Year: 2009

Highs and lows.

The last bit of high- with about 45 seconds left in the Superbowl game – we were up. I was up.. screaming like a madman. As were most of the Arizona Cardinals fans. It made it even sweeter because my dad wasn’t believing in the Cardinals. I don’t give up on my team regardless of the circumstance (more on that later).. but he did. He gave up after the second quarter.

So I sat back, and quietly watched as we mounted a historic comeback. We were leading, 20 – 23. The biggest comeback – we accomplished that. Warner threw a pass to Fitzgerald that was nothing but pure delight as he outran everyone else for our glorious touchdown. I admit.. I jumped up and continued to jump up and down. Everyone in my family was on their feet for that play. He CAN go ALL the WAY. We keep the lead until the final seconds..

..and then the lows.

With 36 seconds left in the game, Steelers get a touchdown. 27-23, we tried to advance the ball (and we did) but it was too little time as the time expired after one of Many bad calls throughout the game. This last call gave the ball back to the Steelers with a few seconds left.

Two days later my voice has still not fully recovered from the yelling. Amazing..

We will back back. At the very least we have earned respect throughout the league.

Next.

Blazers played the Hornets last night. We didn’t play that well. To quote one of the Oregonian writers..
“NEW ORLEANS — In one of their most discouraging and embarrassing performances of the season, the Trail Blazers dropped their seventh consecutive road game to the New Orleans Hornets … “
It wasn’t looking to be a good night at all. First my Cards.. and now my Blazers? I can’t take this. To top it off the announcers were showed no respect for the Blazers. Constantly saying that “clumsy” should be added to our list of talents. We apparently looked confused, didn’t know how to play defense and where was Brandon Roy?

That topped it off. I was starting to fume. Then in the third quarter Chris Paul went down. My hope looked at the score. 20 down, but more than enough time to do it. The rest of the article on the Oregonian read as follows:
“Wait, hold that thought …

Chris Paul just left the game with a right groin injury. Jerryd Bayless is driving to the basket with reckless abandon. Travis Outlaw is hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. Joel Przybilla is playing stalwart defense on David West. …

Let’s try this again.

In one of the most improbable and exhilarating victories in recent memory, the Blazers erased a 20-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat the Hornets 97-89 on Monday night, rescuing the opening game of a pivotal three-game trip and stunning 14,781 at New Orleans Arena.”

Now that is more like it. From High to Low, back from a Low to a High.

Our record has improved to 30-17.

In other news… it is a couple day away from my mom’s birthday- two.

That is all I have for now.

just Pray

hey

its been a crazy past couple weeks. It doesn’t even feel like it has been this long since I’ve blogged. I can hardly remember if things happened this week or last week. haha

Anyway. I am working a billing/operations project right now at work. Something that myself and one other person are in charge of. Defining fraudulent accounts and making sure they are closed. There are over 1400 that we are aware of to which I’ve been sorting out. The other person (Maribel) has not been at work this week. I have been the one talking to the directors and defining the rules to the project. It is a good change of pace.

In two hours – Willie will be 32. That seems so old. It is old… but yet it isn’t.

I had a chance to talk with JJ about moving to the North West this past week. It still seems like he is set on going. He is sometimes hard to read. Like, he told me a couple months ago that we would be best in pushing our moving date back (from May) to.. tentative. When I spoke with him just a few days ago he explained how he had close to 7 thousand saved and he was ready to move. Either way.. I’m glad he wants to move.

I told him that I too, want to be in a very good financial footing before we move. So depending on how the markets fair, we will move close to May, or possibly close to September. It is just a matter of timing with the markets. There really isn’t too much negative to pushing back our moving (we can save up more).

And, my debt is now down in the three thousand dollar range. I am beginning to see the end of it. Somehow…

I realized today that I don’t show much intimacy. I have a problem with it… Or it has a problem with me. I don’t want to have this problem, but somehow I do anyway. Ugh.

Rebecca has some volcano that is getting ready to erupt near her in Alaska, kind of concerning.. if you ask me. :

So, that is all I can think of for now.. I might say more on the last subject at a later time.

Oh.
Superbowl is this Sunday. Everyone in Arizona is on the bandwagon – it is quite annoying. Stay with a team through thick and thin. I digress.

just Pray.

20bama

Today was Obama’s inauguration day. At about 9:50am I went to the break room and watched a little bit of the music that was being played at DC. Then watched everyone being sworn into office. A million and a half showed up to see the event.. the most in history. The event in itself was history.

So Obama was sworn into office. But let me make something clear.. he was outside. 🙂 He used Abe Lincoln’s Bible. So about the whole event… well.. it was kind of weird. I know it is a big event.. I get it.. it’s a big deal. I still don’t get how some people at my work were crying. When he was finally sworn in people were cheering and clapping their hands, some standing and others sitting and wiping away tears. People were taking pictures.. of what you ask? Of the TV.. of all the 20 or 30 people huddled into the break room watching it unfold on CNN.

America is moving in a new direction – or so it is said.

Random.. at work I typed to a coworker about the Obama speech (the justice who was swearing in Obama didn’t have enough time to pratice with Obama.. so it didn’t go very smoothly haha) and it kept wanting to correct Obama to Osama.

Other news.

The Cardinals have won against the Philadelphia Eagles. They are now in the Super Bowl. Crazy. I wasn’t sure how far they would make it… and now it is a clear possibility they could go all the way. My brother is one of the biggest Cardinal fans I know – I know he is savoring this moment. It was good- I am excited as they are my team as well as his. A few years ago I never thought I would like football anymore than I already did.
….oh how time can change things.

They had the trophy at Emily’s work. She works at University of Phoenix (they own Cardinals Stadium) so they brought the trophy for everyone to see today. This was one picture she sent me.

The Blazers won their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks and in the next game we take on the NBA’s best – the Cleveland Cavs.

I’ve been fighting off a cold the past few days.. yesterday I went to bed before midnight– all drugged up on cold medicine.

Anyway.. that is all I’ve got for now.

just Pray

updates in the past four days.

The Cardinals have won against the Carolina Panthers – if they win the next game they are in the Superbowl – and the next game will be back here in Arizona.

I just logged into the Cascade network to which I have access… having once been a student in that college. So many twisted emotions….(referring to mine)when thinking about that college, but I clicked on a prayer blog they had. Very deep and open.. one that I hope this blog can reach.

I need to start reading the bible again. I need to start praying again… I just don’t have the desire to. It has made me timid.

I’ve discussed in little detail about Aleesha’s viewpoints on what she believes. She believes that when we die we have a choice on what happens… either we are reincarnated or going to heaven or hell (noting to me that hell wasn’t so much a choice but a punishment).

The source? A “feeling” that she has – saying she believes it can happen. Whenever her mom would see a humming bird she would say it was her grandma watching over them. That sounds much like my friend JJ. Who … I really can’t talk to about what I believe. Isn’t that horrible?

He believes similar things as Aleesha – which is somewhat scary – but also believes that Jesus is in everything and a part of everything. Some mythological type of view that he says he believes in. Very hard for me to talk to him about it- because he will talk over you. He talks over me and tries to complete my sentence – the only problem with that is how he finishes his sentence is not the way I would have finished mine. This can go on and I try to explain my viewpoint, but somehow we just go in circles for what seems like forever.

I have gone through many changes in my faith and on some level everything I do tends to define what I believe in – and it just is ever changing. Yet God is never changing.. so it sometimes makes me wonder what exactly I’m up to. Am I starting to get things right? Or have I taken a terribly wrong turn somewhere?

I just don’t know. I want to be able to relate with everybody. I want to be able to reach out to people that the Christian statusquo would otherwise not be able to. Yet somehow I lose ground.. and then before I know it I am struggling with my own faith, no longer being on the solid ground I was once on. Someone who I look up to.. Kevin Max. I have always looked up to him for various reasons. Mostly because of his writing. His ability to express himself in ways that I found very real and close to the way I would express myself.

He’s a strong Christian… yet has been through a divorce and has many tattoos. I just don’t know.

It seems that many things I talk about I start off with a lot of force.. focus and passion – but somehow I lose my point. Maybe it is my very own voice that makes me lose focus.

That brings me to my second thing I’ll talk about. No segue, just a time to change subjects.

Aleesha.

I wish I could tell the future. Read emotions and thoughts. It would make things a lot easier. Here is my train of thought. I like Aleesha, a lot. She likes me. We will meet up and something will go wrong. If not initially- then eventually. Why? It feels like a ticking time bomb inside of me.

Spillage of beans. Yup – two things. First one being that nothing good (with females) ever seems to go right – at least if they go right they never last. I have a … fairly low self esteem of what I look like. I’ll be honest, I hate going to places and every person I meet thinking I’m 16. It just bothers me.. so if it bothers me that much I can’t imagine that Aleesha will just love what she is looking at when we meet up. Yeah pictures can show you what people look like… but I think I’ll be a let down. I hardly think I deserve anyone like her as it is. She is amazing.

Second … time bomb. If – some how.. the first tragedy is avoided, the second one is almost surefire. Did you know the thought has passed of compromising my own faith just to be with Aleesha? haha.. It sounds crazy. And for people who don’t put much stock in what they believe it probably doesn’t seem like anything big. For me.. it is quite big. I can’t HELP but think that if things work out, that someday.. down the road.. months or years later we would.. possibly.. be married. Right? That’s not the bad thing. Sometimes I feel like my own faith can be my very own demise. At least in a relationship standpoint. Whats worse is I write this with the very knowledge that Aleesha will read this. I can’t marry someone who isn’t a Christian.

Okay, lets talk about this. I can.

Yeah, I really could. (you think I’m crazy, right?) I know people who have done it before and things have worked out fine. Here is my thing. Tell me what you would do. If Aleesha was very strong in a particular faith… to which she thought was the key of life. Say she’s Muslim. She may or may not want to marry me. If she was deep in her faith – I would have to convert to marry her. If she didn’t care that much.. then well that’s how it goes. But there is a third scenario that I’m not sure how to tell. If she really believed with every fiber of her being that what she believed was true… she couldn’t marry me having conflicting views. Why?

So many implications.. lifestyles, finical management and further on down how you raise your kids. Take away ALL of that and I still couldn’t.

What if something happened to her and she died, without ever believing? Therein lies my problem. I couldn’t live with myself if that took place. I’m not saying I need all this at once, right now or never – I just feel it … if anything will be the unraveling of our relationship. The bad part of this is that I have fallen incredibly hard for her. More than I could have imagined. Find a way around this.. and well… see what happens.

I only bring this up because eventually it will come up in one form or another. Before either of us invest a ton more into something that could possible be the best thing that has happened to me in my life… I think these things should be presented.

Last thing before I go… I once had a girlfriend who said she was going to become a Christian- for me. I wouldn’t want someone believing something just because I believe in it. That doesn’t become their faith – rather its my faith super imposed on them. I had to break up with her… because she thought that I wanted her to become a Christian for me.. I didn’t want her to believe what I believed for the purpose of us being together – her believing was a key factor in us being together because my faith is a part of who I am; however she should find her faith on her own terms… not my terms. I was with her for six months.. it was very hard to do. I guess that is the best I can explain what was on my mind.

Do tell me what you think.

just Pray

Hey

so I received the basketball today from Aleesha that she promised me. It is pretty awesome, I would take pictures but it wouldn’t do it justice. She is amazing. I have to buy something to keep it in so it doesn’t get ruined.

When I last I blogged we had went to San Diego on the long Christmas weekend. This past weekend was full of trips too… and I have more pictures of random stuff along the way.

Random pictures: haha I told you.

This past weekend we took down our tree. I took this shortly after we finished putting it up..

And this one, with all the lights-a-glow. This shall be forever remembered as the tree which fell over. It did so more than once… for no apparent reason. It wanted to lay down!

On to other things.. like New Years weekend. It was another long weekend, my dad took Friday off, so we both had Thursday – Sunday off. Nothing eventful on New Years Eve- we watched a Star Trek movie (the old ones.. the Motion picture).

New Years day… we took a drive. My dad wanted to go to Blythe, CA – but I found it pointless to go to Cali just across the border. If we are going to do that – why not go some place new? They agreed with my point. So we drove down past Tucson- way south.. towards New Mexico and on into the state. (side note: I have my parents losing 2lbs a week and working out. During this time if they do not lose 2lbs we as a family cannot eat out — in Arizona, to get around this we have been traveling a little)

The New Mexico sign as you enter in the state.

The “new” New Mexico sign..

We went to New Mexico and ate at McDonalds in Lordsville. I’ve never heard of the place- but it was a fun little random trip we took.

Next day.. Saturday. We slept in.. and then got ready to leave.

We went to the Cardinals first home playoff game (since the 1947 when they were the Chicago Cardinals and went on to win the NFL Championship) and they won! 🙂 30 to 24 over the Atlanta Falcons. It was cool. We left early Saturday around 2pm

We walked in during the star spangled banner. This was the scene – I thought it looked cool.

A sold out Stadium – 73,719.. and louder than anything I’ve heard.

Myself at the Cardinals game, holding up the towels everyone had. We didn’t have one until after the game, then we went and asked one of the customer service people for them. They were just giving them out. (how should we know?)

After that- we drove. All the way to California. The Palm Springs area – well really it was closer to LA than anything. It was not far from Riverside that we stayed the night. I talked to Aleesha about what was showing on the news in her area… haha. We went because my mom wanted to go to this Dooney outlet store. Very random.. I agreed to go. We went to some Casino (this blog might make us seem like we do this a lot.. but we really don’t haha) but it was crazy busy and not that fun. So we went back to the hotel room and to bed a few hours later.

The next day we went to the Outlet store my mom wanted to go to. It had nothing worth while.. so we drove back. Down through Palm Springs (which we had driven by countless times but never went through) – I was un-impressed. We kept going south until we came to interstate 8. Then we saw signs for the Golden Acorn casino. Naturally we went haha…

The Golden Acorn – the best casino we have found. We only play a couple dollars – nothing big- but enough to have some fun. On the crazy casino the night before- I won like…. 30 dollars. off 10 haha.. at this one I lost it.. but those are the odds.

The Sunset before we left the Golden Acorn (90 miles outside of San Diego).

We drove home- needless to say it was crazy late. We got in at like 1am.. so it guess it wasn’t that bad. But my dad had to go to work the next day – so it was almost 2 before he got to sleep.

On my birthday I didn’t really do much. I stayed at home.. ran to the store with my mom – but nothing too special. Ate at home.. and that was that. Day over. Went to work the next day and they tried to put me on the phones.

I also found out that I will not get the QA position I applied for. They are going with better applicants. Work is annoying, but talking to Aleesha proves to be the smartest thing I’ve done yet. I talked her for a while last night.. she makes me happy.

Anyway – the Blazers game is starting now.. and this is a LONG blog.. so enjoy 🙂

just Pray

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