Meaning behind my blog name

Sue and I have had our business for a little over a year now.  During this time we’ve tried to reprogram our brains to think like business people as opposed to employees.  In a time when many people want to be able to say “I have a job” Sue and I are anxiously awaiting being in the driver’s seat of our own destiny. 

Don’t get me wrong, being employed is a great thing, and probably the right thing for the majority of the population.  There is something to be said about putting in your time, getting paid for your time, and once you are out the door you forget about that job (or try to).  Job’s are great, but they are not going to get you’re a$$ retired on a beach living the life you want to live. 

Your business is something else.  If you are going to be successful you need to be thinking about that business at all times, working that business at all times.  Setbacks and disappointments are inevitable and someone without the right mindset will give in and not make it.  Will we be successful?  I don't know, but we are not giving up just yet!  I am still struggling with the setbacks and disappointments.  I have to learn to not take them so personally.  Sue is a much more positive individual and she is far ahead of me in the game.  I need to follow her lead. 

This is where reprogramming comes in.

A major part of reprogramming your mind is through positive reinforcement.  This reinforcement can come from books, CD’s, videos, and listening to positive and successful people in your desired field.  You might be thinking – "Oh brother self help books.  Only suckers spend money on that BS!"  I thought the same thing, but that’s what successful people do.  They read, listen, watch, live, etc. self help and positivism (is that a word?) so there must be something to it.

If you have ever delved into the topic of self help, becoming successful, etc. you are sure to come across the term “VISION”.  One needs vision if one is to succeed, reach ones goal or achieve “VICTORY”.

So V2V is short for “VISION TO VICTORY”.

·         Late note:  I wrote this early Sunday morning before church.  Whether it was a strange coincidence or a sign I don’t know but the sermon’s theme for the day was “VISION SUNDAY”.  Either way I thought it was pretty cool.

Something I Crave

Ok - calling a bit of an audible.

I guess a craving is for like a food or beverage right?  So I guess this is more of a yearning or desire, and as its February I'm sure a lot of people can relate: I desire VACATION!!!



Sue and I were lured to a vacation seminar by the offering of a free Caribbean Cruise.  This is the third such seminar we have gone to.  At the conclusion of one of the seminars I left there livid so for this one we pretty much went there thinking grab the free trip and get outta there.  Well three hours and four variations of the original offer later we purchased the plan.

It seems like a good deal and Sue and I are very excited about broadening our vacationing horizons.

If it’s a rip off, oh well live and learn.  But we are both optimistic at the possibilities.  Consider us guinea pigs.  I'll report back on how our first trip goes.

Oh late thought.  Two Two Two blogs in One:  Picture of Sue and me (and I'll tie it in) ON VACATION!!!

Favorite Movie

I would have to say my favorite movie would have to be Forrest Gump.  There are just so many great moments in that movie.  In fact I will often reel off a random Forrest-ism at any given moment, whether the moment warrants it or not (yeah that’s probably one of the reasons I don’t have a lot of friends)

I’ve been a big fan of Tom Hanks since the Buffy and Hildegard days (Bosom Buddies) and he is just awesome in this movie.

I’ve probably seen this movie 20, or 30 times and I still get weepy when young Forrest breaks free from the braces on his legs.  Tom Hanks completes putting the lump in my throat with his awesome delivery of this line: “Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows.”

Some of my other favorite lines are:

·         I'm not a smart man... but I know what love is.

·         Drill Sergeant: Gump! What's your sole purpose in this army?
Forrest Gump: To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant!
Drill Sergeant: God damn it, Gump! You're a god damn genius! This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamn gifted, Private Gump.

·         Lieutenant Dan, ice cream.

·         Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.

·         But you ain't got no legs, Lieutenant Dan.

·         I'm sorry I had to fight in the middle of your Black Panther party.

·         I'm sorry I ruined your New Year's Eve party, Lieutenant Dan. She tasted like cigarettes.

·         That's all I have to say about that.

·         Forrest Gump: Hello. I'm Forrest, Forrest Gump.
Recruit Officer: Nobody gives a hunky shit who you are, pus ball. You're not even a low-life, scum-sucking maggot. Get your ass on the bus, you're in the army now!

·         The best thing about visiting the President is the food! Now, since it was all free, and I wasn't hungry but thirsty, I must've drank me fifteen Dr. Peppers.

·         That boy sure is a runnin' fool!

·         That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.

·         Run, Forrest! Run!

·         Jenny taught me how to climb. And I taught her how to dangle.

·         Forrest Gump: Those must be comfortable shoes, I bet you could walk all day in shoes like those and not feel a thing.
Nurse at Park Bench: My feet hurt.
Forrest Gump: My momma always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where the go, where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes, I bet if I think about it real hard I can remember my first pair of shoes.

·         Ya can't sit heah!

·         Lieutenant Daniel Taylor: [Forrest and Bubba salute Lt. Dan] Oh, get your hands down. Do not salute me. There are goddamn snipers all around this area who'd love to grease an officer. I'm Lieutenant Dan Taylor. Welcome to Fort Platoon.
[looks at Bubba]
Lieutenant Daniel Taylor: What's wrong with your lip?
Bubba: I was born with big gums, sir.
Lieutenant Daniel Taylor: Well, you better tuck that in. Gonna get that caught on a tripwire.

Forrest is a lot like all of humanity wrapped up into one individual.  He can be heroic and run into the jungle to rescue his bestest good friend. 

·         I gotta find Bubba!

He can be gentle and kind and offer to help someone that has hurt him over and over again because his love is unconditional:

·         Forrest Gump: You could come home with me, to my house in Greenbow, Jenny. You and little Forrest. I'll take care of you if you're sick.
Jenny Curran: Will you marry me, Forrest?
Forrest Gump: [long pause] Okay.

He can have an explosive temper like when some hippie douche punches the woman he loves:

·         He should not be hitting you, Jenny.

He can be incredibly stupid:

·         My name's Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.

But he can be totally profound, philosophical and brilliant:

·         You died on a Saturday morning. And I had you placed here under our tree. And I had that house of your father's bulldozed to the ground. Momma always said dyin' was a part of life. I sure wish it wasn't. Little Forrest, he's doing just fine. About to start school again soon. I make his breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I make sure he combs his hair and brushes his teeth every day. Teaching him how to play ping-pong. He's really good. We fish a lot. And every night, we read a book. He's so smart, Jenny. You'd be so proud of him. I am. He, uh, wrote a letter, and he says I can't read it. I'm not supposed to, so I'll just leave it here for you. Jenny, I don't know if Momma was right or if, if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I miss you, Jenny. If there's anything you need, I won't be far away.

We could all learn a lot from Forrest. 

Family Pic

We are not a big picture taking family so 3 out of four will have to do:

Prayer and Prevalence

I dreamt of the Apocalypse today.  I got down on my knees as the wall of fire approached me.  I remember feeling a strange mixture of fear and hope right before the great flame engulfed me.

Fear because of all the sin I am guilty of.  Hope - that I was forgiven and would be shown mercy.

When I awoke from this dream I was not panting and sweaty with terror.  I felt an eerie calm and somewhat sad.  I have fallen far short of my potential and I have much work to do but so little desire to do it.  I am not afraid to die.  However, I am afraid to die before I realize and accomplish what it is that God wishes me to do.  

These are four things that have not been very prevalent in my life:  prayer, strength, energy and wisdom.  I need to pray.  Pray for strength, pray for energy, pray for wisdom.

"An Object I Don't Leave the House Without"

Its Day 59 and Time for Blog Post - Day 15...  What a slacker.


I've gotten all the way to work on at least two occasions that I totally forgot my wallet so I can't really say anything is impossible for me to forget, but I guess that’s as close an object to fit this boring assed blog topic.  After all, my wallet contains the magic get out of speeding ticket shield, really the one thing that I love about my job.  But upon reflection the older I get the less I speed.  I find myself wanting to instinctively jam on the brakes when I see a squad car but then I look down at the speedometer and I'm doing like 3 miles over the limit.  When the hell did I get so old?

Well it's a good thing no one reads this because this blog is boring and sucks frog genetalia.  Power Rangers, Nancy Reagan, Nerf football enemas, stinky glandular disorders, and just plain old toe fungus.  There that'll spice things up!

Poo Hoo Ha Ha.  Guess I'm just tired and giddy.  It's my weekend!!!

WIPEOUT

What is it about a person falling that amuses me so?  I don’t know, but because of it I have really enjoyed America’s Funniest Videos and more recently ABC’s Wipeout.  For those of you unfamiliar with Wipeout perhaps you remember Spike TV’s MXC (Most Extreme Challenge).  Wipeout is similar if not a blatant rip off of it.  I loved MXC and I now love Wipeout.

The objective of Wipeout is to get through various obstacle courses as quickly as possible.  Those with the best times move on to the next round.  The last man or woman to not be eliminated wins the $50,000 prize.

Contestants are generally not athletes so it’s kind of fun to imagine yourself competing for that $50k,  fun to imagine until you see someone bounce off of a giant rubber ball after having formed a perfect letter “U” with their body.  The people on the show are usually pretty goofy and the two announcers John Henson and John Anderson give the action some often times hilarious play by play.

There are many pitfalls awaiting each contestant during their run though the obstacle course.  These pitfalls may come in the form of flying objects ranging from snowballs to giant hockey pucks being hurled at the contestants.  Rapidly opening doors or hatches may launch people a distance of 15 feet through the air into muddy water.  Giant swinging arms may catch people right in the midsection and send them spinning into a pool of water 20 feet below.  Also of note is how the final obstacle begins.  Three finalists are shot out of a cannon for a distance of what appears to be about a third of a football field into a pool of water.  I can only imagine the legal waivers people have to sign before being allowed to take part in this show.

Thoughts that cross your mind while watching Wipeout may include:  The human body is NOT meant to bend that way.  That WOULD be fun.  That WOULD NOT be fun.  That had to hurt.  I hope that guy wasn’t planning on having children.

So if you find yourself holding in a laugh when you see someone trip in public, you might want to check out Wipeout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFzNKBZehSU

My Favorite Musician

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess you could say music’s beauty is in the ear of the listener.

On my way in to work today I heard a song that my initial reaction was how can someone like this @#$%?

But really who am I to say that anything on the radio is bad?  If there is a market for that song that must mean someone likes it.  So again who am I, who is anyone to say that something is bad?

This brings me to my favorite musician or band in this case.  My favorite band is and has been for about 30 years RUSH.  I remember someone saying to me upon looking at my concert tee shirt, “Rush huh?  They sure make a lot of noise for 3 guys.”  Obviously not a fan, but a pretty accurate statement.

RUSH truly proves my point that musical beauty is in the ear of the listener.  Some of my music, to me is so melodic, or has such a catchy beat that my first thought is how can anyone not like this?  I don’t think that about RUSH.  Again I love them but I can see how someone could totally hate them.

Here are some reasons why I love RUSH:

Animate / Analog Kid / Available Light / Chemistry / Distant Early Warning / Entre Nous / Freewill / Ghost Rider / Leave That Thing Alone / Limelight / Malignant Narcissism / Manhattan Project / Natural Science / New World Man / Red Sector A / Roll the Bones / Show Don’t Tell / The Enemy Within / The Spirit of the Radio / The Weapon

So many more…