A Matter of Faith

Shepherd Book's quote

When I talk about belief, why do you always assume I’m talking about God? – Shepherd Book, Serenity. That there was a quote that launched a thousand thoughts over this Memorial Day weekend. It started on Thursday night when I watched Serenity with some friends.  As a Browncoat—fan of Joss Whedon’s Firefly series and the subsequent movie–I’ve watched this movie several times. At the core of it was about faith, not in a religious way, but a belief in something so strong that one is willing to live by it and die for it. A kind of faith I’ve always...
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Coming Soon: New Zealand Adventure

We’re winding down our New Zealand vacation with my dad. He leaves Thursday afternoon and we leave Friday. So far over 1,000 photos have been taken. I have yet to calculate how many kilometers/miles and hours Brandon had driven in the 5 days we spent in South Island…on the opposite side of the road from the U.S., no less. We had killed absolutely no possums (different than what we have in North America) and rabbits where are both non-native pests here in New Zealand, destroying forests and bird population. However, the Garmin GPS with Kiwi accent tried to kill us...
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All in the name

As many of you know, I am horrible with names.  Shake my hand right now and unless I actually get to talking to you, I won’t remember your name when you walk away.  I will however remember what you look like.  This makes me a horrible networker. May be I’m compensating for not remembering people’s names by naming inanimate objects in my possession instead. I’m not particularly good at naming things but I go for it anyway.  My mom’s BFF Aunty Sida is brilliant with names.  For example, she named her vacation house in the mountains of Khao Yai in...
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Keep Calm and Carry On

Wise word from UK government during WWII.  The propaganda poster that went missing since which had just resurfaced back in 2000.  Nowadays, you see it in all shapes and forms.  Like these guys. Cupcake: The Lobster Pot / Rock: The Poster List I have a copy printed out with a smiley face wearing the crown, and posted in my office to look at.  Because, just like everyone else, some days you need a little bit of a mantra to get you through.  (And yeah, the view does help a little bit.) Outside of the office in the tower, things do...
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Getting a perspective

There has got to be a better way to learn to appreciate life than having 3 dead colleagues in 3 months. I lost a former colleague in December. The guy retired in the summer and took up part time with another company. Friday he was at a conference as healthy as he could be. Sometime over the weekend he died in his sleep. Brandon lost a coworker in January. The health nut and gym rat played tag football with friends the evening before. Sometime that night he had a massive heart attack and died in his home. And I just...
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