Day 226 - Sweet Serendipity

"Sweet Serendipity" by Lee Dewyze has become one of my favorite songs, and the most poignant line I find is... "I don't want to hold on, I want the strength to let go". Sometimes letting go takes more courage and strength then hanging on.

I ain’t got no car
And I've got one pair of jeans
They’ve been stretched too far
And now they’re weak at the seams
I can’t say what’s next
And I got nothin' up my sleeve
But I don’t lose my head
Cause it ain’t really up to me

[chorus]
And I’m doing just fine
I’m always landing on my feet
In the nic of time
And by the skin of my teeth
I ain’t gonna stress
Cause the worst ain’t happened yet
Somethings watching over me
Like Sweet Serendipity
Sweet Serendipity

I don’t ask for a lot
No nothing more than I need
Because I love what I got
Don’t need to play the lottery
I just want to be strong
At the end of the road
I don’t want to hold on
I want the strength to let go

[chorus]

And what will be will be
In the nic of time
And by the skin of my teeth
I aint gonna stress
Cause the worst ain’t happened yet

Somethings watching over me
Like Sweet Serendipity
Sweet Serendipity
Like Sweet Serendipity

Don’t look fate can only find you
You can’t choose for something to surprise you
Set sail without a destination
Just see where the wind will take you
You never know when you're gonna fall
But I'm not worried
No I'm not worried

[chorus]

And I’m doing just fine
I’m always landing on my feet
In the nic of time
And by the skin of my teeth
I ain’t gonna stress
Cause the worst ain’t happend yet
Somethings watching over me
Like Sweet Serendipity
Sweet Serendipity
Sweet Serendipity

Don’t look fate can only find you
You can’t choose for something to surprise you
Set sail without a destination

Day 225 - The Help

If you haven't already, I recommend that you read or go see the movie The Help, I thought it (the movie) was amazing!

Day 224 - Funerals...

...pretty much stink.

Day 223 - Art

- Wrigley Field -
by Steve Slaske

Of course art is subjective, but I proudly bought my first local artist piece to hang in my home. Is anyone surprised it's of Wrigley Field? After all, Wrigley is a home away from home for me. While the print is small, 5.5" x 17", it will hang proudly on an entry way wall. I love ink and water color, and even got to meet the artist in person. Be sure to check out Steve Slaske's website, and more importantly, check out and support your local artists!

Day 222 - Badger

"STOP BADGERING THE WITNESS!". A familiar phrase if you've ever watched any type of courtroom television show, but what happens when you're at work, and you're busy, and someone insists on badgering you and there is no legal representation to defend you? It's not like you're just kinda busy, you have looming deadlines to meet (like, in ten minutes) and additionally, your distress is obvious to the person badgering you, yet they keep badgering you!

Example? I'm on a conference call and working on my computer simultaneously. My boss has just left my workspace, insisting I meet her deadline on a project (in addition to what I'm already working on), and an instant message has just popped up on my computer with yet another work related task. I'm pretty much over my limit with stress at this point, but yet, the Badger insists on coming to talk to me, and then hover over me and even states, "I know you're busy, but...". Well, if you know I'm busy, then GO AWAY is what I want to scream, but before I can respond, the Badger is gnawing away at me asking questions. I can't even think straight at this point, much less logically compute it's request or respond, and yet the Badger remains relentless. I struggle to answer, and finally I turn around and in my most agitated voice state, "CAN WE HANDLE THIS IN 15 MINUTES?". Sensing this wasn't really a question, the Badger looked on in shock and then responded positively to my request and retreated.

What did I learn from this situation? That when dealing with a Badger, in conversation, everything that comes before the word "but" doesn't matter. The Badger knew (and could physically see) I was swamped, and more so drowning in work, yet it didn't matter. The Badger felt the need to make it's issues my priority despite visibly causing aggravation and stress. Once the Badger was proverbially "smacked in the nose" by my comment, it retreated. Why couldn't this scenario have gone that way in the first place, meaning, that the Badger viewed my workload and then proactively choose to come back in 15 minutes? Well because that's not the nature of the Badger! Knowing that badgers will come and go, I suggest we all figure out our own forms of badger repellent, and more so, don't be afraid to use it! Happy badger hunting!

Just say "NO" to badgers!

Day 221 - Donor

If they say bad things happen in threes, I don't want to find out what the third bad thing is, as I just found out the second. Sadly, my co-worker and friend who I previously posted about succumbed to a stroke this weekend, and passed away. Rather than posting about the sadness, what I want to focus on here is organ donation. Lynn (yes that's my name too) not only proved to be a generous spirit in life, but at the end of it as well. Hopefully, through her organ donation other families will not have to suffer an unneeded loss.

Please think about becoming an organ donor, if you haven't already, and make sure your family knows your wishes as well. You can find a local donor registry (in the USA) to sign up at this government site. While I know not everyone feels the same, my personal thought is to recycle what you no longer have a use for.

111,828 people are waiting for a transplant

18 people will die each day waiting for an organ

1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives

Day 220 - Short

I received sad news today, that someone I hardly knew passed away this weekend in an unfortunate and really, freak, accident. I cried almost immediately. I thought nothing except, "how senseless!". How can someone I saw practically every day, yet hardly knew affect me so deeply? Because of the context in which I knew her, no matter how limited. She was positive. She was bubbly. She was healthy. She was energetic, and if you spoke to her for just a few minutes (which I did), that energy was contagious. I've learned now after the fact, in addition to my limited knowledge of her life, that she was a "go getter" and had done and continued to do nothing but positive things in her life personally and professionally. She was 24. I'm 35 and while I know better than to compare my life and accomplishments to others, I can't help but pause and think, what the hell am I doing here? This comes weeks after a previous post where another co-worker's brush with death left me questioning my purpose. While I won't repeat that sentiment or blog post here, I will leave myself, and to you my readers, these reminders...

“Do what you love to do and give it your very best. Whether it's business or baseball, or the theater, or any field. If you don't love what you're doing and you can't give it your best, get out of it. Life is too short. You'll be an old man before you know it.” - Al Lopez

“Life is too short not to make the best and the most of everything that comes your way everyday.” - Sasha Azevedo

“Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround yourself with optimistic people.” - Zig Ziglar