A Quick Holiday Thought

I was about to head out for work this morning and I saw this video on the Today Show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svTTxC_LbzA

I will never clam to completely understand the war in Iraq and I certainly wish it would end. And this clip is the exact reason why. Please keep all the soldiers, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers. Not only for the Holiday Season but until they all come home.
God's Blessings.

Good-bye Foosball Table

It is a big day at work! We are moving to a new building and that is very exciting and a little hectic. Over the weekend our stuff will be moved and then back to work on Mon. We are moving into a building that is on the Microsoft Campus! There are many pros and cons about the move, some more important then the others.
Cons
1. It is much farther away from my home. I live in North Fargo and will work in very South Fargo.
2. Not working in downtown Fargo not too much food choice.
3. NO FOOS! I have come to terms with that...but it is still hard.

Pros
1. I will not have to walk a block from the parking lot to get to my desk - not so cold!
2. Faster connection to the network
3. I have a bigger cube not in a high traffic area and a window. So I can start my car from the inside instead of on the way there!

I guess that lays it oiut pretty clearly. Otherwise things have been pretty much the same. I have been busy at work and with activities that come with the Holidays. Thanksgiving was great. The Damicos and the Wilsons went to a church and provided music and help for a dinner giving by the Homeless Shelter in Grand Forks. Then went to my Dads house and grazed on chips and MnMs until we ate dinner. It was good. We ate to much. Thats all I got for now.

10:33 a.m.

Well, well. It is Friday, my brain is tired, and I don't feel well. I need to not think about work and let me mind flow...don't laugh.


I have been thinking about perspective lately. Why? You may ask. I am not sure. I think as I have been looking to change certain things in my life, things that I feel need to be change, I start to look at them differently. Are the changes necessary? Am I the only one that feels that way? I also believe it comes from trying to help others. And the feeling that I CAN help others. The truth that my wife and I "own" two cars, a computer, and many other things. And how, in this country we are considered lower-middle class. But in the social structure of the world, I am rich. Yet like many, not only in this country, I live check to check. Rich and poor is perspective. Liberal and Conservative, is all perspective. Right and Wrong, is all perspective. How we can look at a person, place, or issue through a telescope. We are able to distance ourselves and make some thing be so isolated, so independently important or unimportant. Perspective. It is so easy to do that, without thinking about it. Close our mind to the things that surround the specific "thing", and make it that "thing" relevant. Being relevant is perspective. Maybe we should try to change your perspective.



OK, it is Friday, and I should write about something a little lighter, so I will. I like soccer. I have become a rather large soccer fan. Every Sat. and Sun. I record games from England, Italy and the US. I know a more soccer players names than I do hockey players. But I don't understand how soccer has never been as popular as baseball or any other of the 4 big sports (Basketball, Football, baseball, and Hockey). The complaint is that it is too slow, not enough scoring. But the same can be said about Baseball. Or maybe the reason is because "we did not invent it". I love it. It is fast paced, strategic, extremely athletic. And yes, there might not be a ton of scoring, but that is what makes the goals so incredible. The build up, so the quick moves, the angles. Seriously, just watch a game. You will never see a fat soccer player. Can't say that about any of the American sports. I like soccer. My favorite team in English Premier League is Arsenal, and in the Italian Serie A, it is Roma. They both are fast and unselfish. Just watch. It is all perspective.

Things I Dislike

1. People who turn without a blinker
2. Fargo Wind
3. Tapered stone washed jeans - what decade?
4. When people refer to their kids as: "My one" and "My other one"
5. Story toppers - when you tell a story, they have had the same experience or something more dramatic
6. The color yellow - it's really not good for anyone
7. The phrase "I am not even kidding"
8. Hummers - why drive them?
9. Chewing with your mouth open
10. When I try to discipline my son and I start laughing
11. Wearing all Denim - NEVER EVER
12. Static cling

My First Post

I have had this blog for while, and I have done nothing with it. Maybe I was waiting for something to write about, or maybe I was waiting for this specific time of the year. I am not sure. either way, I am now moved to write.

I love this time of the year. I love being with family and eating a little too much. I enjoy the music that comes with Christmas and the snow that I will eventually have to shovel. I love going to church and seeing families just be there together, part of a bigger family. And I love the fact that I am a father. Even though there are many things that I love there are a few that I dislike. Every year around, this time, I become aware of the poor, the hunger, and the homeless. I become aware that I have and there are many who have not. This year, I feel more moved to do something. So, Katie and I recently became a sponsor of a child through Compassion International. This org. helps children in 3rd world countries who are in need. We sponsor a 4 year old boy in Ethiopia, who lives in an aid-affected area. The program is legit and reaches the children. If you find yourself with an extra $32 a month, please think about it. http://www.compassion.com/
It is a little humbling to know that you change someones life by not going out to eat every Friday night. Or skipping a movie or two. This something that has become very important to me. My next step is to find a way to help here locally.

OK, enough sermon time. I have no clue who will read this, but I am going to try to update it every now and again. So, now fun things - I have always been a UND Sioux fan. Growing up in East Grand Forks, MN, you have no choice. But it is very hard to to get caught up in the frenzy that is Bison Mania. The football team is the #1 team in the country in 1-AA, and the basketball team just played Florida and Rutgers very tough. MN teams stick, Gophers (sorry Matthew - but maybe Tubby can turn it around), Vikings, and the T-Wolves. It is a good thing I love all college basketball and soccer.

On to music - Check Eric Hutchinson. Seriously. Do it. He has a great sound and his song writing is funky and original. Two songs to check out - Rock n Roll and OK is Alright With Me Also, for those how enjoy Southern Gospel - The Crabb Family. Good voices, good songs. Jason Crabb is a ridiculous vocalist. Two song to check out - Redeemer and I'd Rather Have Jesus.