Deadly Dream (from Thursday night, 4/31/2015)

I was in our house with my family.  Our house looked different though.  It was a little bigger and grander and had a lot more wood features.  I was on the top floor (it had at least three) and the rest of my family was at the bottom of the house.

I was on a ladder trying to fix something or another (replace a light bulb perhaps?).  When I started to get down, I lost my balance somehow and was falling off the ladder.  I tried to recover and jump down, and I was able to land on my feet with a loud thud.

Hearing the loud noise, Amanda yelled up to see if I was ok "MIKE!?"  I yelled back "I'M OK!" She yelled up again "MIKE, ARE YOU OK?"  I repeated my reassurance "YEP, I'M OK!"  This went on a couple more times, with her voice getting louder as she headed upstairs in my direction.  "Why can't she hear me, dang it!" I thought to myself.

Then I realized that I didn't land on my feet after all.  My soul was still alive and fully aware, but it was no longer in my body.  I didn't feel any pain, and I wasn't bummed about dying.  But as I woke up I felt immensely sad for the trauma that my family would soon encounter.

My First Time Drumming in a Band

This is the story of what it was like for me to drum in a band for the first time, under absolutely worst case conditions.

In Appreciation of Amanda

I wanted to take a moment to make a vlog dedicated to my wife - who she is, what she does, and the relationship we have.  I love you Amanda!

A Contrast of Memorials

Recalling my dad's memorial (after he passed away), and the contrast between him and another man, whose memorial was at the same church on the same day.

Introductory Vlog

This is my very first attempt at making a video log or vlog.  At first I tried to upload the video to Blogger, but the size was small and the resolution seemed crappy.  So I uploaded it to YouTube and inserted it instead.  Trial and error I guess.  We'll see where it goes from here.

Warrior Princess

Tonight my oldest daughter Emily had on a tiara and white gloves that her and Clara received as a parting gift at the daddy/daughter dance.  She said "If I had a dress I would look just like a princess".
I replied "Emily, I think you're as pretty as a princess either way."

Then a few minutes later she asked me "How does someone become a princess?"
I said "To be honest, I don't think princesses are really all that great.  I mean, what do they even do?  They walk around smiling everywhere, with people taking pictures of them all of the time.  Big deal.  You know what I think is way cooler?  Let me show you."

Then I showed her (and my other kids) this video: Countdown to UFC 184
Emily said "But she's not a princess".
Me: "No Emily, she's way cooler than a dumb princess - she's a warrior."

Later, as an afterthought, I reminded my kids that there are only three circumstances when it's acceptable to fight:

1. To defend yourself.
2. To defend someone else.
3. If both parties agree on it (when no one is being forced or bullied, or in a competition).

How Bad do you Want It?

My friend/co-worker/workout partner Chris said this phrase to me once - "It all depends on how badly you want it".  I don't even remember what we were talking about - probably about making time to go to the gym, which him and I typically do several mornings per week.  I can't recall for certain though.

I've been thinking about that phrase a lot lately though.  Amanda and I are planning on taking a cruise some time this summer, and if I'm going to be in a bathing suit a lot, then I would love to feel and look really fit.  Granted, my abs haven't completely disappeared (I'm still in pretty good shape), but they're not cut like they used to be either.

At my age though, how difficult would it be to get rid of that extra few pounds/layers that are hiding my stomach muscles?  I recently read (is it really reading though if you're mainly looking at pictures?) a post on The Chive called "Actors Who Went Overboard".  One of the more dramatic examples is picture #10, of Christian Bale (see below).

The caption below the picture reads:

Christian Bale lived on an apple a day to prepare for his “svelte” role in The Machinist and then put on 100 pounds of muscle to play Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins

I couldn't help but think - how badly must you "want it" to live on an apple a day?  How badly then do I "want it" if I can't forgo the garlic bread that accompanies the pasta-laden soup for dinner?  Or what about that piece of cake?  How badly do I really want those abs - enough to skip dessert?

That's the big question about any other goal too - how badly do I want that degree, that raise, to play that instrument, to learn another language, to grow closer to God, etc.

I know that being goal driven isn't the only thing in life, and sometimes it can be more harmful than beneficial (if you"want it", whatever the goal is, so badly that you're sacrificing the relationships with your loved ones, for example).  But if you find yourself falling short of whatever goals you are hoping to accomplish, then try asking yourself that question the next time you face an obstacle or stumbling block:

"How bad do you want it?"