Saturday, November 27, 2010

UNCLE - May Angels Lead You In


My Uncle Rege passed away yesterday afternoon. I was at work when my cousin David called me and told me something was up. By the time I had called my mom, she let me know he was gone. A really stunning wrap up to the Thanksgiving weekend. That being said I give thanks for many things.

First, the way he passed. Uncle passed away in his big chair, watching movies, and by all signs, quietly. I am so thankful he didn't have to go to a hospital, endure a long ambulance ride, or he didn't have to go to any long term care. I am thankful that he set a good example for "making the rounds" before leaving. He got to visit most of his siblings this year and see his grandkids get old enough to remember him. I am very thankful that I got to hug him goodbye thanksgiving and tell him that I love him, cause I really do.

Second, I am thankful for his life and lessons that he taught me. My dad left when I was 12 years old. From day one, day one, he was there. We worked a celtic festival while my dad moved his stuff out. I have a picture, if I find it I will post it, me in a kilt / sweatpants but I thought it was cool, cause that is what Uncle wore. Even after I knew it wasn't cool, I still wore it because it was what Uncle wore. Uncle taught me how to work hard and long hours. I traveled with him from Indiana and Ligonier down to Stone Mountain, selling music at the Celtic Trader. He made me deal with the 16-18 hour days but we also had a lot of fun. He taught me how to work for a mean boss ;-). He never failed you remind you of a funny story. I will share two:

1. Christmas of 1984, a really warm Christmas, on Christmas Eve we had finished decorating a our tree and my mom looked at the ceiling and noticed a praying mantis, then another and another. They had hatched in the tree on Christmas Eve. Uncle had to come help my mom get the tree out of the house. Uncle was dragging our Christmas tree into the woods while Andy and I sat in the window and cried. We begged him not to throw away our Christmas tree. The following Easter he called my mom and said "Go ahead and tell them I ran over the Easter Bunny this morning." He felt horrible.
2. At the Wolftrap Celtic Music Festival we were hanging up signs and banners inside the tent in a really tall part. So tall that he had to use a ladder. I was holding the ladder when the butt end of a cordless screwdriver clocked me on the side of the head. I fell over but got back up, once I woke up, and got back to work. Uncle and I laughed about it and would continue to do so, even at Thanksgiving dinner Thursday night. On the RARE occasion that I would say something smart-alec-y he would be happy to remind me of the screw driver.

I am thankful for our long talks on random nights. I am thankful that he would call me at weird hours, just to chat. I am thankful that we had 5 years of Charlotte/Duquesne games, home and away, to spend together. I am sad year 6 will never come.

So here is to a varsity member of my "dad-by-committee" team! Here is to the tall & kilted! Here is to Uncle! May angels lead you in.

Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World

There's no one in town I know
You gave us some place to go.
I never said thank you for that.
I thought I might get one more chance.

What would you think of me now,
so lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that,
now I'll never have a chance.

May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.

So what would you think of me now,
so lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that,
now I'll never have a chance.

May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.

And if you were with me tonight,
I'd sing to you just one more time.
A song for a heart so big,
God wouldn't let it live.


May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.

May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Happy Week

I have to admit, I rarely miss this blog, I hardly think about it. I don't know if has been the lack of good news in the world, in my our community, or in my life. This past week has given me a lot to smile about in the outside world.

The first thing I am really happy about is the judge in California ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. I think that freedom and equality are THE two attributes that are the foundation of this country. Without them, I feel, this isn't the United States of America. I am so stoked that, if the ruling holds up, that everyone will have the freedom to have a marriage that is equal to mine in every way.

If the above paragraph offends you, I will offer the courteous advice to stop reading now. I think Jesus would have allowed all people to have a marriage, regardless.

I was also really excited at the plugging of the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. It is about time, I hope that the coastlines will recover. I was also happy to see Kagan get confirmed, I like that she isn't a judge. I think sometimes you have to have academics to tackle problems with a different perspective and with a different attitude. She will not have the taint of prior cases heard to cloud her judgement.

Work is good, life is okay, things are alright. I look forward to more good news coming up. Shameless plug time: Friend my company's facebook page, look for CarBuyCo. Thanks!


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Working

I have been working hard and ignoring this page a ton. I have school, and then I am working, then I go to school, then I work. Here is something I am working on, a CarBuyCo Facebook page, I hopefully can keep it interesting and interactive.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I don't use this anymore

I guess either life has been to shitty to share OR I just value keeping a little more to myself than before. A mixture of both I guess.

I am back at the house, thanks mom for housing me for such a long time. I know I can always count on you. Amanda is in with her parents for a bit. We are working on things, I don't know how it will go, I really don't know how it is going. We will figure it out either way.

The neighborhood next door that had four houses in 2008 and until this month, had 4 houses in it this year. They have begun to build homes in the neighborhood next door in the same price point that our neighborhood is in, I guess that is good except it makes the selling landscape a bit more rocky. I really feel bad for the guy who paid $550,000 for a house and the neighborhood now builds from the low low 200's.

The new job rocks. I have enjoyed making a difference in the direction of a company. I feel very valued and I work harder than ever. Some days I sit down and I am late leaving for the day before I realize I missed lunch.

I am only taking one class this summer, I had to drop the Monday/Wednesday for my own sanity. I am so far very happy with my decision. We will see when December 2011 hits and I still have a semester to go.

Thats about it, I am good to go, don't you worry about me.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

This entry is merely for posterity

Today= Worst day ever.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Tonight I went out on the town with my friend Josh. We did it up really big tonight! We went out to eat at the Rock Store BBQ. Delicious! We then busted the budget with a $1.50 movie. We saw Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness... completely predictable but good acting, good plot, and some nice fight scenes. Finally, we went to a bar in Mint Hill to play a little pool.

The funny thing was I used to pass this bar everyday on the way to school on 218. It was O'Neil's bar and I think it opened in the late 80's. I felt like I was in the middle of a Pearl Jam song. The lady behind the counter looked very familiar and I couldn't place her. Finally I said to Josh "I can't remember where I know her." Finally the conversation went like this:
me: How long have you live here?
her: All my life!
me: I haven't been back to Mint Hill in a while, I you are very familiar to me.
her: What school did you go to?
me: Clear Creek, Bain, Northeast, Independence.
her: Oh what year did you graduate.
me: 1999
her: shit, I graduated in 1984 so thanks for making me feel old.
me: sorry, where have you worked.
her: hell everywhere, I drove a bus for six years, worked at Tryon House, many places around town.
me: bus 27? Is your name Wilson?
her: 327! I loved that bus, I think it was the best one they ever built.

I love small town living sometimes. We both got a big kick. If you had told me 22 years ago I would be in a bar shooting pool and my bus driver would serve me a beer, I would ask you what beer tasted like.

Monday, March 22, 2010

10 Years

Today, I am "celebrating" 10 years with the country's leading used car superstore.

I started in my freshman year at UNCC as a Sales Consultant. I have been full time for nearly 7 years. I have done appraisals in 16 different stores, I have gotten to travel many different places, I have met many amazing people.

Here is to 10 years!!!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Wouldn't Uncle Ted be proud. Today, March 21st 2010 I watched the House of Representatives pass HR 4872. Health Care Reform has arrived.

This is an epic day.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

I just felt like March deserved something. Like a recap.

I turned 29, no fanfare.

The Niners lost 7 of their last 8th game to go from nationally ranked to maybe getting into the NIT. Epic meltdown, may lead to Bobby Lutz' demise.

I made a 93 on my math test.

Amanda quit her job.

My life is rather unremarkable... for now.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Observation on Human Nature

I am trying to study for my huge, gargantuan, epic math test tomorrow. (As an aside, studying for math is hard other than redoing problems.) I was thinking about giving up on it and it just made me wander off to write this about the human condition.

I would rather fail this test willingly, knowing it was my choice not to study hard or use my time more wisely over the last week, than to suffer the pain of trying really hard and failing anyway.

I think that illusion of control is a much more powerful driver than ambition or success is. I want to be successful, or at least more successful than I am. I have ambition to move on from my job, my lifestyle, and move up in the business and social world. Yet the lack of control of trying really hard and failing at this test is more fear-inducing than not reaching any other goal I may have set. We are strange and bad animals.

Monday, February 08, 2010

HELP!!! I have a gambling and charity problem!!!

ATTN: Friends & Family. I am going to be playing in a Poker Tournament next Thursday as a fundraiser for Easter Seals / UCP of North Carolina. I would love to get some help with the buy-in. $10, $20, whatever you can spare would be a very helpful dent in the $250 buy-in! I have to pay before I can play, all $ goes to Easter Seals so there are no cash prizes, but if I win I will take you (top 3 biggest spenders) with me to Pinehurst #2!!! Message, Text, Call, or e-mail. Thank you!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Car Reviews

I have decided that my dream job is two fold. The first part would be hosting the American version of the greatest show on television, Top Gear. I would be the main host, I would hire a pair of my co-workers to host the rest of it. The best part would be trying to hire the Stig.

The second part is to write for Car & Driver. This has got to be the best job ever. You get paid to beat the crap out of cars, drive them on tracks, long term, take random road trips to figure out what you like and don't. The best part is people pay to read your opinions. I know you have the journalistic responsibility to be neutral, but lets face it, MINIs are the best car ever. Never would they loose a comparo.

With that being said, I am not going to write a review, but I will give my highs and lows of some cars I have taken home from work.

2002 Jaguar X-type 2.5

Highs: Cheap, AWD
Lows:Feels Cheap, 165hp with AWD and 2 tons = slow, automatic transmission searches for gears at the same pace OJ searches for the "real" killer

2000 Mercedes Benz SLK 230

Highs: Retractable hard-top works great, good shoulder room for a small convertible, I love a thick steering wheel.
Lows: Transmission lunges before upshifts, supercharger needs more boost, massive cowl shake over bumps is unnerving.

2008 Chevrolet Suburban

Highs: Displacement Management, operates on 4cy at cruising speeds, got 17mpg city/hwy. Commanding view, but easy to see all around.
Lows: Parking Decks, Ballantyne Soccer Moms, who needs this much SUV?

2005 Mazda 3

Highs: Nav, Leather, Bose, Roof, in a small car. Useful cargo space. Good power and reflexes.
Lows: No lower back support, big blind spot at the right quarter panel.

2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara

Highs: Drives like a heavier SUV, lots of options per dollar, I actually think it looks good.
Lows: Lower seat cushion has ZERO support, leather feels like plastic, anemic motor is also thirsty, only 15.2mpg.

2007 Honda Accord

Highs: You know it will last forever, seats are nice and wide, quiet as can be.
Lows: As vanilla as a Honda, steering does not communicate what the car is doing, everybody has one.

Merph

My friend Meredith just gave birth to a baby girl... Avery Joy Nelson. It is crazy that I am now at an age where most of my friends are married, now starting to pop out kids. When it is a former girlfriend is seems all the more unreal. I feel bad for her because her water broke in the weeeeeeeeee hours of the morning... her sister posted this evening. I hope the labor wasn't too bad Merph. Congrats to you and Jeff.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Jay Leno

Tonight I watched the Jay Leno Show in prime time for the first time, which may be why they are failing. The most disturbing part is that my favorite part of the show was completely ripped of one of my favorite blogs. Fail blog. He has really lost relevance, it is sad. I hope they do not take Conan of the air, if they do, I will follow with no hesitation. Its the hair.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

I might as well start this year off with a post. I would like to be better at this, but right now the blog is very low on the priority list. I just post once a month to keep my account active so I don't loose the archives. I enjoy looking back and reading when I really thought I had something to say.

Some things going on with us this year:

Amanda is looking for a career change still, and I am not above it either.

I start school... I'd like to be done in two years so I will have to take two classes in both spring and fall, and take a class each summer session. I may skip one and move it to the spring of 2012... that is when I expect to graduate.

We are not sure about vacations... we would like to go to Chicago, catch up with friends, see a few Cubs games, maybe to Atlanta for the opening series. I know we want to go somewhere, but it all depends on jobs, school, and of course, moooolah.

Other than that, we are hoping to hold on, just like everyone else.