My grandmother is always telling me not to get older. And I always remind her that there is nothing we can do to stop it. Well this weekend I was reminded of why I don't I always like the effects of getting older.
On the 4th of July I was at a friend’s house for a BBQ and during the time that fireworks were going on around the city we found our way to a park close to her house. Because Chrissy lives on the west side of town we could see firework shows from all across town – including the ones from Coors field in downtown Denver after the Rockies game. (For those who don’t live in Denver and this isn’t obvious the elevation on the west side of town is higher as you get up next to the foothills so from that park you could see a over most of the Denver area.) The park had swings so we got on the swings and started swinging while watching fireworks. Initially I was reminded of Suzanne’s list of the 10 things she wants to do before she dies and one of the things on her list being running outside and playing in the rain. Swinging is something that is fun that you loved as a child and it is easy to as an adult but you rarely find yourself in a place to do it. But then after about 15 minutes I found the chains digging into my hips and it made them hurt enough to bother me and make me consider stopping. (Chrissy’s theory was that they are now just making swings smaller rather than our hips now as adults being much larger than they were when we were kids. And then I realized that was feeling a bit sick to my stomach and realized it was from swinging. Which I find very weird because I don’t suffer from motion sickness at all. Hopefully this doesn't become I new thing that start to experience.
I don’t like getting older and I don’t want to turn 30 in a few months but like I tell my grandmother we don’t have a choice so I guess I just have to deal with and hopefully with a positive attitude.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
It's Raining!
This weekend I have had quite a few conversations about rain and our absolute lack of it here in Denver. In fact one friend called me just to say "Look, it's raining. Hopefully it will last more than 15 minutes." And also Suz's post about playing out in the rain has made me think about how few opportunities I have had to do that this year. The last time it rained here was probably three weeks ago when it hailed for about 10 minutes and then rained for about 5 minutes. Right now it has been raining for at least 20 minutes. This is an exciting event in Denver. Those of you in Michigan, Texas or Florida can go ahead roll your eyes at me.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Technologically Deprived
Do you every feel like God is laughing at you? Well, recently I have had that feeling.
Last weekend my pastor talked about giving up TV and the Internet for a month. He didn't mention it as challenge but something he had done a few months ago and he talked about some of the benefits of it. I decided to go ahead and do the TV end of it, especially since BSF ended I have found myself turning on the TV and then just not turning it off even though there is nothing worth watching on and then I end up wasting a lot of time. But I did have a stipulation ~ if there was something on that I wanted to watch I was going to watch that one show. But I decided against giving up the Internet because I thought all I really do on the Internet is read my friends blogs and recently I have become started to look at news sites pretty frequently and I thought what is the harm in that.
Apparently God had something else in mind. I got home from work Wednesday and I couldn't get an Internet signal so I turned on the TV and I got the same thing ~ nothing! So when Comcast came out to figure out the problem it turns out the cable running from the box on the side of my building to my townhouse got cut, probably by the lawn care guys. Anyway, normally they would just throw down a new cable and have someone else come out and bury it later but because I am in a townhouse they can't do that. There are 3 townhouses between me and the box and therefore 3 sidewalks and that would be a trip hazard. So Comcast is suppose to come out and place a new cable and bury on July 9. JULY 9TH! Without cable I get one channel and all I have seen on it is Matlock and Tellabuddies, not that matters but the sound is too fuzzy to actually hear anything. So now I get survive 2 weeks without any TV or Internet. All weekend I kept thinking "The whole world around Denver could blow up and I would never know it." I couldn't even check the weather. By Sunday afternoon I decided to come to work and check my email and the news sites to make sure nothing did blow up. It is bad enough that my cell phone hardly works in my house but now I have nothing else. For the functional technology I have in my home it could be the 1950's.
So now I am waiting to see what God is going to teach me through all this. Maybe just the idea that I can survive without it? We'll see. July 9th seems like a long way away still and I know at some point during the holiday weekend I will come into the office to check my email and double check that the world around Denver didn't blow up. If you hear of something you think I need to know about please call. (But be forewarned my cell phone will probably drop you ~ several times if we give it the opportunity.)
Last weekend my pastor talked about giving up TV and the Internet for a month. He didn't mention it as challenge but something he had done a few months ago and he talked about some of the benefits of it. I decided to go ahead and do the TV end of it, especially since BSF ended I have found myself turning on the TV and then just not turning it off even though there is nothing worth watching on and then I end up wasting a lot of time. But I did have a stipulation ~ if there was something on that I wanted to watch I was going to watch that one show. But I decided against giving up the Internet because I thought all I really do on the Internet is read my friends blogs and recently I have become started to look at news sites pretty frequently and I thought what is the harm in that.
Apparently God had something else in mind. I got home from work Wednesday and I couldn't get an Internet signal so I turned on the TV and I got the same thing ~ nothing! So when Comcast came out to figure out the problem it turns out the cable running from the box on the side of my building to my townhouse got cut, probably by the lawn care guys. Anyway, normally they would just throw down a new cable and have someone else come out and bury it later but because I am in a townhouse they can't do that. There are 3 townhouses between me and the box and therefore 3 sidewalks and that would be a trip hazard. So Comcast is suppose to come out and place a new cable and bury on July 9. JULY 9TH! Without cable I get one channel and all I have seen on it is Matlock and Tellabuddies, not that matters but the sound is too fuzzy to actually hear anything. So now I get survive 2 weeks without any TV or Internet. All weekend I kept thinking "The whole world around Denver could blow up and I would never know it." I couldn't even check the weather. By Sunday afternoon I decided to come to work and check my email and the news sites to make sure nothing did blow up. It is bad enough that my cell phone hardly works in my house but now I have nothing else. For the functional technology I have in my home it could be the 1950's.
So now I am waiting to see what God is going to teach me through all this. Maybe just the idea that I can survive without it? We'll see. July 9th seems like a long way away still and I know at some point during the holiday weekend I will come into the office to check my email and double check that the world around Denver didn't blow up. If you hear of something you think I need to know about please call. (But be forewarned my cell phone will probably drop you ~ several times if we give it the opportunity.)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Let's Go Red Wings!
So this is a little late and I considered not doing this post at all but I decided to go forward with it. To celebrate I thought I would share some of my favorite photos, quotes and tidbits of information that that I have found since they won.
So this is the traditional photo of the team on the ice with the cup. As a side note, I spent time looking for Steve in this photo and couldn't find him. I later read that he didn't think it was his place to go down on the ice after they won so he didn't. Honorable but I find it rather annoying.
Henrik Zetterberg with the Conn Symthe (given to MVP of the playoffs) during the parade. I like his use of it as a hat.
Russ and I like to joke about the Red Wings being the Swedish National Team because they have quite a few Swedish players. Here are the Swedish Red Wings (that played in the playoffs, there are actually few more who didn't play so not in this picture) with the trophies the Wings had won up to that point. So the players are (left to right) Tomas Holstrom, Andreas Lilja, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Niklas Kronwall, and Johan Franzen. And I had to do some research on this one but the trophies are (left to right) the Jennings (given to the goalie(s) who gave up the fewest goals during the regular season), the Campbell Bowl (given to Western Conference champions), Stanley, the President's Trophy (given to the team with the best record in the regular season), and the Conn Symthe (again given to the MVP of the playoffs). You really have to watch hockey to realize what an accomplishment it is to win all of these in a single season.
This picture is actually from game 4 (I think) of the finals. It freaks me out - I have nightmares about this kind of thing but I like the picture.
This is Pavel Datsyuk with the 2 trophies he won at the NHL awards on Thursday night. The one on the left is the Lady Byng (given for the most gentlemanly conduct) and the on the trophy on the right is the Selke (given to the player to the most defensive forward). He took the puck away from an opposing player 144 times during the regular season which is 82 games long. That is impressive, it is really impressive to watch do it. And again you have to really watch hockey to realize just how good he is.
So this is the traditional photo of the team on the ice with the cup. As a side note, I spent time looking for Steve in this photo and couldn't find him. I later read that he didn't think it was his place to go down on the ice after they won so he didn't. Honorable but I find it rather annoying.
Henrik Zetterberg with the Conn Symthe (given to MVP of the playoffs) during the parade. I like his use of it as a hat. 
Russ and I like to joke about the Red Wings being the Swedish National Team because they have quite a few Swedish players. Here are the Swedish Red Wings (that played in the playoffs, there are actually few more who didn't play so not in this picture) with the trophies the Wings had won up to that point. So the players are (left to right) Tomas Holstrom, Andreas Lilja, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Niklas Kronwall, and Johan Franzen. And I had to do some research on this one but the trophies are (left to right) the Jennings (given to the goalie(s) who gave up the fewest goals during the regular season), the Campbell Bowl (given to Western Conference champions), Stanley, the President's Trophy (given to the team with the best record in the regular season), and the Conn Symthe (again given to the MVP of the playoffs). You really have to watch hockey to realize what an accomplishment it is to win all of these in a single season.
This picture is actually from game 4 (I think) of the finals. It freaks me out - I have nightmares about this kind of thing but I like the picture.
This is Pavel Datsyuk with the 2 trophies he won at the NHL awards on Thursday night. The one on the left is the Lady Byng (given for the most gentlemanly conduct) and the on the trophy on the right is the Selke (given to the player to the most defensive forward). He took the puck away from an opposing player 144 times during the regular season which is 82 games long. That is impressive, it is really impressive to watch do it. And again you have to really watch hockey to realize just how good he is.
When I went to the Wings-Avs game during round 2 of the play-offs it occurred to me that I haven't picked a new favorite player since Steve retired and Pavel is in currently in the lead. You don't get to hear him talk very often because he isn't very good at English. Here are a few example from the Detroit Free Press:
Datsyuk left the awards show with a good joke. Asked what he'd done the past
week, he was quick with a reply.
"I try to ask my wife because I not remember," Datsyuk said. "I remember party, but don't remember how I wake up at home."
Just as long as you didn't drive home Pavel.
And on Thursday night for the first time they gave out a new award for a lifetime achievement award in hockey - and it was given to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe. They had a great little clip on him which can be seen on the Detroit Red Wings website if you actually interested.
And lastly Chris Osgood and Nick Lidstrom were on Jay Leno last week. I thought it was pretty funny - you can watch it here if you would like to. http://ballhype.com/video/red_wings_bring_stanley_cup_on_leno/
And hockey withdrawl has already began because now there is nothing new going on and the Detroit papers have nothing to say about hockey.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Anxiety
Tonight's hockey game was suppose to be the first Wings game I watched from start to finish without worrying about all the other things I should have been doing. But rather I was so anxious and nervous I couldn't sit and watch. Initially I thought there was something I was suppose to be doing that I was forgetting about but after walking around the house and making sure there wasn't anything that needed urgent attention I thought that I was just that nervous about the hockey game. But really, the Wings are up 3-0 in the series and are the better team so even if they lose this game I am not worried about them losing this series. (They have now lost the game but I am still not that worried. Maybe a little but still more confident than worried.)
I like to think and clear my head and pray while I walk so I decided go for a walk. So got up left and went for a walk (during a playoff hockey game!) and it took me about 30 seconds to realize that I am worried about a phone I received at work tomorrow which revealed a mistake I made in a job I designed. And tomorrow I will go to a meeting on the job site by myself - this will be the first time I have to go to a meeting of significance to work out a problem without my manager with me.
As I prayed through my fears of every possible situation that would end very badly I thought "Okay this isn't going to go perfectly and it maybe a total disaster but even in the worst possible scenario I won't lose my job over it and I will probably learn something from it." Then I was able to pray that I would learn and grow in my ability to handle these situations which is growth that will benefit me in my personal and professional life. So I am now much more calm than I was about an hour ago. The amazing power of prayer which I admit I overlook way to often. Another lesson to be learned.
I like to think and clear my head and pray while I walk so I decided go for a walk. So got up left and went for a walk (during a playoff hockey game!) and it took me about 30 seconds to realize that I am worried about a phone I received at work tomorrow which revealed a mistake I made in a job I designed. And tomorrow I will go to a meeting on the job site by myself - this will be the first time I have to go to a meeting of significance to work out a problem without my manager with me.
As I prayed through my fears of every possible situation that would end very badly I thought "Okay this isn't going to go perfectly and it maybe a total disaster but even in the worst possible scenario I won't lose my job over it and I will probably learn something from it." Then I was able to pray that I would learn and grow in my ability to handle these situations which is growth that will benefit me in my personal and professional life. So I am now much more calm than I was about an hour ago. The amazing power of prayer which I admit I overlook way to often. Another lesson to be learned.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
A Hang Over
I always wonder about those who drink and then complain about a hang over. I always think, "You did it to yourself." Well, I did it to myself, but I didn't have a thing to drink. I got offered a ticket to Tuesday's Wings-Avs game here in Denver. I had a blast but all day yesterday I was exhausted, had a headache and a sore throat but it was so worth it. I have never come home from a hockey game with a sore throat that lasted a full day so I must have yelled much more than usual but I felt the need to remind all the Avs fans that started out the night a little on the arrogant side that there was a Wings fan in their mist. I don't think I was mean or arrogant but just serve as a little reminder. I never said anything negative about the Avs, I just cheered my team on. Also, it was a chance to yell all the things I yell at the TV in the same "room" as the players, not that they could hear anything I said.
And now I am going to go to bed even though tonight's game still has a full 20 minutes to play. We are up 3 games to none and have a 7-1 lead in the game. The Wings have been known to blow leads but I trust them to be able finish this one off. The guy who sits next to me at work is an Avs fan, I will just assume that he's not going to talk to me tomorrow but I won't make him.
And now I am going to go to bed even though tonight's game still has a full 20 minutes to play. We are up 3 games to none and have a 7-1 lead in the game. The Wings have been known to blow leads but I trust them to be able finish this one off. The guy who sits next to me at work is an Avs fan, I will just assume that he's not going to talk to me tomorrow but I won't make him.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Tagged
So Sabrina tagged me ~ I believe it was probably just to get me to post again after taking few months off. The task is to give 6 words that sum me up, at least for today. At first I started thinking of words that I hope I carry with me for the rest of my life but then I included a few others that I hope God will help me shed as he continues to help me grow. Or like Peter, it can be good or it bad, you just have to learn to control it. But again I will need some more help from God on that front.
- Aunt
- Loyal
- Passionate
- Awkward
- Stubborn
- Student
And as a bonus, for the moment I would say gleeful because for me watching the Detroit Red Wings cream the Colorado Avalanche is just a whole lot of fun, but I acknowledge it is pretty miserable for pretty much everyone else in Denver. And although the Wings are up 4-0 there is 20 minutes left for the Avs to come back and I have seen the Wings crumble before so it is always a possibility. (It is now 5-1 with 12 minutes to play with the Wings scoring a short-handed goal.)
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