Both in my life, my work, and in the society in which we live.

I continue to press forward toward excellence as my parents encouraged me to do, but to what end when it becomes fruitless and merely a struggle?

In this society, I only ask what has happened to common sense, personal responsibility and thinking of others before yourself.

So now imagine the collision of two of these three items – WTOP News and the Susan G. Komen Race for the cure. Over the past couple of years I’ve always chuckled when the radio announcers / broadcasters / news desk folks talk about Sleeping in for the Cure, always wondering if it was just something that WTOP News did or if it was legitimate.

After a little thought and analysis, and a visit to the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure web site, sure enough it’s possible to register for Sleep in For the Cure. Initially I thought, “Maybe I’ll get a group together to go and walk the 3.1 mile hike, that’s a nice hour long walk.” But then I started thinking about it… 45,000 participants on the metro on a Saturday morning in DC… hmmm. Maybe I need to relax a little.

So while everyone else is out for the fun through DC, I’ve registered to sleep in on 5 June, and I intend to

Similar to runners, we get race shirts and bibs, but the bib is a little different

And if you’re interested in contributing to the Race for the Cure and looking for someone that’s registered, wander on over to:

http://globalrace.info-komen.org/goto/usher

Better yet, sign up and enjoy sleeping in

Would you remind the person of how much they meant to you or would you merely just mention that you look forward to talking to them soon and leave things open ended? Would you give them a word of encouragement and something uplifting in this world of stress and bad news we live in?

I know for me, I hate goodbyes and in some cases avoid them so as to soften the emotional blow on myself. However, I’m starting to see more and more what Michael Easley meant about being a man and taking the blows rather than ducking – however that’s a discussion for a different day.

Nonetheless, do you wonder at times, when you listen to a message, do you delete it immediately thinking you’ll see the person later in the day or do you just hold onto it and remove it later when your phone becomes full of messages?

I urge you to think when you’re leaving a message for someone, whether a friend, a loved one, your boss or a staff member, if that was the last contact you had with them, how would you be remembered?

My heart still is healing from losing a loved one a year ago, every so often feeling the wounds heal over, only to be torn open again. But I’m fortunate, what started as memories of sorry have turned to smiles, albeit with a tear running down my cheek at times thinking how proud Mom would be. I still listen to the voice message she left for me, a few hours prior to the car accident that took her away from us a month later. The message was uplifting, up beat, encouraging and caring.

It was a model to remind me how to care for others so that they’d know that someone does care about them and for them.

Thanks Mom for the valuable lesson.

So once the plows had a chance to push through the area a little, the house mates and I decided it was time to venture out. Fear not – I’m not driving, just in the navigator position.

If you’re interested in the epic adventures after Son of Snow, check it out in the Son of Snow Album on Vimeo.com.

At any rate, the trilogy is out, both in a boxed set format and also individually. Now here’s the kicker though, the individuals have a lower price than the entire box set. Not quite sure if the box set comes with anything extra, but to me it would seem that buying the Bourne {Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimate} individually would be the smart thing to do.

Now of course, if you want the real story, pick up a copy of the books from Amazon and read the “true” Bourne Trilogy.  While the movies started off somewhat inline with the books, they quickly diverged and got rid of Carlos (no, I’m not referring to the Hangover) which in my humble opinion was detrimental to the story line – but hey, Hollywood seemed to like the new story line they created…

Well, there was definitely a little more than a dusting by mid-day and it would seem as though Northern Virginia got caught with their pants on the ground.

Fortunately the snow seems to be melting and it wasn’t too hard to plow since it was light and fluffy… next time we may not be so lucky

Now Playing: Joe Satriani – G3 – Live In Concert – Flying In A Blue Dream (Live)

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:34

Looking back over the past years, I’ve noticed little by little that presents don’t have much meaning but rather the closeness of family and realizing what Christ’s means for all of us.  Now, is that to say that gifts and presents shouldn’t be exchanged and given, by no means! The gleaming joy in the eyes of my nephews is priceless and something that I would not trade for the world.

For those of you like myself, single but with family nearby, chin up and draw close to your friends and family and celebrate Christmas.

Now Playing: Extreme – The Best Of Extreme – An Accidental Collision Of Atoms – More Than Words

And no, please don’t fret, I made ground turkey chili with medium grain rice – nice and low fat and with a lot of protein and starch to fill you up so that you’re not tempted to just eat everything in the house while trapped for a few days.