bluemonstrosity's Xanga

Friday, October 17, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:07:14 GMT

Wow it's been forever... Andi are you still reading my lame blog? Am I still on your left nav? I think I'll go check... ;)

Friday, March 16, 2007

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:30:05 GMT

Haha! My Irish Name...

Your Irish Name Is...

Michaela McKenna

What's your Irish Name?

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:25:24 GMT

Today is my 2nd Anniversary!!!! At work... Time flies. Can't believe I've been with this company for 2 years! I think that's the longest I've ever been in a company... Hmm maybe it's time to move on! Just kidding... Hmm....

Friday, January 19, 2007

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 22:00:49 GMT

I think today is the day of forwarded sappy emails... Or maybe it's just me?

A student asks a teacher, "What is love?"

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the wheat field and choose the biggest wheat and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick." The student went to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big wheat, but he wonders....may be there is a bigger one later. Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him. Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he start to realise that the wheat is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted. So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand. The teacher told him, "...this is love... you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realise, you have already miss the person...."*

*"What is marriage then?" the student asked.

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick." The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.

The teacher told him, "this time you bring back a corn.... you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get.... this is marriage."*

Friday, January 19, 2007

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:48:44 GMT

My friend fowarded this to me. One of those forwarded messages that I'm sure has been pass around way to many times but this makes me feel sappy... Or maybe it made my friend feel sappy and in turn I feel sappy too. Regardless I like this story. I hope I remember it and adhere to it.

Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant - Be Nice to People

At a TD Club meeting many years before his death, Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant told the following story, which was typical of the way he operated.

I had just been named the new head coach at Alabama and was off in my old car down in South Alabama recruiting a prospect who was supposed to have been a pretty good player and I was havin' trouble finding the place. Getting hungry I spied an old cinder block building with a small sign out front that simply said "Restaurant." I pull up, go in and every head in the place turns to stare at me. Seems I'm the only white fella in the place. But the food smelled good so I skip a table and go up to a cement bar and sit. A big ole man in a tee shirt and cap comes over and says, "What do you need?" I told him I needed lunch and what did they have today? He says, "You probably won't like it here, today we're having chitlins, collard greens and black eyed peas with cornbread. I'll bet you don't even know what chitlins are, do you?"

I looked him square in the eye and said, "I'm from Arkansas , I've probably eaten a mile of them. Sounds like I'm in the right place."

They all smiled as he left to serve me up a big plate.

When he comes back he says, "You ain't from around here then?" And I explain I'm the new football coach up in Tuscaloosa at the University and I'm here to find whatever that boy's name was and he says, yeah I've heard of him, he's supposed to be pretty good. And he gives me directions to the school so I can meet him and his coach. As I'm paying up to leave, I remember my manners and leave a tip, not too big to be flashy, but a good one. He told me lunch was on him, but I told him for a lunch that good, I felt I should pay.

The big man asked me if I had a photograph or something he could hang up to show I'd been there. I was so new that I didn't have any yet. It really wasn't that big a thing back then to be asked for, but I took a napkin and wrote his name and address on it and told him I'd get him one.

I met the kid I was lookin' for later that afternoon and I don't remember his name, but do remember I didn't think much of him when I met him. I had wasted a day, or so I thought. When I got back to Tuscaloosa late that night, I took that napkin from my shirt pocket and put it under my keys so I wouldn't forget it. Heck, back then I was excited that anybody would want a picture of me. And the next day we found a picture and I wrote on it, "Thanks for the best lunch I've ever had, Paul Bear Bryant." Now let's go a whole buncha' years down the road. Now we have black players at Alabama and I'm back down in that part of the country scouting an offensive lineman we sure needed. Y'all remember, (and I forget the name, but it's not important to the story), well anyway, he's got two friends going to Auburn and he tells me he's got his heart set on Auburn too, so I leave empty handed and go on see some others while I'm down there. Two days later, I'm in my office in Tuscaloosa and the phone rings and it's this kid who just turned me down, and he says, "Coach, do you still want me at Alabama ?"

And I said, "Yes, I sure do."

And he says, okay, he'll come.

And I say, "Well son, what changed your mind?"

And he said, "When my grandpa found out that I had a chance to play for you and said no, he pitched a fit and told me I wasn't going nowhere but Alabama and wasn't playing for nobody but you. He thinks a lot of you and has ever since y'all met."

Well, I didn't know his granddad from Adam's housecat so I asked him who his granddaddy was and he said, "You probly don't remember him, but you ate in his restaurant your first year at Alabama and you sent him a picture that he's had hung in that place ever since. That picture's his pride and joy and he still tells everybody about the day that Bear Bryant came in and had chitlins with him. My grandpa said that when you left there, he never expected you to remember him or to send him that picture, but you kept your word to him and to Grandpa, that's everything. He said you could teach me more than football and I had to play for a man like you, so I guess I'm going to."

I was floored. But I learned that the lessons my mama taught me were always right. It don't cost nuthin' to be nice. It don't cost nuthin' to do the right thing most of the time, and it costs a lot to lose your good name by breakin' your word to someone. When I went back to sign that young man, I looked up his Grandpa and he's still running that place, but it looks a lot better now. And he didn't have chitlins that day, but he had some ribs that woulda' made Dreamland proud. I made sure I posed for a lot of pictures, and don't think I didn't leave some new ones for him, too, along with a signed football. I made it clear to all my assistants to keep this story and these lessons in mind when they're out on the road.

And if you don't remember anything else from me, remember this: It really doesn't cost anything to be nice, and the rewards can be unimaginable.

Coach Bryant was in the presence of these few gentlemen for only minutes, and he defined himself for life, to these gentlemen, as a nice man.

Regardless of our profession, we do define ourselves by how we treat others, and how we behave in the presence of others, and most of the time, we have only minutes or seconds to leave a lasting impression - we can be rude, crude, arrogant, cantankerous, or we can be nice. Nice is always a better choice.

I like what Stephen Grellet, French/American religious leader (1773-1855) said, "I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again."

Monday, December 04, 2006

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:02:10 GMT

I'm getting a new phone. Yeah mine from almost 3 years ago finally is showing its age. So I'm finally upgrading! Of course that also means upgrading my plan which also means more MONEY!! But I was desperate and I need a phone so I went online and got one. Now bear in mind I've been a loyal Samsung customer since 2000. I feel so wrong to change. Sorry Samsung but you're been replaced with Sony Ericcson W300i.

It won't arrive for another few days so I have no idea how it'll be. I hope it kicks butt. I might actually have to give it a name! I hope my samsung lasts until my new phone arrives...

Monday, December 04, 2006

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:40:27 GMT

my year end plan - not that it was ever planned, well maybe in my head but now not a plan at all. so time for plan b. except plan b is really expensive. i have the xmas to new years off. i so want to go somewhere but i don't like traveling alone. been there done that and its gets boring. i don't know how some people do it. i can't. so i thought of adventure travel. i could do that alone. i'd be with a group of active people too. we'd be able to go snorkeling, hiking, climbing, white water rafting whatever the trip entailed. well i looked up some trips. they're like $1600 for 7 days, $2000 for 9 days. and on top of that about $1000 for airfare. so i don't think i need to blow my savings for that. so that calls for plan c or maybe plan d as well. plan c is maybe see if i can get some last minute travel deals and just go for a weekend somewhere. test myself on that travel alone thing. if its a short weekend, i think i'd be able to handle it. plan d - stay at home and revamp my life. so many things i haven't done and maybe i should. i have so many movies i haven't watched, i could do that. and there is looking at my 401k. my bro says my portfolio is not aggressive enough for a person my age so let's go get tough! and then maybe its time to move my ira to my 401k plan cause that ira is just not moving that much... and then there is thinking about opening up a brokage account and maybe play the stock market. probably not a good idea cause i don't know much about stocks... then there is catching up on my reading. lots of reading i need to do and want to do but haven't gotten into doing. and then maybe pick out a course i want to take that my company will reimburse for. and check out that pottery schedule and sign up for it. i'm not taking chinese anymore on thursdays so i believe there is pottery on thursdays at bhs - well need to check on that. so its either plan c or d. sad thing is, i don't think any of them will happen. i'd probably just end up vegging at home and channel surfing the tv. ugh - how depressing. damn cold and me not quite ready to go skiing yet. hmm maybe snow shoeing but that's hardly adrenaline fun. hmm maybe snow mobiling. hmm that might work. oh maybe there is a plan e! ha!

okay andi - i hope you're happy. all this blogging. i better stay on your left nav!

Friday, December 01, 2006

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:35:28 GMT

Can a person be weak and stubborn? If you're stubborn and you don't give in, does that make you strong?

ah crap i figured it out. if weakness out weight the stubburn then you're weak. i guess i'm weak.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:03:42 GMT

Aha! Fortune came true! I got a hug token!!! They are like rainbows... They make me smile. See =>

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 20:32:19 GMT

A great fortune from a fortune cookie (although not sure how its a fortune unless...)
"Hugs are life's rainbows"

Hehe - I need a HUG!!