Regret

A year ago, I attended my 20 year high school reunion. I could not believe 20 years had gone by so quickly! When I thought about it, I had lived a longer life than I had done when I graduated high school.

I was nervous about going. I don't really keep in touch with anyone from high school anymore. My good friends from high school were not going, so I was afraid I would not connect with anyone at the reunion. If I were married or had a girfriend with me, it would have been a good buffer in case I had a bad time.

I did not go to my senior prom and I always regret it. I think it was because of this regret, that I went to my 20 year reunion. I did not want to regret not going. So, even though I was 20 years older and about 50 pounds heavier (and my hair was 80 percent grayer), I went to my reunion.

When I got there, I saw there was a line waiting to get in. Actually, it was a line of people waiting to get their name tags and sign in. I looked at the people in front of me, I did not recognize anyone. Then people started coming behind me, and I did not recognize them either. For a moment, I was worried that perhaps I was at the wrong place.

Then I heard a voice behind me ask, "Do you recognize anyone here?...How about this guy in front of us?" I turned around and looked at the guy behind me. It was his wife who was asking him if he knew anyone there. I looked at him again....and suddenly I recognized him. It was Jimmy Winand. Wow, had he changed!

In high school, he was rather skinny and had great winged back, feathered hair. The guy behind me was taller, buffer, and had no hair (shaved), but it was still Jimmy's smile. He introduced me to his wife and told me that they lived in Hawaii.

I was really impressed that they had come all of the way from Hawaii to be at the reunion. It was great hearing about his life and how he met his wife. They were really nice to me, and I think they even bought me a beer when we finally got inside.

It really was one of the highlights of my reunion. Here was a guy who was in many of my classes and it was great to see him and to hear about his life. He and his wife being so nice to me at the start of things helped me to relax and enjoy myself for the rest of the reunion.

Last week, I got an e-mail from the reunion committee that Jimmy had passed away. I could not believe it. How could this be? They had a link to a blog that explained everything. Jimmy had died of colorectal cancer.

Even writing this, I still can't believe it. It was the first time in my life that I had known someone well who was not a family member who had died. He seemed to have this great life and great wife....and suddenly it was gone.

I am so glad that I got up the courage to go to my reunion last year. I am so glad too that I got to see Jimmy again and to meet his wife.

After reading the blog that his wife wrote, I realized even more of the great man he had become and what a faithful wife he had. I regretted not knowing the man he had become, but was glad to learn that he lived a good life and had many people who loved him.

As I write this, people are gathering in Hawaii to celebrate the life of Jimmy Winand. Please take a moment to read through the blog that was started for him and learn about the journey of faith that he and his wife went through. Warning: It is a tear jerker.

When you are done, perhaps you can take a moment to pray for his family and to thank God for the many blessing in your own life.

I know I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to have known Jimmy and to see him one last time. Rest in God's peace Jimmy.

I'm it!

My brother Kevin (http://itskev.blogspot.com) had tagged me. Of course, like him, I don't know why I am doing this. If it give me a reason to post in my blog, then it can't be bad.

A- Available or Single?
Huh? Strange question. I am neither, I guess.

B- Best Friend.
In this world, Glyn and my buddy Jeff are currently on top. I have been blessed with many good friends in this life.

C- Cake or Pie.
Cake. German Chocolate cake is my favorite.

D- Drink of Choice.
I usually drink water, but I also enjoy a beer, a glass of bourbon, or a martini..

E- Essential Item.
Toughest one. I don't think anything in this world is essential. However, right now, it has to be my computer. I spend a good part of my day on it. Mostly chatting with Glyn almost every morning and every night. Having a computer is essential to a long distance relationship these days.

F- Favorite Color.
Blue... It brings out Kevin's eyes. (hehehehe)

G- Gummi Bears or Worms.
I really hate them both.

H- Hometown.
This is a tough question. I was born in Annapolis, MD, and lived most of my childhood (8 years) in Stafford, VA.

I- Indulgence.
Baseball...and smoking a nice cigar. Also, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. (Don't ask me why, I just love them.)

J- January or February.
January. The beginning of the year, usually some snow, and there is my birthday and my mom's and brother Steve's too.

K- Kids.
None yet. A special prayer goes out to April and Angelo...two children that we lost to ectopic pregnancies.

L- Life is incomplete without…
Baseball.

M- Marriage Date.
My first marriage was 5/20/95. It was the greatest day of my life. We will see what God has in store for me for another one.

N- Number of Siblings?
3. All brothers!

O- Oranges or Apples?
I think I enjoy apples more. Less messy than an orange. Plus nothing rhymes with orange. :)

P- Phobias/Fears.
I used to be afraid of a few things. I am working with God with most of these. The one that has been around the longest is the fear of falling. I used to think it was the fear of heights, but I have been at the top of some of the tallest structures in the world (Sears Tower and the Empire State Building) and was not afraid. Also, I enjoy sitting in the window seat in an airplane. However, get me on a pair of skates, and I am terrified.

Q- Favorite Quote.
"I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me." - Abraham Lincoln. I think this is a great philosophy on life. It is important to be true to yourself.

In second place is: "If you don't live what you believe, you will soon believe what you live" - Father Bill LaFratta. Fr. Bill was my priest in college. This viewpoint on life has been so true.

R- Reasons to smile.
Waking up to a new day.
The start of baseball season. (See indulgences.)
Being in love.
Knowing that God loves me, no matter what.

S- Season(ing).
I like winter, because of Christmas, my birthday, and the snow.
I love basil, because it makes pesto...yum! I also enjoy cayenne pepper in my chili! Spicy!

T- Tag Three.
Arjean (I am too hoping she will blog again).
Joy (I'd like to compare husband and wife).
Steve (I would love to see him blog again).

U- Unknown Fact About Me.
If I tell you, it would not be unknown, would it?

V– Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals.
Definitely not a vegetarian, so I must be the other one. ;)

W- Worst Habit.
I can be very messy. I can clean up my place, and in a day, it looks like a hurricane went through it!

X– X-rays or Ultrasounds.
I have had both. Ultrasounds are cool because you can usually see what they are doing when they do it.

Y- Your Favorite Foods.
Pizza and Mac and Cheese. These were my favorite foods when I was 5, and they have since remained my favorites. I have also grown to love creme brulee, baklava, apple crisp, and a good steak.

Z- Zodiac.
Capricorn. I don't really follow it too much.

Slingbox

I have to tell you about the coolest product I have ever bought. A buddy of mine told me about it and after reading about it, I just had to get it. What is it? A Slingbox. What is a Slingbox? Well, it really is an amazing product. It allows you to watch your TV from anywhere you have internet access. That's right. I said ANYWHERE!

The product itself is rather small. It sits on the top of the TV and hooks up to your cable or satellite receiver. Then you plug it in to your router, Ethernet bridge, or Ethernet port. I happen to have my router in my TV entertainment center, so it was simple for me. I just plugged it in to my satellite DVR too and downloaded the software, and voila! I was all set up.



It was very simple to set up. You do not have to know much about audio-visual equipment or port forwarding to get going. They had an easy guide and the software was very simple to install.

I can now watch my TV on my laptop from anywhere where I live. I only have a TV in my living area, so this allows me to watch the TV from my bedroom or even outside. (I am currently sitting outside with my laptop and watching ESPN Sportscenter.) They have a great interface that even includes a remote...the exact remote that I currently use for my DVR...every button! So I can change channels, look at the program guide, pause live TV...all just like I was sitting in front of my TV.

Pretty cool, huh? Wait, it gets better.

Not only can I watch my TV from any spot in my place. I can watch my TV from anyplace in the world! I had Glyn in the Philippines download the software and plug in my finder ID (that is all you need to hook up to it). Before you knew it, she was watching my TV from halfway around the world! She said the picture and sound were good. She does not have the fastest internet connection, but it works good for her too! I was sitting in my living room watching her change the channels. She even paused the TV after I showed her how to do this.

They have software that works too on Macs, Palm Treos and other handhelds, Pocket PCs, and Smartphones. This means you can watch your TV from your handheld...as long as you have internet connection.

I have seen some amazing products lately. Apple has done a nice job with their iPods, Apple TV, and the upcoming iPhone. This tops them, in my opinion. If you have not seen Apple TV, it allows you to stream all of your media (pictures, music, and videos) from your home computers to your TV. You could use the Slingbox in conjunction with Apple TV to access your music, video, and pictures anywhere in the world!

I was able to get mine because I had some Amazon.com gift certificates lying around (including one from my former employer...thank you very much). The version that I bought was $149 online at Amazon.com.

I can't wait to go to the Philippines to see it in action myself. (Like I need an excuse to go to the Philippines.)

The Streak Is Over

Today I exercised for the first time in over 3 years. Yeah, that is right 3 years. There was a couple of times I ran for taxi, and I think I remember taking the stairs once or twice instead of taking the elevator.

Maybe it was 2 years ago...I do remember I ran a few times when I was in Miami visiting Mike. However, that is it. That is the extent of my exercising over the past few years.

Feeling fat, lazy, and a little stressed out—and realizing I was no Cal Ripken—I decided it was about time to end my streak. So I pulled out my old AquaJogging equipment and headed for the pool.

What is AquaJogging? Well, actually some people call it deep water running. It is basically running in the pool. I am not much of a swimmer and normal running kills my joints. I picked it up a few years ago when I was looking to do something different.

The high schools here in Arlington all have indoor pools. So I can exercise without worrying about the weather. The fewer excuses, the better for me.

I hadn't been over to the pool in 4 1/2 years! I could not believe it when I figured that out. Wow, how time flies. I used to get up every other morning and go over to the pool when I was in Arlington before.

So here I am, ending two streaks in one day...exercising...and now I have updated my blog.

Last Pictures from the Philippines

Well, this is the last of the pictures from the Philippines (for now, at least)!

There are pictures from our return trip to Alcoy and Bodo's Bamboo Bar Resort. Unfortunately, Glyn got sick while we were there, but you can't tell by the pictures...she is such a good sport.

There are also some shots (pun intended) of me at Cebu Doctors Hospital recovering from my kidney stones ordeal.

You will also see pictures of the Super Bowl, me getting a haircut, us getting a manicure and pedicure, visiting Casa Gorordo, spending time with Glyn's family, visiting Guadalupe Cave, and leaving to go home.

It was a great time. I miss it so much and can't wait to go back again!

The End of Sinulog

I am still doing some catch-up on the photos I had taken in the Philippines. This is a BIG collection of photos I had taken the last weekend of the Sinulog Festival. On Friday, January 19, Glyn, Coning (Glyn's bro), and I went to Ayala Mall where they had a "Tribal Competition" between groups around the Cebu Province.

On Saturday, we went to the Basilica de Santo Nino to see the arrival of Santo Nino and attended a very special Mass there. The Mass lasted over 2 1/2 hours, so we were worn out (and I actually got a little sunburned) that we missed out on the Solemn Procession later that day.

On Sunday, January 21, we sat in the grandstand at the Cebu Sports Complex to watch the grand Sinulog Parade. It was a great place to watch the parade, because we didn't have to worry about the crowd or the sun so much.

I loved being part of such a unique event. I hope you enjoy the pictures! Look for the pig and Ronald McDonald!

There's Snow Place Like Home

Well, I finally made it back. By a miracle, my flight left JFK on Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

I didn't think it was possible that we would take off. Just a couple of hours before, the wind was blowing pretty hard and the snow was coming down in both DC and New York. The flight scheduled to DC before mine was canceled. The flight next to ours to San Juan was canceled. Another flight out of the same gate taxied out to the runway only to get stuck in ice and have to come back. I was just wishing they would cancel my flight before it got too late.

Well, at about 10:30, they told us to board the plane. When I got aboard, I could see I was one of those small planes. On one side, there was two seats next to each other. Across the aisle, there was only one. Not exactly the type of plane you want to be flying in during bad weather. In my mind, I started to sing La Bamba, Peggy Sue, and American Pie...only to humor myself. I actually felt pretty confident that they would not try to take off if they felt they couldn't.

So after the de-icing of the plane, we took off. The takeoff was a little rocky, with the airplane moving side to side as it flew. However, eventually it settled down. It is such a short flight to DC, only a little less than 1 hour in the air. From the time we landed to the time I got home, it was another hour. So by 2:00 am, I was finally home.

The next day I had an interview scheduled. I got up and cleared off my car which was covered in frozen snow. Then I tried to start it. No luck. I am not sure the last time it had been started (I had arranged for my car to be started occasionally while I was gone); however, I think the cold was affecting it more than anything. In addition to the fact that the car wouldn't start, was the fact that the back of the house and the driveway was an ice skating rink. The snow, which was a few inches deep, could be walked on, not in.

So reluctantly, I had to cancel my interview (I called and left a message seeing if I could reschedule), not seeing any logistical way I could get to Old Town Alexandria. I guess it was a blessing in disguise, because I was really tired and fell asleep after I canceled the interview.

Luckily, the job interview that I had scheduled on Wednesday that I had to cancel was rescheduled for Friday. Since that interview was off the Dupont Circle Metro, I did not have to worry about getting my car out. That interview went well, and now I have a followup interview scheduled for next week.

My car has still not moved. The temperatures today are supposed to get up above freezing, so there should be some melting. I hope to get the car out sometime this afternoon. It will be weird driving the car after all of this time. I have not driven in over 3 1/2 months...the longest stretch of not driving since I was in college (or perhaps, ever).

I have gone through a pile of mail since I have been back, but still have not fully unpacked. I guess there is a part of me that wants to be back in the Philippines and I am not quite ready to be fully back home. It is definitely a tough transition, on many levels, from the cold to missing Glyn. I know I will find a way back to the Philippines eventually.