What Would You Do Differently?

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Greetings all! I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy. Things in New York are warming up (literally and figuratively!) Pretty soon I'll find myself occupied with impulses to golf and preoccupied with trying to find a new apartment. May is my last month in my current place, and I'm itching for a solo place of my own. I'll keep you posted, and am hoping to make a little video of wherever I end up so you all can see where I live.

My friend Kerry recently recommended a book to me that details a scientific exploration into the possibility of consciousness after death. They take multiple renowned psychic mediums and multiple participants and run consecutive experiments that prevent all possibilities for fraud, only to have some pretty incredible things start coming up. It's called The Afterlife Experiments, for those who are up for a truly interesting read. The idea is that if you live a life filled with love, you will maintain a connection with others after your body is no longer a part of the existential equation. At its root, this meshes well with my favorite goals in life: treat others the way you'd like to be treated, and love one another. It also fits the dreamer in me that believes much of what might be seen as coincidence is actually a nudge from someone that cannot be seen with the naked eye, but only felt with the heart.

Now this type of subject matter can get dicey or touchy when different religions get involved. The beauty of this book is its objective point of view. It simply amasses factual evidence that points to a strong possibility of consciousness after death. And then it asks: What would you do differently if you knew the entities that are "you" and "loved ones who have passed" would exist infinitely, like the light that long-dead stars emitted thousands of years ago? Would you drop a grudge against someone? Or conversely, be more careful about crossing others? Spend less time worrying? Personally, I think it strengthens my goal of adhering to the golden rule by making the consequences for how we treat one another more weighty.

So if it is possible, what would you do differently?

Time Flies... And Then You are Grown

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Howdy all! The last week and a half has been a busy one, with trips to Seattle and Chicago for work. The highlight of the week was probably a random decision to go for a 6-mile run so that I could see the Japanese Tea Garden, only to get there and find out it was closed. It's the hardest run I've ever gone on, and possibly the longest too. Hardly any of it was flat! My left foot has been hurting for a few days now, so I'm cautiously hoping that goes away sometime soon.

During all the traveling, I lose track of things I want to write about in the blog. (I really should start keeping a little list somewhere.) However, I wanted to share an amusing article from Men's Health. (Quickly becoming one of my favorite magazines... stuff on exercise, health, food and other manly things.)

Apparently, there are 18 things a grown man should never have. If you'd like to see how I stacked up, keep on reading...

1.) A black eye. Never had one of those. I've never really even been in a fistfight. Even the skirmishes I had in elementary school were ridiculously on the defensive.

2.) A witty email signature. No quotes or song lyrics in my email. I do have my contact info beneath my work emails, but I think that falls short of witty.

3.) An empty refrigerator. Guilty as charged... perhaps when my commute is shorter in months to come I will have more time and patience for cooking. In the meantime, vive taquitos!

4.) PlayStation thumb. The last game system I had was a Nintendo 64, which I gave away a long time ago. So I've been gamer thumb free for quite some time now.

5.) A key chain with a bottle opener. Guilty... made even guiltier by the fact that it's got my college logo on it. I think this will be one of the last things to go.

6.) A lucky shirt. While I do have a few favorite shirts (i.e. my Waterbury Swimming and Yavapai T-shirts) I consider none of them lucky.

7.) An unstamped passport. Whew! Just got that one in a few months ago with a trip to Ireland. I hope to add onto that at some point.

8.) Olympic dreams. Luckily for me, golf isn't an Olympic sport. So I can dream all I want. I think there may be a stint as a golf instructor at some point in my life.

9.) Less than $20 in his wallet. I do usually carry something on me, but not always. And I'm still not carrying business cards often enough.

10.) A name for his penis. This one made me laugh. Not because I have a name for mine, but just because it's always funny. Seriously, you know you laugh at those jokes in movies.

11.) Any beer that costs less than $20 a case. There are beers that cost more than $20 a case?

12.) The need to quote The Big Lebowski/Caddyshack/Superbad. Uh oh. This one nailed me. At least in the first two cases. I have yet to quote Superbad. "Thank you very little."

13.) A futon. Guilty, but only for a few more months. After I move, it's time to bring on the queen-sized bed. Hello, comfort. Goodbye sagging into the middle. Futon, 'tis the time to embrace your role as a couch.

14.) Code words for ugly women. Along the same lines as me never being in a fistfight, I'm clear on this one. I can only hope that women out there don't have code words for ugly men.

15.) A Nerf hoop in his living room. I have golf clubs in my bedroom, but golf is a grown man's game, so I'm safe. Although I'm always tempted to buy Nerf guns when I see them.

16.) A secret handshake. None here. I have a standard 3-step handshake that I learned growing up in Waterbury, but everybody does it there. So it's not a secret.

17.) Drinking glasses with logos. I don't have any... yet. I don't know if I'd be able to resist a good sports team logo on my glass of cold beer.

18.) A recent story with the phrase "So I said to the cop..." I'd tell you something about this one, but my lawyer made it pretty clear I'm not to say anything outside a court of law.

Checking In

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Howdy all!

I just wanted to check in with you in case you began to wonder if I'd been neglecting the blog. The last week was a busy one, and I haven't had a lot of free time for random musings. That said, on with the post!

Earlier this week I traveled to Atlanta for a project I am working on. It was my first trip down there of any worthwhile amount of time, and would like you to know that it's one of the prettiest parts of the country I've been to yet. I've driven from Phoenix to Waterbury twice, and been fortunate enough to see several parts of the U.S., and Atlanta's among the top of the list. I really like being outdoors and seeing foliage. Atlanta has trees everywhere you look, and this time of year they are all flowering. All of the houses feel grand and garner respect, and it's clean almost everywhere you look. On the recommendation of one of my co-workers, we had dinner at a local place called Fat Matt's Rib Shack. (If you saw how much I ate, you'd think they named it after me.) I had me a delicious BBQ pork sandwich and a local beer whose name escapes me. The best part of the restaurant is the outdoor seating and live blues music. It made me feel like I saw a part of life down there, and the whole experience was great. We really do live in a beautiful country... the evergreens of Pacific Northwest, the flowering trees of the Atlantic Southeast, the cacti in the desert and the many colors of a New England fall all make me feel happy.

The project that I am working on is a very inspirational one that, in a roundabout way, asks, "How do you express who you are?" We are always evolving as people as we learn and see new things, and we mark our evolution within our surroundings by filling them with reminders like photos, music and more. So if you are reading this, and feel comfortable chipping in, what are some of your favorite or unique habits or means of expression that convey who you are? For me, this blog is becoming one such outlet. I don't put a lot of thought into the clothes I wear or decorating my living space, but I've put some thought into this here blog.

And for your viewing pleasure, a video another one of my coworkers shared with me. It's a pretty touching idea: