The Blog: Laments From La Mancha

For those of you in my praying community (and for those of you who don’t pray but are fans of Karma and positive thought energy), a dear friend and co-worker of mine is fighting through a rather nasty bit of cancer and will shortly be undergoing a bone marrow transplant in effort to secure a cure for that blight that has found itself lodged in her body.

A few months back I wrote a short story for SlanderousTongue.com and shared it with her as a source of encouragement when the world seems gray. So as I sit here looking out at the pouring rain and praying for her upcoming procedure, I thought I would share that small snippet of her story that so that you might include her in your prayers and positive thoughts. In exchange, I’ll share a little bit of my encouragement with you in hopes that you might find something in there for yourself as well.

It has a title that still needs work, and this is simply a rough draft, but enjoy none the less.

The sky outside was a listless grey… and wet; drenched in fact. It was as if the entire whole of the world’s rooftop were drowning in water. That coalesced moisture, cold and overflowing, was spilling down onto the upturned ground saturating it like a soiled dish cloth.

“What a horrible, muddy, grey, dreary, cheerless,” the girl stopped a moment to wring her brain out for another slew of synonyms, “blah, depressing, humdrum day.” She tried to smile at her clear mastery of “the adjective,” but little could bring happiness on a day such as today.

Though, upon closer consideration, it was really more than just today that was causing her such distress. A single day of sunless mirth could be endured; two or three could be overcome with some effort, but an entire week? Surely in the whole history of the world, no one had ever had to suffer through seven long melancholy bleak days like she had. She didn’t wish to alarm anyone, but she was beginning to fear that the color would be stolen from the earth for forever. Read the rest of this entry »

So yeah. May. Wow, that was a month wasn’t it? When last we spoke I was busy lobbying those in Indiana not to vote for Sen. Clinton. Now that that’s out of the way, we can move back to things more personal and less political.

Let’s see… oh, I down sized the Pilot and I’m the owner (I don’t know if I am a proud owner yet, I am still working on it) of an ’09 Toyota Matrix. It’s a cute little car, and because we are buying and not leasing I was able to go out and add an Apple sticker to the back window, so that was cool. The Matrix isn’t as roomy as the Pilot, nor as posh, but heck, I save nearly $100 a month on payments and we haven’t even gotten into gas yet. The cool thing is that because the tank is smaller, even if I still use a tank of gas a month, I am saving 5 gallons a fill; which at $4 a gallon that’s $20 bucks a week or $80 dollars a month. So not a bad savings too (oh, plus cheaper insurance since its not an SUV). While it’s still growing on me (as I lament my loss of my spoiledness), I’m totally digging the savings.

What else? OH, Michelle and I went to Detroit to see Jason Mraz and Matt Nathanson at the Fillmore, so that was cool. We stayed at the Renaissance Center and got to watch the fireworks at Comerica Park from our window which was totally sweet. The night of the concert was the same night as the Tigers won 19-3 and the Red Wings won game one of the Stanley Cup play offs 4-0; a great night to be in Motown.

We also got to stop by the day before and spend an afternoon with Tom, so that was great as we got to hang out and have Jersey Giant subs… which mmmmm… those are good.

Work has been CRAZY busy. One of our team members is down with some health issues and so I’ve been standing in her heels for a while (man, those a HUGE heels) and I’ve been doing lots of training. One of the cool (and frustrating things) is that we started a training program for our folks in operations and housekeeping on using the computer, accessing email, and what have you. I had forgotten what a foreign thing a computer can be to someone who doesn’t use it in their daily life. Things like, this is how you make a capital letter. This is how you use a mouse. This is what a left button does, this is what a right button does. This, this is the internet you’ve heard so much about. Almost all of them are moving along nicely, we still have a few that are challenged, but they haven’t given up which is a great thing.

I will have to say however, that the best part about the whole experience is that I am getting to meet some interesting people. These guys and gals quietly go about their jobs making sure that the university keeps humming and they are the most interesting people. The guy from Macedonia, the electrician who is a closest novelist and the list goes on. Very cool people. I’ve been blessed in just getting to know them.

Dafyd turned 12. That’s a good thing, but despite having the conversation again, no, he still isn’t old enough to play Halo.

I as quietly as possible got another year old. In fact I spent my birthday training the folks in operations.

I made it to a few game nights, a nice gathering with the Rothrocks, and afternoon or two with the Shermans, so all in all a busy month, but one filled with many rewards (and fewer complaints).

So there you have. See, you haven’t missed too much.

Best Wishes,
Bob