Wow, Turkey Day is over and now it’s time to get back to work. Here are some pictures from the Turkey Trot.
These are all friends who I consider family. I love doing the Turkey Trot and wish that my actual family would do it with me one year. It is so nice to do something on Thursday morning that is giving charitably and also active since the rest of the day is normally spent in a gluttonous stupor watching football. But don’t get me wrong, gluttionous stupor is one of my favorite stupors.
I’d filled my mouth more times on Thursday than should be humanly possible, however, it wasn’t my best Thanksgicing Day showing. I didn’t eat any dessert on Thanksgiving Day other than a single chocolate chip cookie. I also went to three Thanksgiving’s on Thursday but I didn’t eat as much as I have in Thanksgiving’s Past. What is going on with me? What is happening to my stomach?
Thanksgiving for me started with the Turkey Trot and then ended with a mini all-guy high school reunion. Most of the guys I went to High School with were in town including one of our coaches and so we met up at Rudy’s Barbecue and caught up on everyone’s lives. Most everyone had kids and a normal job. Bruce was doing a fellowship in Plastic Surgery, Rick, the quarterback of our football team was now a coach and Chris, one of my favorite people from high school is now a youth pastor. What surprised me most of all is how much we are all still the same. I’m still the “nice” guy of the group and as Chris and our Coach left I heard some stories about what happened in high school that i never even knew about. Not being close to many of these guys really kept me sheltered from some parties and a few other things that happen with men in highschool. There was a time in my life when I would have envied these guys and their conquests and stories, but for once, I was sort of proud of my naiivete. Sure I’ve indulged in my share of debauchery, but for the most part I have remaned pretty clean in my 33 years.
One particular story that I thought was kind of cruel was the retelling of how this “ugly” girl was told that one of the popular guys was in crazy about her. Supposedly she called him for 3 weeks before finally giving up. There was a round of laughs because the joke was supposed to be on the football player, the fact that this ugly girl had his phone number, but no one gave any thought to the fact that there was a girl out there who was being hurt in this practical joke.
I won’t pretend that I have not ever done something so cruel, but I can’t imagine looking back and not being sorry about it now.
When I was in high school I remember I wanted to be more accepted by these guys, I wanted them to like me for me, but now that I am older I realized that would never have been a possibility. Not that I don’t think these guys on some level are all great guys, I just don’t know if their level of character meets my expectations. I prefer to surround myself that are better than me, that make me want to be a better person – because I can use all the improvement that I can get.
Hope your Thanksgiving was great!
We were standing on a bridge that overlooked a large black stagnate puddle of water. The small bridge led to no where and for the life of us we couldn’t figure out why someone had placed it where they had. It was metal and only wide enough for one person to cross. The area was remote, there was no one around except for me, Luker, DW, Jimmy and Bob. Luke and I had ridden over in a slow golf cart and the other 3 guys were on a much faster cart. My plan: To steal the faster golf cart.
I climbed up on the bridge with look and looked back to realize that if I was sneaky and fast I could run to the faster golf cart and leave Bob, Jimmy and DW stranded. I started to sneak out of the trees and then I sprinted, while laughing hysterically, to the fast cart. I jumped in and slammed on the gas just as DW realized what was going on. He ran after me the golf cart barely eluding him. He ran faster but I was getting away. All the while I cackled and laughed at this coup.
I’m rarely sneaky, nor am I fast enough to better my slimmer opponents and this was a real triumph for me.
Later that day I played a couple of rounds of basketball. The first game Bob and I lost miserably to JJ and DW, but the second game I got JJ and he and I defeated Bob and DW. Once again I was delighted in my victory. I’m horrible at basketball, but for once, I was actually doing okay. I was getting lucky, making a few good shots, and in general holding my own. When we won, barely winning 10 to 9, I was elated.
In the last 2 years a group of us has gone to Selah Ranch to spend time together and with Jimmy who is in town from China. All of us, with the exception of JJ, have worked at Kanakuk Kamps and have known each other for over 10 years. It is a group that has a close bond and there isn’t a single person at these trips that isn’t a constant delight to be around.
I think my favorite part of these trips is that for one weekend I get to be “one of the guys” and not just with any group of guys but with some of the coolest guys I know. Most of my time I spend working, working out, reading, alone at home or with my roommate and it can’t compare to what it is like to be surrounded by qaulity friends who love God and who have a common bond.
These trips always make the things of this world seem superfluous. One day I’ll be in heaven without the need to be attached to my Blackberry or my worldly possessions. I won’t stress about being married or having children on endless amounts of bills. Instead I’ll be playing basketball, Ultimate Catch-A-Lot, and riding in golf carts with people that I love.
No, it’s not pumpkin flavored cocaine, I know that is what some of you were thinking, it is an annual event put on by Scuba and Erica Stauver that involved pumpkins, fireworks, a catapult, a huge blowtorch and a lot of fun.
Last night was my first time to make it to the event, but I have to admit it exceeded my expectations. At first Jeff Hewitt and another guy named Jeff were setting paper on fire to see if it would float and I thought, “Did I really come out here to see paper burn?” I made a comment that this was sure to be “Let Down 2008”. But in the end I was proven wrong.
The problem with a Pumpkin Blow is that timing is critical and sometimes you have to deal with mechanics that do not functioin properly. More than once the pumpkins exploded close the the ground and pumpkin pieces and fireworks were flying near my face. I used a folding chair to shield my body from the shrapnel and decided that this year I wasn’t going to be burned by a prematurely exploding firework – something that happened to me once at Nathan Allison’s house. Burn me once, shame on you, burn my twice and shame on me.
So yeah, it’s a fun thing to try if you’ve never done it before, blow up some pumpkins… this year on the 4th of July I want to blow up watermelons!
“Eddie, these slides are just fine the way they are, you are the only one that has had a problem with them.”
“I think that the people you have showed them to understand the concepts before they see the slides, but we are using these slides to teach people who aren’t familiar with the process and they don’t make much sense, they are all over the place.”
“Belinda has seen the slides and she is a new employee.”
“Well, Belinda understands machines and machine language, I understand people. My point is, I think these slides can be improved upon and I don’t want ‘good enough’ I want them to be ‘the best’.”
“Well, if you have time you can redo them, but we’ve spent so much time on them already I don’t think anyone else will have time to update theirs.”
At this point I went back to my desk and took the 18 slides that seemed to lack cohesion and made them brilliantly simple. I kept all the material and graphics and turned those 18 slides into 3 simple slides. I emailed them to my co-worker who is coordinating this large training project that we are putting together.
“I got your slides, I’m okay with this, they don’t look too different from the others and so you can use them.”
I was more than a little disappointed. I took something that stunk like a big turd and turned it into something that was clear, concise and smelled like a cinnamon bark candle from Bath and Body works. I worked a friggin’ miracle and she said “It’s okay to use them?”
I sent her an email back.
“Have you ever been given a ‘demotivation’ award?”
I’m so tired with everyone thinking things are “good enough” when just a little more creativity and hard work we can have “Awesome” or “Unbelievable”.