Reflections of Me

Reflections

jlh1976 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:48:14 +0000

A while back I changed the name of this to “reflections of me”, so what better title for a new year’s post? After all, new years are for reflecting on the past and future.

2011 was…challenging, to be understated. All of the chaos with my brother & niece, the stupid petty crap between all of the brothers, the drama at work & uncertainty of possibly losing a job that was supposed to be stable…And ending it with dad having a serious surgery (of course, all surgeries are serious), well, let’s just say that I don’t mind that the year is finally over.

So now what? What do I want from 2012? I know what I really want, but realistically I know it will never be. So I’ll settle on a more realistic wish list.

I wish for a job that brings me joy and a sense of making a difference. Whether I remain with our program (which I really want) or move on to newer pastures, I want to know that what I’m doing matters.

I wish for a family that can celebrate together without escalating to fights.

I wish for more reasons to smile than frown.

I wish for peace, happiness, and joy for all of us.

Happy New Year, folks. Here’s hoping that 2012 is an improvement on 2011.

The Social Network

jlh1976 — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:22:37 +0000

No, this isn’t about that movie. I’ve had several discussions about social media, & for the most part I’m on the losing side. Granted, most of these conversations are with people who don’t really understand what social media is really about. To them, Facebook is for building farms & Twitter is for sharing what you bought at the store.

Last week I attended Tech Fest, a free conference for tech nerds, which I unabashedly admit to being. I was twittering with Ashton before it was cool, was on xanga and MySpace before anyone knew I had a place, & was linkedin to no one for a long time, mainly because everyone else I knew was normal & had no idea what any of this was. (truth be told, some of them still don’t understand it.) Anyway, back to the conference. I wound up attending mostly sessions on social media marketing, because even though I was an early adopter, I still didn’t “get” what it was all about & am now coming to the understanding that its not just useful, but also beneficial. I personally don’t understand why people are so paranoid and tries to avoid social media. To me, its just like the days of party lines, when some were leery of the idea of a telephone in their house. Social networks are here to stay, & its just a matter of finding the right balance for you, & understanding the shortcomings while embracing the real benefits to be found in this sort of community. Yes, I agree with the idea of keeping your privacy, but as the digital world grows, the concept of privacy changes. We’re going to have to accept that, and learn how to use it to our benefit.

I’m part of several online forums. When I have a tech question, I turn to a group of people who know more than I do and are able to assist. When I’m looking for inspiration for my class, a group of fellow children’s ministers can be counted on for ideas. And then there’s my “family”–a group of virtual strangers that have shared births, baptisms, marriages, divorces, death, and all the other roller coaster events that make up life. The only thing, I’ve never met any of them face to face. Yet in some ways I feel closer to them than many people I know in the physical realm. I don’t use “real life” or “real world”, because to me this group of individuals are real. Just because I’ve never been to their home or met for lunch, doesn’t make them any less real.

Another argument I’ve heard is that social networks are making people more disconnected. I disagree. From the online forums I’ve connected to thousands of people i would have never met with traditional networks. Moreover, I wouldn’t be as connected to friends & family without email, Twitter, Facebook, photo sharing & text messages. A friend of mine has a new baby grandson that they’re able to watch grow up halfway around the world. I’m in almost daily contact with my college girlfriends, without online media I would have lost touch years ago. My circle of friends would be much smaller without these so-called “imaginary friends”.

Bottom line, social media is what you make of it, and its in your best interest to understand it at the least. For its only in understanding that you’ll be able to both utilize it fully, and protect yourself from the negative consequences that come with this new world of online networks.

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

jlh1976 — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:06:45 +0000

My co-worker was telling me about this documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”, about some Australian guy who went 60 days eating nothing but fresh fruit & veggie juice. He had some neurological disease, was overweight, & basically on a slow road to killing himself via hamburger. So after a lot of searching, he decides to go on a 60 day fast. What really got her attention, though, was another lady in the documentary who had severe migraines. After a week or two on the fast, her migraines went away, she felt better, had more energy, lost weight, etc. She started it this weekend & we’ve been talking all week off & on, so I’ve visited the website, did some research & watched the movie myself. Basically, it’s a very strict diet for a specific amount of time, with the idea that it’s not a quick fix but rather a way to get back on track to eating healthier. So, I think I’m gonna try it for a while. And since I don’t work very well with ambiguous timeframes, I’ve set a goal of ten days. I figure I can manage anything for that long, and if I make it I can always extend it. Only problem is, I don’t own a juicer and won’t be getting one until the weekend. But according to the website, you’re supposed to spend the week before preparing for it by cutting back on meat, dairy, processed foods, & fat. So starting tomorrow, no more snack bar, no more QT frozen cappuccinos, and sadly no cheeseburger special from next door.

Revolution

jlh1976 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:58:40 +0000

Revolution: a sudden, complete or marked change in something.

A friend posted on a forum that she overheard her kids talking about their “new year revolutions”. After the awwww comments, several others shared that they’d like a new year “revolution” themselves. And it got me to thinking: that’s what I really want, a revolution. A sudden and marked change. After all these years of saying I want to do better, after 2 years of going through the motions of making a change, I’m ready. Resolutions are just promises to yourself that you can back out on without consequence. Statistics say about 3/4 of Americans make resolutions, and only 35% of them keep them for the first month. Instead of being another statistic of failure, I want to use my past failures to succeed. 2011 is the year that my revolution begins.

Seeing Red

jlh1976 — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 04:49:01 +0000

I got back from Christmas holiday and was seeing red…red tomatoes, that is. The tomato plant I bought at the end of the season has been happily over wintering on my kitchen table, and was kind enough to treat me to 4 (so far) cherry tomatoes this winter. Makes me antsy for spring and time to start seeds again.

Loser!

jlh1976 — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 02:31:14 +0000

So we’ve started a biggest liner contest at work, and everyone keeps telling me I’m gonna win. Just because I swamped everyone else during our walking contest, they think I’m a given. Of course, I’m gonna sabotage it, like I do everything. But for once, I’m really wanting to do well. Maybe not win it, but at least top half. We’ll see, its 4 months so I’m betting a few drop out, which should help my ranking.

Olympic Dreams

jlh1976 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:42:45 +0000

Most of the time, I could care less about sports. But every other year, or two weeks I’m the biggest fan you’ve ever seen. Sure I like the competitions for themselves, but I also like the human interest stories that go with them. So until next Sunday, ignore the fact that I’m MIA. I’ll be parked in front if the tv watching Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and the rest go for gold.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

jlh1976 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:58:27 +0000

…toys in every store
and the saddest sight to see
is the credit card receipt
from your shopping spree at “Gimme More”

Ok, so I’ll never have a top 10 hit. So how’s everyone else’s Christmas plans going? All I have left is mailing cards, finish shopping, do the children’s christmas program, stuff stockings, & a partridge in a pear tree. & oddly enough, I love this time of year!

I’m Baaaack!

jlh1976 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:32:01 +0000

For the sole person who’s looked at this blog in the past year, I’m back. Part of my me-year, I’m going to try & post more. So for my first post, hope everyone’s recovered from the chocolate od of the weekend.

From Winter To Spring

jlh1976 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:44:48 +0000

Tulips blooming in the snow