lessons learned

Some lessons we learn; others we don't and get opportunities to learn again. Others still are things we once knew and trusted, but somewhere along the way we must unlearn - lessons not necessarily good or bad, but that we have outgrown or outlasted. And really, isn't this learning - this growth and change - what life is about?

I'm very much a calculated man. I think a lot (sometimes too much), and once I've made up my mind, there is very little hope of it changing.

I changed the title of my blog today, and that was very un-calculated. The thought came to me, and with very little afterthought, I decided to do it. Maybe somewhere in the spontaneity of it all is a lesson to be learned.

In light of these thoughts, here are a few other things I've learned over the past few weeks...

1. Puppies require lots of attention.

2. Cats are good at hiding...behind grass.

3. 3-D movies are expensive. (It must be those high-class glasses.)

4. It doesn't hurt when baby ducks eat from your hand.

5. Mac is not a killer (even when i practically give him a helpless bird).

6. I know why my wife likes giraffes.

7. Contrary to what some people think, your swan boat can be "going nowhere" even though you peddle with all your might.

8. The 80s are back.

9. I waste too much time at work, so the list must go on for another day...

Free Cereal

Through and through, I'm a city boy. I'm married to a small town girl, so I get to experience small town life a day or two at a time. A day or two at a time may be all I can handle.

Our most recent escapade was to the wedding of 2 friends in Mooreland, OK. My wife graduated from there and the high school literally has only one very short hallway of classrooms. The wedding was in Mooreland, but we stayed the night with Britt's grandparents in Woodward. My wife says Woodward is Mooreland's "big town," and she's right. In comparison, it's pretty much a booming metropolis.


In Woodward, Jim (our Colorado friend) and I hung out with the groom, groomsmen, and ushers, most of whom were staying at the Northwest Inn. It's an older hotel, but it's got a comfortable atmosphere. The inside atrium is a huge open space that included a pool, lounging areas, work out room, etc. It's rustic and small town.


So... if I'm a weary traveler driving through and needing a place to stop for the night, that's a pretty inviting sign. It reminds me that I'm in northwest Oklahoma and makes me wonder if my room will be strewn with 18k gold leaves from that tree. What's more? Complimentary breakfast! I'm sold!


Wait....

I'm not sure I know what "complimentry" means? I'm an educated man, and it's safe to assume the hotel manager's intention is to use this marquee to offer me free breakfast for renting a room. Doing my best to look past this blatant misspelling, something still is not right...

That's right... It's not a "complimentary" breakfast... It's not even a "complimentry" breakfast... It's a "compliment-p(with a scribbled-marker tail)-y" breakfast. Sounds appetizing!

Today's moral: Some people in this world should not use "big" words. Confucius once said, "It is better to say, 'FREE CEREAL' (and not show your ignorance) than to advertise "COMPLIMENT-P(with a scribbled-marker tail)-Y BREAKFAST." Note taken...

4 years, 3 moves, 2 engagements and a forgotten password later

It's funny how all at the same time, 4 years can seem so long ago, yet only a few breaths away...  

It's even funnier how 4 months feels much the same way.  Brittany and I have been married almost 5 months. I wonder, "How has it already been 5 months?" And then my next thought is usually, "I can't imagine my life not married."  It's crazy to think that 6 months ago, I was a single man.  I've said a couple times over the past few days, "This is more than I signed up for!"  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  That girl drives me crazy, and I love her all the more for it!

Far too much life has happened in these 4 years to detail now.  I'm sure it will weave it's way into posts to come.  That's the way life should be anyway--constantly building on the former things, being shaped - hopefully - into something so much greater than any one individual or experience--being changed from glory to glory.  It's thoughts like that that make me wonder how much life I've built and how much I've let pass by...

Well... Here's to her...

And here's to having something to say...

why i rarely post

so i know it's now march first and i haven't posted since february first. sometimes i just don't feel like i have things to say. and then there are times that i have something to say, but by the time i get here to say them, they don't seem so important anymore. honestly, if you all want to quit reading my blog, go ahead. i'll probably keep posting when i want to say something...at least for a season of my life.
with all that out of the way...i wanted to share this quotation:

We grow great by dreams.

All big men are dreamers.

They see things in the soft haze of a spring day

or in the red fire of a long winter's evening.

Some of us let these great dreams die,

but others nourish and protect them,

nurse them through bad days

til they bring them to the sunshine and light,

which comes always to those who sincerely hope

that their dreams will come true.

--Woodrow Wilson--

takin' a break

last week, i went into hyper-speed trying to get things taken care of for the underground. this week, i'm takin' a break. my goal to is to think about it as little as possible...until monday...at which point, i'll probably have to go into super-hyper-speed to catch up. well, it's probably really not that bad, but i will have lots to get done.
i am super excited, though, and i'll try to give more updates as to the proceedings. as we stand, we are waiting for some final prices from our contractor for doing the work. once he gives them to us and we say, 'yes' (for of course we will...we've already come too far), he'll go fill out the paperwork for the finishing permit. prayerfully, they'll start finishing out the space next week. that'll put opening time right about early to mid-april.
so my friend beth has this intuition thing going on, more than i've ever seen in anyone else. or, at least, no one else has so freely revealed it to me. she says that once the underground gets started, and i've proven to myself that i can do it, i'll know i can do anything. she says i already can do anything, i just don't know it yet; this process will help me realize that. who knows? she may be right, or she might've just had a few too many meatballs in her sub at lunchtime. i don't know particularly why i mentioned that...i guess it's just been on my mind today.
well i know everyone out there is as super excited as i am about the underground, so i will post the logo just as soon as a can, so you can all oooh and aahhhh and drool over it. i'd do it now, but i'm on the home computer. you'll have to wait until i get online with my laptop. you can't handle the suspense can you? it's killing you, i know. why do you think i'm waiting? just kidding, i love you guys...really...all of you...even you, the random person who haphazardly stumbled into my blog and is reading this to idly pass the time...i love even you...now go away...i'm taking a break.

'a quote' or, as it were, 'a quotation'

A friend sent me this. She said it reminded her of my style. I think she's right.

It appears to me impossible that I should cease to exist, or that this active, restless spirit, equally alive to joy and sorrow, should be only organized dust--ready to fly abroad the moment the spring snaps, or the spark goes out, which kept it together. Surely something resides in this heart that is not perishable--and life is more than a dream.
-Mary Wollstonecraft

the point of no return...

well, we've done it. i mean, we haven't done it...not completely, but you may as well call it done. it will get done. what i'm trying to say is that my sister and i have now actually put money into our coffee shop. now that money has been spent, there is no turning back...not that we want to of course. we have an espresso machine, refrigerator, and ice machine, as well as many other sundry things. Hallelujah!
anyhow, i'm just super-pumped about this...things are really starting to happen and i'm super-pumped.
just thought i'd share