When you give up....

Disconnecting from change does not recapture the past. It loses the future.
-- Kathleen Norris, O Magazine, January 2004

Lots of questions to look inside.

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
Is your mind playing tricks on you by altering your view like a fun house mirror?
What is your reality in that mirror? Is it the truth or fiction?
What thoughts come from these views?
How hard on yourself are you?
Are you good enough?

Many questions and many answers. From these...you can make decisions.

Observer or Cynic?

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
-- George Bernard Shaw

The Forbidden Kingdom

Today a friend and I went to see the Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It was a fun movie and a treat to see both of them together. The overall story line was drawn from different aspects of Chinese folklore. The character Jackie portrayed was one he has done before..."The Drunken Master". Jet Li portrayed a monk. I will not say more as I do not want to give anything away. The regions of China that this was filmed in shows the diversity of its geography. Just amazing. The great thing for me during the movie was was listening to the Chinese being spoken and understanding. Great film. I hope you enjoy.

World Tai Chi & Qigong Day

Today was World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. We had an event over by the observatory on our campus. About 60+ people as well as two other Tai Chi instructors came. For our students we had a BBQ afterwards. What a blast.! Not a bad event for only having 2 weeks to prepare and I was out of town for one of those.

We got some pictures and video of the event. It was awesome. Thanks Linda, Dave and Sarah!

Things that are important...

Tonight I took my students out for pizza. It was one of those moments in life when you just smile. They are a great bunch of guys who are hard working and fun. Finding out that some are graduating later than I thought is even better.

M -- Now I understand what you meant...

Who am I...

I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.

-- A fortune cookie

Spring is in the air...

Paths...

In January I made a decision while standing at the fork in the road. As I have gone forward, I have run into a small dilemma...the pesky fork. It is driving me up a tree. It keeps popping up and each time I make the same decision. This is getting repetitive. It keeps asking me the same question and I keep making the same decision...to diverge. So why is this pesky fork still popping up? Is the universe trying to tell me I am making the wrong choice? Obviously there is a reason for this fork. Then yesterday, I ran across this...

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth -- not going all the way, and not starting. -- Buddha

Maybe my choice to diverge is "not going all the way". I am not sure at this point. Right now I am going to continue and when the time comes...make a decision.

Makes Sense...

Problems cannot be solved by the level of awareness that created them.
-- Albert Einstein

Creators

I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.
-- Stephen Hawking

My Saturday

To be home...

My own bed...
My own bath tub...
Yes!

My new word...team

The training class this week has been awesome. I have learned a lot of things. One thing I did not expect to learn is team work. In order to complete the labs successfully this week, we were broken into teams based on the row we sat in. When we all walked in on Monday, we were unaware of that. So imagine the anxiety when you find out that is how the week is going to go. For me, I ended up with three really great partners. We work for three completely different companies (two work together).

We all have unique skills sets and some areas of cross over. We have worked like a well oiled machine. We have met and exceeded our requirements for each lab. We have even been going to lunch. It has been a different experience for me to work with people who respect each others skill set and personality.

While I will most likely never work with them again...this experience has taught me that it is possible to give and receive respect from your colleagues. However, it only works when it goes both ways. Thanks Stace, Mark and Warren.

Spending time alone

Going to an art museum is a great way to spend time in thought and reflection. The regular collections of the Phoenix Art Museum are fantastic and they often bring in some really good traveling exhibits. While I was here, The Phoenix Art Museum has Masterpiece Replayed: Monet, Matisse, and more and Passport to Europe exhibits.

The Masterpiece Replayed: Monet, Matisse, and more exhibit looked at the how and why 19th century French painters repeated themselves in their paintings - often painting the same scene over and over - for deliberate and defined purposes. The 13 case-studies in the exhibit provided a unique opportunity to compare different versions of masterpieces and to analyze originality and mastery.

The Passport to Europe: Six Centuries of Treasures from Museo de Arte de Ponce is an exhibit of their collection while the Museum will be renovated between 2008 - 2010. The traveling portion of their collection spans over six centuries.

My time with me was wonderful. Being able to reflect and thing about things in a space like the museum works well. I think I need to do this more often and if you get a chance...check out the museum!

Let's do the time warp again...

No this is not about the "Rocky Horror Picture Show"...although depending on your view of some operating systems, you may think it is.

The reason I am in Phoenix for the week is that I am here for Windows 2008 training. As I sat through my first day yesterday...trying not to let my head explode...I kept thinking I knew this trainer from some where but where??? I finally got the nerve to ask and would you now this is the guy who I took two training classes from in December 1996 (during Christmas/New Year) for Windows NT 4.0 server. Amazing how time flies. He was an awesome trainer then and still is. Some times memories make you smile and this is one of those times.

It's how hot???

I am down in Phoenix for the week. Now you would think after a cold winter I would be relishing in the fact that it is warm and my bones would be happy. But 90+ degrees in April??? The heat I am tolerating but the air conditioning sucks.

Take me out to the ball game...

There are three ways I like to watch baseball (in this order).

1. Watching with my dad
2. Watching with my brother
3. Watching with my nephews

Today I got to watch a game with my brother Mike and my nephew Joe. They flew in to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Colorado Rockies. Although the Rockies won...this is a great way to start my week.

Thanks Mike and Joe!

A pygmy nuthatch

We have several of these pygmy nuthatches around our building. Normally I see them banging away on a tree to build their nests. However, our little guys have decided that our building is better. Our building has a stucco exterior. So they are pounding their way through stucco, metal mesh, Styrofoam and attempting to get through the sheathing. If they ever make it through the sheathing, there isn't much left except some insulation and drywall. Fortunately that haven't succeeded making it all the way through the sheathing...but they have been close. We get the building patched and they keep going. They must have really tough beaks and skulls.

Unfortunately my office mate and I, they have chosen our side of the building to bang away at. Off and on all day long you hear this incessant banging......tap tap tap ratatap tap ratatap tap ratatap tap tap tap ratatap tap. Sigh......

So very true...

It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge.
-- Enrico Fermi

Artists on my iPod

Johnny Cash
Annie Lennox
Billy Joel
Gipsy Kings
David Bowie

A bit eclectic...

It's almost here...

The weekend is fast approaching. I am excited. I get to see my brother and eldest nephew for a Diamondbacks game. Although right now I am only focused on one thing...seeing the back side of my eye lids.

It echoes what I believe...

In May of 2006 I was in Las Vegas with another friend of mine for my best friend's 50th birthday. While we were there we went to an exhibit of Ansel Adams photographs. The exhibit was at the Bellagio Hotel and it was organized by the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. Near the end of the exhibit I found the following on the wall and wrote it on the pamphlet of the exhibit.

Mantra of Gaelic origin

The only things in my life that compatibly exist with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit...it echoes everything I believe:

I know that I am one with beauty
and that my comrades are one.
Let our souls be mountains,
Let our spirits be stars,
Let our hearts be worlds.

- Ansel Adams

I ran across the pamphlet the other day. That was the last birthday we celebrated as she passed away 5 months later. I was drawn to this inscription that day and at the time I did not know why. Now I do.

Five Questions

1. What do you want to accomplish?
2. What are your time limits for achieving what you want?
3. Are you having fun?
4. Is it worth it? (fill in your own "it")
5. Are you willing to fail?
   

Art in interesting places

There has been a lot of construction on our campus the last few years. One of these new buildings is a laboratory facility for Chemistry and Biology. When they built it, they had to tear down Hanley Hall and cut down some really big trees.

This semester I have been spending some time on that part of campus between two of my classes. I am not sure when this owl was created but one day I noticed it and it made me smile. I wonder how many people actually notice it? I am hoping more than I expect.

We may have lost a great tree, but we gained something to make us smile.

Skills from kindergarten

Kindergarten seems to be coming up in a lot of my conversations lately. I am not really sure why. Maybe it is those days we are all craving.

Near the end of the work day yesterday, I had a quick conversation with some of the front office staff at our health center on campus as I was paying my bill. We were talking about how our day went and our interactions with others. We talked about the lessons we learned in kindergarten such as being kind, learning to listen and how to play and share with others. What great lessons these were and we know that there are many others.

So this got me thinking about our society as a whole and how it hasn't done that well in these categories. You find how well we aren't doing in the rules and regulations that govern our workplaces and behaviors of people in general. So because of all of this, we end up playing games, being indirect and spending way too much time walking around on egg shells worrying about hurting someone's feelings. This kind of stuff drives me nuts. Hello people, untie your shorts.

So how do I deal with this at work?? Simple...I have learned who I can can talk to and who I can't. For those who I can talk to, I treasure the fact that we don't have to worry about rules and regulations. You help keep me sane and are often my sounding board. Thank you for letting me be me.

Zzzzzzz.....

I have figured out a few things today....Sometimes work is boring (no this is not a new revelation) and that when you are reading an article written by a vendor on a component of their product can be tedious (also not a new revelation). So what does this have to do with "Zzzzzzz"? Well my officemate noticed this afternoon that it was rather quiet coming from my side of the office. He looks over and sees I haven't moved...why? I was asleep and he was nice enough not to wake me up. Falling asleep for me at work only happens on a rare occasion (usually after having to come in during the middle of the night). It is a good thing we get breaks. Maybe we should have a work day more like places in Europe. Wouldn't it be great to get time off in the middle of the day to grab some lunch and a snooze??? Hmmm...maybe I need to find a job overseas where I can get a nap.

Time & Balance

Time is just flying. I can not believe that it is April. April!?! So much to do and not a whole heck of a lot of time to do it. So it means I must balance everything -- work, play, sleep and Chinese.

How am I doing at it? In a nutshell...not so good. Some areas are currently requiring more time and energy than others. The areas that are not getting the attention they deserve are suffering. I am having to plan weeks in advance and if anything gets canceled or rearranged, things get a little tilted...I get a little tilted. When I get tilted, you need to run..very far...very fast. Duck and don't look back.

I have 4.5 months to get three major projects done plus guide a couple of other projects. Now normally I wouldn't be all that freaked about it but this time is different. I am missing my lighthouse and I will be gone for a month. Will I make it? Absolutely! Will I be a little worn out? Sure! Time to jump in with both feet.

There is no looking back now.

Shedding a tear...

The beginning and ending of life are part of us. We are joyful when a new life is brought forth and we are somber when a person's journey comes to the end. Every few days I check out a blog called Dooce . Last night I read her posting for the day titled "One of the million, billion grains of sand in the desert". It is about a site by a German photographer who captured "sombre series of portraits taken of people before and after they had died". Click here if you wish to see it. Please note, it may be difficult for you to see. Once you click, it is your choice.

I am writing about this because it was interesting to see how people react to death. A reader of the posting was extremely upset that people were not going to be able to comment on the posting. So the writer opened the post to comments. I scanned through many and found that many people shared their own reactions to the photos and stories of personal tragedy. Others flamed the initial reader on their reaction to the post. We need to accept people for who they are no matter their opinion.

For me, the photos were beautiful. They allowed me to bring up before and after images in my minds eye of my best friend who passed away from cancer in 2006 at the age of 50. Although I shed a tear...the memory made me smile.

Embrace life, forgive and smile.

One of my hobbies...

I have kind of a weird hobby. I track earthquakes. For years my mom use to send me the earthquake notices from the Los Angeles Times. A year ago, I ran across this website that tracks earthquakes around the globe: http://www.myeqwatch.com/ They are slowly adding all areas of the globe. Recently they added Europe.

Why earthquakes? I am fascinated by how the tectonic plates on the earth move and how pressure is released. It is interesting to see how one area of the planet can influence another. I have added a screenshot of the Google gadget I use. The different colors indicate the intensity. Blue is in the 2.x range and Yellow is in the 5.x range. You can see 6.x and up happening on our planet. The sad thing is we often don't hear about them in our news since our media tends to be centric in its reporting.

The earth is just a fabulous place.