The other day I complained about my commute. I am guessing that when you add it all up… it really isn’t as bad as I think it is.

My blood starts to boil when I hear those types of words coming out of peoples mouths. People are more valuable… more complex than the marketing firms and political analysts out there care to believe. I’m in the 25 – 40 demographic… I’m White… I’m a Christian. Does that mean that I will vote or buy the same durable goods that every other Christian whitey in their 20′s or 30′s??? I highly doubt it. The problem is they don’t want to know us… they just want to label us.

I know that it would extremely convenient to just be able to label each person, put them in a box on a shelf and forget about them… but its not that easy. Deep down at our core we want to know and also… we want to be known.

So please… don’t put people in a box.

Not an easy thing to deal with.  Not for me, not for my parents, not for my sister, and especially not for my Grandma.  I was fortunate enough to be able to visit her last fall and it was a very strange thing to be able to look at her and know that she doesn’t really understand her surroundings.  She was able to remember me and we even had a few laughs about my childhood.  She also got to meet my wife which was great.

Now my Mom and her siblings have to figure out how to take care of her.  Do they move her in with one of them?  Try assisted living?  Nursing home?  None of them are great choices which makes the decision quite difficult.

I know what you are thinking… and no I didn’t name this blog post “The Savages” based on my family.  I actually went to see a great movie last Tuesday called The Savages.  It is about a highly educated brother and sister who suddenly get a call from Arizona regarding their father.  They haven’t spoken to him in what seems like quite a few years and he is in the later stages of dementia.  It stars Laura Linney and (my all-time favorite actor) Phillip Seymor Hoffman. 

I believe it is still playing at the Landmark Harvard Exit if you feel up to seeing it.

Would it be better to take the bus to work?? I know it will take longer and I have to transfer but at least I will be able to read or listen to a podcast or two. I have been thinking about cutting down on the cost of gas and just in general being more “green” by taking the bus 3 days a week. That would lower my commuting costs by 60%… hmmm not to bad!! In fact, yeah… I think I will take the bus tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes.

Alright folks… now I want some feedback from you. How is your commute? Do you drive? Bus? Bike? Walk??

I enjoy current events, politics, religion, business/investing and economics. I want a magazine that isn’t liberal or conservative, I want something that is thought-provoking but not slanted right or left. I would also like it to be a weekly magazine.

Any ideas?? Leave me a comment if you have any recommendations.

The temperature hits record 98 degrees

I know its no where near as hot as it gets in Turlock… but if you have an A/C unit in Seattle you are the exception to the rule. I would rather deal with 110 in Turlock with AC then 98 in Seattle without AC.

As we were watching the video Kelly cried more then a few times… I think she really misses her friends and family. We now live about 800 miles from those close friends and it has been hard on her. What I didn’t realize is that I really miss my buddies too. I don’t know what has happened between my friend Tom and I. We were tight… he moved to Seattle and we had a hard time adjusting for some reason. I am going to make a huge effort to pursue him as he is one of the greatest men I have ever met.

As for Aaron (da chef) he was my co-worker at HCC and turns out he also got a job where I work now. I received a call from him a couple weeks ago that shook me up. He called me out on our friendship. He asked me point blank why we were drifting apart. I felt like a total hypocrite… I always thought of myself as the guy that would bring up stuff like that. Aaron — thank you and I will certainly work harder at our friendship.

Steve — stud at seminary (demanding the big stage) haha… j/k kidding Steve-o. When watching the wedding video tonight we came upon the best man speech and Steve was talking about the early days of our friendship (talking computers, football) and then he had to pause… almost to catch himself from crying (I know I was close), he started talking about our days in a small group at MVC. Those were days of growth and relationships that I doubt I will ever reach again. I miss Steve like crazy. He is certainly the brother I never had.

Friendship is so hard… why is that? People come in and out of your life so my advice to all of you out there is to really truly enjoy your current relationships. Relish each moment because time flies and they won’t always be there.

Honestly it has been quite hard leaving behind Hilmar Cheese Company, Monte Vista Chapel, and many good friends. We have found a church here in Seattle, but I still do have reservations about joining the church. We are finding that Genesis 2:24 is easier said than done.

I feel so blessed to be married to such a wonderful person, there is nothing like the sound of my wife talking to family in the other room. I could listen to her for hours. I will admit though… it was quite strange when we first moved in with each other. I found out how selfish I really was/am. I also found out that Kelly leaves the kitchen cabinets open all the time… and Kelly found out that I drink all of the juice in the house before she has a chance.

I have found a bit of success in my career in the IT field. Recently I was promoted from SysAdmin II to Sr. SysAdmin. There are quite a few really smart and talented people around me that I owe for allowing me to grow into role. It was also a bit of luck, in that the person directly above me left the company to work for Microsoft. I guess I am hard working and lucky…

Finding friends in the northwest has been quite interesting. I actually had 2 really close friends move from Turlock to Seattle within 7 months of me moving here. I am sad to say, that I am not as close to them now as I was back in Turlock. Maintaining friendships is also something that is easier said then done.

They were handing out posters and towels outside the arena for free. Of course I had to had one… I threatened to hang up the poster in the living room of our new house… that didn’t get very far.

The game was ok, Rashard Lewis had a great game. It was also nice to see Brandon Roy come back to Seattle. He is quite the player… should get rookie of the year no problem.

We walked home from the game. Took about 40 min or so. Now my legs are sore… I’m getting old.

me? I am a lazy bum. oh sure I feel that I work diligently at my career and that fills most of my day. But I don’t have much outside of that.

Some of my interests are economics, theology/Christianity, indie films…

I will have to come up with some more I guess.

I was watching Boyz n the Hood tonight and found inspiration from it actually. See the movie is about a kid growing up in south central L.A. His friends don’t have much direction in their life, however the main character ‘Tre’ has a father who “isn’t being hard on him, he’s just teaching him responsibility”. I can tell that Tre probably has quite a few hobbies/interests and that he is well rounded. While his buddies across the street are primarily one trick ponies that just drink beer and talk crap all day.

Anyway, I think that the TV/computer is really dragging me down lately. I live in this beautiful city and I am not out enjoying it. That will be my goal for the next 4- 6 weeks. Exploring parts of Seattle that I haven’t before. Tomorrow I will start with Ballard. I have a meeting at my church tomorrow mid morning so I will get up early and find a place to have breakfast in Ballard.

Sounds like a fine idea I must say!!