Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect what you are Thankful for, here is my list:

1) I am thankful for daughter
2) I am thankful for my wife
3) I am thankful for my stepson
4) I am thankful for my house
5) I am thankful I have true friends
6) I am thankful they are getting a handle on what's been bugging my wife
7) I am thankful I have a job
8) I am thankful I don't have, or anyone in my family has a big ailment
9) I'm thankful I can volunteer
10) I am thankful for my parents
11) I am thankful for the little blessings often overlooked

Strange Days..

Past week my wife has been to three emergency rooms, two doctors office and an urgent care center. Means I've been to two emergency rooms, two doctors and an urgent care office as a spectator. In between that I've managed to put in 40 hour at the office, attend a board meeting, and work three hours in a unheated, cold warehouse.

Some of my friends write fiction, but why bother with that when reality is just as strange. Think you have stress at your job? What about an Emergency Room. That one is having a heart attack, that one is incoherent, that one is barely hanging on. Tough job. Tough situations. Not perfect. More like you'll live, don't know what it is, know it's not this and that, here is some medication, get out. Leaving with the same symptoms that they tell you to come back if you experience. Well at least in my wife's case. But it's better than, you won't live. Better than we know and it's bad.

The waiting is much better when your a spectator at the ER. I mean your not in pain so the hours pass much easier. You don't have to answer the questions and fill out the paper work which is a real bonus. However, I wish I new before hand I was going to an ER. Would have been better with a good book. Maybe I could bring a board game or a deck of cards next time. I'm sure all the people waiting wouldn't mind playing a game.

Well for now my wife is medicated, has some what of an idea of what is going on, and hopefully will get better.

Why do weekends go so fast?

It is like time goes fast forward from the time you leave work until Monday morning. I guess it has to do that since the slowest time is the last half hour of your work day. Friday night we visited some friends, Saturday I did my volunteer stuff(I have a cold now since I didn't wear enough layers), oh and I went to an open house for a company, and Sunday we helped a friend get ready for an interview. Being in the broke world kind of cuts down on the things you do over a weekend. However, I did spend some quality time with my daughter which is priceless.

I'm glad I have a job, stability is a great thing these days. It also takes the pressure away when you go for an interview or an open house. The open house was kind of weird to begin with as they were only looking for three positions. I prepared my resume, got dressed up, drove the 40 minutes or so down the road filled out the brief paper work and handed out a copy of my resume. I waited, finally a lady came out and said "we do see some industry experience but not the experience we are looking for, but we will keep your resume on file." I had some experience and if I had the interview I was confident I could do the job, but I did not get past the reception desk. I'm sure they will keep my resume on file, the circular file at least till the cleaning crew takes out the trash on Monday. Oh, well it was a good laugh...

Cold morning..

Should have worn a coat or something this morning. Winter appears to be here a month early. I started out this morning shortly after 5 in the predawn hour. I new it was going to be cold at midnight when I saw the clear skies. As, I passed through Boonsboro, the bank temperature said 19 degrees. I continued west to Hagerstown where I volunteer in an old warehouse. The old warehouse was a refrigerator today with no heat. Especially with the doors open at the loading area. It didn't really warm up either on the way back, the same bank temperature said 24. The Autumn Sun only warmed it up 5 degrees. Passing clouds brought scenic snow flurries blowing in the wind...

Death and Hospitals

What a week and it's only Wednesday...

Monday, I found out a person who used to work with us had passed a way. He was a good guy, he loved his family, sports and music. He had a bad winter last year, on one snow storm he wrecked his car in a ditch the very next storm he slipped on some ice and went to the hospital with a cuccusion. Then he was out of work and on disabbility, when that ran out so did he. I hope he was atleast able to watch the World Series and enjoy the Philadelphia Phillies championship. He would have enjoyed it. The Philadelphia teams were his favorite. We would talk around the office about football, hockey and baseball. Last year we even played Fantasy Football together. sHe loved his kids. He worked hard. 45 is way to young to go in this day in age. Maybe that is why t bugs me so much. I've seen a lot of people I know passed away this year. However, most of them were elderly. Much easier to understand that their time was up. 45 is a lot closer to my late 37. It makes you think what will happen when my time is up?

Anyway that was Monday. Tuesday I left work a little early since my wife stayed home sick. She wasn't feeling well and didn't feel up to driving. So, I drove her to the urgent care. Watching our daughter in the waiting room, while her middle school brother slept in the car. I saw an ambulance arrive to pick up a patient. I put my daughter in the car with her brother. Then I got a text message that they wanted my wife to go to the ER for more tests. Thankfully, the ambulance was not for my wife. We dropped off our kids at a nearby friends house, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and off to the ER we went. A few hours later she was released, even though they suggested keeping her overnight for observations. Today, I spent the day taking her to her specialist visits and filling prescriptions.

So now I get to wait for Thursday and Friday to top this!

November is going in Fast Forward

Wow! November is more than halfway gone. Most of the leaves are gone and the weather has turned cold.

I've been writing still, maybe not quite at the pace of last month.

One on the NL Cy Young Tim Lincecum, which is a pretty good story. A young guy, on a losing club wins the National League Cy Young.

Then of course my latest college football rankings. A relatively quiet college football weekend means not many changes.

I started writing on helium again. I tried my hand in one of their writing contest. I only was able to push out three articles, so I finished more in the middle of the pack. Oh well..

They were all on hiking. The best day hikes in Maryland is probably the best article of the bunch.

Well, I blog some more another day...

Veteran's Day

Tuesday is Veteran's Day, so I'm posting a little early. I offer a basic thank you for all the things the military does for us. I thank those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, may they be remembered as heroes. Thank them for whatever war, conflict, or accident which took their lives. I hope you take a moment once in a while to remember they were someones love ones.

Take a moment to remember the ones missing in action. May they come home safe and sound one day. If they have passed away, hope their bodies make it home.

Thank the Coast Guard for the criminals they pursue. Thank them for their heroeric rescues they perform. It could easily be your life or the life of some one you know. Thank them for keeping our coasts safe. They deserve a Thank You.

Thank the reservist or the member of the National Guard. Thank them for all they do when a Natural Disaster happens. Thank them for the sacrifices they make when our country calls them uip for active duty. Thank them for sacrificing their monthly weekends. Thank them for stepping up.

Thank the Navy, thank the Army, thank the Air Force and thank the Marines. Thank them for leaving their families behind while they go on their missions. Thank them for going into battle. Thank them for their losses. Thank them for their humanitarian missions which are often over looked. Thank them for how they help our community. Thank the Marines for their Toys for Tots mission.

Thank the ones who serve.

Old Blog 2- Books

Books of 2007

from myspace blog...part 2 of a buildup for my 2008 blog on what I've read

I've probably forgotten a few, but anyway here is what I read in 2007. I read an interesting, spirtitial christian book about borders, was given to us as a gift from my priest by an Irish writer. In Our Time by Hemmingway. Kipling's Captain Courageous. Andrew Todhunter's Dangerous Games, Peter Benchley's A Sharks Life, Hermann Hesse's Demian which I really enjoyed, Nashville:1864 by Madison Jones which was an enjoyable quick read, Zim: A Baseball Life by Don Zimmer, Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun by Bode Miller-hey, I am a skier, a couple of books by Bob Morris Bermuda Shwartz and Bahamarama- Caribean mysteries.

So, much for for shadowing, I still have a month and 2/3rds to add on to my ever growing list of 2008

Election Day is Here

I am glad Election Day is here! I've been writing a lot about the Presidential Election, mostly in West Virginia. It was pretty tough to write articles after a while. The writing has kept me pretty busy much of October and early November.

My latest include:

Despite West Virginia Polls, Battleground State Still Up For Grabs

West Virginia Presidential Polls: A Final Look

North Carolina Presidential Polls

I also did my weekly College Football Rankings, which was a nice break from politics. Check out my rankings here if you like.