and on that note, i believe it's time for me to step away for a while. thanks for reading (if you still are after my last few video adds) and i hope you enjoyed, or at least thought about some of the things mentioned, vented upon, and single-handidly discussed on this small little megaphone of a voice. i don't really have a time frame in place for the length of my digital departure...could be back next week, could be gone for good...not really sure. but i assume i'll find something eventually that i haven't already posted about...in the mean time, please enjoy this video...and when you think of me, think of me well. thanks!
4.30.2009
4.24.2009
The Longest Way
remember in the movie forrest gump, when the lead character played by tom hanks decides to just start running...and ends up running clear across the united states? well, as crazy and difficult as that may sound, it's not really that unbelievable. many people have decided to do this all over the world at one time or another, for one reason or another. some to raise political awareness, some to raise money for a charity or noteworthy cause, and still others (like forrest) simply because they could.well, i stumbled upon a story (see video below) about a young man who did something very similar, simply because he could. his name is christoph rehage, a 28 year old from hanover, germany. his goal was to walk from beijing to germany. now, while he may not have been treking across america, and he may have been keeping track of his distance traveled with the often confusing kilometer, he did grow a pretty sweet beard. click here for his website.
4.16.2009
Overpass
a crazy thing happened on my way to work today.
see, it started off as any other day. get up, shower, get dressed, feed dog, kiss wife goodbye, get in car, drive to work, etc. only, on that drive to work, something happened. i was driving along as i do every other day, listening to the radio, navigating moderate workday traffic, thinking about what meetings, projects and goals i had to accomplish, etc. when suddenly, something was different. i spotted someone walking toward my car. sounds fairly common, i know, except for the fact that i wasn't driving down a normal city street...i was on the highway...and an overpass at that.
i had reached the summit of a very large interchange and was driving along when suddenly i saw a person, a young man, walking up the overpass from the direction i was traveling towards...and i immediately felt uncomfortable about that. why would someone be walking up a large, traffic-filled overpass? out of gas was the only sane explanation that popped into my head, but that was quickly washed away because there are no gas stations on the top of an overpass ramp.
the alternative option kept flashing in my head, but i didn't want to think about that outcome...i did everything i could not to look back and not to ponder. i turned the radio up, in an attempt to drown out my own thoughts. i distracted myself as best i could with radio programs and music all the way to the office. once at work, i sought other distractions to divert my conscience from what i had most likely been a part of. a coworker arriving a few minutes later confirmed my sorrowful thoughts...the young man who had just minutes before walked past my moving car was no more. my coworker said "did you hear that someone jumped from..." that's all he had to say... i knew... it was a long way down.
see, it started off as any other day. get up, shower, get dressed, feed dog, kiss wife goodbye, get in car, drive to work, etc. only, on that drive to work, something happened. i was driving along as i do every other day, listening to the radio, navigating moderate workday traffic, thinking about what meetings, projects and goals i had to accomplish, etc. when suddenly, something was different. i spotted someone walking toward my car. sounds fairly common, i know, except for the fact that i wasn't driving down a normal city street...i was on the highway...and an overpass at that.
i had reached the summit of a very large interchange and was driving along when suddenly i saw a person, a young man, walking up the overpass from the direction i was traveling towards...and i immediately felt uncomfortable about that. why would someone be walking up a large, traffic-filled overpass? out of gas was the only sane explanation that popped into my head, but that was quickly washed away because there are no gas stations on the top of an overpass ramp.
the alternative option kept flashing in my head, but i didn't want to think about that outcome...i did everything i could not to look back and not to ponder. i turned the radio up, in an attempt to drown out my own thoughts. i distracted myself as best i could with radio programs and music all the way to the office. once at work, i sought other distractions to divert my conscience from what i had most likely been a part of. a coworker arriving a few minutes later confirmed my sorrowful thoughts...the young man who had just minutes before walked past my moving car was no more. my coworker said "did you hear that someone jumped from..." that's all he had to say... i knew... it was a long way down.
4.08.2009
Stumble
isn’t it funny how we can just ‘stumble’ upon things now in this information age? for example, thanks to clustrmaps and sitemeter, i know that my blog has been visited 7,931 times in the past year and has 14,490 page views…i can only assume that a few of those are thanks to people ‘stumbling’ upon it (thanks google). how else would it explain hits from such countries as: serbia, ecuador, and the united republic of tanzania? i mean, the united states, canada, the united kingdom, even australia i could see, but the falkland islands, really? i don't even know where that is! 
regardless, that's a lot of people reading (or at least glancing as they quickly click out) the words that i have written. i better make sure my words don't cause me to stumble in the process...that's a lot of people who could get a bad first (and perhaps only) impression of who i am.
that being said, how often do we 'stumble' upon people in our lives who give us a wrong impression? how often are we the ones caught in the middle of a stumble, causing others to perhaps judge us prematurely? how many times can you stumble before that trait becomes who you are?
i think back to a story i heard a couple years ago by a man named mike, a great man after God's heart. he was telling a group of us one day about a time he fell short...and the simple recollection of that instance all this time later brought this man to tears. his story was taken in as an everyday occurence by some, but i'd like to think that his words had a great impact on me (it must of if i'm still recalling it). see, he had a short lapse in judgement, a momentary glitch in his love and grace meter while being frustrated in traffic...and he allowed those frustrations to get the best of him. he yelled from the safety of his air conditioned car and motioned at the driver who had just cut him off, and he told us that at that moment he knew that he could no longer share the Gospel with this individual...he had blown any chance he may have had.
now, of course that is only some what true. i mean sure, he could have followed the man home (hoping not to appear like a stalker and have the cops called on him, of course), and explain that he had messed up, that he was sorry for his anger, etc. and through that action shared the love of Jesus, but i think you understand what i'm trying to say. the point is, sometimes we don't get a second chance, we don't get a redo...when we stumble, people see. of course, we all do it. (i do it all the time...which my wife can most certainly attest to.)
here's where i'm going with this: are you aware of your stumbles, even before they happen? are you stumbling without remorse? are you seeking accountability for the things that you fall over time and time again? are you truly aware of what's at stake?
"selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
-oscar wilde
regardless, that's a lot of people reading (or at least glancing as they quickly click out) the words that i have written. i better make sure my words don't cause me to stumble in the process...that's a lot of people who could get a bad first (and perhaps only) impression of who i am.
that being said, how often do we 'stumble' upon people in our lives who give us a wrong impression? how often are we the ones caught in the middle of a stumble, causing others to perhaps judge us prematurely? how many times can you stumble before that trait becomes who you are?
i think back to a story i heard a couple years ago by a man named mike, a great man after God's heart. he was telling a group of us one day about a time he fell short...and the simple recollection of that instance all this time later brought this man to tears. his story was taken in as an everyday occurence by some, but i'd like to think that his words had a great impact on me (it must of if i'm still recalling it). see, he had a short lapse in judgement, a momentary glitch in his love and grace meter while being frustrated in traffic...and he allowed those frustrations to get the best of him. he yelled from the safety of his air conditioned car and motioned at the driver who had just cut him off, and he told us that at that moment he knew that he could no longer share the Gospel with this individual...he had blown any chance he may have had.
now, of course that is only some what true. i mean sure, he could have followed the man home (hoping not to appear like a stalker and have the cops called on him, of course), and explain that he had messed up, that he was sorry for his anger, etc. and through that action shared the love of Jesus, but i think you understand what i'm trying to say. the point is, sometimes we don't get a second chance, we don't get a redo...when we stumble, people see. of course, we all do it. (i do it all the time...which my wife can most certainly attest to.)
here's where i'm going with this: are you aware of your stumbles, even before they happen? are you stumbling without remorse? are you seeking accountability for the things that you fall over time and time again? are you truly aware of what's at stake?
"selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
-oscar wilde
4.07.2009
Work vs. Internet - Part II
in keeping with yesterday's theme of giving yourself a little down time at work, here is a 4 minute video that i am sure will truly inspire you to be more productive in the workplace. (sorry to those who can't watch youtube videos at work...have you shown your boss yesterdays research yet!)
note: check out the lady's reaction at the 1:20 mark. from her expression you'd think she was being forced to watch an assult and battery or sir mix a lot's baby got back video. old people are awesome!
note: check out the lady's reaction at the 1:20 mark. from her expression you'd think she was being forced to watch an assult and battery or sir mix a lot's baby got back video. old people are awesome!
4.06.2009
Work vs. Internet
according to a recent study by the universtity of melborne (click here), it actually pays to surf the internet at work. this study concludes that employees who use office time to goof off online for a total of less than 20% of their average work day actually increase productivity by 9%. now, i'm no mathematician, but if you spend an entire 8-hour day knocking off online, that should increase your work productivity by a whopping 45%! wait...that's probably not right.regardless, enjoy some web browsing on office time. and if your boss questions your work productivity, tell him that updating your fantasy baseball team and checking your latest bids for stun guns, italian soccer jerseys and mortuary supplies on ebay is actually good for the company. and if that works, let me know if your office is hiring!
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