Where Are You Reading This?

Many of you are reading this as a note in Facebook.  Some of you are reading this in an email right now.  You've subscribed to my blog and have it handily delivered to your inbox each time I post.  Others of you might be reading this via an RSS feed.  Or maybe you have just pulled it up in a web browser.  None of this is really the point...I don't know why I'm going on so.

If you are reading this in Facebook, then you might have already read my latest status, giving an update on my weight loss:  40.8 lbs so far!  If you aren't my Facebook friend, then let me give you an update on my weight loss:  40.8 lbs so far!

This past week I didn't get much exercise in because I had strained my Achilles tendon a couple of weeks ago.  However, I got my Cho-Fan Achilles Brace in the mail yesterday, so I can't wait to try it out tomorrow night with a good run-walk!  I think it's going to help.

And hey!! If you aren't my Facebook friend, you can be:  www.facebook.com/aaroneousfindings

Irrevocable

Last week a friend of mine was in a minor fender bender. He's fine - just sore and embarrassed. You see, he rear-ended someone today because he was trying to look at an email on his cell phone. I'm just glad no one was hurt more.

It got me thinking about the irreversible decisions we make in life. Most decisions don't fall into this category. "Should I wear this shirt or that?" probably won't affect your future. But other decisions do.

Some are obvious big decisions:

"Should I go to this college or that?", "Should I marry this person?" or even: "Should I go out with this person?"

But some don't seem too big on the surface:

"Should I go to so-and-so's house tonight?", "Should I try to pull out now, or wait a little longer?"

For my friend, "I can glance at this email" turned into "My car is totaled and I got a ticket" in a split second.

I remember when I totaled my parent's car. I just looked at it and thought, "There's no going back. No sweeping it under the rug. No apology will repair it. It's just gone."

Other times the only action involved in an irrevocable decision is saying something. There are no take-backs in real life. And even though we can usually get forgiveness for something we shouldn't have said, we can't always expect the person to FORGET what we said. Some times a decision to say something can "total" our lives or the lives of those around us.

I guess this is just a reminder to us all (including myself) to be intentional in what we say and what we do. Let's happen to life, instead of life happening to us.

A Little Wood...A Little Glue...

A few weeks ago we had our Back to School Bash. It was a (Back to School) Blast! You can read more about it here.

While the event was going on, I was working at the booth passing out the free backpacks. Also at the booth was our friend Kristen. She and I were chatting (along with our spouses), and I learned that she was trying to find the right TV stand/entertainment center for their new house. They weren't having any luck finding one that combined the right price with a design they liked.

So I, being the genius that I am, volunteered to build them one.

What was that you asked? Have I built a lot of TV stands?

Let's see...at THAT time I had built...umm....zero. Zilch. None. Nada. Nil.

But I had a plan and the will to see it through!

So, after getting the go ahead from Nick (Kristen's husband), and Cheryl (my wife), I wasted no time in moving ahead with my plan. My plan revolved around one key ingredient, without which I was pretty much doomed to failure: Tom Little.

Tom was also at the BtSB, so as soon as I saw him I told him that I desperately needed his help...more specifically, his tablesaw. Tom, being the good friend that he is (not to mention a mastercraftsman in multiple disciplines) said, "Sure! I'd be glad to help."

Now my success was assured. With Tom on the team we were good to go.

After hearing Nick's Kristen's desires, I had formulated a plan and drew up some rough plans. To make a long story medium, we arranged a time on a Saturday a few weeks later, and Tom, Nick, and I met at Tom's house.

Well, three hours later, we had it fabricated (except for the back, we took the picture before we added that)! Nick Kristen was going to paint/stain it, so we were done!

Later that day, I dropped it off at their house. A few days later, Kristen sent me a picture via phone of the finished project. Wow! They did a great job on it.

Below is a picture of it all set up. What a fun project. I had a great time fleshing out the design,and Kristen has been very gracious and complimentary. Fun all around.

The next project Tom and I are tackling is a bunkbed for Nathanael...but it won't be just any bunkbed. I've got some ideas for that too...

Thanks again, Tom!

Friends

This past week I've been thinking about friendship in general, and all the wonderful roles friends have played in my life over the years. So, I just thought I would list a few. I don't want to embarrass anyone, so I'm going to let each anecdote remain anonymous. You know who you are.

1. Once, I was riding with my father in his 18-wheeler. One of the front wheels broke into two pieces (yes, it was as scary as it sounds), and we were stranded on the side of the road. My dad called one of his friends (who also owned some trucks) and found a replacement wheel. I called one of my friends, who picked the wheel up, then drove almost three hours to bring us the wheel.
2. I have multiple friends that took a week off of work (some multiple times over the years) to go with me and serve at youth camp. I know they weren't doing it just for me, but it blessed me still.
   
3. I had a friend show up at my house one day with the #1 issue of the comic book "The Tick". One of my favorites. No reason, just thought I might like it.
4. In the midst of moving, I found out I was coming down with Strep Throat. A couple of our friends not only helped us move, but came back over that evening, brought us dinner, and helped with Nathanael and unpacking.
5. One of my friends drove our moving truck all the way from Texas. Some more of my friends, who just happened to be teenagers, came along to help.
6. Several of our friends have come all the way from Texas just to visit us in Atlanta.
7. One of my friends climbed up on the roof of my house to install my TV antenna for me.

There are many, many more that I could list. But I think I'll save some for later.

Ecclesiastes says, "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"

How true!

My Word Is My Blah

Have you ever seen the movie "The Freshman" starring Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando? If you haven't, you might want to check it out. It's a (sorta) dark comedy about a college freshman named Clark Kellogg (Broderick) who becomes a delivery man for a godfather-like character named Carmine Sabitini (Brando). It's got some funny moments, but there is a particular scene that stands out to me. I actually think about it fairly often.

Near the end of the movie, there's a scene where Clark really, really wants to talk to Carmine. Carmine brushes him off and Clark presses the issue. I couldn't find the actual script, but in my head, this is the way the scene plays out:

Clark: I really have to talk to you.

Carmine: We'll talk after dinner.

Clark: Do you promise?

Carmine: By definition, everything I say is a promise.

Think about Carmine's last line for a minute. I'll wait.

(Whistle, whistle, whistle...toe tap, toe tap, toe tap...checking watch)

Okay!

"By definition, everything I say is a promise." That's something worth striving for. If we find ourselves having to reassure the people in our lives that we'll do what we say we'll do, then that's a problem. I want to live my life in such a way that my family and friends never feel that my words are an empty promise. I have a couple of friends that are great friends, but it's sad to say that if they say they are coming over, I don't count on it until they drive up.

I understand that there are some instances where you just can't do what you've said. It happens. Sometimes circumstances change. Am I living this idea out perfectly? Nope. But I'm trying. This is something my dad stressed when I was growing up.

It also makes me think of this Bible verse:

Matthew 5:37
Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

What do you think? Is this something you think about? Something you struggle with?

A Simple Failure to Communicate

When we moved to Atlanta, we left all of our friends and family back in Texas. A few months after we had settled in, I struck up a conversation with a guy who had recently relocated from Long Island to Atlanta.

After talking a bit, I found out that his family was still in New York and that he worked right across the street from me at the Home Depot corporate office. To top it off, we had several common interests. I could only imagine how tough it would have been if I would have had to move to Atlanta ahead of my family, so I decided on a whim to give him one of my business cards and an open invitation for lunch or dinner. I was pleasantly surprised when he contacted me a couple of days later about dinner.

We exchanged a couple of emails, and that's where it happened. Here's a segment of the conversation.

Me: ...we'll see you about 6:00 then.

Him: Would you like me to bring a pie? I can pick one up at Costco's after work.

Me: Sure, a pie would be great!

Him: What kind of pie do you guys like?

Me: I like chocolate, but I'm not a fan of pecan. Cheryl likes anything.

Him: Uhhh...I usually prefer pepperoni...

So, apparently, "up there" in New York, pie can mean pizza. If that's true, what do they call "real" pie?

Have you ever had a "regional translation error"?

A Double Landmark!

(For those of you reading in Facebook, you can click here to read this in my actual blog.)

Today is a landmark day for me for two reasons:

1. This is my 100th blog post
   
2. Today is my 40th birthday

I could post some serious something about "now that I'm 40", but I already did that, and it wasn't serious at all. So I've decided to do something totally self-indulgent.

For those of you that are regular readers of my blog, as my birthday present, I have a little favor(s) to ask.

First, I would ask you to send an email to 10 people (at least) encouraging them to read my blog. (I hope that if you are reading my blog regularly, that you think it is, at least at times, worth reading. If so, then maybe, just maybe, this isn't too much to ask. Again, I realize that this is an absolutely shameless self-promotion wrapped around a hard little kernel of self-indulgence.)

Secondly, encourage them that if they find it mildly amusing, borderline insightful, somewhat infuriating, or at least not annoying, to subscribe! It's easy to do. Right at the top of the blog, just below the title section.

Look, I'll make this easy for you. Here's a sample email that you could cut-and-paste:

Hey (your friend's name goes here),

I just wanted to tell you about this fantastically incredible blog that I read without fail. It's called Aaroneous Findings, and it is awesome. At various times it (in alphabetical order) advises and alerts, bewilders and broadens, challenges and counsels, edifies and educates, encourages and informs, optimizes and super-sizes, uplifts and urges me to action whenever I read it. I find myself waiting in anticipation for each new post. You really should visit this blog immediately and subscribe.

Click HERE to visit the blog. Or, if you just want to go straight to subscribing, you can click HERE.

Thanks, and you won't regret it! It could possibly change your life!!!!

(Your name goes here)

Now, isn't that easy. Of, course, feel free to draft your own email.

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All kidding aside, (well, not really...kidding is seldom ever aside with me) I've really enjoyed writing this blog. I hope that you have enjoyed a post or two of the 100 that I've done. While I don't boast huge numbers of readers, my subscribership (that's a word, right?) has gradually grown over the months. It's really cool when someone leaves a comment or even mentions something to me in person that they read.

In reality, this particular post is something of a social experiment. How many people can you, "my readers", get to visit my blog, and better yet, subscribe? And, if my subscriber count spikes, how long will I retain the higher numbers? (Oh yeah...and it's shameless self-promotion.)

Superbowl Lamentations

In case you are from Mars and didn't already know, tonight was Superbowl XLVIII. This is one of the few times since my wife and I got married that we didn't host a superbowl party. This year I had to work at the Hut, so Cheryl went to some friend's house to watch the game. I joined them a little after halftime.

For many years, we had a party for the youth group at our church. Below is a little video promo we did for the party one year. Hope you enjoy it.



If for some reason you can't see the embedded video, here's a link.

Starring: Chris Sheppard
Music by: Dave Brubeck Quartet/All-Star United
Directed by: Me
Filmed by: Me
Edited by: Me
Screenplay by: Me
Based upon an original full-length novel by: Me

Filmed on location at an undisclosed location. No animals were harmed in the making of this video, but a toilet was actually cleaned.

My Crazy Friend Steve

My life-long best friend is named Steven. Today he turned 40.

My earliest memory of Steven is going to his 5th birthday party. His dad was always something of a technophile, so he always had gadgets and gizmos around. At the birthday party we played Pong. The original Pong. It was awesome!!!

When I was eight, one of those wonderful things that only happens once in a lifetime happened. We moved to our new house...5 houses down from Steven! We had lots of fun times together living that close. When we were 12, his parents divorced and he moved with him mother into town, but we still saw each other all the time.

So, I thought I would just share a few thoughts, memories, and anecdotes about my best friend.

• Steven once tried to throw his watch across our pond. I don't remember how we got to the point where we were arguing about whether or not he could do it...but somehow we arrived there. It didn't make it.
  
• Steven and I were each other's best man in our weddings.
• Steven's dad had a TRS-80 Model I computer. We spent HOURS programming and playing on it. I probably have Steven to thank for my job I have right now. Thanks, Steven.
  
• Steven is possibly the smartest person I have ever met. He's an orthopaedic surgeon now, by the way. Most people in school didn't get him. He was just too smart for them.
• When we were about 9 Steven got glasses. That day he came over to my house and lost them.
• We both liked comic books, ninjas, and computers as kids. Not necessarily in that order.
• Steven failed band in 6th grade. He played the tuba...just not very well.
  
• Steven is very good at chess. I could hardly ever beat him...except the one time we played in a tournament!
  
• He drove a blue station wagon as his first car that had a bumper sticker that said, "If my car was a horse, I'd have to shoot it."
• He reminds me a little of Steve Martin...but funnier.
• He had a go-cart as a kid. One time he cranked it and it got away from him and ran into his neighbor's house: Mrs. Fuller. Mrs. Fuller was German and she came out and yelled at him that he had "hit her house with his go-thing!"nin her German accent.
  
• He's 6' 5" tall. Because of growing up with him, unless you're taller than that, you don't seem tall to me.
• Once, on a Science Club trip, we were staying at some condos in Houston. One of the things that we could do while hanging out at the condos during the day was check out bicycles, big over-size tricycles, and tandem bicycles. Steven got on one of the big bicycles...it was an old school Pee-Wee Herman style. I was standing down by the river that the condos were built near, and I saw Steven come out between a couple of buildings heading down the hill. About half way down, his feet slipped off the pedals and he couldn't stop. As I watched he hit the top of the retaining wall that was at the edge of the river, flew over the handlebars and disappeared into the river. Three seconds later he popped up saying, "I'm okay!" The river was very low and there was just soft dirt below the retaining wall, no water. This paragraph just doesn't do it justice...it is still the funniest thing I have ever seen.
  
• When, as a teenager, I would start to do something stupid, he would always say, "For the record, I am not condoning or encouraging this..."
• When I accidentally snitched on one of my other good friends in high school, I was pretty much ostracized by my entire class until everyone found out it was an accident. Steven was the only person that stuck by me the entire time.

Happy Birthday, Steven!

(P.S. In college I was in a band. After practice we would often sitting around shooting the breeze, and inevitably I would end up telling some story about me and Steven. My friends from the band still refer to them as my "crazy friend Steve" stories...hence the name of this post.)