No U-Turn, One Way, Northeast, Left

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go." Life can take you on many paths. If you would have told me twenty years ago my favorite thing to do would be to read "Wizard of OZ" or "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" to my daughter every night before bed I would have laughed in your face. The last thing I ever felt I would be was a family man. Now, it kills me to work all day and not see my family very much but everything I do now is for them. I know it sounds cliché but I want my kids to have all of the things I never had. So I am very happy with the direction I chose. I am a father, a husband, a brother that has picked a pretty good way to live. I try to always do the right thing. I try not to speak ill of anybody. But most importantly I strive for perfection in mind, body and soul every day. I know I will never reach perfection, but I am making progress. 'Nite Y'all.

 

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

George Bernard Shaw

100

K.I.M. (Keep It Movin’)

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!" was in such a great mood all day today. Before class I read my favorite book, "oh, the places you'll go!" then I watched a YouTube video of it with John Lithgow reading, and then I watched a NFL segment with Harrison ford and some hall of fame football players reciting it. And I started thinking about what the book says to me. To me it says that no matter how good things get you still probably have some rough times ahead. But, its tells you how to get through those rough times. To me it says that no matter what happens if you just keep truckin you'll do all right….until you don't but then you just hold your head high till things get better. 'Nite Y'all.

 

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other

Walter Elliot

Take a look, it’s in a book…..

Reading Rainbow. What a great show. I remember hating that it came on only once a day. I remember going into the school library to read the books I had seen on the show. I read to my daughter tonight. I've been reading to my daughter every night. Right now it is "The Mouse and the Motorcycle." It is wonderful seeing her get so interested in these stories. She gets into them as much as I do. Right now that is the only leisure reading I do. I am so glad she is gaining an appreciation for books. I run into so many people who don't read anything but status updates and text messages. LOLing and IDKing the English language to death. Don't get me wrong, I love technology. I would even call myself a technophile, but I have a great grasp of the English language. Don't judge me on the grammar of my blogs. These are written like I think and talk. You know I don't care if someone spends all there time on line or not, but they should try to take some time to read. You can get free digital copies of books everywhere. You can get tons of classics from google.com/books. I hope reading and writing books doesn't become a lost art form, blogs are great but there is something about losing yourself in a good story. Hope I wasn't all over the place too much tonight. 'Nite Y'all.

 

Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting

Aldous Huxley

There's nothing you can do that can't be done

So yesterday I was asking for ideas for my blog and one of my fellow poets replied by saying "OMG I can't believe you ran out of ideas, lol! What's the matter, is the family out of town or something?" I thought this was funny, because sometimes I think that I might write about my family too much. But ive been thinking about this a lot today and maybe I write about them just enough. I write about things that matter to me and no one matters more than my family. One way I can change the world is by showing my love for them. I can show my son through my words and actions that a woman is to be respected. I can show my daughter through my words and action that she deserves respect. I can teach my kids about having a healthy, loving relationship by showing them how much I love their mother. I want to become a role model for my children so they know to look for these qualities in their sports/musical/TV/movie heroes. I know "Morals" mean different things to different people, but Love is Universal. 'Nite Y'all.

 

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game

It's easy.

There's nothing you can make that can't be made.

No one you can save that can't be saved.

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you

in time - It's easy.

 

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

-The Beatles

+word(-word)=

It takes no special talent to be hateful or tear someone down. Heck, I can do that without trying. Apparently I do this often. It seems that we as a people have this amazing ability to make others feel horrible. I find my environment so much more pleasant when I speak kindly of people. You can get a much more powerful response from the world by just saying something nice or working to stop negativity. Sure it takes a little work but the results will blow you away. Sometimes a little effort can change the world, or at least the little bubble of space we occupy in this world. I work with some people who will spent an entire shift saying negative things about procedure or guests or even about co-workers. I try to keep negativity away from me at work. Some people won't even say bad things around me anymore. Don't be fooled. I am just as guilty of this sometimes, but the difference is I don't like doing it. Sometimes I just get caught up in the moment. But every day I try to better myself and the world around me and maybe some others will catch on. 'Nite Y'all.

 

"From the backstabbing co-worker to the meddling sister-in-law, you are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life or you can choose happiness instead. Take control and choose to focus on what is important in your life. Those who cannot live fully often become destroyers of life."

Anais Nin

It’s all your fault

So when I got off work earlier I was in the car and my daughter tells me she left her doll at a baby shower they were at today. I empathize and tell her sorry. She tells me, "you don't have to apologize, it wasn't your fault. I'm the one who left it there." My four year old took responsibility for what she did. Granted it doesn't happen all the time but it amazes me the she can do something more than half of the people ii work with can't do. Even me for that matter. Sometimes I just want to blame anyone or anything but myself. Thank you darling for showing me that it is so esay a four year old can do it. 'Nite y'all.

 

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of."

 Jim Rohn

Women! Get Up, Stand Up!

I am amazed at how violent people can be. Especially to women. What makes a man want to hurt a woman physically? Last night I heard some yelling while I was reading and when I looked out my window, I saw some guy pinning a girl down in the back of the car and she was screaming. I run downstairs and as I get outside the street side of starts to come out me. I haven't always been the nice guy I am now. I used to be a tough little street kid. That just made me sound like Oliver Twist or one of the kids from Newsies… anyway… I get down stairs and this guy as this girl from behind and is pulling her back and covering her mouth. I yell that he better EFFIN let go of or we were gonna have some issues. He let go, I helped her out of the street, and he took off. I just don't understand it. A few days ago, my wife stopped a different neighbor from beating a different girl. I know you must be thinking that I must live in some shitty area, but I really don't. This problem reaches beyond economic and social boundaries. How do we go about stopping this? I am glad my daughter will never have to deal with this, because she will be very confident and strong willed or because I'll just go buy a gun.

 

"It's not enough for women to speak out on the issue - for the message to be strong and consistent, women's voices must be backed up by men's."
--Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Michigan

U

Sorry I lied to you. It has taken me quite some time to post. School has been kickin my butt. So every morning I have my routine. One of the things I do is set up a playlist to listen to on the way to class. Today as I was listening to my song selection, I came across a song I haven't listened to in a long time. This song is by Arrested Development, one of my favorite groups. The song is called "U". I am now gonna post it with some changes.

Lonely, Lonely, Oh Woe Is Me
Oh Woe is me I say
The complex cycle i go through almost everyday
To my dismay, I imagine being in this set
Me holdin' the 21st letter in the alphabet
All my life I'd been searchin' as if it was my obligation
To find who?
U but my patience grows thin
'cause U are letter surrounded by a better image
Marriage takes disipline, 
A problem that exist within'
The American culture I resist against
But I must recall and I trust that all 
I've learned thru life is givin' way to my wife y'all
'cause I want, not need a companion to feed 
the knowledge I read and the lovin' I've received
Through moms and my pops read a long life
So hey I prayed for the day I have a strong wife
And a strong son or daughter or strong both
Give them a foundation of values 
I think I'll make a great coach for them
And warn 'em of sin and maybe by then they can nip it in the bud
Before it begins
So hey, if you're listening and yo wishin
For a U like me that you have in store
Maybe I could be the U for U
And U could be the U for me too

The Sun Shined

I have had a lot going on lately. So no time to write. Still don't have much time. Just wanted the post the poem I delivered at my G-ma's service yesterday and let you know what a blessing it is to know how many people love and support me in all I do.

 

 

The Sun Shined Again Today

Though My Heart Is Heavy

Sorrow Filling Me

Like Rain

Fills The Discarded Origami Cup

Abandoned After The Tea Party

Of Little Japanese Girls

Raised In Gated Communities

Protected By Guards, Guns

And Razorwire Sharper Than The Minds And Wits

That Make The Best Of A Bad Situation

The Sun Shined Again Today

And Remembrances

Run Around

Like Little Boys And Girls

Run Around Their Grandmother

Who Is Making Sukiyaki,

Washing Dishes

Or Slicing Cucumbers Paper Thin

To Soak In Rice Wine Vinegar

And Sugar

With Chunks Of Crab

That Were The Only Thing Imitation

Surrounding Her Life

The Sun Shined Again Today

And I Connect The Dots

Of Memories

And As They Link I Think

Of The Path That Flows

Through A Century Of Lineage

That Expands

From Sturdy Roots

Emerging Into A Tree

With Branches That Are Strong, Weak And Weathered

And Limbs Heavy With Fruit

The Sun Will Shine Again

Every Time The Story Is Told

Of A Woman We Will All

Remember With Gratitude

Able to leap in a single bound

I want superpowers. Flying, invisibility, x-ray vision, mind-control anything really. I would even settle for a fancy Batman utility belt. The question is how would I use my powers. Could I be trusted with them. I'd like to think I would use them for good, but I'm not so sure. There are so many selfish reasons I could find to abuse my powers. So if anyone hears about a two day trial on super-speed let me know.

 

A hero is a man who does what he can. 
Romain Rolland 

My Sweet Little Punk

It is very hard to control my temper sometimes. I just get so frustrated. My daughter can really test my patience and drive me crazy. Was I this bad when I was her age? She can go from zero to pain-in-the-ass in 2 seconds. I love her to death, but sometimes I want to pop her little head off her little neck. Than out of nowhere, just when you cannot take it anymore, she becomes the sweetest most thoughtful little girl in the world. 'Nite Y'all.

Fathers be good to your daughters. Daughters will love like you do. Girls become lovers, and turn into mothers. So, mothers be good to your daughters, too.

John Mayer

I’m a 10 watt bulb trying to get brighter

You never see Superman sitting around with Kryptonite in his hand. Why? Because it would kill him. He doesn't think to himself, "I really wish I had some Kryptonite, right now." So why is it that when I start to get overwhelmed with life, I start wanting something that will destroy my life. I am blessed that I have the support I need as well as a simple set of spiritual tools the help me.

 

"The ancestor of every action is a thought."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

BIG hands, little hands

So I am sitting here thing about how people say that our time here is short. Life does happen rather quickly. Seems like yesterday that my daughter was born and here it is four years later and I have a son. When I look over my life I can remember times that flew by and others that dragged on. I watch my daughter play and she has no concept of time. The only thing that matters to her is whatever is going on "right now". I wish I could really grasp the perception of time. Now I go to the other end of the spectrum and I wonder how my Grandmother viewed time, especially at the end. When she died a few weeks ago, she was 96. That is almost three times my age. It seems as if that is the only constant in all of our lives. Whether we want to be or not, we are all slaves to time. 'Nite Y'all.

 

Time is what prevents everything from happening at once. 

~John Archibald Wheeler

People Are Just People

I used to idolize my father. I used to tell people that my father was God. Which gave me somewhat of a Jesus complex. I did not think I was God, just the son of. I used to put so much stock into what he said and how he acted. I was determined to follow in his footsteps in many ways. After he passed, I put all of my faith into myself. I figured I was all I need to set my life straight. One thing I had to learn the hard way is that putting your faith into people is a bad idea. Don't get me wrong. By all means you should have faith in people just don't put faith into them. The reason being – People Are Fallible. We make mistakes. If you must believe in something to guide your life, which would you choose- the one who made the roads or the one who drew the map. It doesn't necessarily have to be God or Allah or Yahweh or Krishna just believe in Good or mother nature or just doing the right thing. 'Night Y'all

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

Buddha quotes 

“Now that’s a horse of a different color”

When I first started working at my job, a fellow employee asked me if I was straight or gay. I told them to guess and they guessed gay because I was so nice and gay guys are usually nicer than straight guys are. I thought that was funny. Now, as I look back to that moment two years ago I see a distant image of what I am now. Even more distant is the Me who used to be quite a ways back. It is amazing what one can accomplish when one starts to do away with selfishness and self-centeredness.

 

"Don't judge men's wealth or godliness by their Sunday appearance."

 Benjamin Franklin quotes

Racing to the starting line

I am tired. Tired. Tired. Had a long week. Work, school, new baby, daughter, wife, homework. This week hit me like a truck and I am going to get up in the morning and do it again. And to top it all off in two weeks I have two more classes starting. No rest for the reformed wicked either.

 

 

"Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working."

Unknown

One Man’s Trash

I was looking out over the world this morning and everything looked beautiful. The trees, the grass, the street all looked amazing covered in snow, but so did the cars and the dumpster. It is weird how we can look at something filled with trash and think to our selves it is beautiful. Appearances are weird like that. Sometimes we only see things in the now. If we go and start removing the snow, we start to see the dirty diapers and discarded chicken bones. There was a time when I would walk around in new clothes with a freshly shaved head and face but if people were to strip me of my outward appearance they would see that I was nothing but trash. I looked good but everything that came out of my mouth was garbage. Hateful words and lies. I was a snow covered refuse pit. Now, although I am far from perfect, I am more like a dirty twenty-dollar bill. I might be dirty but I am worth something. I enjoy working on my inside. I just have to remember that if I am being hatful I am not being grateful. 'Nite Y'all.

 

"For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance, as though they were realities and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are"

 Niccolo Machiavelli

Time keeps on passin me by

Time is something that I am reminded of constantly. How much I need, how little I have, what I would do with more. Right now, I feel a little overwhelmed with everything I have going on and I am trying to figure it out. Full schedule at school. 25-30 hours a week of work, quality time with wife daughter and son. I try to remind myself why I am doing this. I try to focus on the long term goals. Sometimes it just all seems to be falling in on me. Accept, courage, wisdom…I need some effin serenity.

 

 

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

Albert Einstein

DreaM143

I come into contact with women every day. Sometimes I think I hold women to a very high standard. Do not get me wrong, there is something beautiful about every woman on earth, but few are capable of being "perfect" there are four females, though, that no other women can hold a candle to. They are My Grandmother, My Sister, My Daughter and my Wife. The one I want to really write about today is the one I chose to be in my life, My Wife. I am completely, totally and unfathomably in love with this woman. She thinks I am ok too. It is so amazing to me how someone like her would choose to be with someone like me. She is everything I could ask for. She is funny, smart, and sexy. She pushes me to be my best. She is truly My Best Friend.

Just a simple writer- no more, no less.

Last Wednesday we had a homework assignment to read an essay titled The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. It was an unbelievably moving a piece of writing and it was something I need to read at the time. I love when that happens. When something just falls in your lap at the perfect moments. Well our new assignment is to write a summary of the text. Unfortunately I have to keep opinion out of it. I must write this paper using nothing but facts. I am doing an okay job, and will still probably pull an "A" out of it, but damn, is it frustrating. Everything I have ever written has been soaked in either opinion or emotion. Even years ago when I was so detatched from the world and even detatched from my own life, I still wrote with passion. Sometimes school can be so frustrating. 'Nite Y'all.

 

"I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace."

Dalai Lama