July 5th the Verdict came out.
People were pissed.
I'm pissed.
Not because she wasn't convicted by the jury. That doesn't bother me. She's been convicted by the court of public opinion and that is pretty harsh. Good luck getting a job, honey.
I'm pissed because of the profiteers.
There are creeps who are going to offer her ungodly amounts of money to tell her story. They will make her come across as some misunderstood heroine who was simply overwhelmed by a tragedy and behaved badly. Or as a poor, lost soul who is a victim of (insert social pathology here). Or maybe even as a calculating monster. Whatever sells.
Like a lot of people, I posted this on my facebook status:
For those of us who are outraged at this jury verdict, there is something we CAN do. DO NOT buy any book, magazine, or movie ticket for anything that the Anthony family publishes in order to make money off of this whole tragedy. I copied this...pass it on. I sooooo agree don't let them profit please!!!!
But what about those who have been profiting all along?
What about those who have been selling this story to us since the beginning, grisly detail after grisly detail? They have been stirring up the nation's wrath, because it's easy to generate outrage.
I am tired of being outraged.
I don't care that Arnold had a love child.
I don't care about Tiger's divorce.
I am bored of the royal wedding, and cynically waiting for their first fight so that I can be manipulated into siding with one or the other.
Wikileaks, oil spills, global warming & same-sex marriage? Meh. Who cares?
I can pledge never to watch a Kasey Anthony movie, which is no stretch for me because I wouldn't have watched it anyway.
What I can't pledge is to never watch the coverage to begin with.
How many hours have I followed this? How many Papa John's commercials have I seen while waiting for the next sordid details? How many Subaru ads have I seen? Glade Plug ins? AT&T Wireless?
The honest truth is, I am going to keep feeding the beast. I'm blogging about it, aren't I?
Kasey Anthony is not important.
I need to remind myself what is important:
My faith
My family
My country
My city
My friends.
And I need to move on.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
I LOVE THIS COUNTRY
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:
Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:
Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
Sunday, July 3, 2011
I Cry at Weddings
Yesterday, Greg & I went to a wedding of a dear friend of mine.
I remember when she met her husband. I remember how happy he made (makes) her.
It made me cry.
I cried at the homily. I cried at the Ave Maria. I cried at the vows. I cried at the final blessing.
Then I went to the reception.
I cried at the toast. I cried at the father-daughter dance. I cried at the mother-son dance.
I can't help it. It was beautiful.
I haven't been to a wedding in a very long time. This wedding was really, really great.
The pianist at the mass was world renowned musician Lee Gwodz. This is the guy that the Pope has over to perform at Christmas. And he lives in my town. And he also works out with me. So he usually sees me sweating in a skort. I didn't wear a skort to the wedding.
When I went over to say hello, he told me I looked gorgeous. He meant it. Kinda made the day that much better for me.
Between the wedding and the reception, Greg & I went for a drink. We were all dressed up, in a restaurant with no kids. It was a date. A fun, flirty, fantastic date. We reminisced about our wedding and talked of our future. He did the little things that make me swoon -- held my hand in the street, opened my door, helped me into the truck. . ."boyfriend" stuff. Only we've been married for almost 19 years.
At the reception, we spent time with awesome people. You know how you go someplace like church or the grocery store or someplace and you see people there who you know by sight but you've never actually met? There was a couple there who goes to our church. Their kids are older than our kids, so we aren't in the same circles. We finally introduced ourselves and you know what? We like them. We like them a lot. We are definitely going to be friends with them.
We also saw friends that we just don't get to see enough. They are "our" friends, but in all actuality, they are "my" friends because I am the one who really knows them. They were in my leadership class -- that is how I know the bride -- and they know Greg, but they don't really know Greg. Greg is polite and pleasant but he is not naturally outgoing. Everybody likes him, but not everybody "gets" him.
And that was the best part of the evening. As we talked and joked and laughed, they got to know my Greg.
Then we started dancing. No one is surprised when I dance crazy, but Greg doesn't come across like a party animal.
He totally is.
And the more we danced, and laughed, and danced some more, the more my friends were falling in love with Greg. They got to see him the way I know him -- fun and silly and up for anything. It was so awesome to see that realization on their faces.
I love weddings. They make me cry.
I remember when she met her husband. I remember how happy he made (makes) her.
It made me cry.
I cried at the homily. I cried at the Ave Maria. I cried at the vows. I cried at the final blessing.
Then I went to the reception.
I cried at the toast. I cried at the father-daughter dance. I cried at the mother-son dance.
I can't help it. It was beautiful.
I haven't been to a wedding in a very long time. This wedding was really, really great.
The pianist at the mass was world renowned musician Lee Gwodz. This is the guy that the Pope has over to perform at Christmas. And he lives in my town. And he also works out with me. So he usually sees me sweating in a skort. I didn't wear a skort to the wedding.
When I went over to say hello, he told me I looked gorgeous. He meant it. Kinda made the day that much better for me.
Between the wedding and the reception, Greg & I went for a drink. We were all dressed up, in a restaurant with no kids. It was a date. A fun, flirty, fantastic date. We reminisced about our wedding and talked of our future. He did the little things that make me swoon -- held my hand in the street, opened my door, helped me into the truck. . ."boyfriend" stuff. Only we've been married for almost 19 years.
At the reception, we spent time with awesome people. You know how you go someplace like church or the grocery store or someplace and you see people there who you know by sight but you've never actually met? There was a couple there who goes to our church. Their kids are older than our kids, so we aren't in the same circles. We finally introduced ourselves and you know what? We like them. We like them a lot. We are definitely going to be friends with them.
We also saw friends that we just don't get to see enough. They are "our" friends, but in all actuality, they are "my" friends because I am the one who really knows them. They were in my leadership class -- that is how I know the bride -- and they know Greg, but they don't really know Greg. Greg is polite and pleasant but he is not naturally outgoing. Everybody likes him, but not everybody "gets" him.
And that was the best part of the evening. As we talked and joked and laughed, they got to know my Greg.
Then we started dancing. No one is surprised when I dance crazy, but Greg doesn't come across like a party animal.
He totally is.
And the more we danced, and laughed, and danced some more, the more my friends were falling in love with Greg. They got to see him the way I know him -- fun and silly and up for anything. It was so awesome to see that realization on their faces.
I love weddings. They make me cry.
 |
| Here's wishing Beth and Bert the same happiness that we've had for 19 years! |
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day!
Dear Dad:
Happy Father's Day!
I tell you pretty often that I love you. I don't tell you often enough WHY I love you.
Of course, I love you because you're my dad. But really, being my dad doesn't have that much to do with it. There are so many other reasons. I am going to list a few, but only a few. The whole list is so long that even you would be bored about halfway through.
I love you because you are a great husband. You love Mom so much and you are not afraid to say so. Because of you, I have a great husband. I didn't settle for some asshole who would treat me like shit because I KNOW how a wife is supposed to be treated.
I love you because you aren't going to get all bent out of shape because I used the words "asshole" and "shit" in my letter to you.
I love you because you really live our faith and don't just go to church because you should. You love Jesus, and it shows. You love the Church, and it shows. You respect others' right to worship as they please -- and it shows.
I love you because you are really really fun to be with. You have such a zest for life. Remember when you came up to Madison to take me to the Ohio-Wisconsin game? Remember how Wisconsin won and no one could believe it? When the fans streamed on to the field, you ran out with them. And we danced the polka and cheered and laughed and then went out on the town and drank beer until midnight. That remains one of my most precious memories.
I love you because you are so resilient. Life has belted you in the chops more than once. But you never let it keep you down. You always keep God and family front and center, so when things get rough, you are able to weather through it. I thank God for your example.
I love you because you never got bent out of shape about things like me burning out the transmission on your new car or me getting the car towed to Cabrini Green in the middle of the night or me promising a friend a ride to Barrington without asking you first.
I love you because you totally supported me moving to LA after college even though it probably wasn't the most prudent thing to do.
I love you because you are a wonderful Grandpa.
I love you because you are wonderful Father in Law.
I love you because you are a wonderful Man.
Happy Father's Day Dad!
Happy Father's Day!
I tell you pretty often that I love you. I don't tell you often enough WHY I love you.
Of course, I love you because you're my dad. But really, being my dad doesn't have that much to do with it. There are so many other reasons. I am going to list a few, but only a few. The whole list is so long that even you would be bored about halfway through.
I love you because you are a great husband. You love Mom so much and you are not afraid to say so. Because of you, I have a great husband. I didn't settle for some asshole who would treat me like shit because I KNOW how a wife is supposed to be treated.
I love you because you aren't going to get all bent out of shape because I used the words "asshole" and "shit" in my letter to you.
I love you because you really live our faith and don't just go to church because you should. You love Jesus, and it shows. You love the Church, and it shows. You respect others' right to worship as they please -- and it shows.
I love you because you are really really fun to be with. You have such a zest for life. Remember when you came up to Madison to take me to the Ohio-Wisconsin game? Remember how Wisconsin won and no one could believe it? When the fans streamed on to the field, you ran out with them. And we danced the polka and cheered and laughed and then went out on the town and drank beer until midnight. That remains one of my most precious memories.
I love you because you are so resilient. Life has belted you in the chops more than once. But you never let it keep you down. You always keep God and family front and center, so when things get rough, you are able to weather through it. I thank God for your example.
I love you because you never got bent out of shape about things like me burning out the transmission on your new car or me getting the car towed to Cabrini Green in the middle of the night or me promising a friend a ride to Barrington without asking you first.
I love you because you totally supported me moving to LA after college even though it probably wasn't the most prudent thing to do.
I love you because you are a wonderful Grandpa.
I love you because you are wonderful Father in Law.
I love you because you are a wonderful Man.
Happy Father's Day Dad!
 |
| Also, because you are handsome. Love you! |
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
June Bug
I have never hated a June so much.
I should be spending my time playing at the beach with my kids.
Or writing witty blog posts.
Not spending 8 hours a week in Stats class. (6-10pm Monday & Wednesday).
Not moving my office from one room to the other.
On the one hand, I know I am super lucky. I have access to an excellent University just down the road. I have the resources to pay for the class, and my wonderful family carries on while I am in class. (Especially my saintly husband.)
I have a job. A job I like. With people I like. WHO CARES if my computer is sitting on another desk?
WHO CARES if things are chaotic for a few days?
Finally, if this is all I have to complain about, then I am the luckiest friggin' person IN THE WORLD!
Still. I can't wait for July.
I should be spending my time playing at the beach with my kids.
Or writing witty blog posts.
Not spending 8 hours a week in Stats class. (6-10pm Monday & Wednesday).
Not moving my office from one room to the other.
On the one hand, I know I am super lucky. I have access to an excellent University just down the road. I have the resources to pay for the class, and my wonderful family carries on while I am in class. (Especially my saintly husband.)
I have a job. A job I like. With people I like. WHO CARES if my computer is sitting on another desk?
WHO CARES if things are chaotic for a few days?
Finally, if this is all I have to complain about, then I am the luckiest friggin' person IN THE WORLD!
Still. I can't wait for July.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The real reason why I love Victor. . ..
I've written about Vic before.
He owns V-Fit -- the fitness studio where I work out. The place where I was first able to do triceps curls and "real" push ups. The place where I have been able to drop my blood pressure, blood sugar, and bra size. The place where I have met wonderful friends who encourage me to try, fail and try again.
That's not why I love Vic.
Vic assigned me to work out with Gabe. Gentle, kind Gabe who doesn't shout, doesn't sneer and doesn't take excuses. We call Gabe the "Silent Assassin" because he very quietly kills you with his workouts. I call him "Silent but Deadly". Seriously -- he worked my back & shoulders two days ago. I am still sore. Did you know your armpits could hurt? Despite the pain, Gabe has been a wonderful coach, mentor and friend.
That's not why I love Vic.
Vic is slightly hot looking. If you like guys with perfectly tone bodies, chiseled bone structure, shiny black hair and the deepest, dreamiest brown eyes since Greg Afuso. And he's mostly straight! (Just kidding. He's all the way straight.) (He is pretty Metro though. I love Metro guys!) On more than one occasion, friends of mine have seen Victor and come to me drooling. "HE is your trainer! OMG I want to work out with you!" Of course they never show up, the cowards.
That's not why I love Vic.
It was yesterday that I realized exactly why I love him.
Yesterday was the 5K I ran for June. As you may know, I have run one 5K every month since October 2010. Yesterday I finished my 9th. Wow. Nine. That's a lot.
That's not why I love Vic.
It was one of the most enjoyable 5K's I've run. It was at sunrise on the beach. Sounds romantic, right? Sunrise in June is the only time you can run without getting heat stroke. But it was still pretty frigging hot.
I haven't done a lot of running on the beach. It's more challenging that running on the road. For one thing, you have to scoot around to find sand that's not too soft. We were kinda zig-zagging all over the place. I am pretty sure we covered more than 3.1 miles. Felt like 10.
I was proud of myself becasue I ran the whole first half no problem. At the turn around, I was running pretty close to the water. By then my feet were sore and hot, but I still had more than a mile to go. A wave came in and soaked my feet.
I wasn't happy to have my expensive shoes all wet, but lemme tell ya -- that water felt GOOD!
I kept running in & out of the water, until my shoes got so waterlogged it was like running with 15 lb weights on my feet. Gabe makes me run with 15 lbs weights on my feet, so I know what I am talking about.
It was the beach. The water felt good. My shoes were heavy. I was going slow.
I figured "Fuggit -- I'm taking my shoes off". So I did.
Running in bare feet in the soft South Texas surf felt WONDERFUL.
That's not why I love Vic.
I love him because he put on this 5K to help the victims of the Mississippi Floods.
He raised $800.
I realized yesterday that Vic is always doing that. He set up a scholarship for students to attend Del Mar College. He raised money for Tsunami victims. He participated in Toys for Tots. He hosted a run for Metro Ministries. He finds ways to raise money for those in need.
I love Vic because Vic is a giver.
He's not rich yet. He's still building his business. But he's not waiting until he has "extra" money to give. He gives now. I met Vic when he donated his services for the Mayor's Fitness Challenge last summer. The retail cost of that challenge was over $2000, just for me. We had 13 people in that challenge. Vic -- who was just opening his business -- essentially gave us $26,000.00.
So not only did Vic give me a safe and comfortable place to become my best physical self, he gave me and my community thousands of dollars.
Vic's business is growing. He and Gabe are expanding into another location, they are increasing their clientele, and they are bringing new and exciting services to our community. That's not an accident. The great sales and self-actualization guru Zig Ziglar said "You can have everything you want in life as long as you help other people get what they want in life." Vic is helping me get what I want in life. I hope he earns MILLIONS. Billions.
In fact -- if you live in South Texas, check out V-Fit. Take a couple of classes.
You will love Vic too.
He owns V-Fit -- the fitness studio where I work out. The place where I was first able to do triceps curls and "real" push ups. The place where I have been able to drop my blood pressure, blood sugar, and bra size. The place where I have met wonderful friends who encourage me to try, fail and try again.
That's not why I love Vic.
Vic assigned me to work out with Gabe. Gentle, kind Gabe who doesn't shout, doesn't sneer and doesn't take excuses. We call Gabe the "Silent Assassin" because he very quietly kills you with his workouts. I call him "Silent but Deadly". Seriously -- he worked my back & shoulders two days ago. I am still sore. Did you know your armpits could hurt? Despite the pain, Gabe has been a wonderful coach, mentor and friend.
That's not why I love Vic.
Vic is slightly hot looking. If you like guys with perfectly tone bodies, chiseled bone structure, shiny black hair and the deepest, dreamiest brown eyes since Greg Afuso. And he's mostly straight! (Just kidding. He's all the way straight.) (He is pretty Metro though. I love Metro guys!) On more than one occasion, friends of mine have seen Victor and come to me drooling. "HE is your trainer! OMG I want to work out with you!" Of course they never show up, the cowards.
That's not why I love Vic.
It was yesterday that I realized exactly why I love him.
Yesterday was the 5K I ran for June. As you may know, I have run one 5K every month since October 2010. Yesterday I finished my 9th. Wow. Nine. That's a lot.
That's not why I love Vic.
It was one of the most enjoyable 5K's I've run. It was at sunrise on the beach. Sounds romantic, right? Sunrise in June is the only time you can run without getting heat stroke. But it was still pretty frigging hot.
I haven't done a lot of running on the beach. It's more challenging that running on the road. For one thing, you have to scoot around to find sand that's not too soft. We were kinda zig-zagging all over the place. I am pretty sure we covered more than 3.1 miles. Felt like 10.
I was proud of myself becasue I ran the whole first half no problem. At the turn around, I was running pretty close to the water. By then my feet were sore and hot, but I still had more than a mile to go. A wave came in and soaked my feet.
I wasn't happy to have my expensive shoes all wet, but lemme tell ya -- that water felt GOOD!
I kept running in & out of the water, until my shoes got so waterlogged it was like running with 15 lb weights on my feet. Gabe makes me run with 15 lbs weights on my feet, so I know what I am talking about.
It was the beach. The water felt good. My shoes were heavy. I was going slow.
I figured "Fuggit -- I'm taking my shoes off". So I did.
Running in bare feet in the soft South Texas surf felt WONDERFUL.
That's not why I love Vic.
I love him because he put on this 5K to help the victims of the Mississippi Floods.
He raised $800.
I realized yesterday that Vic is always doing that. He set up a scholarship for students to attend Del Mar College. He raised money for Tsunami victims. He participated in Toys for Tots. He hosted a run for Metro Ministries. He finds ways to raise money for those in need.
I love Vic because Vic is a giver.
He's not rich yet. He's still building his business. But he's not waiting until he has "extra" money to give. He gives now. I met Vic when he donated his services for the Mayor's Fitness Challenge last summer. The retail cost of that challenge was over $2000, just for me. We had 13 people in that challenge. Vic -- who was just opening his business -- essentially gave us $26,000.00.
So not only did Vic give me a safe and comfortable place to become my best physical self, he gave me and my community thousands of dollars.
Vic's business is growing. He and Gabe are expanding into another location, they are increasing their clientele, and they are bringing new and exciting services to our community. That's not an accident. The great sales and self-actualization guru Zig Ziglar said "You can have everything you want in life as long as you help other people get what they want in life." Vic is helping me get what I want in life. I hope he earns MILLIONS. Billions.
In fact -- if you live in South Texas, check out V-Fit. Take a couple of classes.
You will love Vic too.
 |
| My very first day working out with Vic |
 |
| Just one of many successes since I started working out with V-Fit |
Friday, June 3, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)