Day 12: Time...



Nothing really profound to share today.  Time has just been tickin' by.  The pocket watch you see belonged to my grandfather, Justice "Pa" Randolph.  I love the simple elegance of these old timekeepers.  There's a lot to be said for the styles of days past.  I don't know if it's because I've been watching too much "Mad Men" lately, but I miss the days of pocket watches, three piece suits, hats and a good scotch at the office.  Ok, maybe some of those things I didn't quite experience but I sure wish I had. 

Day 11: It seemed like a good idea....



I wonder if anyone has done an experiment, to see if it's more likely to sustain greater injury from attempting to keep oneself from slipping on snow or to just give into gravity and see what breaks. We just got another nice snow fall and while I was out there (wearing crocs) I thought I'd try to clear some of the white stuff away before it accumulated too much. So much for bright ideas.

As one might guess a big heave of the shovel, while wearing crocs, is a recipe for disaster. As my feet gave way under me, I instinctively tried to regain my balance. I'm sure it had something to do with not wanting to get covered in snow. My attempts to keep myself upright could only be described as a dance move Elaine Benes would be proud of. "Seinfeld" fans will get the reference. The result was that I didn't completely face plant into the snow however my knuckles were saddled with the responsibility of keeping this old man from becoming a human lawn dart. For those of you that know me, expletives were a-plenty. Not from the pain but from the embarrassment. And keeping with family tradition, no chore can be accomplished without the requisite bleeding.

I’d like to say I learned a lesson here, such as, it’s ok to get covered in snow, you’ll eventually dry off. Or consider using actual shoes with treads when working on slippery surfaces. Folks, I’m here to tell you I’ll probably do this again, and STILL be surprised by the results.

Day 10: Hidden Treasures...



...or is it just junk?  I was digging through my closet (in my man cave) looking for something in particular but having no luck.  Instead I ran across one of my "John's stuff" boxes and found all this random stuff I've collected over the years.  I found things in this box that go all the way back to when I was 5 years old.  Guess you can call me a sentimental pack rat. 

Why haven't I gotten rid of all this?  Well, a lot of it has stories, history about where I came from, what things I did.  I know there's a lot of worthless junk in there and I should just toss it. But I guess the one thing that keeps me from dumping this stuff is that maybe there will be a grandchild or great grandchild that might find this interesting.  Maybe he or she would be interested in know they had a relative that went to High School in Germany.  That he was a discus thrower, an Army officer, a harmonica player, a triathlete, among other things. 

It's also very likely all this stuff about me will be of no consequence to anyone long after I'm gone.  Doesn't matter one way or the other.  I know that I relish all the tidbits of information I can find on my relatives.  Things that would give me some insight into their personality, their dreams and ambitions.  Knowing the paths they've taken in life helps me to understand how I came to be where I am now. 

So, not that I'm planning on kicking the bucket any time soon, I should consider doing my daughters a favor and unload a lot of this stuff.  I can just hear them when the day comes... "What the HELL was he holding onto this crap for?!"  Well, girls, you wanted an inheritance.  :-)

Day 9: Sunset...



I've lived in California and Hawaii and have seen my fair share of sunsets but there's a lot to be said for a Colorado sunset.  As always, I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to capture moments like this.  They say in Colorado, "if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes".  That's so true. One minute you can have swirling clouds dancing around the sun and sky and the next minute it's crystal clear with just an orange/yellow ball blazing into your eyes.  Gotta keep that camera locked and loaded, ready to go at a moments notice.

Day 8: Perseverance...

This whole issue with my laptop is coming to a head.  I've been at it for several days now and I'm at the point that I'm moving all essential data to a backup drive and will try to run a recovery utility to save this machine.  I'm refusing to run to Geek Squad to pay $200 just to have them look at it before they actually do anything to fix it.  I will get through this.  The problem will be resolved.  I'm not about to give up now.

It's my opinion that a lot of folks have trouble with perseverance, trouble seeing things through to the end.  I think the problem with persevering is that for many it includes the option for quitting.  Removing that option makes persevering much easier.  It's a method I learned in the Army, a place where one is afforded very few if any real choices.  When ordered to perform a task, the Army never gave me an "out".  The task, condition and standard were all well defined and quitting was NEVER a condition of accomplishment.  What a blessing that was!  I didn't have to expend ANY energy on mulling over whether or not I should quit when the task became difficult.  The Army took away that option.  At that point I could focus all my energies on getting the mission accomplished.  It's a habit I've continued to indulge long after I hung up the uniform.  Simply put, quitting is a distraction.

I'm sure you might be thinking this is a rather unhealthy way of doing things.  I'm not suggesting that we exercise this absolutism to everything we do in life.  We obviously shouldn't endure through poisonous situations like bad relationships or bad jobs, things that could be deemed physically or emotionally unhealthy for us.  But Perhaps the trouble some of us have is over committing, promising too much to ourselves and to others.  It's the primary reason I don't commit to much.  But what I do commit to, I do so unconditionally.

So let me leave you with one suggestion - commit to what is truly important to YOU and let go of everything else.  Hang on to what defines you and commit to it with total resolve.

Day 7: School Daze...

It's the new year and it's back to school for Sophie.  We've had her enrolled in "Sit Means Sit" off and on since she was a pup.  Yeah, for those of you that know her must be thinking it hasn't paid off.  Well, maybe she doesn't do any fancy tricks and gets a bit rambunctious at times but she's a pretty well behaved dog.  I know she's not perfect but she's perfect for me.  To be honest, I think the schooling is really more for Julie and me.  It's all about consistency.  Like all of us, Sophie falls in and out of routines.  I think she appreciates the discipline and she definitely loves seeing all her friends.

Btw, still struggling with the darn laptop.  Windows 7, you just might be the death of me.

Day 6: Thank God for Alternatives...

Go figure!  Just six days into the new year and my laptop decides to go on vacation.  I've been struggling over the last couple of days with my laptop thanks to Microsoft's recent patch.  Long story short, my laptop takes longer to boot than the evolution of man.  So I'm freaking out that I'm going to miss my daily blog (I'm sure you all are just as panic stricken).  But thanks to the wonder that is the iPhone and this old Apple laptop, I'm able to meet my daily dose of Guten gab.

Now you're probably wondering what the hell does the "Jack" sign have to do with my daily blog, well sit back and be enlightened.  Julie and I had to run some errands this afternoon down in Denver and because I-25 turned into a long parking lot, we decided to take surface streets back home.  On the way we saw the restaurant "Jack and Grill" and decided to check it out.  Again, another long story short (I know, too late), we met a great bartender, had a couple of incredible margaritas and discovered a great, new eating establishment.

So what's my point?  The point is what was planned for today didn't quite turn out.  But what DID turn out were the new opportunities that otherwise wouldn't have presented themselves if things had turned out as planned.  So when things don't turn out the way you hoped, be thankful for the things that come in their place.  At the moment you feel like going off on a piss fit, stop and ask yourself "what did I gain from this?"  Sure, it may not be much but, then again, it could be quite a lot.  Allow yourself the opportunity to explore the alternatives.