"Truth"

truth - a: a statement proven to be or accepted as true. b: conformity to fact or actuality. c: sincerity; integrity.

One of the most important things to me is honesty. I believe that being truthful is very important. Sure the truth may hurt sometimes, but it's important to be trusting. There will be many times in your life when people will be untruthful to you. They will tell you things that they think you want to hear. Like "I'm willing to try" or "I will make an effort" and then not follow through. But anyway, I digress......

So yesterday, I was talking with my co-worker "B" about this new game show, The Moment of Truth on FOX. Contestants win money by answering increasingly personal questions while being hooked up to a polygraph machine. The first six questions net you a prize of $10,000. Five more questions earn you $25,000. This continues to a top prize of $500,000. Players are asked up to 75 questions prior to the taping of the show. 21 of those questions are asked during the show. As they continue answering questions truthfully they earn money. Contestants can quit and walk away with the money they have earned at any time. But if they choose to hear a question, they must answer it. If the polygraph registers an answer as "false", the contestant is finished and walks away with nothing. Sounds simple enough. right?

This show is very interesting to watch as contestants continue to push themselves to win larger amounts of money, all the while answering very personal questions about themselves that are obviously emabarrassing or uncomfortable. Adding to the discomfort is the presence of family members, spouses, employers, and close friends.

"B" was telling me that she thought it would be easy to earn a lot of money doing this show. But I warned her that they are going to ask you some of the toughest questions about yourself that you can think of. I'm sure we all have things in our past that we wouldn't want to admit to. And you know that the show's producers have done a thorough check on your background, talking with friends and co-workers to try and find that deep dark secret. And you can bet that if they find any dark or controversial secrets, they are going to ask about them. For example, one guy was asked (while his boss was sitting there), "have you ever gone through your co-workers personal belongings at work?" And his answer was ........ yes! Another guy was asked, "have you delayed having children because you are not sure if your wife is your lifelong partner?" And his answer was ........ yes!

Though it may be easy to tell the truth, you have to ask yourself - "at what cost?" Is it worth $25,000 to lose your best friend, or $100,000 to lose your job, or how about $500,000 to lose your marriage?

It is a very fascinating show to watch, but I don't think you'll catch me in the hot seat any time soon. I'll stick to Deal or No Deal and The Price is Right!

Keep on, keepin' on
-J

"Adorable"

a=dor=a=ble - a: delightful, lovable and charming. b: worthy of adoration.

This weekend I am planning on going back home (god's country) to see the family. Some may say, "You were just home for the holidays." Well that's true, but I tend to go back home a little more often then I used to. And who can blame me when I have this to go back home to:

Yes, that's right, I am going home to see my niece and nephew. They are definitely the cutest kids in the world! (I may be a little bias on this!) Maci has been asking when "uncle J" is coming to see her? Well "Tator Tot" (as I like to call her), I'm coming home today. She has a new trick that she wants to show me - she can go potty on her own now!

As for the man of the house - Kael. He's just doing what Kael does best - "living the dream!" I mean, he gets to basically eat and sleep all day. His toughest decision during the day is figuring out when nap time is. Man, to be 2 months old again!

As for me, my biggest decision today is "what I am going to take each of them?" I always take Maci and Kael a gift when I come and visit. My sis is not a big fan of this. She feels like I spoil them too much. But hey, isn't that what uncles are suppose to do?

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will!

A couple of sidenotes:

• I may have an announcement in the next 2-3 weeks that I will share with everyone. It's too early to say for sure.


• I had another post that I was going to write today, but it's not exactly ready or fine tuned yet. I will share it in the future.


• ? for women: About a week a go I had a girl come up to me at a bar and say, "I think we would produce good looking babies." - First of all, I'll be the judge of that. And second, who says this? Is this actually suppose to be a pick-up line?

Keep on, keepin' on

-J

"Frigid"

frig=id - a: extremely cold. b: lacking warmth of feeling; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain.

I could go a number of ways with this title. But for the purpose of this post, I am talking about the weather. It is %$@&*!@ cold outside! For the past week or so the temperatures have been below freezing here in the midwest. And they are talking how tomorrow the temperatures are going to struggle to get above freezing!

Everyday I think to myself, "self, why do you live in this state?" And it's days like today that make it hard to answer that question. It always amazes me when some of my friends who live in Arizona and Texas complain that they miss the seasons and how they are tired of the low only getting to 40 degrees! Well try a low of -5 and a wind chill of -25!!! Try peeling off 3 layers of clothes in the morning (because that's what you slept in) and putting 3 layers of clothes back on to go to work.

You know it's cold when:

• You say, "I look forward to going outside tomorrow because it's going to be in the 20's."


• Your car runs out of gas when you are trying to defrost your windows in the morning.


• You run cold water and it steams


• You have to drive with your ice scraper in your hand because it's frozen to it


• When you watch a nfl playoff game and it's the first time you can remember not seeing some idiot with his shirt off and chest painted


• When guys complain that it's too cold to go ice fishing


• When you have to scrape the inside of your car windows!

As you can tell, I am sick and tired of this weather. I should have moved to Arizona a long time ago! In the meantime, I will be patiently waiting for summer with my golf clubs in one hand and sunscreen in the other. Only 4 more months!!!

Keep on, keepin' on

-J

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"Hazy"

haz=y - a: unclear, confused or uncertain.

I think this will probably be a pretty short post. Basically because I don't really feel like writing much.

Anyway, I know I haven't mentioned "C" for a couple of weeks. The main reason for that is because we actually haven't spoke to one another in a couple of weeks. Well, yesterday we had a good talk about the way things have been between the two of us. I won't go into details of our conversation. I may elaborate on it at a different time.

Basically, it was important that we tried to "clear the air." Hence the reason for the title of this post. Sure we hashed some things out, but frankly there were some things I am still a little "hazy" on. And the main reason is because there were a few questions that I didn't ask. I'm not sure why? It always seems like you think of things you wished you would have asked or said after a conversation is over. Maybe I was afraid to hear the answers? I don't know. Don't get me wrong, we did get some things out in the open. I just wish I would have gotten all my questions answered. Either way, it was nice to have a civil conversation.

I've always said that I would not want to lose "C" as a friend. She has always been someone that has been easy to talk to and that I've felt comfortable around. (well, except for yesterday) :-) But the most important thing is that we remain friends. Is it the ideal solution that I want? Probably not, but it is what it is.

So the air may not be 100% clear, maybe a little hazy, but at least it is a start. Hopefully someday I will get some of my questions answered and understand everything. But for now, I'm hoping that she and I can remain good friends. I guess we will see how it turns out. She says that she doesn't want to lose me as a friend and she is willing to put in a effort and try. But we'll see, hopefully she doesn't go into her "hi" and "bye" shell. Hopefully she actually makes an effort to talk to me or we will probably be back to where we were. And I don't think either of us wants that.

Keep on, keepin' on
-J

"Notion"

no=tion – a: a belief or opinion. b: a mental image or representation; an idea or conception.

“I wish I was little bit taller, I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good I would call her”
-Skee-lo

So I was talking with a couple of my co-workers the other day and I was explaining to them this theory that I have. I’ve always believed that if I was a taller my life would be totally different. Now I’m not short by any means, I’m 6’2”. But I do think if I was like 6’6” things would have turned out different for me. I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes at this thought, but bear with me on this.

First of all, I don’t think I would have attended the same college that I did. I will say that I loved every moment that I spent there and always say I wouldn’t change anything about the school I went to. But the fact is that it probably wouldn’t have been on my radar. Basketball was always my first love in high school. I was a decent player. And I do think that if you give me 4 more inches I would have probably had an opportunity to go somewhere for basketball. I’m not saying Division I or anything. That is a totally different level all together. But one of the reasons I went to a small private college was to continue playing basketball. My best sport in high school was baseball. In fact, I had an opportunity to go to a smaller Division I college on a part-scholarship for baseball. But I chose to go to a Division III school so I could still play both basketball and baseball. So that right there should show you how much basketball meant to me. So what I am getting at is that obviously by choosing a different college my path through life would have been different.

Second, I believe that taller guys generally have better luck with the ladies. Now I’m not talking like freakishly tall seven foot guys. I’m talking about guys around 6’5” or 6’6” that are put together well. They just seem to catch girl’s eyes. I have a couple buddies that fit this description and they seem to have no problem with the ladies. So from this I derive that I would have a better chance of being married, maybe having a couple of kids and living in that little house with a white picket fence. (okay, who are we kidding, I don’t want a house with a white picket fence.) Sure this idea may seem far-fetched, but think about it. By attracting more women, your odds are significantly increased that you will find that one to spend your life with. (Or at least that one to spend your life with until the next one comes along!) J/K!

Third, I think that taller guys have more success in the business world. They have a presence and aura to them. They seem to be able to demand attention and take control of a room. Their stature gives them an image that is demanding of attention. Think about it, when you walk up to someone and have to look up to shake their hand, their image sticks with you. I think that by being taller you inevitably have more confidence and are more comfortable in situations.

These are just some of my thoughts. Ridiculous as it may sound, this is one of my many theories. I do have other theories and I’m sure in the future I will share some of my other insightful notions with you.

With that, I leave you with a little Skee-Lo. I think he has it figured out!

"Music"

mu=sic - a: vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm.

*The bolded words in this post represent some of my favorite songs and artists. Feel free to listen to them below.

Last night as I was playing a crazy game of poker with some of my buddies, I was thinking “what could my next post be about?” And then it came to me…… music! Everyone loves music. So have patience with me on this post. So im sorry if this seems scattered, but I’m doing it all for you.

Music has a huge impact on so many aspects of our lives. When we are feeling down it gives us something to believe in. Even when we feel so far away and our self-esteem is low. Whether it’s the little things that seem to follow you down or the stress that tears you from the inside out. Sometimes music seems like our last resort when people want you to be happy but you just can’t fake it anymore.

There’s time when music reminds you about a girl in your life. Even when you feel like, "she hates me." Different songs seem to place a special someone’s name in your head. You’re still waiting for that girl whose picture you can’t get out of your mind. The one that you realize, “maybe she was anything but mine? Maybe she has found someone better than me?”

You are lying there wide awake, unable to sleep and your alarm clock reads 11:11 p.m. You know tomorrow you will be a zombie at work, but at least you will have your radio to help get you through whatever the day brings.

My music taste changes all of the time. A lot of it depends on what is going on in my life. How I feel on the inside and outside. Some days you feel like superman and other days life is hard to handle. Music is something that is there no matter what mood we are in.

About an hour ago I realized that I was far behind on a project I need to finish. So I’m going to sign off for now…..

*please bear with me on this post. As you can probably imagine it is difficult to write while incorporating the titles of some of your favorite songs or artists. There are many favorites that I was unable to include.




Keep on, keepin' on
-J

"Hooky"

hook=y - a: absence without leave; truancy.

We've all probably done it atleast once in our lives. Whether it be from school or work. I know I have. I guess there may be a few individuals out there who have never played "hooky." To those individuals I would say, "Live a little!" Life is too short!

The other night I was watching a classic movie, or should I say an 80's classic movie - Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Many of you, I am sure, have seen this movie. I'll give you a quick rundown - Ferris is determined to take the day off from school and goes to extreme measures to ensure that. This involves him, his girlfriend, and his best friend all missing school. It's Ferris' day off and he is out to enjoy himself - and he does!

This got me thinking about the times that I have played "hooky." Well one particular time came to mind. In college a couple of my buddies and I decided to go to Lake Havasu, AZ & Las Vegas for spring break. Now you may be thinking that this is really playing hooky if you are going over break. Well, the kicker is that we were going with a couple other guys that went to a different college and their spring break was a week before ours. So we decided that instead of going the traditional Monday through Friday timeframe, we were going to go Wednesday through Wednesday. So this involved getting out of 3 days of classes. Sure I had missed numerous classes in college for various reasons. (sick, hangovers, lazy, playstation, etc.) But the biggest difference this time was I was going to have to miss a test in one of my classes. So after some manipulation I was able to make it work and off we were.

So the six of us piled into 2 vehicles for the journey. And the 20+ hour adventure was definitely that - an adventure! Fifteen minutes into our trip we had already been pulled over by the state patrol for speeding. That would end up being the only major blip in our travels. I definitely enjoyed traveling across the western part of our country. Whether it was navigating the snowy, iced over highways through the mountains in Colorado. Or cruising at 90+ mph down the long, lonely dark highways of Utah passing your occassional "Mountain Lion Crossing" signs. Or twisting and turning through the tight curves of the canyons in Nevada. And driving on "The Loneliest Highway in California" down to Arizona. We finally crossed over the "London Bridge" into Lake Havasu City. (and yes, that's the real London Bridge. After it fell down it was shipped over and reconstructed in Lake Havasu!)

When many of you think about spring break a few things may come to mind: girls gone wild, bikinis, all-night partying, mtv, hook ups, hangovers, etc. Well, I'm not here to ruin your image because many of those elements were in play on this spring break. I'm not going to go into too many details about our spring break trip, but I will say that we had an unforgettable time! Whether it was hanging out on the beach and in the lake during the day. Or partying the night away at "Kokomos." We met some great people and definitely lived it up in Lake Havasu for 4 days.

Our next stop on our voyage was fabulous Las Vegas! Now if you know me, you would know that I love Las Vegas! I love the action, the excitement, weather, the people..... everything about it. So we made the 2 1/2 hour trek north to "Sin City.' During our 48 hours in Las Vegas (4 of which I slept) there was plenty of debauchery. One of our buddies turned 21 on the day that we got to Vegas. So he definitely had an excellent 21st birthday!

So after 7 days of a wild spring break we made the long drive back. As I was driving the last 12 hours on my own straight through, I started thinking about the time we had and how it was back to the real world. (or atleast as much as college can be the real world.) I started thinking about that test I had to make up. (if the professor would even let me?) But then I realized, "Hey I still have 4 more days of my spring break left! Why worry about class?"

Remember, though it may not be right to play "hooky", sometimes some of your best memories are made when you take a chance! In honor of Ferris Bueller, I leave you with this song from the movie.

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Keep on, keepin' on
-J

"Sabotage"

Sab=o=tage- a: treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavor; deliberate subversion.

I often say that I don’t think I will ever get married. I’ve always been a very picky person when it comes to dating women. In fact, many of my friends will say that I am overly picky! And this is probably true. I've avoided many relationships because of some of the craziest reasons.

Lately I’ve been thinking about some of my past relationships and how they haven’t worked out. I have had some great girlfriends and for one reason or another they’ve fallen apart. Some of them because I ended it and some of them because they ended it. But it made me think that maybe I have been "sabotaging" many of these relationships whether subconsciously or not? It seems that ever time I am in a relationship I am always looking for the next best thing, the upgrade. And yes, that sounds bad and I feel bad for being that way sometimes.

In college I dated this girl “A” for the longest time. She was a perfect girlfriend. In fact, some of my college friends still give me trouble about ending it. Well you see, I was in college and was not too interested in being tied down at the time. I was having fun with my friends and was busy doing other things. So I didn’t always devote a lot of time to her and our relationship. Now don’t get me wrong, I treated her well and never cheated on her, but I just don’t think I was interested in a commitment while I was in college? “A” is married now and seems to be very happy.

About 3-4 years ago I was dating this girl, let’s call her “T”. We always had a lot of fun and we actually have a lot of the same friends. We had a lot of the same interests. We dated for almost a year. Well again, it always seemed like I was looking for something better. Everything was going great and then I met another girl, “Arizona.” That’s when I decided to break it off. “T” is married now, but a couple of my friends have told me that she still asks about me and says that she wishes things would have worked out.

That brings us to “Arizona.” This was probably the hardest one to swallow of them all. I had known “Arizona” for a while before she moved to Phoenix. Well I went down there for a bowl game and we met up. That’s where things started to progress. So we did the long distance thing for about 8 months. It was definitely tough. We would see each other usually once a month for about a week at a time. Either I would fly out there or she would come back here. (She is originally from here and has since moved back, but that’s a whole other story.) Everything was going good, but I think eventually the distance got in the way. At least that’s what I tell myself. But the more I look back, the more I see how I was probably never fully committed in giving myself to this relationship. I do regret the way everything worked out. She was someone that I let get away. We still stay in touch on occasion. She actually has lived back here for the past couple of years. Although after everything we’ve been through, I don’t believe I would or will ever want to get back with her. Just too many hard feelings there that have been swept under the rug, but probably not forgotten.

Sure I've dated other people since then. And some of these women have been really good girls. And I'm sure I've subconsciously sabotaged some of those relationships. Maybe I've just been scared to get too involved in a relationship. I always treat women good and sometimes do get attached to some of them, but I still think that some part of me usually doesn't want it to work out. Is that bad? You would think that I would learn from some of my past actions? So why is it that I seem to "sabotage" all of these great relationships?

People will always tell me "there's someone for everyone. You'll find the right one." Well what if I've had 3 or 4 right ones and I've let them all go? How many chances do you get?

Keep on, keepin' on

-J