The Kiki Chronicles...

Habitat for Humanity. We've all heard of it and know what it stands for. We likely all believe in its cause. We may even donate money every once in a while. But few of us really act on it and get our hands dirty. Our friend Kristen (aka Kiki) is one such soul who has stood up and jumped into the fray. She is currently sitting in an airport on layover to catch her flight to Madagascar. That's right, Madagascar, the island off the coast of South Africa. She's going there for over 2 weeks to help build homes for needy families. I just want to give a shout out to her for getting out of her comfort zone, raising some funds, giving up some PTO and doing this. I am proud to know her and anyone else that puts themselves out on a limb in the name of humanitarianism. I'm not out there with her, knee-deep in the experience, and it's still kind of humbling here on the homefront. Way to go Kiki!

DAJJ weekend...

DAJJ [pronounced "dah-ssh"]. It stands for Dave, Alicia, Jen and Jason. It's an acronym that was created a long time ago. Our DAJJ group has grown since then to include 2 significant others [enter Noah and Adam] and 2 kids [enter Liam and Rowan] and 2 dogs [enter Stewart and Sasha]. But we keep it simple and stick to the original DAJJ acronym. No one wants to be known as DAJJNALRSW [enter sarcasm]. We went to the Reinke cabin this past weekend to gel. Basically, hang out, play games, talk, laugh, grill, etc. Not a spot of technology anywhere...and for a group that consists mostly of gamers, that's saying something. It was nice to simply relax. No pressure to do anything or go anywhere or get back to anything. Except basics maybe. Good times.

Epiphany...

I love photography. If you know me, that's stating the obvious, but I don't think that some people know how deep that passion goes. I got a digital photo frame for Christmas a couple years ago and last night I went through all the photos I've EVER taken and filled up a new memory card specifically for this frame. To put this into perspective, my digital photo files start in 2002 (1968 if you count the file with scans of my parent's wedding). I put over 300 pictures on this memory card. As I sit and watch it cycle through the contents, I've realized that every photo is of people and pets. There are no nature shots, no new car shots, no favorite toy shots. It dawns on me that we're all pretty blessed to have such a great group. As I watch these pictures fade in and out, I realize that no matter what, we're lucky.

At peace...

Serenity. The dictionary defines it as being "a state or quality of calm, eveness of temper, composed, and at peace". There are lots of different derivatives of this...lots of different ways to say it, but I like this one the best because it uses "at peace". One of my favorite chick flicks has a line of dialogue in it that states "for a split second, everyone is healthy, everyone is happy and in that moment, you have peace" (ten points to anyone who knows what movie that is from). A state of peace or serenity is not easy to achieve and what's more, it's infrequency makes it harder to identify when you finally do reach it. In today's rat-race, we move at constant high speeds and rarely stop to smell the roses. It's go-speed racer-go all the time and I think that we sometimes forget to recognize the things that are really important. It doesn't take long to revel in a moment. A moment, by definition, is short. So why don't we do that more often? I've had a few of those moments in the last year. One was with my nephew...just the two of us looking at each other for what seemed like hours (but really was about a minute). We connected that day. Another moment was with my dog. It was a sun-shiny day and all the windows were open. He was lying down in front of the sliding glass door, just watching the world. So I laid down next to him for a while. We watched the world together. I got a few puppy kisses in the process. Over the fourth of July weekend, I took this photo. It's our dock up at the cabin. This moment screams "serenity" to me. I was happy to capture it. When I look at that photo, I can get lost in it all over again. When was the last time you felt at peace?

Deep thoughts...

Something has occured to me. As I go back and revisit my blog posts, I realize that other than posts about my nephew or updates to family health situations, I really don't bring up any real thought diggers. I mean, there's been the occassional post about a potentially deep subject (check out "Thoughts from the fry cook"), but for the most part, it's pretty safe stuff. So...I will endeavor to blog some deep thoughts every once in a while. I welcome comments and suggestions too. Thanks to my father-in-law for getting me to examine this. His blog is called "Through Common Eyes" (link under "In other news" on the left-hand nav bar) and is quite interesting. He tackles some big issues in the world today. Feel free to check it out and comment.

CSI: Vegas

CSI rocks. Seriously, I love this show. I'm addicted, but only to the Las Vegas version. There something about the chemistry of the cast that really captivates me. And I'm not really a TV watcher. I got into X-files and 24, but otherwise my television interests simply depend on how tired I am after a day at the office. Sometimes, you don't want to do anything but be a couch potato. When that happens, I'll surf around to catch LA Ink, Rock of Love....the occassional HGTV or Food Network show. One show you need to check out is the Big Bang Theory (shameless plug starts now). This show is simply the best comedic representation of geekdom that has ever been. The characters play video and computer games, talk shop about Warcraft and D&D, and basically have fantastic and witty conversations about nothing that would really interest any run-of-the-mill person. Which is why you all should check it out because you're not run-of-the-mill folks. That's a compliment people.

What are the rules?

Let's talk about blogging. In my last post, I mentioned that I've been razzed by my brother-in-law for not posting often enough. So I'm devoting this entire entry to blog etiquette. I'm new to this so forgive my ignorance. Is is customary for the bloggee to comment on the blogger's writing? With what frequency? I mean, I would think that one comment every five posts or so sounds about right. Especially if the posts are spaced out like mine are! Incidentally, I think that someone that reads the blog but doesn't post any comments at all is the one that truly needs their hands slapped. Yes, Dan, that means you. So I expect to see some thoughts! :-)

Independence Day...

I can't believe it's July already. Where does the time go??? As I have been frequently berated by my brother-in-law for not posting regularly enough, I will repeat -- where does the time go??? Honestly. It's like 167 days to Christmas. Egads. And oh yeah, a safe and happy Fourth to you!