I will use some generic amounts and loan types for examples. You have a credit card with a balance of $2,500 with a payment of $25/month, car loan with a balance of $3,500 with a payment of $215/month, student loan with $5,000 owed with a payment of $100/month, a second car loan with a balance of $15,000 with a payment of $450/month, and a 1st mortgage with a balance of $80,000 with a payment of $900/month. Sort them starting with the smallest balance first: $2,500, $3,500, $5,000, $15,000, and $80,000. What you do is apply any extra money that you can spare and pay off the $2,500 balance first. Let say you have an extra $100/month you car spare. That is $125 you are paying towards the credit card instead of $25. That will pay it off five times faster. Once the credit card is paid off take that $125 and add it to the car loan payment of $215. That makes $340 you are now paying on the car loan. That is almost double. Once the first car loan is paid off take the $340 and add it to the student loan payment of $100. You are now paying $440 instead of $100. That is four times as much. See the trend? Yep, next after the student loan is paid off add the $440 to the second car loan payment of $450 to get $890. That is a double payment. You will pay that off twice as fast. Once that one is done take the $890 and add that to the mortgage payment of $900. That is just about a double payment on the house, which will be paid off twice as quick. Not only is this a good method for getting and staying out of debt but the interest money you save from doing this will save you so much money.

Working in the loan industry I have seen so much debt, from young teens to retired adults. Once you get out of debt put money away in a savings account. If you go to a Credit Union you can open a savings account for free. Not only that but you can then take a loan against the money you have saved, called a share secured loan, which has a lot lower interest rate than all other loans. If you must take out a loan take a loan against money that is yours. It saves you more interest since it is lower and they don't normally base it off of credit. Also, pay it off early by making higher payments.

Remember, it is your money so why give it away.

Easter Sunday

2006-04-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

What thoughts and/or images come to mind when you think of Easter? I think of springtime when life is renewed. If you ask Kathrynn she will respond without hesitation, "Chocolate." She is definitely one of those people that could eat chocolate all day and not get tired of it. As for me, I am not a sweet eater. So Kat asked me what I wanted for Easter. I told her a bag of chips. Lol! What can I say? Sweets aren't my thing. On Sunday we went to Kat's family ward for church and then on to her grandparents for lunch. After that we had an egg hunt for my nephew. Speaking of eggs I wonder who looked at a chicken and decided to eat the next thing that came out of its rear?

Sometimes a Job is a Job

2006-04-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Well it has been some time since I have last written. I wish I had more time to blog but working full time and going to school full time is harder than it may sound. Anyone that has done it can understand. We have been searching around for a job for my wife. She finished cosmetology school at the beginning of March, took her written exam and passed and now we are waiting to hear back from the State of Texas for her to take her pratical. So, we have been searching on monster.com, careerbuilder.com, and hotjobs.com. She has had a few interviews with one prospect so far. But she has a few more coming up next week. One of which is with a salon in Dallas. We'll see how that goes. Talking about jobs I remember a story back when I was working as a loan counselor with my company. This story is a true story told by a peer. [Story: Joint application] (Told from his perspective) "I just had a lady call me wanting to put her husband on the loan application because he had better credit but he wasn't a member. So I researched it and found that the CU required all loan applicants to be members. I then told her I couldn't do that because he wasn't a member. She took it well and when I suggest that he become a member of the CU she said he couldn't join because he was dead."

Nine Months

2006-02-14T08:21:00.000-06:00

That is about how long a human pregnancy goes. No, Kat is not pregnant although she really wants to be. Last night we watched Nine Months. As you can guess it is about pregnancy and they were caught off guard when she came up pregnant. I didn't think about the consequences of buying this movie before I gave it to her for her birthday, which happens to be Feb 13, the day before Valentines Day. She has been trying to convince me that we need a baby since she has watched it. =o) That reminds me of a story. [Story: Am I pregnant] Shortly after we were married Kathrynn told me that her period hadn't happened yet and that it should have. Her friend at school gave her one of those “do-at-home” tests so she could try and determine. After doing the test she showed me the results and it appeared as though she was pregnant. I was so scared because of how unprepared we were and how this would affect us trying to build a foundation for a family later in the future. Don't get me wrong. Being a father is something that I have look forward to and I would do my best to be a good father but I wasn't ready just yet. I know that you never are ready but you can be better prepared. Well, we wanted to confirm this because the test didn't seem too conclusive so we went to the doctor. At the doctor they took a sample and came back. It would appear that she wasn't pregnant or that it was too soon to tell. Fortunately for our situation she did have her period and she wasn't pregnant. I honestly can't wait until the day that I can have children but now is not the time as I work on my degree and Kat gets her Cosmetology license.

A little walk never hurt anyone

2006-02-09T08:33:00.000-06:00

For the past several weeks some co-workers and I have been taking our break and going for a walk outside. This has made a huge impact on me during work. When I come back I feel less stressed out and I am better able to concentrate. We try to do this at least two times a day but sometimes it only works out once during the day. That reminds me of a story. [Story: Storm Drain] A few days ago one co-worker and myself went for a walk. We decided on the path that led by a convenience store. Well on our way my co-worker says to me that she has to tie her shoe because it had come undone. No big deal I said. As she walk over to the storm drain on the street to prop her leg up to tie her shoe I said not to fall in. Those drains always scared me as a child because of the movie IT. You know, the movie that was made from Stephen Kings book IT. In the beginning of the movie you see this little boy playing with a boat that is floating on the street due to the rain. It eventually ends up going in to a storm drain. The little boy bends down by the drain and the clown gets him. Ever since then I have hated those stupid things. Anyways, so as my co-worker walks over to the drain I notice something fly in the storm drain out of the corner of my eye. It appeared as though she threw something in there to mess with me. As I looked over at her the expression on her face was anything but joking. She had her cell phone in her hand and as she raised her hand to tie her show it slipped out of her hand and flew right down the storm drain. We were both in a state of "did that just really happen". I couldn't believe her cell phone just went down the storm drain. She got down and tried to look down the storm drain to see if she can see it and the movie IT came rushing back to me. I thought for sure something is going to reach up and grab her, be it a monster, swamp thing, or even a giant rat. As funny as it is now I couldn't believe that had just happened. I will certainly not be going near one of those things now.

All fixed

2006-01-31T09:51:00.000-06:00

Great news!!! 1. The blog thing got all worked out so I can blog again. 2. My car got fixed. I had to get the drivers side lock fixed. It wouldn't unlock so I had to crawl through the passenger side. What a mess. That reminds me of a story [Story: Speed Bump]. So I take my car in Monday, Jan. 31 to get fixed at the dealership. It was still under warranty. I get there first thing at about 8:30 or so. I pull up and park my car in front of the dealership. I walk in and talk to the first guy I see. He says that I need to pull my car in front of the service center door and showed me where it was. So I walked back out to get in my car (through the passenger side, which is funny to begin with). I proceed to pull forward into the parking spot in front of me when smack! I hit the little curb things they put in front of each parking spot. You know, the ones made out of cement. Yeah, right on Jeremy! So instead of backing off of it I am like forget it. I already made a fool of myself in front of all the offices and people standing in front of the dealership. So I drive over both of the blocks. I make all this noise and I just know everyone watching is like, what an idiot. Yup! It is great to be me. So before I get out of my car I call my wife so that it appears like I don't care and I was distracted. It's like when you fall on your face at the mall you get up and try to play it off. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. 3. Kathrynn is about to be out of cosmetology school in about two weeks. I decided to stay home from school yesterday so we could go look for some salons for her to work at when she gets out. We found two very promising places that are in a very well-to-do neighborhood so we are excited.

I pay to get a higher education

2005-12-13T08:09:00.000-06:00

Final Exam week! The week everyone likes yet dislikes. I like it because it means the end of the semester. I dislike it because it means that I have to take a comprehensive exam. Somehow I have to remember the stuff that I learned 4 months ago. I can't remember the stuff I learned last week let alone 4 month ago. [Story: Trigonometry Exam] Yesterday I got off of work at 1pm to study for my exam that I would be taking later that night at 7pm. I sat in the library from 1:20pm to 6:20pm. I left the library and waited outside my class till sometime after 7pm. No teacher, no students, and no exam. Confused at why no one showed up I went to the school computers and looked up the exam time to make sure I had the right day. I noticed that it said my exam would be on Wednesday at 7pm and not tonight. UGH!! I cannot believe that I thought my test was on Monday. Don't really know how or why I thought it was but I was ready to take it. Speaking of math, I had the math picture below sent to me from a friend at work.

Kat's sick

2005-12-09T14:48:00.000-06:00

Kathrynn is sick. =o( I don't like it when she gets sick. I feel bad. To make matters worse she hates taking medicine with a passion. I remember when we got back from our honeymoon she got this really bad stomach virus that made her vomit and vomit. Then I got it. Ugh! That reminds me of another story. [Story: Don't shake the baby] My parents tell me this story because I was too young to remember it. My parents just barely had me. I was the first born so my parents were learning what it meant to be parents and how to handle a baby. My mother had just finished feeding me. My father decided that he wanted to play with me. So he picked me up and was throwing me up in the air. For some reason babies like this. Kathrynn does it all the time with our nephew Ethan. I try it with the cat and he gets made at me and puts his claws out. Anyways, my mother told my dad not to do that because I had just eaten. "He's fine" my father exclaimed. No sooner had he said that when I vomited. Not only did I vomit but also I was in the air above his mouth, which happened to be open. Yep, a mouthful of baby goo. This is why you won't catch me doing this to babies.

My wish came true . . somewhat!

2005-12-08T10:24:00.000-06:00

Well, well. I guess my wish was heard because yesterday it rained ice. It wasn't really snow but it was a winter storm and I thought it was great! I like it when it appears winter-ish. I love winter. Anyways, Kat and I decided that we would brave the storm and go to kohl’s to get her a winter coat. They were having a 50% off sale only that day on outerwear so I couldn't pass it up. We went out and made it to Kohl’s without anything happening. Then we went to CiCi's Pizza (pizza buffet) and had pizza. Then we came home. We were fine. We bought Kat a down coat. She likes down. I wish the winter storm had stayed so I could have gone out to an empty parking lot with my car, two cookie sheets and lots of ice. That reminds me of a story. [Story: Christmas Ice] I remember when I was young one Christmas it snowed fairly heavy. For Texas that is rare. Anyways, the roads were all iced up. I had this good idea that it would be fun to get on my bike and ride down the street. We lived on a small-sloped hill that extended down about 1/4 mile. So once at the top of the street, which was the top of the hill, I climbed on my bike and started to peddle. Wow! I thought as the winter air rushed through my hair. This is great! And it was great until I was coming to the end of the street. I applied the brake but I wasn't slowing down. See when you lose traction on ice you no longer become a person in/on a vehicle you become an uncontrolled missile. Well my tires lost their traction and I fell down on the ice and my bike and I were missiles all the way into the curb. I was bruised, scraped up and still breathing heavily, not from the exercise but from the scare I got. I haven't tried that stunt since.

Christmas is upon us

2005-12-07T08:18:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful time of year. The leaves have all turned and are falling off. The weather turns colder and the snow begins to fall. Children excited about new presents, time off from school and the hope of snow. People buzzing from here to there to catch the latest sell for Christmas gifts. With all of the commotion it can be easy to forget the real reason behind Christmas. I watched a show this last weekend with my wife called the Christmas Box. I think it was one of those family feature movies. What a wonderful movie. It told the tale of an elderly woman who lost her husband and was alone. She had this family come live with her to tend to her needs. But the thing that caught my thoughts about Christmas most was the question she asked the husband of the family that came and lived with her. She asked him, "Do you know the first gift of Christmas?" He said, "a tie!" being sarcastic. Have you thought about the first gift of Christmas? It was a child. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And the child so loved the world that he gave his life. I lived in Spain for a number of years and one of the traditions that I loved the most was Christmas. On the 25th everyone will gather with family for a large dinner feast and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. They don't open gifts that day. On January 6th, which is known as Dia de Los Reyes, the children will gather under the tree and they will open gifts. This is done because this is the celebrated day that the 3 wise men came and brought gifts to the child.

While you are running around trying to find the best deal on gifts or stock up on pumpkin mix for pumpkin pie remember what Christmas is about. Think of what it would be like if you were going to give your son or daughter to a bunch of people that would eventually kill him or her. Could you do it? That is how much God loves us and that is how much Christ loves us. It wasn't the nails on the cross the held him there. It was his love for you and me.

Wish it would snow

2005-12-05T08:25:00.000-06:00

I wish it would snow. The temperature change is so drastic in Texas. It will be like 60 degrees one day and then 85 degrees the next. I wish I knew what the deal was with that. It doesn't snow very often here but when it does I sure do enjoy playing in it. That reminds me of a short story. [Story: Stuck] I love the cold and prefer it oppose to the heat. Especially Texas heat which is often humid and hot. Anyways, I remember when I was younger I would go up the street to wait for the bus to go to school. I think at this point I was in junior high. I went to Worley Middle School, which I think is no longer a junior high. Anyways, There used to be a show called Rescue 911. I loved that show. One time on the show they had a young man get his tongue stuck inside his freezer. They had to call 911 to get his tongue unstuck. Well I always thought he had glued his tongue to the freezer or something like that. One day while waiting for the bus I was thinking of what I could do while I waited. So I went over to the stop sign that was near the bus stop to "swirl" around it. You grab it and spin around it while holding on. It was extremely cold to the touch due to the cold weather we had. So I didn't swirl on it very long. Well, I really don't know what came over me but I thought it would be fun to place my tongue on the metal to see how cold it was with my tongue. Well it was really cold. But when I went to pull my tongue away I couldn't. I was stuck to the stop sign and I could see people coming to the bus stop now. I grabbed my tongue with my fingers and tried to pull it off but I couldn't. It hurt to pull it. By this point I couldn't really feel much of my tongue and the people were getting closer. How embarrassing I thought. I can't let these people see me like this. They would laugh at me and I couldn't have that happen. So I pulled so hard and so quick that I freed myself. But I didn't have all of my tongue with me anymore. It seemed I ripped the top layer off. It hurt and I tasted a bit of blood. Yeah, I won't be doing that anymore. Ah, the joys of being a curious boy.

You can tell the character of a man by his. . . haircut??

2005-12-02T09:45:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I had a mullet when I was a boy and so what if I didn't have a girlfriend until the 4th grade. I think her name was Lindsey Flores by the way. My mother said that I liked it and that is all that matters. Besides, He-man had long hair and everyone thought he was cool. Why can't I have a mullet and people think I am cool. Remember Popeye? At the very beginning he had long hair, which he drew his strength from until they cut it off. Then later he found his strength in spinach. He always said, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam." Which reminds me of another story. [Story: Shave it off] I had always hated the look of people with shaven heads. I always thought it was boring. When I was about 15 I used to have the haircut that was shaven up till about the top of the head which was really long and would come down to my ears. I could even put it in a ponytail which I thought at the time was really cool. Then I got my first "real job" at Six Flags over Texas in Arlington. They told me however that I would have to have a blended in look and not a chili bowl look. So my mother told me that we would have to shave it. My mother was the only one that I would let cut my hair. (Side note) She was good at cutting my hair in the chili bowl look. I told her no that she could fade it in. So what did she do? She shaved the whole thing. I was so mad because I had a shaven head and I hated it. It eventually grew out and I started cutting it with the blended look, which I happen to like. Short on the sides and semi short on the top and the blended on the sides. Anyways, before I got married I used to do the same look except a bit longer on top so I could spike it. Well, not really spiked. More like the messy spiked look. I guess Kat like that look because she fell for me. I thought she was out of my league (meaning she was a girl who liked guys with money and nice things). She dressed like one of those Hollister girls and I was this Computer nerd who like Final Fantasy games, played with legos and had a mullet when he was young. Anyways, I had talked to her about shaving my head just to see what it would look like. She said no and that I would look funny. So I dropped it, at least until I had her in the bonds of marriage. You see I figured once we were married I could do it because she (hopefully) wouldn't leave me. So on the morning of our honeymoon I got up early, went into the bathroom while she was asleep and I buzzed it off. Well actually I just buzzed the top of my head first, came out and said this is what I will look like when I am bald. If only you could have seen the look on her face at the fact that I had started to shave my head and on top of it had the nerve to leave the sides long to give the "going-bald" appearance. (Side note) Before I go on what would you have done in my case? All I will say is that I am lucky the lock on the bathroom door worked. The look on her face sent me running. Ah, the joys of being married. So many wonderful memories and we haven't even been married a year yet.

Don't eat Bambi!

2005-12-01T08:36:00.000-06:00

I am not a hunter by nature but I sure love to eat meat. Don't get me wrong. I love guns and own 3 of my own, but don't really like hunting. One of my favorite meats is dear meat. [Story: Chili] Yesterday I got home from Trig. class and Kathrynn had made dinner. It was chili, but not just any chili. My dad shot a dear a number of weeks ago and had given us some dear meat. One of my favorite things that my mother would make was dear chili. It is really good. In any case, I came home and Kat had made dear chili. We sat down, said our prayer and began to eat. I asked her about her day and she tells me that she had a conversation with her mother. I said, "oh and what did she have to say." She said she told her mother about making dear chili. All of a sudden her mom yelled, "don't eat Bambi, don't eat Bambi!" Kat thought maybe eating dear meat was a sin because her mom seemed so serious about it. All I can say is the chili was delicious and to bring on more Bambi Chili.

To Marry or NOT to Marry

2005-11-30T21:10:00.000-06:00

For those of you who haven't seen the bride in her full bloom here she is. All I can say is wow! She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on and I can't keep them off. What makes her the most beautiful is her personality, spirit and smile. Of course in this picture we had been smiling for over an hour and the will to smile was lost. That reminds me of a story. [Story: Do you?] A day or two before we were married Kathrynn came to me and said that her sister had a dream about her and I. Kat said that her sisters’ dreams tend to come true when they are about people she knows. No big deal I thought. So I asked her what about. Kat said that her sister dreamed that one of us would back out of the wedding. That sent chills down my back since I was not backing out and had absolutely no intentions of backing out. So I asked her if she was planning on backing out and she said no. Well, I talked to my parents about it and they said not to worry. So, I didn't worry too much. Well, not enough to give the hives or anything. The next day I find myself in the room across from my bride-to-be listening to the gentleman marrying us. He turns to me and asks me if I take her as my wife. Without hesitation I say yes. Then he turns to her and asks her if she takes me to be her husband and she stares at him. She doesn't flinch, wink or move a muscle. Just stared. By this time I am about to burst and I can hear people around me gasping. I think "oh no, she is going to run away" like in run away bride. Those poor men in run away bride. Anyways, right when I think I can't take it anymore the gentleman says, "this is where you say yes." Then she looks at me and says yes. (Side note) Ok if you ever want to give your husband-to-be or bride-to-be a heart-attack or ulcers this is a good way to. Do you want to know something else funny? She did the same thing when I proposed.

In any case we are happy as can be. Some tips for newly weds.
1. When you get mad at her for whatever reason remember the feelings you had when you saw her standing in her wedding dress waiting to marry you. Same goes for the ladies.
2. Don't leave the candles burning all night on your wedding night because the wax might spill over and get all over everything. I speak from experience.
3. Separating the wedding and the reception allows everyone to sleep a little better. Especially the newly weds. ;o)
4. Rent a hotel room on your wedding night. It makes things seem more romantic when you can get away from your normal living environment.
5. Don't go to any local stores on your wedding night (or Reception Night) to buy "personal items" because you might be checking out when people you know might come up and begin talking to you while you are trying to check out with those "personal items."

What's for lunch?

2005-11-30T12:34:00.000-06:00

Today is going to be a long day. It is already lunch time and I decided to go home to eat. Normally I take my lunch to work but I live 5 minutes away from home so I decided to go home. I have my last test before the final tomorrow in Chemistry (College). We have been studding Electron Configuration, Orbitals, Valence Electrons and things of that nature. Can I just say how hard this stuff can be? I like learning about how things work and what makes them tick but Chemistry is not easy. Speaking about Chemistry that reminds me of another story. [Story: Chlorine Gas] My wife came home one day with a new pet she bought at the pet store. My first thought was that she bought a hamster due to the small cage I caught a glimpse of. But upon closer examination I noticed it was a domestic rat she bought at Pets Mart. Well, I choose to call it domestic since she got it at the pet store. My brother had domestic rates for many years and my mother was the one who talked her into it. At least that is what I am leaded to believe. Although Kathrynn was excited to have a pet she wouldn't go near it. Eventually she become more used to the rat and would hold it. Of course, I still had to be there for her to hold it. After some time the rat began to bit. Not just nibble but bit. He never drew blood but it was enough not to want to pick him up. Because of that Kathrynn didn't want to go near him and that included giving him food, water and cleaning his cage. So, I would tend to his food and water. But because I didn't want to go near him either we didn't clean his cage out often. We moved him outside so the smell wouldn't bother us. One day I decided the poor rat needed to have his cage cleaned out. I grabbed some bleach, a bucket and went out to the patio. I let him out to roam free while I cleaned his cage. The patio is all blocked off so he couldn't escape and so he hid behind the cedar chip bag. When I poured the bleach in his cage I noticed it foam up but didn't think anything of it. After rinsing his cage out I placed the rat back in. He seemed to want out and would race all over the cage. I thought it was from having been out of his cage. I went back in and a few days later went to check on him and his food and the rat was dead. Wondering how I killed him I thought back to when I was cleaning his cage. I remember smelling ammonia from his waste when I poured the bleach in. After researching this I found that mixing bleach and ammonia together is extremely dangerous. The stoichiometry behind this is 2NaOCl + 2NH3 -> 2NaONH3 + Cl2. NaOCl is bleach, NH3 is Ammonia, and Cl2 is Chlorine Gas. I won't go into detail about Chlorine Gas but it is extremely harmful. I gassed the rat and felt horrible about it. But the real hard part was how to tell Kathrynn. That is a story for another day.

Peer Pressure or Curiosity?

2005-11-30T09:32:00.000-06:00

I have never really been one for peer pressure, unless of course it was a dare involving some monetary gain. Usually when I try something new it is because I am curious. Of course as they say, "curiosity killed the cat." Which reminds me of a story. [Story: Electric Fence] When I was about 12 I had saved up enough money to fly to Idaho, from Texas, where my grandparents lived. They had a small farm with some horses, dogs, etc. To keep the animals enclosed my grandparents had an electrical fence. I have never seen an electric fence and of course I was told not to touch the fence for obvious reasons. But I was curious as most boys are. The thought of electricity running through a small wire all around the place brought thoughts of movies with high powered electric fences that special forces would by-pass to penetrate the bad guy fortress was overwhelming. During the first few days of my two-week stay I was good. But after having explored the entire farm I was ready to explore the electric fence. I started by throwing small items at the fence to see what it would do. Nothing! I then tried sticks to see what that would do. My idea was to see the sparks fly like in the movies when they throw something at the fence it would spark. Again, nothing happened. By this time I figured it was broken so I decided to go get my new electric powered squirt gun with disappearing ink and torment the animals. Hours later out in the pasture I had to use the bathroom. But the house was too far and I was used to peeing in the woods so I thought I would just go over to the fence and use the bathroom. This would be the same electric fence I threw sticks and rocks at earlier to see sparks. Ever wonder why parents tell you not to swim when it is lightening. It's because water contains electrolytes and is a good conductor of electricity. Fortunately for me it was not high voltage and it was only for a moment. However, I learned very quickly that electricity was not something to play with. Years later I saw Jurassic Park and felt a sense of compassion for the boy on the electric fence when it was turned on.

On subject, I decided out of curiosity that I would start blogging. My co-worker introduced this to me some weeks back by showing me her blog. It was like an online journal that anyone could read. I would hear her in her cubicle laughing and wonder what it was that made her laugh. After showing me her "blog" it made sense. By the way, her blog is http://mommyofangels.blogspot.com/. I think the major determining factor is that I could write and my family all over the US could come and read to see what was going on. "Exciting!" I thought.

I must bid you adieu. I will post again soon.