Shocker

Yes, I decided to update my blog two days in a row. A total shocker to me too. I thought that as long as I had some time on my hands I would go ahead and give my blog the updating attention that it deserves. I mean, I have neglected it quite a bit in the last few months. So here it goes...

Things have been quiet for me since the election. I have been spending time with my family and friends before moving on to the next phase of my life. It was nice to have some time with my relatives in Maryland and New Jersey before coming back home to Harrison. I was able to spend some time with my cousin Kevin and ride around with him in his sweet Matco tool truck. He only has one rule on the truck - no farting! Well to be more specific, the rule is actually that nothing may come out of your ass while you are on the truck. For instance, things can go into your ass, but once there they must stay. Nothing comes out. If you do fail to follow the one rule, then you are warned - ONCE and only once. After that if you break the rule you are charged a hazardous materials fee of $10 (which I think is pretty reasonable really when you stop to consider the pain inflicted on others when you fart) and then Kevin charges you tax on that fee. A gas tax you could call it :)

We had a good Thanksgiving here in Arkansas. Everyone got stuffed like a turkey at, well, Thanksgiving.

I've been playing poker a lot as of late. I'm preparing to make a run at going pro. Yes, many have counseled me against it, but you only live once and I am ready for the challenge. I was talking with my cousin Seth the other day (he has the poker bug too) and he just won his way into a money poker tournament from a freeroll (a tournament where you don't have to pay to play). Go Seth! He and I are planning to study together to get ready to play in the pro ranks starting sometime next year. We hope to make a run at the 2006 World Series of Poker (but if we win our way into a free spot in the 2005 WSOP then we give that a shot too).

The other night we had a poker game here at Mom and Dad's house> Consisting of me and my sisters - Mary Catherine, Melody, and Emily, my brother-in-law Eric and my friend Ben. We started around 9pm and finished at 4am! I won, of course ;)

Well, that's all for now. I'll be back again soon with more (or less).

Remember...
Be Good
And if you can't
Then at least be good at it ;)

E

Love is...

Do you remember those stickers that were really popular in the 70s? You know, the one of the two naked kids on top of the world holding hands. At the top of the sticker it would say "Love is..." And then at the bottom of the sticker were various different answers to what "Love is..." Like some would say "Forever and Ever" or "Eating Chocolate" My last girlfriend gave me one that I still carry around (it's actually a little credit card-esque thing that you carry in your wallet). The one that Jenn gave me says "Love is..." "Being Together"

She was right.

There are soooo many rants that come to mind when talking about subjects like this - the commercialism of a core value like love, the ridiculousness of trying to explain such a complex subject in such a short space, etc. However, I thought it might be interesting to see what "answers" I could come up with and possibility expand on them instead. SO here goes..

Love is...

Here Today and Gone Tomorrow
Compassionate
Patient
Kind
Lonely - unless there are two of you
A full time job
Like a Poker Game - you have to know when to hold 'em
The Greatest Thing in the World
What I have to give you - Today, Tomorrow, Forever

Love is like a casino. Everyone goes in there looking for the same thing - to win big. Everyone has terrible odds going in. Everyone is going to lose some and win some. Some will win more than others. Some will lose more than others. Some will experience the thrills of winning the big jackpot, and some will experience the heartbreak of the most devastating loss they have ever known. And still others will experience both. Some enjoy their time in the casino, and some hate it and can't wait to leave.

However, you can only keep a winning streak alive for so long before you lose. So there is only one way to come out of love (or a casino) a winner. When you win the big jackpot, take the winnings and walk out of the casino a winner.

It's a little easier to realize that you won the jackpot in a casino and know that you should leave (I mean they have buzzers and lights and such, how do you miss that as a sign?) when you are ahead than it is to realize you won the jackpot in love. Many times, in love, you can win and keep playing until you lost it all (and in my case - lost it all again). I guess that the luckiest players have a tendency not to realize that they are indeed lucky (my family would probably call it blessed instead of lucky, but whatever works for you). They don't understand until all too late that they needed to capitalize on their good fortune.

You never know how good the good times really are unless you experience the bad times as well. As Steve Earle said in his song Halo 'Round the Moon from the Transcendental Blues CD:

There's no shelter from the storm
Without the lightening and the rain
And love would hold no charm
If it wasn't for the pain
And it's always been that way
No matter what you do
And no matter what you say
There's a halo 'round the moon

I've been one of the lucky ones throughout my life. The highs have been thrilling, and the lows have been almost unbearable. Today is a low. I should have walked out after the last jackpot that I won, but that was ten years ago next month. Some experts tell me that I could have even walked out a winner as little as two years ago, but I didn't. I hope the experts show me how to come out a winner this time, because I'm ready to walk out of the casino and this has been my favorite jackpot of all time.

Love is... Being Together

E

Quick Update

Well, so much has happened since I last spoke to myself on this thing called a blog. I just haven't felt very bloggy as of late. Election day was a harsh blow to my psyche, and to be honest I don't really want to talk about it. Not much anyway. I have found that the Bush loyalists are as arrogant in victory as they were during the campaign. Some, and only some, of my family has been more tolerant. Some of them look at my Kerry-Edwards fleece and grunt with disgust and walk away. I know that this campaign has deeply divided America, and that we should try to see past party affiliations at this point and move on. I find that hard to do. I'm gonna find it hard to support a president when my grandmother can't afford her medication, or god forbid my brother has to go off to war in Iraq. The blood of these people won't be on my hands - I voted for Kerry.

I'll be enroute for the next couple of weeks heading to wherever life leads me, so my posting will be even more non-existent than usual. But I still love you all - even those of you who hate me for it.

E