P. Large

What is the Deal?

2010-02-09T18:33:00.001-06:00

Not sure why I am back and writing this but quick question. How does Tommy not put on his snow boots and snow pants for his walk home in the biggest blizzard of the season?

To Appease the Divine One

2009-02-02T08:25:00.003-06:00

The Divine One (my Dad) apparently keeps looking at my blog for updates and I have all but abandoned this one. Maybe a monthly update I could keep up with, life must be pretty good because this used to be a release for me of all my thoughts.

My Parents grew up in Plymouth WI and both families (Stegers and Andrews) had a tie to the fabric in the growth of the town. Stegers had a sheet metal business that eventually moved into heating and eventually air conditioning. Probably the first in town but everyone new Grampa George. The Andrews owned the local watering hole and beds for the night. Right down the winding road over the river sat the City Club. I only remember little things from the place. Pool, fryer behind the bar and the back apartment after walking through the long hallway to get to it. I know there were snacks back there but I can't remember what they were......oh wait now I remember little pretzel barrels.

The City Club was sold a couple of years back and I thought it would be a shame if it wasn't in the Andrews Family in some way. Take all the old photos throughout the years, tie the history to the building, listen to all the old stories and recreate the laughter that came out through the screen doors on the hot summer nights. At the very least if for only a family gathering place.

Wecome to the Right Where the Woman Wear Make-Up and the Men Don't Play Soccer

2008-11-06T17:19:00.004-06:00

I love one liners, I try to remember as many as I can. My dad is pretty good at them and has more than I could possibly remember. I think that has something to do with growing up in a bar. I realized that the Andrews side has a pretty good sense of humor, quick and witty, not slow and stupid.

I do watch the Daily Show and Jon Stewart but Steven Colbert is my favorite..enjoy

Time Slows Down

2008-10-27T08:03:00.002-05:00

For the last three months football has been the epicenter of our world here at the Andrews house. Dominic played his first year for the Redskins of the Lightning League (these are the 5th and 6th graders). They were the North Side Champions but lost to the South Side team in the championship game. He played center this year and as Grampa Chuck stated "he fills out his uniform well". He and his QB never missed a snap this year, meaning they never dropped the exchange. Of all the years that I have been around youth football players I have never seen that. He should be very proud.

I coached the Thunder Redskins (7th and 8th Graders), after a rocky 1-3 start we ended the season 3-1 winning our last game 20-8. It was a fun season, lots of hard lessons learned and having it finally come together at the end.

Now the world slows down a bit, not sure what to do three times a week from 6-8pm....maybe plan for next year.

....But One Life to Give the IRS

2008-09-19T06:21:00.003-05:00

Hey Biden, I am my own favorite charity.

Dominic's Football Practice

2008-08-22T09:25:00.003-05:00

FotoViewr - Create your 3D photo gallery

I Didn't Say I Wouldn't Go Fishing With the Man

2008-08-17T05:58:00.001-05:00

I don't know why but I love this commercial.

Football

2008-08-08T17:33:00.002-05:00

Football season has started. Packers are in camp, Badgers are in camp and my youth team is in camp. Only this year our league went from 190 kids to 325, which of course means that we are going to have less problems than last year right?....right?

let me just say that going form 190 to 325 has created so many problems you have to wonder why this was done in the first place. But I digress, as I am only a coach. That is what I do, coach. Don't ask my opinion, don't call me wondering what my feelings rather let me know what the board decided and I am your pawn. That makes my life easy.

As a team though I have some great kids this year. Returning are about 11 of my players from last years team along with about 13 that are new but overall I am good to go.

My younger sister sent me an email about how the group Tesla released an album 18 years ago and it seem like yesterday....I just wanted to let her know, that feeling will come more often now.

Two CheeseBurgers in Paradise

2008-07-27T08:55:00.002-05:00

Dominic had received a new bike for his birthday back in April and has been riding it everyday since. But all went awry this last week when he couldn't get the bike into third gear. Well since I am so mechanically inclined I hopped right up to fix his problem.....

Actually I dragged my feet for a couple of days so Dominic took things into his own hands and started to take the bike apart. With tools laying everywhere he fixed nothing and only made a mess. What he did do was figure out what was wrong he just needed some help fixing it. So after taking off the thing-a-giggy (which was the de-railer) and getting a new one, new cable and buying a chain tool we had it figured out and fixed. If only it hadn't taken 4 trips to the cycle shop and 4 hours later we might have looked like we knew what we were doing.

So with greasy hands and some sore backs we went for a walk while he rode his fixed bike and it worked awesome. As a reward we went to Chester's in Plymouth to eat greasy cheeseburgers with deep fried onion rings and wash it all down with a big root beer. Oh yeah we had to get a ice cream cone before leaving too but my son and I fixed his bike with no casualties and a sense of pride.

Oh and if you haven't seen "The Dark Knight" go, it was awesome.

Andrews Kids are in Therapy Again

2008-07-16T20:20:00.003-05:00

Dominic took on the responsibility of mowing some lawns this summer. The new job he just took on is bigger than the rest but he was excited about doing it. I told him to mow the other houses and when he got to the new one I would help him out with it. Well, he did it himself without me, which shows ambition and is great but it wasn't done right. In fact there where huge rows of missed lawn and when I told him that he needed to do it again he got mad. So with huge tears rolling down his face he worked through it, got it done and ultimately feeling really good about doing it right, in fact there was even a smile. Learning that taking money for a job that wasn't done right is stealing, he learned and if I know Dominic, that will be the last time he does a half ass job.

I now know how my dad felt when I didn't do it right. Sorry Dad

Hi Honey, Yep That Would Be a Tornado Siren

2008-07-16T19:37:00.004-05:00

These are just a few pictures from the storm that came through Sheboygan tonight. And yeah that is a crushed car!

I am Man!

2008-07-14T08:17:00.003-05:00

This was a good week for me, I represented man well.

Getting the roof caulked off, me thinks leak stopped. That warms my heart after 6 years of trying to figure it out.

Fucking-A a grill gets hot when you set it up correctly. I bought this grill when we moved into our house. I got is from an old lady down the street who decided that it just didn't work right or get hot enough. So this $200 grill I picked up for $75, but she was right, it just didn't work right through the years. I replaced the cooking grill, gas lines, warming grill and lava rocks but it just got hot in certain places. Then this weekend I got a lava rock grate that goes above the flame...holy shit it burns the hair off the knuckles now!

Return to Cool

2008-07-09T22:41:00.001-05:00

Yeah, came back with the old school site cuz it is asshats.

Summer TV

2008-07-09T22:12:00.002-05:00

Since it is the middle of summer and all the shows are on hiatus that we normally DVR Jen has decided to start recording shows like Shear Genius and Design Star. I need Lost back, it is like heroin withdrawal (not like I have ever done heroin but if I did I am sure the withdrawal would be just like this).

My roof gets fixed tomorrow morning but it is only a short term fix until next year. I can't wait to deal with contractors, remember the movie Money Pit? Yeah the Horror.

Gas is $4.03 here.....whaaaaaaa?

The boys are at camp all week, tomorrow is sleep over night...we are hitting the bar after we drop them off just because we can.

Leroy needs a walk, he just needs to retrieve something.

Parades

2008-07-08T06:49:00.002-05:00

I don't like going to parades. There I said it, I have been ridiculed for this opinion but even as a kid I didn't like parades. I guess not so much the parade itself but as a kid it was the steam engines that came down the street. You could hear them about a mile away...chuga, chuga as the steam pushed through the engine. Then there was the whistle, wholly shit it was loud. As it turns out I don't like loud, who woulda knew. To this day every parade we go to this primal fear is brought up by my family and they laugh and laugh...he he...

Today I don't like parades because of the lack of steam engines. Thinking about it there is a lack of fire engines....and police cars, tanks, bands, clowns and most of all candy. Todays parades are taken over by politicians and church groups like gods pottery (see below). So when Youth Football called and asked if I was going to walk in the parade to promote Youth Football I had to decline because not only do I hate parades so why should I be in one, but also because registration is closed so what's the point.

Total Slacker

2008-07-01T20:31:00.002-05:00

I am a total slacker with the whole blogging thing. In fact I have been thinking about letting it end and putting it to rest. I kind of like it though and decided to go back and look at some of the more memorable posts, just to bring back some good memories.

1. Pooping Cows
2.Kitty Returns looking like a crack addict
3. Job Search
4. The Big Day
5. The Divine One, on golf

This has been kind of fun and I am only through year one, will have to continue the fun another time. Hope you enjoyed the "best of p.Large".

Obama's Portland Turn Out

2008-05-19T19:33:00.002-05:00

Did you see the turn out for Obama's rally in Portland, Check them out here.

Man, I bet all 57 states were represented.....whew...

Church Going Voice

2008-04-30T20:26:00.000-05:00

I love this....

Tommy"isms"

2008-03-15T20:36:00.002-05:00

For what ever reason Tommy seems to be able to file away little tidbits and phrases he hears and pluck them out and use them whenever he wants for what we have called Tommy"isms". If you ask us what he has said we couldn't tell you, we seem to forget just know how funny they were. So in an attempt to keep up and remember what he says I will post them here for all to have fun with. Now keep in mind these are coming from a 7 year old.

1. Tonight on the way home from a Mexican restaurant where he refused to eat what he ordered (cheese enchilada with beans and rice) Mom says "Well I guess we know know Tommy doesn't like enchilada's"....Tommy: "You got that right!" which at that point he sings the Pepto Bismol song.

2. After reading Tommy a book and Tommy learning something, out of the blue he actually uses the phrase "Fancy that!". What 7 year old knows when to say that?

Lightning Strikes

2008-03-03T18:28:00.002-06:00

On ESPN they had a contest to see what is the best sport highlight of all time, we the public get to vote on a bunch of different clips but it came down to two. First was a college football bowl game between Oklahoma and Boise State in 2007. I don't watch to many bowl games but this one I had on being it was prime time and I wanted to see how a mid-level conference team does against the powerhouse, below is the clip.

Then the winner by a vote of 55% was the Mike Eruzione goal to beat the Russians in the 80 Olympic games. I try to think back to some memory of this game but being that I was 8 years old and not a hockey nut I don't ever remember hockey being on the TV at our house but for some reason I think I remember the game on our TV when we lived in Sheboygan on a little 16" TV (yeah that was the main TV). I don't know if that was the case or not but I would like to think so. Until they make a movie of the Boise State game I am going to have to pick the hockey upset too.

Running on Empty

2008-01-23T08:15:00.000-06:00

If anyone pays attention anymore, I really haven't been keeping up on this blogging thing. So let me get everyone up to date.

First, let me address the Green Bay nation. I am as sick of the loss as you are but could we please put it in perspective? we ended the season at 14-4 and if anyone can prove they predicted that at the beginning of the season you'll get a big ol' cookie. Favre, for the most part, was the MVP of the league. McCarthy was the coach of the year with what he did with this team. Lets look back at the season and enjoy the fun we all had on this bus trip, because we won't sneak up on anyone next year.

Second, my son Dominic entered the Geography Bee at school. He first won the Bee for his classroom, hey that was cool. He then had to go up against 11 others throughout the school in an elimination round. I was just hoping he wouldn't be the first one out but to my surprise he ended up third, losing only to 5th graders....this was way cool.

Lastly, can I just say that the cold sucks. 1.8 degrees at 8:30 in the morning just isn't right.

What Are They Talking About?

2008-01-09T22:09:00.000-06:00

We are in the middle of another presidential race that will end, not soon enough, next November. We are going to hear a lot over the coming months about how crappy everything is and for some it really is but I saw a survey that said that 94% of Americans are happy with their lives.

Check out this article from David Brooks of the New York Times or just listen to Colin Cowherd from ESPN Radio talk about it, I think he is my new favorite radio host.

Christmas Repost

2007-12-25T10:15:00.000-06:00

from 12/24/05....

The following post is from a story writer of the Milwaukee Journal by the name of Charlie House....a long time ago.....Like before I was born..which was a long time ago.

I am sure that he wrote this, published it and maybe never thought about it again but if one of his kids ever googles his name I want them to know that it has been used in our family for close to forty years and will be used when my kids find out. The following is from my Mom....

“I found this article in the Milwaukee Journal newspaper (we were living at 2227 N. 7th Street in Sheboygan). I’ve read this story to each of you children when it became apparent the proper time had come for you to hear it. You then became part of a
Very special secret and were allowed to stay up late on Christmas Eve, bring the gifts out from their special hiding place and place them under the tree for the rest of the family as they slept."...Mom

With that, here you go. A Andrews Family Tradition.

When you were littler than you are now, you believed in Santa Claus. Now that you are bigger, you may be wondering about the beautiful secret of the really, truly Santa Claus. You are old enough to know, so this is a real story. It happened. Once upon a time, a very long time ago, a baby was born in a city called Patara in a place called Asia Minor. The baby's name was Nicholas. I think they called him Nick. Except for one thing. Nick was just like other babies. He laughed some. He gurgled some. He cried some. He did all the things that other babies do. But the very one thing that was different about Nick was that he was going to grow up to become the really, truly Santa Claus.

Nick's father had a funny name; it was Epiphanies. Nick's mother had a pretty name; it was Joanna. Nick's name wasn't Santa Claus; not yet, anyhow. He got that name in a very funny way, which I will tell you about after a while. Nick's mother and father knew that Christ had come from heaven and that Christ was wonderfully good and kind. He loved people on the earth, and the people always tried to do the things that Christ wanted them to do. Nick's mother and father believed in Christ, so they called themselves Christians. They taught Nick to be good and kind, and to help people. As he grew from a baby to a boy and then to a man, he was always good and kind. One day some people came to Nick. They asked him if he would please come to work in their church so that he could help people. Nick said that he would like to do that, so he did. After a long time people saw what a wonderful person he really was. They asked him if he would come to a much bigger church in a much bigger city, which was called Myra. Nick did; and then, after a while, the people started to call him bishop, because that is what you call a person who is at the head of some churches. Bishop Nicholas was very happy. He liked big people and he liked little people; but most of all, he loved children. Sometimes he carried candy in his pocket so he could give little children a present when he met them. It was fun for him to see little children happy. Other times when Bishop Nicholas learned about people who needed something, he would go to their house and drop the something down the chimney. He enjoyed giving secret presents. Well, people began to think that Nick was so nice that they decided to call him a saint. (A saint is a person who is so nice that you could hardly know anybody nicer.) So the people called him Saint Nicholas. Nick began to travel from place to place to try to help people. Sometimes he traveled east; sometimes he traveled west; sometimes he traveled south, and sometimes he traveled north where it was very, very cold. And here is an odd thing. When St. Nick traveled to the north kind of places, he dressed as warmly as he could. He wore warm, black boots, and he wore red clothes (because some bishops wear red). He wore red mittens and a red hat and red trousers and his clothes were all trimmed with white fur. I am sure' that you know exactly how he looked. I think you know how he traveled, too. He had a big sleigh and he drove reindeer, just as you have thought of him doing all those years when you were little. But one day, after Nick had grown old become a very, very old man, a sad thing happened. He died on December 6 of the year numbered 343. That was 1,624 years ago. Everybody was sad. They looked at each other and asked, "Who can take his place?" Some people were willing to try. They dressed in red clothing trimmed with white fur, and they put on a make believe beard, and they went from house to house to give presents to the little children. They wanted to make the children glad, and they did. The people who dressed up like St. Nicholas couldn't make believe all the time so they did it just around Christmas time, because it was near to the time that Saint Nicholas went away. Other people got St. Nick mixed up with Christmas time, even though Christmas doesn't really have very much to do with the wonderful, true story of Santa Claus. Then a long, long, long time passed. Some Dutch people who lived in Holland moved away from there and came to America, where you live. Did you know that the Dutch people talk differently? When Dutch people want to say the name St. Nicholas, they say it this way: San Nicolas. Now I am going to stop reading for a little while so you can try to say San Nicolas a few times, very quickly. Try it. Now you see? It sounds exactly like -Santa Claus." So you see, the name as we say it is not a really truly name- it is a fun kind of a Nickname! Santa Claus is a kind of a fun man, too. Even though there was once upon a time a really, truly St. Nick, there isn't any more, except just for make believe. You are big enough to know that if the really, truly St. Nick had stayed alive all that time, he would be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years old and, of course he couldn't live to be that old, could he? So now, big people make believe that the wonderful man who lived ever so long ago is still in the world. The reason they do this is because it is a very special way to make little children happy. And that's the really, truly story of Santa Claus.

2007, The Wonderful Year in Sports

2007-12-23T10:09:00.000-06:00

I am a big fan of Steve Czaban who I only get to listen to while he is on Bob and Brian in the morning on 102.9 in Milwaukee. He was giving thanks to the year in sports and I wanted to paraphrase.

Year of Shame: 2007 Sports..

1. Dog fighting…Michael Vick's love for dogs
2. Ref. gambling…This includes NBA and Big Ten referee’s
3. Adam “Pac Man” Jones….Strippers are so much fun
4. Bill "look I learned sign language" Belichick
5. Imus “love those nappy headed hoes”
6. Isiah “where’s the love” Thomas (suspiciously Martha Burke was no where to be found)
7. Barry “What’s up with my head getting bigger” Bonds
8. Marian (Sorry I got caught) Jones
9. Mitchell Report (really does anyone really care anymore, lets play two people)
10. Chris Benoit….The ultimate in roid rage
11. NFL Shootings…..One to start the season in Denver and one to end the season with the Redskins moarning.
12. O.J.’s reality show wanna be (hey everyone, there’s a party down the hall, got your guns?)
13. DUI’s in all sports, Jerry Buss and Tony Larussa the most notable
14. NFL Network and Big Ten Network strong holding the cable companies.

Positives
1. Thank you Tony Dungee for proving that a good guy can reach the top.
2. Thank you Brett Farve for giving the gift of football to all us Packer fans for yet another year.
3. Thank you Ava Longoria Parker for keeping my waining interest in the NBA alive
4. Thank you Sopranos’ for leaving us all wondering if Tony finally got it in the end.
5. Thank you Devin Hester for all you do, it is fun to watch
6. Thank you Navy Football for stomping on Notre Dame while they are down.
7. Thank you Mike “I’m a man” Gundy for the best coaches rant all football season

8. Thank you Britney Spears for taking the time out of your busy day and show us how not to raise our kids.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I'm Rick James Bitch!

2007-12-21T19:10:00.000-06:00

Today I was watching the morning news and they had this story about Oprah giving every one of her audience members (30 of them) $1000 at the yearly "favorites" things show where audience members go fucking crazy because they get all the stuff free. The only caveat is that they had to "Pay it Forward", meaning they couldn't keep it they had to give it away then report back what they did with it. Some of the stuff was amazing, like turning that $1000 into helping to pay for brain surgery for someone....really?

Now I am not a Oprah fan, in fact I think she has gotten to ridiculous but this was a good idea so....

Today I am at the post office and am in line waiting to mail some items for work and this 6' blond bomb shell comes in and gets in line behind me. You know the type, big sunglasses (even though it was not sunny out all day), fur coat, big dangling purse with lots of metal circle things and jingles all over the place. I smile...she ignores..whatever. Anyway as I leave the post office she is in front of me, we walk up to the doors and she stops...moves to the side where I see this women coming in with a cane and moving a little slow so now I am at the door, the blond has moved a side and in approaches the lady with the cane. I do the obvious and open the door to let the lady with the cane walk through but as she gets past me the blond quickly moves through the open door that I am holding then proceeds to not hold the next set of doors in front of her and letting it close in my face never even considering that I was behind her...there she walks away to her Cadillac CTS and off she goes, wow oblivious to the world around her.

Well I was only a block away from a small quaint store called "Sense of Taste" that I decided to stop in and purchase a couple of cigars, not that I am a expert on cigars or anything but about once a year I get the craving for a good one. I got out of the car, walked up to the meter and pulled out the change in my pocket (going ding-a-ling-a-ling) and I had a nickel which gave me 10 minutes, more than enough time really but there in front of me in my hand were two quarters which would put 2 hours on the meter...I dropped in the quarters, got two hours put on and left it for whoever pulled up behind me...merry Christmas to someone....until Jen pointed out at supper that it was probably the blond bitch that got the two hours.....UGGGHH!!! Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!!!!

Clang Clang Clang Came the Trolley

2007-12-18T07:04:00.000-06:00

This weekend something special happened. It doesn't happen very often but sometimes everything just comes together. This weekend it was the 1913 Steam Locomotive that came into Plymouth WI. It was big, black, loud and just plain impressive. Sister has lots of pictures and with the light snow falling and having my boys with me I couldn't help of love the time spent.

Funniest Man on TV

2007-12-12T22:02:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted but lots has happened and I am just catching up now.

Right before Thanksgiving both Tommy and I got pneumonia, worst part is that we had to stay home for the feast, best part is that we got to watch the Packers play with no distractions. Both of us are better in case you were wondering, but just today I have finally been able to work out without to much of a breathing problem.

But the real reason for my post is that my Dad and I were talking about Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien on NBC late night. Conan is taking over for Jay in 2009 and most think that Jay has decided to retire, but I have to say that I think more is going on behind the scenes. Conan is the funniest man on TV and if you haven't had the joy of staying up late enough to see him I recommend to do it just once so you can fully comprehend his brilliance.

This clip is from the 2006 Emmy Awards and gives you a small taste of his funny.

As a dad do you punish or high five!

2007-11-16T15:33:00.000-06:00

3rd Base!

2007-11-12T19:39:00.000-06:00

This is still the greatest comedy sketch ever written.

Shows on TV

2007-11-09T19:57:00.000-06:00

We usually have something to watch every night. As an example, Monday night is Heros and Journeyman, Tuesdays are The Biggest Loser and House, Wednesday's are pretty slim but Thursdays...oh beloved Thursdays. This belongs to Surviver, CSI, The office....oh my. My point being that we Tivo just about everything and having the ability to stop live TV rocks. Now when we were younger we would stay up late on Saturday night to watch SNL but my eyes just can't stay open that long.

So on the radio the DJ mentions this skit and to be honest I got a pretty good chuckle out of it...although the more I watch it the more stupid it becomes. Let me know what you think...

Messing with Sasquatch

2007-11-05T20:18:00.000-06:00

I am not sure if any of you have paid attention to one of the more funny TV commercials out there. Messing with Sasquatch by Jack's beef jerky, so for your enjoyment I bring you....

Messin' with Sasquatch

The Final Battle

2007-10-22T19:07:00.001-05:00

Hit play then read with the music.

It was calm for a Championship Saturday with nervous anticipation all around. The cold cracked a little harder before the sun warm-up of the day. The field was set, lines were extra white waiting to be tore up amongst the boys wanting to play the game. The Sheboygan Badgers Vs. the Sheboygan Steelers was a battle of wills, both setting the bar high at 6-1 records coming into the game. The Steelers using a high powered offense balancing between run and pass was hard to stop, the Badgers using a run controlled offense blasting holes in the line for large gains but the last meeting between the two ended in a 8-6 win for the Badgers and only the best play will allow that to happen on this Saturday in October.

The coaches new that a early score would put control in the badgers hand and that plan was executed early with a QB keeper around the end for a 40 yard touchdown. The teams played even football the rest of the half. Pads were hitting, loud crunches with boys grunting with all their energy for the tackle.

The Badgers came out the second half and controlled it from the start, Marching down the field with power and grace looking at their opponent in the eyes and taking them head on. With the ball on the 1 yard line the question of what the badgers were going to run was answered with a power run right up the gut into the swarm of tacklers and coming out victoriously on the other side of the goal line,resulting in a 12-0 lead that the defense held onto for the rest of the game. As the boys jumped up and down with their league championship I was a little depressed that it was all over, boy what a team.

This season the Sheboygan badgers allowed only 30 points while putting up 104. 4 out of their last 5 games were shut outs and even had a game that allowed the opponents one first down the entire game.

Congrats Sheboygan Badgers, you sure were a team of winners.
Remember that winning isn't a right but rather a consequence of all the hard work put in.

Caught In a World of Nothing

2007-10-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

I have been pretty quite about my lack of employment lately due to the fact that if I talk about it, It consumes me. I didn't like who I was becoming with all the stress.

A couple of years back I changed careers due to completing my degree in Organizational Administration. I found a job out of school that paid less than when I didn't have a diploma, a step back, yes but I had that piece of paper that would allow me to find something better. Something better came along but I got caught in a world of office politics and what was suppose to be my long term job turned into a 6 month "lets fuck over Paul" fuck fest.

So over the the last 8 months I have made a lot of good impressions but no progress in getting a job. That last fuck fest brings up the standard question, "but Paul it looks like you job hop"....yep I have been pegged as a job hopper and I have come to realize that with that stigma it is a kiss of death.

So with that I keep going to interviews and keep getting rejected and the longer it goes the more stress that weighs down. The holiday season is looming soon, not quite there yet but boy it hits quick. Halloween then 4 weeks to Thanksgiving, then 4 weeks to Christmas, then one week to New Years. How far we fall so quickly.

Ok, so enough of all that good stuff but one of the "stigma's" that I have is that I have experience in a lot of different areas (sales, training, HR, production..) but master of none. So I had to laugh at this mornings Dilbert.....Dilbert rocks!

We Are Team

2007-10-05T08:04:00.000-05:00

Hit Play, then read:

Thursday night football and it was the first sunny game we have played all year. Sheboygan Badgers at Oostburg, kick off was 7:00. Quickly the lights turned on as the sun was setting and the kids take the field. The game plan was to hit quick and hard, score early and often. From the first snap the Badgers owned the game, runs to the left again to the left then a quick hit to the right that went 40 yards for a touchdown. The whole game we controlled the line of scrimmage and blocked with intensity that lead to long runs, punt returns for touchdowns, smashed mouth football up the middle. The kids played hard and hit people quick and with a focus.

The defense was fast and quick to the ball not allowing the blocker to get his hands on them and gang tackling like they are suppose to. They allowed only 1 first down all night, never letting Oostburg past the 50 yard line. In the end the Badgers scored 34, Oostburg 0. It was as close to a perfect game as I have ever seen from 11 and 12 year olds. I was impressed.

Badgers 34, Oostburg 0

Badgers are 4-1 on the season and the road is paved forward.

We Are All Business

2007-09-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

Hit play, then read for full effect.

It was a late game, 7:30PM kick-off 50 degrees and light drizzle. The Sheboygan Badgers vs. Sheboygan Eagles. This has turned into a grudge match between the two teams. Always meeting at the end of the year for the championship, the regular season match-ups turn into hard hitting, low scoring one up-man-ships.

Runs up the middle for 3-yards and a cloud of dust as the boys pile on each other. It was a chess game; who can make the least amount of mistakes and which team can capitalize on those mistakes.

First, second and third downs were getting quicker and quicker resulting in punts for both sides. Half-time came with both teams working for their first score.

The second half was more of the same, defensive stands for loses or short gains into the 4th quarter. No mistakes by either team, stay calm and fierce.

We made the first mistake on a punt return with 4 minutes to go in the game. The punt by the Eagles was high and true and I saw it coming before it happened. Our return man came running up and the ball slipped through his hands. With the ball on the ground there was a pile of boys with the Eagles coming out with it on our 10 yard line...a score was immanent.

That is when it happened, we teach never give up on a play, follow it and always run to the ball because you never know when the ball is coming out. The Eagles ran to the right and there it went, ball on the ground and an Eagle player jumped on it first but it squirted out behind him and it was nothing but red on covering it up. We now have 95 yards and 2 minutes to go in the game and I have all three time outs, it is all tied up 0-0.

We go into our 2-minute drill, yes my lighting team has a two minute drill and they ran it to perfection. No huddle run to the right for 10 yards (1:45 left), No huddle to the left for 8 yards (1:30 left), No huddle run to the left again for 10 yards (1:15 left), and again no huddle to the right for a gain of 2 and I call time out (two left). My QB comes over to me as I am walking out on the field, with a smile he says "43 scissors coach", I smiled and said "run it" and walked off the field.

My running back faked left with a huge jab step and started up the line. We reversed it with a second hand off and the running back hit the hole and was gone for 60 yards and a touchdown with :41 seconds left in the game. That was how it ended 6-0 Sheboygan Badgers. We are now 3-1 with three games left, the chase for the championship in on!

Classic Battle

2007-09-21T08:55:00.001-05:00

Click Play, read while playing:

The warning came out around 4PM, fog alert. Heavy fog rolling into Sheboygan. Game kick-off was scheduled at 6:00PM.....Place: Sheboygan South High School Field....Teams: Sheboygan Badgers Vs. Sheboygan Steelers in what is to become an immediate classic, one of the best games played, a back and forth defensive battle with low scoring, lots of punts and the team that can stick to their game plan the longest wins the game.

The team captains assemble at mid-field shaking hands in respect of each other but that was the last friendly jester before kick-off. We are to kick off to start the game and are subjected to the Steelers open style offense, marching the length of the field in 6 plays to score. As they line up to go for the two point conversion our kids buckle down and slam the Running Back in the back field....badgers 0 Steelers 6.

The battle is now on, back and forth the teams went with fumbles on both sides due to the heavy fog making the ball slippery. We punted, they punted until with 2 minutes left in the half we break a long one to the 10 yard line...the clock ticking, time outs all used up we get a play off, my quarterback keeps to the left, he hits the corner on his way to the end zone...at the 5...4...3...2...1......to be pushed out of bounds at the 1/2 yard line as the clock shows 0:00 on the board to go into half time....it was demoralizing, the kids heads were down, they didn't need to be.

The coaches get the kids together, go through pep talks, what changes needed to be made for the second half but time was getting short as I stood behind the coaches waiting to say my peace. I was proud of them, they played hard, score or not but their heads were down. I had a minute and a half left and all I could hear was my Dad in the back of my head and I had to smile. So this is what I said "Boys, where would you rather be? It is Thursday night football, we are playing on the high school field, fog is heavy and we are are in a smash mouth game. Eyes on me and give me a smile because it doesn't get much better....break it down" and I walk away knowing I had them.

The second half we came out and smashed mouths, hard hits, grunts everywhere for both teams when we hit first. QB breaks left again, 30, 20, 10, and at the 5 he gets tripped up. I grabbed my Running Back and looked at him and called a 43 Blast, "score me a touchdown"...."yes coach". He did just that. We lined up for the conversion, ran it straight down the middle and pushed the pile across the line. Badgers 8 Steelers 6.

That was how it ended in what is maybe the best played game between two teams that I have been involved in.

As I waited for my turn to address the kids at the end of the game I thought that I needed to thank my kids. Little did they know what they gave me that night, they were proud of themselves but I thought it was important that they know how grateful I was.

"I am proud of you and after you break down for the badger cry I want to shake every one of your hands before you leave...now break it down".

Son Of A......It's Like a Train Wreck

2007-09-20T14:29:00.000-05:00

In honor of high school sports and all the fun they try to put on at half-time I give you this.

New Design

2007-09-19T12:26:00.000-05:00

Hey look what I did. I felt the old design was a little dark and not really a whole lot of fun. So now with the kids gone I have time to do some playing around. So as you can see there needs to be some small changes to it and I will update the design by adding this and that. I am playing around with it a bit but I like the Python-esk fun it brings. So in honor of my fun Monty Python design I will leave you with this....

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

2007-09-17T07:47:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have seen this before but this is great.

Background: On a drug bust cop decides that he is going to keep some of the weed that has been confiscated.

Brilliant Idea:
COP: "Hunny lets make some brownies because I have heard that is really cool....ummm...how much weed should we put in the batter?"

WIFE: : "I am not sure, I thought you said you've done this before"

COP: "yeah, actually I just heard of it. But I think you just throw it all in there"

Consequently this is what happens when stupid follows stupid....

Free Bowl of Soup?

2007-09-13T16:45:00.000-05:00

Hit Play, Then Read to Get Full Effect.

2007-09-09T07:18:00.000-05:00

It was cool, as cool as a football morning should be. Cool enough that the dew was heavy and steam came cleanly off the long grass just waiting to be kicked up in a swirl of activity. The Sheboygan Badgers came out with anticipation and energy, but as every football season starts with unbound optimism so does doubt that we as coaches properly prepared them. We think we did, we hope we did, we did everything we wanted to do in preparation.....we hope it was enough.

At kickoff they were fast and steady, taking hand-offs and cutting right and left. The offensive line got off the ball and were knocking people back and we were fighting hard. Our offense is designed to be ball control, setting you up to think that we are going to do one thing and then to your surprise we go opposite.

As a head coach I deal with the offense and my quarterbacks are good enough to call their own snap count in the huddle. They will call when to go. This could be on the first, second, or third go. They did so with a head in the game and eye on the down.

We scored right away, working our way with passing (yes passing) and running mis-direction. Our A-Team and B-Team's both played their hearts out and we came away with a 16-6 victory.

I told the kids before the game that "today boys is a day of firsts, who is going to make the first hit, who is going to make the first block, who is going to make the 'decleater'.....boys who is going to get the first win"....and in unison they yelled "BADGERS"!!!!!!!!!

Can You Tie Them in a Knot, Can You Tie Them in a Bow?

2007-09-07T07:02:00.001-05:00

The anticipation was overflowing because Leroy was getting neutered on Wednesday. We couldn't wait, it should calm him down, it should get him to stop peeing on every other tree on our walks and overall it should just calm him down.....come to think of it Dominic and Tommy have been acting up lately.....

Unbelieveable

2007-08-27T14:43:00.001-05:00

Sex Ed.....2007

2007-08-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

Make Me Weak

2007-08-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

Look at the Cheese!

2007-08-19T08:01:00.000-05:00

This ad by Domino's has a sort of "in your face" feel. Love this one!

World of Confusion

2007-08-19T07:46:00.000-05:00

My dad posted in his blog a commercial about how a father and son are in what seems to be an argument but really everything they are saying is very nice. I was looking for the commercial online but couldn't find it but I did find the original commercial that come out in 2006. here you go and enjoy!

30 Seconds and Counting

2007-08-15T07:08:00.001-05:00

Some of the best TV right now (summer doldrums) are the commercials. So Since I have not had a lot to blog about I am going to start to give you my favorite commercials.

This one is by Verizon, listen for the uncomfortable laugh at the end.....laugh every time.

Week in Review

2007-08-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

This week has been about following the Brewers, Packer updates and of course the elusive job hunt.

Also, Dominic was taken on his first fishing trip on Lake Michigan with his Papa (grampa to those non-German's). He had a blast, they caught one small fish and one large one on got on but the release was accidentally hit and it got away (typical fishing story). Dominic was insistent on taking the camera, which made me nervous but I put new batteries in and he got some great photo's. Two in particular stood out. Jen then submitted it to the Sheboygan Press's Camera Corner and one of his was picked to be online. I told her that he looks at home on the water. I will post both pics below but if you wanted to see it on the Sheboygan Press go HERE.

My Thoughts On Bonds

2007-08-04T07:38:00.000-05:00

I was watching SportsCenter this morning and they were showing the highlights of Barry Bonds trying to break the home run record. But instead of being pitched to the opposing team walked him instead, break to his wife and kids doing the "chicken" dance in the stands. I was really disappointed that Mom thought this was appropriate.....maybe it was me.

I am not really following the home run race, to be honest I don't really care. Is it because I don't care? No, more because I think Bonds is an ass. Now if he wasn't such an ass I would care and even love the watch, steroids doesn't even enter in my enjoyment of the HR. I mean we love the long ball and if steroids gives us an extra 100 feet than so be it.

Bottom line is Barry is an ass and perfect redemption would be for him not to get the record this year so he has to go through another full season of being booed...now that is Karma.

Duh!

2007-07-26T17:06:00.000-05:00

The Simpson Movie is on the verge of coming out and in the spirit of the most succesful cartoon of all time I bring you.....

If you haven't yet found the site go to Simpsonizeme.com. It is so much fun!

And The Punch Line Is?

2007-07-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

My parents the other day stopped by and my father proceeded to tell me about how President Bush had a colonoscopy done.......I kept waiting for a punchline. One of my favorite bloggers is Indexed....I think she says it best with THIS blog.

The State

2007-07-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

Back when I was in college at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, otherwise known as UW-zero, Mtv came out with a comedy sketch program called The State. Jen and I found it very funny and watched as often as we could. Well today it was announced that "The State" was going to come out on DVD, so I did some YouTube searches and found a couple of great clips. So sticking with the whole "religious" theme going on here I give you Louie!

Wow, It Has Been a While

2007-07-18T16:25:00.000-05:00

I haven't updated since the beginning of July, I think this whole blogging thing is starting to get old. My sister shut her blog down and doesn't even post on her photoblog much any more. My wife's last post was on our 9 year anniversary almost a year ago.

Well update quickly, I was up for a job and went all the way to the end only to be shut out. If you have never been unemployed and looking franticly for a job without much luck, then to add on that you only have 5 weeks left of your unemployment, then add on all the bills that haven't been paid in full for a while and it makes your head spin.

My Dad gave me a synopsis of how college grads go into bankruptcy within seven years of graduation. I think it was suppose to make me feel better but the panic hasn't exactly subsided. It used to be "go to college and get a job where you may or may not retire from but if you don't it would be the next company where you would retire". I know it wasn't quite that easy but what the hell is going on out there.

anyway my friend Justin throw out the "it could be worse" statement and I guess he is right but on the level of sucky-ness this is about a 6.0 to 6.5 with 10 being death.

So on that note i would like to leave you with this little gem about how it could be worse....enjoy

Summer Update

2007-07-01T06:29:00.000-05:00

So far summer has been pretty good. Dominic's baseball is so much fun to go and watch and Mom gets to see him play for the first time tomorrow at 10:00am, how exciting.

Weight program update, down 10 pounds. key, more exercise and less calories while keeping an eye on carbs, so far so good.

Kids work program has been a huge success so far. The kids both have chores they have to do in the morning time before play. At the end of the week allowance gets handed out according to what they complete, basically if they do them all they get allowance, if they don't do it all they get none. It is simple to understand and there is no "oh I don't need that quarter when I got 3 other dollars".....see where I am going with this.

The movie "Ratatoulle" is really good, just don't get sucked into all the hype. Judge it on its own merit.

This is LeRoy (the dog not the kid), as you can see Tommy is absolutely in love with him. Sometime today LeRoy will be a permanent member of the Andrews family......Tommy's head is going to explode with excitement......."I love dog poop, I love dog poop"

Lastly on the job front, excitement is building but I know it can all come crashing down quickly. Keep putting out good vibes for me.....thanks.

Look What I Found

2007-06-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

Dominic's baseball season started on Monday morning at 8:45 AM Sharp. It is fun to watch the kids progress in baseball. They hit more, they catch more, understand the game better and most of all it starts to become more fun.

Dominic started the season going 2 for 3 and scored a run, he was excited.

Today though he really came through, he went 3 for 4 with a RBI and while playing right field he caught a fly ball!!! As the late Harry Carry used to say "Holy Cow"!!!

He was on cloud nine.

Floyd the Barber

2007-06-15T07:22:00.000-05:00

I have a next door neighbor who for the sake of realism lets say his name is Randy. Now Randy is a peach and by peach I mean pain in the ass. He is on most levels harmless but none the less a complete knob. I remember the guy that owned the cottage next to us as a kid, his name was Floyd and Randy is in the same mold.

There is a really nice strip of grass between our homes where we play catch with the football, baseball and the kids just play. We have always picked up any toys that may end up on his lawn and to top it all off I even mow his lawn.

Well Randy has decided it was time to do some landscaping and is not leaving even an inch undone so the amount of grass has significantly been reduced.

On the big scale it doesn't really matter because we have other neighbors that lend their yard and are truly wonderful people (and the kids love them). Now Randy isn't doing anything wrong, he is just making his yard "better" but I think I still hold a grudge to when he called the cops on Christmas morning because our dog pooped in our yard.

On to the job front........things are brewing.....that is all I am saying

On the weight loss front, I have changed my plan of attack. Calories are now counted along with a lower carb focus. Weight loss this week has been 8 lbs, lets see if we can keep it up.

Monkey Pickles

2007-06-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

Since the new rage are photo blogs, we (and by we I mean me) had the cool idea to set up a photo blog. We will be giving the kids the camera as often as we can just to see what they take pictures of. We will be posting them on our photo blog at pjdrews.eyefetch.com. Tommy's pictures are the most fun as he has no idea what is right and wrong but that leaves a world open to interpretation.....how fun.

A Flurry of Activity

2007-06-02T11:27:00.001-05:00

Having made the prediction that this was the week for my job hunt to really heat up, going into Friday it wasn't looking good. Jen and I headed out for walk, when I got home there was a whirlwind of active for the rest of the day.

No less than 5 opportunities hit, it was sending out references and authorizing resumes to be released. It was filling out questionnaires and emails that didn't end until past 5pm last night.

So for my next prediction, this coming week we will schedule three face to face interviews. This is the week, watch out.....

This is the week

2007-05-29T08:22:00.001-05:00

This is the week. Yep by the power of positive thinking this is going to be the week. You can't send out 45 resumes in the last month to not have something positive come out of it. I will get a call and set up an interview where of course I make a wonderful first impression, hell I always do. They will offer more than what I want to make and life and all this distress will go away.

I am going to go for a walk this morning, it is 62 degrees outside and with little wind. My Mp3 player is set to go with good music and even some talk radio for the warm up and cool down. The world and I are going to become one this morning, can that happen?

Evils of the World

2007-05-24T07:25:00.000-05:00

My bank does most, if not all of these. I don't like banks, they are not very helpful and are missing a huge market opportunity. Have you seen the stats on foreclosures, overdraft charges, credit card debt and debt in general. So why not change the image of the banker bastards and rather be the helpful bankers.....weird thought huh.

oh by the way, Brewers lost again last night. Dominic said we should go to another game.

Young mans dream

2007-05-22T19:51:00.002-05:00

My dad writes about some pretty cool stuff, so to add a little visualization to his newest entry go here.

Yound mans dream

2007-05-22T19:51:00.001-05:00

My dad writes about some pretty cool stuff, so to add a little visualization to his newest entry go here.

Sit and Watch for Hours

2007-05-20T08:28:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen this new feature by flick'r it is so very addicting. It allows you to view all new photos being uploaded in real time. You could almost sit and watch it (or not do work) for hours.

Dominic had his first baseball practice this week, he loves baseball. Today we are headed to the Brewer game, I would be surprised if he slept at all last night.

Yard work was done yesterday, hosta's were planted and now have to be watched so they don't overtake the yard. My favorite job to do is mulching the yard, I love the time consuming, back breaking, blister on the hands that it gives. Actually it wasn't that bad.

It was warm enough for the kids to wash the car which actually turned into everything getting wet except the car, go figure. 70 degrees yesterday, 39 right now.....I hate living by Lake Michigan.

This is all fiddle faddle

2007-05-15T12:46:00.000-05:00

Weight loss update: no weight gained, none lost.......yeah, not so cool.

I am at my wits end over here. If you are unaware I have been unemployed since the end of February. Resumes have gone out, lots as a matter a fact. I had one prospect but didn't close the deal. I am in complete frustration.

So to top it off I have had some water leaking in our back hallway ever since we first bought the house. So since I am off time to do some of the stuff around the house. Today was the day to clean gutters, I got rained on. Then I took down the ceiling where there was the leak, found some black mold up there but all in all it didn't look to bad, now I am just waiting for water to find it's way through so I can seal it up. Tom, my brother -in-law helped me with the gutters and hallway ceiling. After he leaves I am cleaning up all the mess and hear in the front closet a .........dripping sound. Yeah so now I have water flowing through the front closet ceiling......fucking story of my life.

New Design

2007-05-12T16:37:00.000-05:00

Well after weeks of frustration and whirl wind experimentation I came up with a new design for my blog. I so loved the old one that my sister had made for me but I had it for 3 years and frankly it was just getting old. this new design is inspired off of Frank Miller's Sin City artwork which I love. Now that I got the basic idea for this I think that I will try and create few more just for the fun of it.

I'm Late Already

2007-05-08T07:44:00.000-05:00

Yeah I know I said I was going to post on Mondays. You can always tell when I don't want to by my procrastination.

Ok Weight loss update, last week I gained back the 4lbs I lost the previous week. It was dumbfounding and frankly depressing. But once I looked back at my week I ate a lot of sunflower seeds which equals lots of salt. I did almost everything right last week and should have had a weight loss but I am thinking the salt held me back.

So my total weight loss so far has been 0lbs.....yeah good times.

Lessons of Life

2007-05-02T08:01:00.000-05:00

I wonder at times when I need to push Dominic and when I need to lay off. Most of the time I lay off and let Dominic be Dominic but that can be really hard at times.

Dominic has swimming lessons on Tuesday night. Why do we have them in swimming lessons, well at its core to learn how to be a strong swimmer, nothing more, nothing less. I watch one dad always standing and wanting his son to swim harder, faster. He is the dad I don't want to be. I watch his son and his son tries so hard to please his dad. Dad knows he should sit down but his inner want to have his son succeed is overtaking his emotions.

Me, well I usually just do a sudoku and let Dominic be Dominic.....that is until last night. It was the last class so 90% of the kids didn't show up. They combined all the classes and did relay races. Group of 4 kids swim and do silly games to see who goes the fastest. All right here we go, I stood up, waiting for Dominic to put some energy into his swimming......that never came, he putzed. His team was in the lead and he was putzing, no sense of urgency what so ever. I must have stood up and sat down 10 times. I picked up the paper next to me and read a sentence then stood up again. It was killing me, I was thinking "come on Dominic, show some urgency", but it didn't come.

I didn't say anything but as of this morning I am still frustrated with the whole thing. Now my dilemma, as a dad do I sit him down and talk about having others depend on him and at the very least try as hard as you can, win or lose. Regardless of the outcome he can at least walk away proud that he gave it his all. My worry is that when the fear of losing overtakes him I don't want him to give up but rather fail while giving it his all. I have a feeling that he will succeed more than fail. Or am I battling his nature where he doesn't want to compete with others but rather himself.

I have done nothing so far while debating the pro's and con's.....I'll let you know my decision and what happens.

Weight loss

2007-04-30T17:02:00.000-05:00

Ok people, update on the weight loss.

I am one week in and decided to go low carb which means really watching what I eat. It also means that I am trying to stay in Ketosis. I measure that by getting what they call Keto sticks. This is about as silly as it gets but when you pee on them if they change colors then all is going good. If they don't change then you can look back at what you have eaten to figure out what has made it gone array.

They say you should do it once a day, same time but I have found that I test it every time I go to the bathroom. I like doing it this way because instead of having to weigh in on a daily basis I get immediate feedback multiple times a day and then I do a weigh in once a week. So here is my results from last week.

total weight lost: 4lbs

Things I did well: stuck to the plan pretty well

Slip ups: Note to self, don't make a birthday cake when on a diet. The finished cake wasn't the problem it was the clean up and licking the bowl clean.....yeah it was oh so yummy.

Things to do better: More exercise. Although for the most part I did pretty well, went to the gym 3 times, burned minimum of 400 calories and one day jen and I went for a power walk and someone made me run a little bit too.

I need a goal though, something to work toward like a marathon or something. I have decided that I shouldn't run though. My body hurts after I run so that is going to have to stay on the side until I lose more weight so that it doesn't jar my body as much.

Ok, we'll see you next week.

Weight loss challenge

2007-04-26T17:01:00.000-05:00

We are at the end of April and it has been about 8 weeks that I have been unemployed. During that time I have put on a few pounds due to not working out as much as I should and eating anything I want. No biggie here, I think the total has been 6lbs.

My life is a on going diet, just the way it is.

So starting this Monday we are going to start giving updates on how my diet is going and what I am doing. To top it all off I will let you know how successful (or failure) it is going.

I am debating on posting a before pic and then continual pics after to follow the progress. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing but it is something.

So till Monday, wish me luck.

Ass Over Tea Kettle

2007-04-22T19:37:00.000-05:00

Dominic couldn't wait to get to the diamond and hit some baseballs. So on Friday night we grabbed the bucket of balls, his bat, hitting gloves, mitts and of course Tommy too.

We warmed up by throwing the ball to each other, Dominic with no concern for Tommy's inability to catch a hardball. As Tommy took to play first base Dominic got a couple of really good pitches from me to swing at and let them pass. Then it happened, he made contact, a pop up that at first seemed like it was going to head right into my glove...but it started to go over my head, so I started to back peddle, then turning, reaching only to get my foot caught then going ass over tea kettle.

As I lay in the dirt with my boys laughing at me and the high school kids playing ball in the adjacent field I could only recall my Dad tripping over the boat trailer only to think how un-graceful he looked going down.

Life does go full circle doesn't it

Time to Kill

2007-04-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

So you wonder what a man does with his time when in 30 days all of 9 Human Resource jobs are posted? You learn Photoshop design and start to play with it a bit. So a company asked to me to design something and put it up, which I did knowing that my sister would help me along the way with any problems I run into because this is what she does. "crickets chirping" not so much.

So then there were these two women that asked me to design a logo for them because they were starting a new salon. They decided on a name and wanted to see a couple of ideas for the logo.

Here is what I came up with and they seemed to like it, of course there will a simpler design for advertising but this might be used on a website (if it gets that far).

So that is what a man does when the job market has dried up and doesn't want to waste time sitting home watching Oprah all day.

The Madness Has Begun

2007-03-16T11:11:00.000-05:00

I love the basketball tournament this time of year. you can argue all you want about who should be in and who should be out but bottom line this is the best format to crown a national championship.

Now on to my picks (Crickets Chirping)....yeah not so good yesterday. The only good thing I can say is that none of my teams that I have moving on farther in the tournament lost but I still didn't pick the bottom seeds very well. My Dad on the other hand did much better, I am sure that I hear about that soon enough.

LOST is still my favorite show on TV right now since Hero's is on a 4 week hiatus. Jack playing football at the end was a shocker. Could it be twins, brainwashing, was an other all along? not sure but it will be fun to find out.

Come on Badger!

2007-03-13T17:08:00.000-05:00

Joe Panos was a linemen for the Wisconsin Badgers in the early 90's, lead them to a Rose Bowl win and played a for a few years in the NFL. I heard him the radio the other day making reference to how when at the NFL combine the judge at the bench press would not encourage players by name but rather by school mascot. So he got "Come On Badger", or if you were from Notre Dame you would Get "Come On Irish"....you get the point.

Yeah so I did it, I picked Wisconsin to win it all in the tournament. Short sited maybe but never in my life have I been able to put them in there and not seem like a total crazy person. I know better.

Unemployment has its advantages, money isn't one of them.

My new favorite show "Hero's" is on hiatus, so Monday nights are back to boring.

American Idol is now into the final 12, 6 girls and 6 boys. Now is when I really lose interest.

My saving grace is "LOST" on Wednesday nights, I still love this show.

I am down 6 pounds since my "vacation" started, so I got that going for me.

I realized this morning that Tommy is going to need braces, Heavy Sigh.

Well that is about it for me lately, yeah kind of boring really........oh well

The Secret

2007-03-07T17:27:00.000-06:00

I know that this book/movie has been everywhere and by everywhere I mean on Oprah everywhere, but seriously this is getting out of hand.

A buddy of mine emails me about this "inspirational" video he watched at his (ex) wife's house and says that he is going to burn onto DVD for me. I ask is it the Secret, he confirms........this has moved from being interesting to cult"ish".

On principle I am not going to read/watch it.

Note to Self

2007-03-07T17:25:00.000-06:00

Note to self, swimming for 30 minutes is hard.

Officially unemployeed

2007-03-04T09:33:00.000-06:00

This was my first week of unemployment, which is not so bad after all. I almost forgot the kids are in school all day so I can do whatever I want with no distractions. What did I do all week you ask? well, I worked out down at the YMCA almost every morning. Turns out that I put on a few pounds over the last few weeks so I up'd my cardio workout. I do 30 minutes of walking at a speed of 3.2 - 3.4, depending what song is on my MP3 player. Total calories burned = 295, 30 minutes cross trainer, total calories burned = 400 then I lift weights twice a week on top of that. Since I have the time I was thinking of swimming after all that which would burn another 450 calories and I could do that three times a week. All that together would burn off approximately 4800 calories a week. Now if I could just take control of what I put in my mouth then we are on to something.

Now What

2007-02-25T11:13:00.000-06:00

Over the last two weeks I had lots of time to browse the web, being that I got locked out of my hard drive at work. I found two blogs that I really got into.

Indexed is a unique and cutting edge blog that takes mathematical equations and brings them into reality based observations. Hopefully she will find a way to publish some of these into a book or calender.

Pop Candy has become one of my favorite blogs because the day after my favorite show airs, LOST and Hero's, a community of people post comments on where they think the show is going. Easily can waste a day on each show, trust me I did it.

Now onto the Oscars tonight. OK enough said because I really don't care, although Little Miss Sunshine was a great movie and hopefully takes the show by storm.

My dad wrote about the "pending doom" that was headed our way in the form of a snow storm. Total accumulations predicted last night, 7-14", actual snow amounts, 2-3", advantage mother nature.

On the job front, wow is it slim. Read an article about how the economy has created over 100,000 jobs, but as 2.5 million lose their jobs and 2.6 million are created that doesn't give a whole lot of job security, just a thought.

Note to self, pushing a grocery cart through the snow sucks, they need off road tires on those bad boys or better yet lets chain those bad boys up.

Lastly, Best Buy opened in Sheboygan to a round of applause. Yeah a round of applause, if that isn't a sign of the apocalypse I don't know what is.

No Rain

2007-02-22T20:40:00.000-06:00

When I was in college with Jen we were there just as Grunge music first started to hit. The cool thing was that colleges usually got wind of really cool music before the rest of the world. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains to name a few. But one song in particular stood out throughout that time and to this day I can't help but smile when I hear it. It is Blind Melon's "No Rain".

Tragically the lead singer Shannon Moon died of a drug overdose in the mid-nineties but regardless of his personal problems Blind Melon will live on forever with No Rain and the famous bumble bee.

The really cool thing is that it is now one of Dominic's favorite songs.

Wow, that was uncomfortable

2007-02-22T06:40:00.000-06:00

Unknowing Co-Worker: "Paul don't you work here?"
Paul: "Not anymore"
Unknowing Co-Worker: "Because I can't find you on the employee list"
Paul: "Because I don't work here, never have"
Unknowing Co-Worker: "I thought you were employed here"
Paul: "yeah never was, in fact my last day is Friday. They decided not to extend my contract"
Unknowing Co-Worker: "Oh, well I wanted to put you on the list for possible money payout for being part of the Lean Team"
(Paul Staring)
Unknowing Co-Worker: "Friday huh, well......good luck to you and thanks for helping out"
Paul: "You too"

Pending Doom

2007-02-20T17:56:00.000-06:00

Today is only Tuesday and we are already gearing up for the potential doom coming this weekend. The forecast is saying that there is a huge storm brewing and headed our way that is suppose to start Friday night. Rain, snow and sleet are all in the forecast meaning that if it warms up a little we are in for a wet rainy weekend, if the temp drops a little we are in for the storm of the winter. Either way it can't be good.

Favorite quotes I have heard since finding out I am losing my job this Friday:

Jen (while at work): "I was wondering if there are any more hours I could pick up, Paul is losing his job on the 23rd".

Assistant Manger: "Not really, all the hours are being cut, is he sending out resumes"?

Really?

More On Me

2007-02-16T18:30:00.000-06:00

I was asked who the bearded wonder is, well just a refresher of this mysterious superhero, back in January of '05 is when he first came on the scene. Take a look and refresh your memory.

Now to more pressing issues, I have two more assessments to bring forth because apparently one didn't give them all the info on me.

External Description:
Paul believes people and relationships are the most important perspective and he enjoys forming and maintaining close affiliations with others. He focuses on giving other support, positive feedback and motivation. He doesn't mind bending the rules if he thinks it's better for the people involved.

Paul's people skills are his greatest talent. he treats each person as a unique individual.

Now for some "development opportunities" (as in "this is where Paul sucks" opportunities)

Paul could benefit from making a conscious effort to develop a stronger focus on practical tasks and activities. Following a plan will help him realize that rules, laws and policies have an important use in society.

Stay tuned for my journey through this fun time and more to come on the very popular subject of "me".

Naked

2007-02-15T20:51:00.000-06:00

Ok quick update on my life so far because this week it took a pretty big turn. See I work for a staffing agency, this was by design in that I was promised a lot by the client. Stuff like cobra reimbursements, my hiring after 30, 60 days max and to be put on the fast track to move up in the company that is growing extreamly fast. In turn I got none of that only to be notified that my last day with the 23rd. So over the last 5 years I have gone threw 3 jobs, this can't look good on my resume, to be honest I am quite scared.

So my manager decides to send me my behavioral assessments that I took when I first started, so here I am, fully naked.

What I do good:

Problem-solver
Knowledge-driven ethic
long, hard to resolve problems
ask necessary questions in order to gain maximum amount of information
Logical approach to problems and patience to analyze
engages in problem solving and strategic solutions
Profit driven and bottom-line oriented
driven by competition, challenges and economic incentives
is highly productive
Keeps and ear to the revenue-clock, my own and the organization
Pays attention to R.O.I in business or team activity
will protect organizational or team finances as well as his own.

Bring flexibility to the team, can say yes and when to draw the line
project a stabilizing and realistic influence on the team.
able to appreciate the needs of individuals with either higher or lower social/altruistic score
ability to help and go the extra mile without a negative impact on his own responsibility and work load.
is not an extremist, therefore is able to bring balance to the team when issues emerge

Flexible and versatile without being a extremist
see both sides of the position from those with higher and lower individualistic scores.
able to mediate between the needs of the higher and lower members of the team
take a stand with emphasis or be more quite supporting position
able to lead or follow as asked

Quick decisions without getting emotionally involved
generate new ideas
Creates solutions, sometimes more through personal attempts, calculated risks, and creativity, than by the book or established protocol
asks lots of questions
is able to make decisions quickly in solving problems
Looks for creative solutions to problems

Unpleasant surrounding will not adversely affect his productivity and creativity
sees a wider spectrum of the picture
not easily swayed in terms of emotional issues
good business-sense and a good eye for that which is practical

Now what I don't do well, this is the hard part because no one ever wants to think they do anything wrong, but here it is.

Demonstrates aloofness, especially to those not as intellectually driven.
Prefers to wait on a project, believing that helpful information may be forthcoming if more time is allowed.
Don't rush me from one learning experience to another. Make certain there are some practical applications.

may have a significant motivating factor in achieving goals, may become an insatiable need
needs to learn that not everyone is motivated by wealth or gain as not to alienate a prospect, customer or client
May judge the efforts of others on the team by an economic scale only

Review other values drives for a More complete look at areas for quality improvement
Take on a more visible position within some teams
Remember that all values positions are positions deserving respect.

May need to take a stand on some issues related to individual agendas
Allow space for those with higher individualistic drives to express themselves in appropriate ways
give respect to all individualistic drives

Don't ignore the important details
Needs to increase patience when interacting with more rules-oriented individuals
maintain awareness when in a disagreement with those showing a different point of view.

Needs to be more sensitive to others needs for an aesthetically pleasant workplace
open and receptive to the creative ideas of others
respect differences of those with a stronger Aesthetic drive

So there I am, people can take it or leave it. I will have to say that I believe that it is accurate about 95% of the time.

Wish me luck in my job hunt adventure, the bearded wonder might have to make an appearance yet again.

Are we in this for the sport?

2007-02-09T20:22:00.000-06:00

If anyone has never heard my bear joke let me know and I will email it over to you, but for those that have you'll understand this a little rant of mine.

On my way home from work I get a chance to listen to a lot of talk radio. My objective is to get as much info as humanly possible in 30 minutes. I jump between sports stories that live off the rumor that Randy Moss is coming to Green Bay to how "w"rex grossman is the worst quarterback in league history. But every once in a while I hit Sheboygan am radio (yeah I know..leave it alone). They were talking about the new resort Blue Harbor and how it is failing, no one is staying. I remember back to when they were trying to pass the ok to build and one of the supporters in the city counsel said it would turn Sheboygan into the next Branson. Wow that is a huge statement, now for the kicker. A developer wants to build another hotel not to far from Blue Harbor and there is some resentment from local business owners and they don't want to it built saying that Blue Harbor isn't even drawing people.

I remember telling Jen that Blue Harbor won't work and here is my reasoning why. Why do you build a hotel? To house those that are coming to Sheboygan, so ask yourself this, why come to Sheboygan? yeah I don't have an answer for that either. it is kind of like putting the cart in front of the horse isn't it? Lets build another hotel for all those people not coming to Sheboygan...now here is the punch line....we're not in this for the sport.

Really?....Seriously?

2007-01-17T21:53:00.000-06:00

Ok I am going to talk some business here. I work for a company that is really good at using buzz words like "empower" and taking "responcibility". Upper management says that the "culture" needs to change and it all starts with middle management. This is where my jaw drops, really it starts with middle management? Why wouldn't it start at the top? I am pretty sure that the people don't feel empowered because they have been taught to be dependent. They remember making a decision and getting their balls stomped on meaning "don't even think of making a choice with out upper management".

Let me give you a example, I chose three people to be trainers on the production floor. Every other production line has a name, like 5HP, 5M, 5GA....you get the point. So I gave the task to the trainers to come up with a name for the cell. They come up with naming the cell "basic training" which will be screen printed on camoflage material which is scrap.....I liked it and in the spirit of "empowerment" I gave them the ok. did I get my balls stomped? well not exactly but it wasn't really embraced either.

I think it goes back to the idea that the problem is not others but rather me, meaning that if you get out of the way people will amaze you in their ability's.

A Battery Of Tests

2007-01-14T18:47:00.000-06:00

It was Wednesday night, the kids are in bed and I am ready to sit down in my PJ's to a bowl of mint chocolate ice cream. With blanket in hand the door bell rings, it is my neighbor, old man Sonntag.

"Hi Paul, your car lights are on".
"hey thanks for the heads up". This would have been bad, waking up and ready to head out the door to work in the morning is a hell of a time to find out you need a jump.

As I get to the car, I press the keyless entry and nothing happens. I get the car open turn the key to start the car and get the dreaded "click, click, click". My neighbor happens to drive up, helps me jump the car and we get nothing. After a bunch of tests we determine that the battery is dead. So at 9:30 at night I head off to the south of town to Wal-Mart to buy a new battery. $56 later and 10:30 at night I have new battery and all is right with the world.

I got 69,000 miles off my original battery, which I believe is about 20K more than my Dad's fully loaded Camery. Hyundai is just keeps giving me reasons to buy another one.....fuckers.

That's it, it is over

2007-01-01T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today was d-day, it is the day that the kids start to get ready to head back to school tomorrow after 11 days off. It is the day that the x-mas tree gets taken down along with all the decorations and splendor that goes along with Christmas.

So the tree is along the side of the house, mounds of garbage to be taken out and toys to be taken to the basement or bedrooms.

I have to start getting ready to head back to work after 10 days also, it was nice to be off over the holidays. I remember my dad taking off that last week of the year also, it was nice to have him home to put together toys and in general just being there.

So now we are into 2007, what it holds is beyond me, hopefully all good and I am sure there are going to be some challenges. I like challenges, they make me really appreciate the simple things that make me smile. Tommy sleeping in his tent that Santa gave him for his room was just the greatest. Dominic putting on his storm trooper helmet that is way to big for him along with his costume and authentic storm trooper gun rocked. Knowing that the gift that Jen got from me was the right one and me wanting so badly to just take a nap once during my 10 days off and not getting one will always be remembered.

Well for those that still read this gibberish hope that the holidays brought only good memories and here's to a wonderful 2007.

2006 Wrap Up

2006-12-28T15:46:00.000-06:00

All right people, here is my 2006 wrap up. I had some goals that I wanted to accomplish so lets see how I did.

2006 goal of "to lose weight"
Advantage: Lost 11 pounts and 6.5 inches total
Disadvantage: was at 20 pounts and 11 inches
This is a push folks, I accomplished this goal but spun around toward the end

2006 goal of "pay off debt"
Advantage: drove down debt by 1/2 of what we owed.
Disadvantage: Still have some to pay off and added some more.
This is advantage me, 1/2 is still a accomplishment I'll take it.

2006 goal of "fix up house"
Advantage: some landscaping, gutter cleaning and weed removal. Room painting and outlets replacement.
Disadvantage: still have some drywall to complete, figure out where water is leaking into and stopping of a slightly leaky basement. Bathroom floor needs to be replaced also.
Advantage...Push. Yep we did some good things and some need to be done but I am pretty sure this is a never ending battle.

2006 Goal of "find a new job"
Advantage: Yep new job and pay more..woo hoo
Disadvantage: lose of health insurance and 401k
Advantage...Push

So there you have it, overall we did some really good things and are moving forward. Family is healthy, roof over our head and food on the table. Overall, advantage me.

Me Man, I Fix Car!

2006-12-23T13:35:00.000-06:00

Yeah yeah, now Jen will be the first to tell you and make fun of me for my ability to fix the car and when I say fix I mean break it fix.

This last summer Jen calls me and tells me that water is pouring into the passenger side right behind the glove box. Well my short term solution was to put the car in the garage when it rained, problem solved...and again by solved I mean forgot about solved.

Yeah so how many of you loved the rain this last week. Rain in December is horrible, it is cold and almost impossible to get warm. Snow is much better because it tends to insulate the world in pretty white. Anyway, my lovely wife gets in the car yesterday to a pool of water splashing around from what sounds like the glove box. Everytime she hits the gas more and more water comes rushing in.

So today I go and get an oil change, I tell them the problem and ask for some direction to which I get "take off the grill and maybe you can see something, but that is a big task". So I am having nightmares about my water problem, out of need to fix something today I popped my hood and started to look around. Sure shinolies there is a hose about 18" long coming from what I am going to make a huge mental leap and call the drain hole for the front of the car. I softly pulled it off and could see it plugged up with pine needles, probably the same pine needles that keep plugging up my gutters. I grabbed my metal snake pushed all the needles out the bottom, pured some water through and heard the sound of water coming out the bottom of the car. So I did the same thing to the driver side and found that to be plugged also. No more leaks, no more plugs.

Oh by the way if your snake is metal make sure you don't touch the battery....Just saying...

Singing Duo

2006-12-20T05:06:00.000-06:00

This time of year the kids Christmas concerts are in full swing. Dominic's was up first on Monday morning, who would have known he was such a good little drummer boy. Yep he stood up front and played the drum. Normally I would have asked off for the morning to go myself but situations have dictated that I go to work this week anyway I did ask Jenny how he did and she said he has a knack for keeping a beat, that makes me smile because so much of the world is recognizing rhythym and he has it.

Tommy's was yesterday and of course he rocked. His teacher says that no matter what she asks of Tommy he gives 100%, what more can you ask of a 6 year old but of course he rocked.

I know that Jen hasn't written since September but who knows maybe she can write up a "christmas letter" soon.....lol yeah right!

The Most Wonderful Time....of the Year

2006-12-17T12:27:00.000-06:00

I am sitting here writing this on a Sunday afternoon with the Packers on the T.V.....Brett just fumbled the snap by the way. It is 45 degrees out side, Al Harris just made an interception, the kids are outside playing with their new cap guns and best of all our Christmas shopping is done for the year. We battled the crowds yesterday had an early supper and headed over to Jen's holiday party.

Between the whiskey cokes, the sweaty balls (don't ask), the Italian chicken, and believe it or not fresh made egg rolls (mind boggling good) it was a fun night.

1am and we are headed home with the plan to say up a little longer only to fall asleep within a couple of minutes of sitting down on the couch. I woke myself up by a whole body twitch, more of a convulsion really. Yeah so not like a leg or arm twitch but rather my whole body had other plans, freaked me out really.

Anyway I have one more week at work before having the rest of the year off, I have big plans for that week. New beds to be moved, flooring to be put in the bathroom (maybe even the kitchen if I get bored) and probably even a nap or two....good way to end the year, I'll keep you up to date on my home improvement projects and by home improvement I mean getting myself in over my head home improvement.

Shhh.....

2006-12-10T13:49:00.000-06:00

For some reason my life has taken on a mind of its own. I would have to equate it to Foghorn Leghorn from Warner Bros. See none of his anticts ever got him in major trouble but it was always something, he was smart enough to get the best of the dog but never smart enough to protect himself from retaliation.

I feel that way sometimes, whether it is "just going to clean the bathroom grout that turns into replacing the vinyl flooring" to "changing jobs and them not coming through with promises" to "graduating college only to be told your grade point ave wasn't high enough then waiting a month to get it all squared away".

Jesus, why can't this be easier. Why can't I just move along with very little interruption of the big things. Right now it is the job thing, I took a chance at more money with promises of cobra reimbursement, health insurance, 401k and long term stability....Now, it has turned into every other employment bullsh*t where I am guilty by association even though I pay attention to the dynamics at work....crap....

All I know is that I don't have health insurance, that scares me. I am not sure why but it scares me more now than when I was in school....I am just shaking my head wondering when my luck will change.

Maybe I should just start my own company, but I have no idea what I should get into....this is just stupid.

Tis the, Season

2006-12-03T09:31:00.000-06:00

I slept good last night, the reason? We shopped all day yesterday.

Actually it made me a little sick because most of what we bought was neccessary. If you don't know already it snowed here, not a huge amount but enough blowing and drifting to screw up your world. Well I have been meaning to buy new tires for our van for almost 2 years, yeah they didn't do well. Wheels spin, no movement....and since it is the car that my wife and kids are in I had to break down and get tires, but tires aren't cheap but can you really put a price on safety. Now Jen didn't want to buy them but I knew that if we put it off again something was going to happen, probably nothing serious but you never know. Tires were $280, installed and ready to go. Then I was kinda anal but on thursday night I knew snow was coming so in the other car I got an oil change, replaced wipers and made sure I had all fluids and the air was right in my tires....$50

Then you add in trees, festival of trees at the amory, a trip to superwalmart (which sucks by the way) to pick up food and other misc stuff (along with santa figuring out what the kids want for x-mas).

Then you put in the Polar Express, put lights on the tree, make a couple of white russians and the next thing you know you wake up in the morning saying "wow I slept like a rock"....this isn't going to end for a while is it?

Chill of the Damn'd

2006-10-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

been a while since I last posted and so much has gone on. So here is the cliff notes version of the important stuff.

Job Rocks: Check
Kids teacher conferences: Dominic is smart but gets easily distracted, Tommy has learned a ton of stuff from the very beginning of school and his teacher said that he is the hardest worker in class and always, always, always has his hand up first...Check

Appliences all working right......No Check

Yeah so like two weeks ago the igniter in the stove went, $115.00....cha ching

Week later Freezer blows cool....that's it...cool....then it freezes....then cool, not cold but cool. I am not repair man but I am pretty sure my ice cubes should stay in solid form. quote was almost $200 bucks to replace certain part (it is all blah blah to me) with no guarentee that it would fix the problem. See I would be better off having it blow warm the cold thing screwed them all up.

Off to find a new fridge and I am not sure anyone has seen the price of fridges lately but holy schnike are they f'en expensive. So I decided to shop around and find a good deal, I didn't need all the bells and whistles I mean really a fridge is to keep food cold. Then I came upon it by accident a unit that was only a couple of years old and had filtered water and ice cubes in the door, it was bigger than the old one and most importantly it blew cold....for a fraction of the price, yeah seriously a fraction. So $400 bucks later it was delivered, installed and the old one disposed of......did I mention the important stuff like ice cubes and water in the door, you know the really important stuff.

Not How You Start but Rather How You Finish..

2006-10-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

Is what counts.

Last Thursday Pre-Game:
The Sheboygan Badgers were 0-4, no wins and on the verge of a total collapse. My Dad wrote about not having the option to quit what he started as a kid. Well we had one player that did just that, but not giving anyone any heads up he just didn't show up anymore and considering that he was our starting quarterback it hurt.

We are playing Oostburg who has but one team, so all their players in 6th and 7th grade are on their team, no weight limit like we have. They get the ball to start the game, march down and score, we stop the extra point. 0-6. When we get the ball back we drive 60 yards. We beat them up, hit them hard and fired off the line but came up 2 yards short. Oostburg gets the ball back on the 2 at which time we sack them for a safety....Now it starts to roll. We get the ball back and score 8-6....And score again in the 4th...Our first win....16-6

Saturday: 1-4
We play the Eagles...They are the team to beat, undefeated at 5-0 and we can play the spoiler. To top it off our head coach is gone and our defensive coach is gone also....So that leaves me and one other coach to run it today...Finally I get to call what I want when I want. It was a battle all day, back and forth, hard hits, long runs broken and every kid on that field, regardless of team was putting everything they had into the game. Half-time score....0-0

I did something different than normal, I asked what the kids were seeing out there. Nose tackles crashing holes, linebackers cheating to the line, defensive ends crashing down the line early.....Ah....That was it.

I ran one play the whole first half....Lead to the left....Lead to the right...That was it.

At half time my other coach comes up to me and asks me if I forgot the sweep...Going outside...No I didn't forget...I will call it when we really need it and on a 3 and 8 I called it for a 20 yard gain.

We kick off the second half, helmets smacking and shoulder pad hits rang out. I knew that if we kept it close we could pull this off....I think Barry Alvarez would tell us not to flinch....(I know this is getting a little over dramatic but stay with me).

Then it happened..The one play...The Eagles ran up the middle and we had 2 guys on him...He was moving the pile forward and out of no where our linebacker swiped the ball out of his hands, took one spin and was off to the races for a touchdown. The place erupted with cheers and the sidelines went wild.....In the course of the game we intercepted 2 passes and recovered 2 fumbles. We had lots of "ohhhh" hits..The kind that you see and you say "oohhh" and to show for it we won 6-0.

So this was it, the last game of the season and after the kids shook hands and took a knee I had to come up with something to say to the team that started slow but put it all together.

"Gentleman....It is not how you start the season but rather how you finished that is so impressive......"

Days of Old

2006-09-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

Today was my last day at work. Kind of sad really because it was the first job that I got after receiving my degree but really I always knew I was destined for better. Lots of really good things happened there including friends made and lessons learned.

So now off to new and better opportunities as a training and development specialist....Wow that even sounds cool.

Now my question is do I go and work out before work at 6am or do I wait until 5:30 pm to do it....Decisions decisions.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate....

2006-09-27T11:09:00.000-05:00

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves Ã– who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so? "Marianne Williamson"

My Dad wrote about my football team and how we are 0-3 and in most aspects he is correct. Other than a few facts that he incorrectly touched on the thought process was correct.

What I would like to add to this discussion is that as coaches winning is fantasic, fun and can energize everyone involved. But now that we have our backs against the wall we all have to realize that what we teach our kids from this point on may be more important than if we were undefeated. Working hard while winning is easy, working hard while your back is against the wall shows true character. We will teach our kids character at the very least, it will be a mirror image of their coaches.

So honestly, who are we not to be so.

Life Change

2006-09-22T19:50:00.000-05:00

I told you a couple of days ago that I had news, well here is the offical blogging announcement.

I found a new job. Yep a new job that fit everything that I could possibly want. I get to stay in the training field which I love, I got more money (woo hoo), we don't have to move because I hate moving and room for lots of advancement. The new company is Dowco located out of Manitowoc. I am so very much happy, this is the job that I hoped to get when I went back to school...Now I finally nailed it.

Keep in tune for when I start to hate my new employer because it is bound to happen sooner or later.....But not for a while yet.

P.S. Dear Blogspot:

Thank you so much for having me and my site for over two years now but how can a blogging website not have the word blog in its spellcheck...note to self

9 Years and Counting

2006-09-20T07:09:00.000-05:00

Nine years ago, on this day Jen said "fine I'll marry you" with a heavy sigh.

Not really, I think she was actually excited about it, even though while walking down the isle she never even looked at me....So much for eye contact.

After 9 years where we have gone through so much we still say every night..

"this is my favorite time of day"
"This is my favorite place to be"
"with my favorite person"

I have to think that those simple words may be the key to our happiness in our marriage.

Happy Anniversary my love, because your still my favorite.

Season on the Brink

2006-09-19T07:28:00.000-05:00

The Sheboygan Badgers are 0-2, yep this once promising team that should have gone undefeated is struggling with finishing off a drive. Yeah we have huge drives of 15 plays, 12 plays, 14 plays but only show one touchdown for it. We lost to two teams that we should have never lost too, so back to the drawing board.

After thinking about our troubles it comes down to one thing, our kids don't know how to go full speed and at this age full speed wins games no matter how talented you are. This is kind of like life really, maybe the best analogy would be learning to ride a bike. I know this very well since Tommy just learned. It was funny because he rode the bike well until he stopped peddling the bike, then he would fall. "keep peddling" I would say. But isn't this the same in life, I mean doesn't it seem that even as grown ups that when we stop peddling is when we fall? So if we can teach those kids anything it is never to stop peddling because that is when you are going to fall.

Oh and by the way I have news coming in the next couple of days, very happy news!