Obsessions...

So I am completely obsessed with the band Angels & Airwaves... I really loved there first album, "We Don't Need to Whisper", other than one song "It Hurts" (sorry guys, but it's annoying). Anyway... I've been working on a proposal all week and when I'm doing things that require focus, I put on my headphones and listen to music. Most people can't comprehend that, but it's true. I can focus better on the task at hand when I get music going in the background and it's all I can hear. Even when I was programming, it worked for me.

Monday, I downloaded the new Angels album, I-Empire, and I must say that its TOTALLY AWESOME!!! I listen to it all the way through without any skipping of songs and have done so about 4 times a day all week... Not even close to being sick of it :-)

Also, I went out to the band's website (Angels & Airwaves link) and poked around. Pretty cool how and why they came together... Read Tom's bio to get better insight on their motivation as it's positive and kinda inspiring considering the music industry these days.

Not only have I had a great album occupying my time and interest, but I also started receiving Discover magazine this week. Really awesome and probably the first mag in a long time where I truly go through it reading every article. If you are enjoy programs on the Discovery Channel... you would really enjoy reading this magazine.

What is also really great about it is that it is current. The stories/articles are much more recent than what is on the TV because they don't need 6 months (or more) of shooting, editing, planning, etc... It's great to feel your keeping up with what the most intelligent people in the world are doing (and even better, what they are trying to do!!!)

Anyway, I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas holiday! I hope you all get to spend time with the ones you love (and get some excellent gifts as well)!! As for me, the wife, baby Brady and I will be hopping back and forth between the families trying not to eat 2 of every meal...

- MC

How do you do it???

OK People!!! How do you maintain this constant commitment to blogging??? My wife is an expert, but I don't think I can do it.

It would be somewhat easier if it was anonymous and I could really say anything I wanted. I know that my wife has edited herself because she found out that some people were reading her blog that she wasn't aware of. (I think there was only 1 foot-in-the-mouth experience though)...

Anyway, I know that I'm not going to be the blog-master, but I'm going to continue to try and write when I can. AND... TO ALL YOU CONSTANT BLOGGERS... I give you props, cause I can't play at your level. :-)

Side Note...

I'll be traveling off and on for work and I thought that it would be cool to ask all of you out there to help me find stuff to do, places to eat, etc... at my destinations.

Here are my upcomming trips...

Long Island, NY - and hopefully the city for at least a day!!!

Los Angeles, CA - last time I stayed in Universal City, but it was a short trip with no time to venture out... Next time I hope to be able to see the city a bit more... ALSO, I will have a car so not a big deal to have to drive... (other than the insane traffic!!!)

Pittsburgh, PA - I will be going back here fairly regularly as this is where my company is located.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Haven't been... any ideas??? it will be Winter...

Boston, MA - Never been but REALLY looking forward to this one!!! Huge conference for work and this is certainly a place that everyone RAVES about... only thing is that I'm not going if there are Baby delivery conflicts!!!! :-)

That's all for now, but I'll add more places as they are scheduled...

TV Idiots

Linking to "Your Beard is Good" as he prompted this rant... Thanks Valley Girl for the read!

Wife and I were watching Biggest Loser last night. The challenge is a triathlon. 24K. 20K bike, 3K run and 1K swim. They phase down the contestants 6 fastest to bike move on... 3 fastest to run move on to swim then the winner is found. So here's where the idiots stepped in...

After you finished each leg, you had to wait till all the others finished and then everyone started the next leg together... One girl was a skilled swimmer. She hung in BARELY through the 1st 2 legs and KILLED the others on the swim even though they had an easy 5 + MINUTES on her if they had just kept going from the start LIKE ANY REAL triathlon would be!!!

Kae or Bill should have one. TV Producers are IDIOTS sometimes!!! Go to Beard to hear about similar stupid-ness on Beauty and the Geek.

-MC

Dishwasher Diaries...

So today the part for the dishwasher comes in and I was excited beyond belief... I jump on the phone to the service company so they can come install it and they said tomorrow at the earliest. Well, a bit frustrated I say fine (I mean it's already like 2:00 when I call them). Then, I go down to pull the part out of the box to make sure it's the right one and it is... BUT the wiring inside is broken and they have to send the whole thing over again. I tried figuring a way to use the existing wiring, but no good... it's all built into the plastic and won't work. SO... It will now be Friday when the part gets here as I talked them into overnighting another one... Now I have to call the service company back to get them here Friday for sure... I guess I'm stuck doing at least one more load by hand :-(

- MC

Excitement Got Me Thinking...

about the days many years ago when I had dropped out of college (where I did most of the things that would haunt me for years to come...), had no clue of who I was or wanted to be, and was just existing. I waited tables, drank, smoked, numbing myself with that and trying have a good time. I didn't know how I had gotten to the place I was mentally, developing as a person... My family always directed my life and I was too naive to know that wouldn't work. I figured that out the hard-way and before I started taking care of myself, I just existed... in this haze of looking back trying desperately to find out what went wrong and why I didn't see my life as I should have... Resentment filled me... to all those who said they loved me, but I didn't feel that they had every really cared about what I wanted for myself, just what they wanted for me. It would take a long time to get through all of this... I wanted a way out, but I could not find it.

Back then, Siamese Dream (the Pumpkins' second album), was a staple and as I said in my previous blog... Mayonaise really struck a chord in me. Excited and thinking about the show this weekend, I went and read the lyrics to that song which brought these thoughts out... and in reading these lyrics, it was easy to see why I felt (and still feel) this way about Mayo.

"Fool enough to almost be it
Cool enough to not quite see it
Doomed
Pick your pockets full of sorrow
And run away with me tomorrow
June

We'll try and ease the pain
But somehow we'll feel the same
Well, no one knows
Where our secrets go

I send a heart to all my dearies
When your life is so, so dreary
Dream
I'm rumored to the straight and narrow
While the harlots of my perils
Scream

And I fail
But when I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will

Mother weep the years I'm missing
All our time can't be given
Back
Shut my mouth and strike the demons
That cursed you and your reasons
Out of hand and out of season
Out of love and out of feeling
So bad

When I can, I will
Words defy the plans
When I can, I will

Fool enough to almost be it
And cool enough to not quite see it
And old enough to always feel this
Always old, I'll always feel this

No more promise no more sorrow
No longer will I follow
Can anybody hear me
I just want to be me
When I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will"

When you have a few minutes, listen to this song in the player on this page. It's so much more moving with the music.

- MC

Smashing Pumpkins Baby!!!

I've been dying to see the Pumpkins forever as they are one of my all-time favorite bands!!! I get to see them this Sunday and the seats are AWESOME!!! I pray they play Mayonaise as it is seriously one of my fav. songs of all-time!


"Tonight, Tonight (AOL Sessions)"



Rock On!
- MC

Country Music???

So my father-in-law promised his 12 yr old son (same marriage, they just waited FOREVER to have their second child) that he would take him to this country music concert put on by CMT. He then remembered at the last minute that he had already made plans and asked my wife and I to take her little brother in his place.

Now what's funny is that I am a born and bred Texan who is not a country music fan. I lost that interest a LONG time ago. My wife's family is from Long Island, NY but live in the Dallas area now. Her little brother LOVES country music and I guess he has converted his father... SO... We go to this concert tonight and to be honest, I was not really looking forward to it. Not just because of the music, but the Bud Light guzzling red-necks that would be joining us!!! There were a few idiots there (no surprise), BUT I have to admit that country music has changed DRASTICALLY since I listened to it last and my wife and I both really enjoyed it!

Don't worry, I won't be buying boots or a Stetson... but I certainly do have a greater appreciation for what country music has become! Our favorite band at the show... Little Big Town... just in case you want to check them out. Un-believable harmonies!!!

Off the subject - MY COWBOYS ARE GOING TO KILL THE WIFE'S GIANTS TODAY!!!!!

- MC

A bottle of wine... and I'm doing fine.

I needed a drink last night... so I had one... then 2... then, well you know... the bottle was empty :-) I'm up early, feelin' good with no headache to speak of!!! With that, I bid ye all a fair day!

- MC

Dishes Done... by hand :(

So I finally broke down and did the mound of dishes by hand as the warranty people couldn't fix the damn thing yesterday... It's been 6 days now since it crapped-out and we still haven't heard if the part can be picked up or if it will take time to order it. I know I'm just not "skilled" at washing by hand, but it took FOREVER... Anyways, here's hoping that the part is in-stock and can be installed today!!! Wish us luck! Till then... Our dishwasher is an extremely glorified drying rack...

- MC

Ralph Waldo Emerson...

So I was watching one of my favorite shows last night, Good Eats, and Alton Brown quoted Emerson... Now I was never an avid reader, but luckily my wife is and has helped me appreciate literature. I'm still an infant when it comes to reading, but am working on getting books under my belt (my wife says slowly though as she reads 5 or 6 books to my 1 ;-). Anyway, the reason this quote hit home with me is that it pretty much describes me perfectly!!!

"There is always a best way of doing everything, if it be to boil an egg." - Emerson

Ok... so it's a cooking show, but I think one of the reasons I like it so much is that Alton talks about the science behind it which my analytical mind eats up. In almost every episode, he shows that there really is a "best" way of cooking and he tells you why.

So, part of my personality (one that frustrates my loving wife to NO END!!!) is that I always think of things in that same way. In my mind, there's almost always is a "best" way of doing things. I hate this part of me sometimes because it really makes things frustrating for people around me. My wife has helped me greatly with letting go when it's something silly, but it doesn't mean my head still hurts from seeing it done the "wrong" way!!! I'm pretty sure this trait is just part of me, but my mom is the same way so I'm sure it's learned as well.

Anyone else have the same personality trait where they feel like there is always a "best" way of doing everything? When it frustrates you to see someone fill the dishwasher in-efficiantly and you just want to re-do the whole thing??? Maybe you are stuck riding in a car with someone who just is NOT taking the "best" route to where you are going and you just want to rip the wheel out of their hand!!! LOL

Well, let me hear your stories so I don't feel like I'm alone here!!!

Off this subject... I leave you with a few really cool Emerson quotes I found...

"Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old."

"A friend is one before whom I may think aloud." - I LOVE this one!!!

"We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related, the eternal ONE. And this deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and the object, are one. We see the world piece by piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these are shining parts, is the soul." - OK Seriously... how many times did you have to read this??? or did you just give up? ;-)

"To be great is to be misunderstood."

"None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."

- MC

Paul Potts

So my wife and her Dad totally got me turned on to amazing singers like Andrea Bocelli as they are solid Italians through and through!!! I have loved listening to these amazing singers even though I have absolutely NO CLUE what they are saying... As my wife is obsessed with watching Oprah every day, I get to partake in the show whether I like it or not. I reluctantly admit that some of the shows and topics are very interesting and I find myself hooked to the TV when that happens.

Yesterday, Oprah's show was about You Tube and it was AWESOME! They had the Evolution of Dance guy on there who is HILARIOUS!!! They had some couple dancing like Patrick Swayze nd then Mr Swayze shows up which I found HORRIBLE... BUT then they talk about this guy who won Britain's Got Talent, Paul Potts. They go on to say how he was a mobile phone salesman who ?secretly? sang OPERA??? What the hell? How you can be a "closet" opera singer is beyond me, but then they show is 1st audition on YouTube!!! UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!!! I mean, I got his debut CD online (on my secret Russian website where song downloads are super cheap!!! YOU WILL SO THANK ME FOR THIS!!!) and his album is really BAD-A#*!

Anyway, use the links in this post and check out the YouTube... If you love awesome singers, he'll blow you away... and if you get real lucky, maybe hook you up with the latest Nokia or Motorola!!! LOL

Google Ads...

Well, It looks like we all need to be careful of the AI in Google Ads...

I glance at my blog this morning to find out that because I used the word "A-ffai-r" in my title to describe an occasion or event, Google thought I was speaking of ad-ultry!!! D*mn that's pretty hilarious if you ask me! I was cracking up at the fact that a Wife Sp-y ad came up on my page!!! Need a PI to dig up some dirt on your better half??? So anyway, as you see in this post, I will now have to hide any "questionable" words so when they are looked at by Google Ads, I don't get questionable crap coming up on my page.

So for all of you using Google Ads... be aware of your word usage because computers won't take anything in context and you just might find yourself advertising adul-t dia-pers if you simply say someone "depend-s" on you!!!

A Sorrowful Afternoon...

My wife and I went to a Life Celebration today for the wife of an ex-coworker of hers.

I really need to preface my comments on the ceremony with some background on a few things... and sorry for the randomness of these thoughts, but it's hard to give a fully coherent description all at once.

First, the company my wife used to work for is, in general, full of pretty superficial people who can barely spell ethics or morality. I know it sounds harsh, but it's true. The ex-coworker who's wife just passed last week is basically the opposite of what you would expect from people at this company. He and his wife, who I'm sorry to say I never got to know, are people of obvious and amazing moral fiber. They are a couple strongly rooted in Christian values and have both utterly and completely devoted their lives to Christ. In what little time I did spend with this co-worker of my wife's, it was apparent that he was about as good of a person that you could find. Always giving, caring and there for you if you needed him.

He actually reminds me of my father. Not in looks, but in personality who I have grown to respect greatly in recent years. This brings me to the second piece of information that I need to share with you... I was raised in a strict Baptist home and until I was in my Sophomore year in High School, I really thought that the Christian life was the only way to live. Not that I was so naive to believe that there were not people out there living other ways (the news can teach 5 yr. old that!), but I grew up with people raised a certain way and those friends and their families were all that I knew. My eyes began to open in HS, but I must say that it happened slowly at first. Soon, I figured out that what I was taught and believed in was really not how most people lived... Not my parents, not my friends, or their parents... (Not to mention that out of all people who call themselves religious, Christianity represents under %40). It was like I became aware of the reality of sin, hypocrisy and the lack of truth in those I trusted all at once. I quickly gained extreme annimosity towards my parents, and later to so many others. It hit me at home much harder than anywhere else because that is where I felt most betrayed. I became rebellious and as I left home to go off to college, I vowed to myself that I would no longer be told truth, but would find it myself.

In order to find truth, I needed knowledge... and LOTS of it!!! I only knew one way of living, one set of values and it wasn't that I dissagreed with them... I just didn't come up with them myself. I needed to learn. About people. About lifestyles. About options. About all religious faiths. Only then could I come up with how and who I wanted to be.

So... Let me get to how this relates to today... As I sat for 2 1/2 hours listening to how amazing this woman was and how abruptly she was taken. I heard about the ways in which she enriched the lives of those around her. I was inspired by comments that described her to not be perfect, but as close to Christ-like as people could imagine. Now, I am still not an avid church goer and still have serious problems with man-made organized religion, but I have come to terms with my faith enough to be ok with the fact that I do believe in a higher power... That being a good, righteous, moral or "whatever you want to call it" person is the right thing and something that I will continue to aspire to be.

In hearing the descriptions of the life of this amazing woman, I am encouraged. Encouraged by the fact that she proved something to all of us... That although we as human beings are not good by nature (as I will never believe we are), we can make the commitment to ourselves, mankind and our "higher power" that we will conciously make an effort to be good and to do good... In our own lifes and the lives of those around us... Whatever that means, in the end, we CAN succeed.

Virgin Blog - Introduction

Well... Here we go.

This is my first official blog!!! My wife has become completely addicted to this and says that it is a great way to express thoughts, opinions and to generally get things off her chest.

For me, I think it will help get stuff out of my head even if documenting what craziness is coming from my brain ;)

So... With that said, Let me introduce myself. I am happily married to a beautiful woman who is carrying our 1st child. We are at 15 wks and are so excited to become parents!!!

We are both musicians at heart although neither of us make a living that way. We are in a band together where she sings and I play the bass and we both share in the writing. Unfortunately, we lost our drummer to med school recently... Pretty good timing though as the wife can't really be playing the smokey joints that requires.

I work in IT and just switched from development / architecture to sales. Been an interesting transition and I can already say that I truly enjoy the travel and customer relationship building piece of sales, BUT I am already missing the brain workouts required to do the heavy coding and architecture of these complicated systems.

I have been in the Medical IT arena since I graduated and let me tell you... if you like to work your mind; this is a great way to do it. The complexities of the business logic are extreme, but I really love the extreme challenges that come with that ever-changing territory.

Anyway... I will continue to share my thoughts as randomly as they occur and I hope to find others that were given an over-analytical mind that works constantly... trying desperately to figure out the great complexities of this world we all live in!