Slow Down

"Life goes by so fast, if you don't stop and look around....

You might miss it."

Happy Veterans Day

I would like to personally thank all those who have served, and are currently serving our beloved country. I didn't have to a chance to attend the largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi(fun fact about Albany) this morning, but I did happen to hear the jet engines of the fighter planes make their way over Albany. I nearly fell down the stairs trying to throw on some clothes just in time to run out the front door to stand in the driveway and see them. Pretty freaking amazing if you ask me! *Cough Cough Dream Job Cough.....*

Thanks again to past and present who gave me my freedom. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for all of you!!!!!

I'm hungry...

The Bar Pup

Ten Rules For Being Human

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school call, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You Will Forget All This.

It's Been A While

As I suspected, I took an unknown leave of absence from writing anything lately. I tend to get started on something like this, then go on a writing hiatus for God knows how long. Countless blogs and websites of mine have succumbed to such tragedy. Oh well, things happen.

There is not much to really write about lately. My work schedule is fairly annoying because I am forced to sleep half the day away so I can coherently serve Albany's Finest their beverage of the night. Don't get me wrong, I love the job and being a bartender, but the current schedule is just rough on the body.

7pm-4am.

As most of you know, I've always been a night owl and survived on ridiculously small amounts of sleep for decades (two to be exact, but it made it sound better, right?) Maybe it's come with age and now it's just not so appealing. Maybe it's because I don't currently live in Corvallis anymore and the City of Albany actually has a bedtime to where I am alone after work instead of running into friends at 4am at the convenient store. Haha.

I also realize I'm blessed to even have this job and I appreciate it everyday, because a lot of people out there are really hurting because they cannot find a steady job. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining because the truth is, I do love bartending at Pop's for now, and most likely will for a while until I am completely done with school. Food's great, drinks are cheap, customers are a hoot, and the owners are like family to me! *insert chuckle here* What more could you ask for!? :)

Hope all is well, and I'll work on posting more things that I have been up to lately. Till next time. Bottoms Up!

Fearful Neckfat

Photo I took of Louie as he prepares to enter the vast wilderness in a valiant effort to take back what is rightfully his... Chewy Bone.
...I know the watermark is a little big, I'll fix it later!

Be Real

David Samuel is easily one of the most all around talented musicians I have ever had the experience of listening to. Check out www.thedavidsamuelproject.com

David brought down Geoff Byrd to play a private show for us. What a humble guy for being nominated for several Grammy's. In this photo he is explaining how he is fed up with the business side of music. He even threw his iPhone in the ocean because of it. Haha. He only plays private shows now because of his love for music at it's core, without all the drama and pressure of being a famous artist.
www.geoffbyrd.com

Mudfootball

I miss football season. Yes, this photo was just intramurals, but it's still one hell of a good time. Shout out to the Knucks and our multiple All-University championships over the years. Also missing NCAA football a little bit, I'm anxious to see what kind of year Oregon State will have, and who the hell will still be on the team for Oregon, lol.

Photo by Swenson
Yours Truly at QB

New Chapters

I have put off posting something new for a long time, because well... I haven't really done anything and didn't feel like it. My battles with which direction my life is taking me had gotten me caught up in some depressing emotions and a lot of self reflection. Needless to say, I've learned a little bit and gotten over all the BS that I let bring me down.

Alright, enough of this emo shit!

On a lighter note, March madness has gone underway and I dare you to have a decent bracket. The amount of upsets are insane!

Spring term has started today, and was again reassured that I live in Oregon and need to have an umbrella (which I do not) to survive walking to class even in the Spring.

That's all for now, more posts coming SOON! I promise.

Today's Advice

Today's advice is short, but wise:

Don't get out of shape, it's a bitch once you try to get back to where you were. -Mark

Spent my first time at the gym in way too long. Being a work out junkie in my younger years, (oh so many years ago) I always figure it will be easy to jump back up that horse, I was wrong. Wow, long road ahead. Going to be starting a diet for the first time of my entire life. I doubt this will last.

The Main Event:

Versus




Till next time.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

With Superbowl XLIV upon us, this story I read in the paper a few days ago couldn't have come at a better time. Kyle DeVan played football at the University at which I am currently enrolled at. I would normally say attend, but let's be honest, how often do we go to class anyways?

He was a standout lineman that was picked up, and dropped by several NFL teams because scouts told him he was "too small." Geezus, this kid is 6'2" 306 lbs. He could eat me and still have room for a small Honda.

Let's get to the important part. Because of his rough time staying with teams, he ended up going back to his hometown and living with his parents house to substitute teach. Not exactly a college graduate's cup of tea.

Never giving up, he makes his way through the ranks and eventually earns himself a starting spot in 9 of the 15 Indiana Colts' games this season. Guess who's in the Superbowl, The Colts and the Saints. He's starting for the team that will most likely win the superbowl, quite possibly the most recognized sporting even in America.

This really makes me think about myself when I came to college, I choose to come to a university with a great baseball program where I was planning on walking on, and then the following years, they won two national championships. Why didn't I go for it? Probably would have never seen the field, but trying out wouldn't have hurt. What stood in my way? Actually, myself...

My advice to anyone and everyone that may read this, could be no one, but if just one person benefits from this, then I have done my job. Do not give up on any dreams you may have, even if it doesn't seem possible. Because you know what? You'll regret every day what you didn't take the initiative to do it when you had the chance.

I can't really give this story the justice it deserves, so take a look at the actual article listed below. To any athlete that wanted more, or anyone that enjoys a good underdog story, it's worth a read.

http://tinyurl.com/y9bfvoe

Welcome

Welcome to my attempt at creating a semi informative, possibly humorous, occasionally artistic, and slightly coherent version of a Blog that hopefully you'll enjoy stopping by from time to time.

Due to certain laws of procrastination and laziness, we'll see how often I'll actually update this. Knowing me, I'll probably get into it, or this may be my last post. Like I said, we'll see! Haha