Tit for Tat

I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. My problem is that new leaf is pretty heavy. Tonight was the 17th night that I have gone jogging. Sounds great, huh? The problem is the first time was in 1993, the second time was later that same year ...

My dear sister-in-law Sara (NPBiaC) started this Couch to 5K thing a couple of months ago. I have tried it a few times in the last three years, but it never stuck due to one thing or another. I think this time may be different. I have two things as motivators -- 1) a group of cheering blog readers (Thanks, Mom!) and 2) the fact that Sara who doesn't really like to sweat ran 25 consecutive minutes today.

The moment of truth? Are you witnessing the beginning of something grand? See how I do on Thursday.

My biggest problem is that the beautiful golf cart path that I run on goes through two terrifying tunnels. They are about 843 feet long, drippy and filled with wild animals (coyotes!) and insects. As I approach the two terrifying tunnels, I become Indiana Jones falling into the huge-room-of-tall-statues-and-snakes. And me without my whip...

Once I get through the first terrifying tunnel, I'm fine and laugh to myself. There is always the second one, though. I have several sets of friends who have claimed to be more than willing to hide at the end of the tunnel. All it takes is a cleverly timed call from my wife. Hopefully, this will never happen. I swear to all that is holy that I'd collapse right there. Dead. On the spot.

And you would miss me.

A lot.

But this is a time for celebrating -- not in fear or threats. Rejoice!

A pleasant way to spend an evening

I have some really good friends. I had the good fortune to spend the later hours of last night with three of these friends. The four of us have formed MSBC -- More Serious Book Club. It is an attempt for four people who are rarely serious when together to spend some time tackling some serious topics. The first book we are reading is Brian McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy.

This group is made of people that sound like the beginning of a joke...A Catholic, a Methodist and two Southern Baptists walk in to a house... I think our diversity is one of the reasons that makes this group so special to me. That, and the fact that they can make me laugh harder (usually at myself) than nearly anyone else.

You can track their lives outside of MSBC here, here and here. The last one is not really his site, but he is a proud supporter.

We'll take more people in to the group and we'll be happy to have the additional input. The only real criteria are: 1) The host must provide salsa, 2) You must be willing to share opinions, 3) You must be respectful of the opinions of others, 4) That salsa thing is pretty important and worth mentioning twice, 5) Tangential conversations are allowed and typically the norm.

We started the book last night and covered the Preface, Introduction, Chapter 0, and Chapter 1. That doesn't sound like much, but it is. I may share some of my thoughts in future postings, but right now I'm still trying to figure out what my thoughts are. It is quite disconcerting to leave the comfort of your childhood faith. But as I've gotten older, I find it harder to maintain those same beliefs.

I have faith...I just don't know exactly what I believe. I feel like I've ventured a long way from being 'a Christian'. In a lot of places, that would be called heresy. In this group, it is expected and really the reason we are together. Well, that and to laugh at each other. On to Chapter 2...

People are funny

Today, we had a visiting dignitary in our office. He is very (very very) smart, well spoken, confident, fair and strategic. A group of coworkers spent the day introducing him to our world and things we are doing here -- some cool things, some challenging things... our things.

We have an amazing group of high-achievers here and I'm lucky to work with them and be included with them on projects. It was a good day and I think we looked really good as an organization.

It is a funny thing, though. When you get a bunch of high-achieving individuals in front of someone who can play a big part in your career, some of them start acting differently.
Goofy. Sycophantic. Land-grabby. Pompous.

These people are imposters.
These people are snivelers; lapdog backscratching, footlicking apple-polishers.
These people tire me.
These people piss me off.

I guess it is a fact of life that people act that way. Maybe they think that they have to act that way to get ahead. Maybe that is the only way to get ahead. Something to think about, I guess. (pause) Okay, I got that out of the way.

I'll write more about this, I'm sure. (or at least edit it)

I like people that are honest -- people that show their cards and speak frankly.
I like people that give credit where credit is due and are gracious when credit is due them.
Luckily I work with people like that. Even more luckily -- most of the people I work with are like that.

So, I guess it was a good day. I hope you have a good day, as well. More soon.

I'm not just a number

We are getting ready to change our logins at work. Logins are important things. They identify you to the entire system or network.

They do other things, too, I'm sure.

Well, as I was saying, we are changing logins. I'm no longer {insert my name here}. Now, I'm...(drum roll please...more drums...more drums...)

ft3adbt

See, I'm not just a number -- I'm a clever combinations of letters and a number. I love progress. Some people are just numbers.

Daddy's got a brand new bag

Thanks for the kind notes/questions/requests and for the not-so-subtle kick in the pants about the 35 day lapse in blogging. I know I haven't done it long enough to deserve a hiatus.

Moving on...

I'm excited. Due to the kindness of the people at Marriott and the fact that we have three children and may never travel to exotic locations again, I'm getting my very own iPod. I'm pretty sure there is no reason for me to be that excited about a little hard drive that plays music, but I am.

When this iPod arrives, I'll have absolutely no reason (unless I can come up with more viable reasons) to further delay my jogging regimen.

More soon. Really.