Sunday, January 31, 2010

Carpe Diem

Such a small phrase that is somewhat overused, but to me, it is very powerful. I am such a procrastinator. Putting things off is one of my best talents. I’ll give you some tips at a later time.

So, without getting too cliche, these are some thoughts that keep me motivated:

  • Today is the best day to get things done. Garth Brooks said it best “… what you put off for tomorrow has now become today…”

  • Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Get it done today!

  • What are you putting off? Going back to school, learning a new language, learning a musical instrument, something else...


  • On the other side of my coin, I have such a long list of things I want to do. I want to do them all now. I want to read about twenty different books today. I want to learn about four foreign languages. I’m smack in the middle of an MBA program, but I also want to learn to play two more musical instruments right NOW.

    So how do you balance? What is the answer? The internal battle that I have between Procrastination Bryan and Workaholic Bryan will never die. I will always have to choose priorities, make sacrifices, and make choices.

    The point is short just like this post. DO SOMETHING. Regardless of what it is get out there and do something. Don’t be a couch potato. Take and active role.

    Sunday, January 24, 2010

    Hope for Haiti

    In the wake of a natural disaster, the tendency is to want to help. Think back for a second to Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. I’m sure you had an emotional reaction of horror, fear, compassion, or disbelief. What did you want to do? For most of us, provide help, but how? Personally after 9/11 emotions of disgust and betrayal filled my psyche. I wanted our military to do something about it. After Katrina, I similarly felt compassion for those who lost all of their worldly possessions and wanted relief efforts by the Red Cross and National Guard to sweep-in and help. However, I never considered doing something myself.

    I have been watching the devastation of Haiti in sheer shock. I truly feel for the people of Haiti. Harm and I went to the Dominican Republic for our Honeymoon, and the landscape, the climate, the everything of that island is truly paradise. However, lackluster building codes, years of political upheaval, and lack of quality education have left the country susceptible to devastation. Part of me says that ignorance is no excuse “the foolish man builds his house upon the sand.” As out of context as that argument can be, it does go through my head. Why? I am a capitalist at heart which I am more and more believing is similar to evolutionary theory. The strong survive, and the weak perish. That, however, is a discussion for another day.

    I do have compassion in my heart, and I want to help. As Americans, we think that helping means writing a check. Don’t get me wrong, money does help, but writing a check and thinking that you have ‘done’ something is naive. It really gets to me when a big name celebrity puts on a telethon and brings out all of his big name friends. Everyone who watches and donates feels better about themselves because they ‘gave.’ What are we teaching our children by this type of behavior?

    I watched Hotel Rwanda last night. There is a scene where Paul Rusesabagina is talking to a reporter (played by Joaquin Phoenix) who shot some violent footage of the genocide outside of the hotel. Paul says he is glad that the footage will show because people will know the truth and they will send help. The reporter replies that they will say “That’s horrible, then keep eating their dinner.”

    And that’s exactly what we do. We keep eating our dinner, going to work, buying our big-screen TVs, watching NFL football games, and going about our lives like nothing is going-on. Every day people die of hunger, from not having clean water, or for some other frivolous reason. What are you going to do about it? Write another check?

    Let me give you another alternative. Take for example Michael Andrew a photographer. He was personally convicted by this Haiti tragedy. He is in Haiti today DOING something about it. I consider Michael a friend. He was the wedding photographer for my wedding and my brother’s wedding. So, I have spent some time with him on a business level, but I have also followed his blog for a while now. He is truly a genuine person. When he said he was going to Haiti, I knew it was not to draw attention, get sympathy, or try to find out how many people would object. He is passionate about positively changing the world. So what is Michael doing in Haiti? He is documenting all of the orphanages in the area of Port Au Prince. When he finds one, he uploads the GPS coordinates to Facebook and photographs the damage and children. There are many places that have received aide, but others have not. He is basically improving the flow of information back to those who can provide aide. More than anything, he is there. He is sacrificing his own resources, time, money, skills, etc. to make a difference.


    Photo courtesy of MichaeltheMaven.com


    I encourage you to make a difference. Don’t be content with just giving monetarily. Do something. I’m not saying drop everything and go to Haiti, but do something in your community, for a local school, go on a mission trip. Whatever you do, do it sacrificially. Otherwise your motives are selfishly driven, and your actions will be for nothing.

    Whatever it is… Get out there and DO IT. What are you waiting for? Now is the best time!!

    Friday, January 1, 2010

    Aspirations for 2010

    To bring in 2010, I have come up with some aspirations not resolutions. The word resolution means a firm decision to do or not to do something, but the word aspiration means a hope or ambition of achieving something. Therefore, I have the aspiration to achieve these things over the next year. A resolution is more for those who want to go to the gym, quit smoking, lose weight, etc. I have the aspiration to do the following:

  • Post at least 2 new blog posts per month with a goal of one per week.

  • Read one book per month (at minimum).

  • Triathlons: Do at least 3 sprint & start training for Olympic length.

  • Do Run for the Reason (see blog posts from April 2009)

  • Do 1/2 marathon (possibly Music City)

  • Some personal things that I won’t mention here


  • What is it about the new year that makes us celebrate? Is it a reason to party? Maybe so… But why do we not celebrate each new month? Yay for February!! or March! Why not? Why not take it to the next level and celebrate the beginning of each week? Some might argue that they do party every Saturday night. So, what’s the point?

    As I get older, I realize that the new year is more of a formality than something of substance. The new year as a child or youth is something to look forward to. As a student it means half-way through another school year. A new year for a 15 year old means entering the year that you get to drive. But as a 25 year old, I have no more ages to look forward to other than retirement age. Retirement is a completely different post for a different time. My point is that life is mundane and monotonous. Without something greater than ourselves there is little to live for. Therefore, those living the Ecclesiastes life have created events to make life more interesting.

    I tweeted a while back asking the question, “what do you do to keep life from being mundane?”. I got responses anywhere from “have kids” to “read a book.” No one actually got what I was pointing out. The point is that life is mundane. It is boring. However, the followers of Christ have hope in the life after this one.

    So, make aspirations, hope for the future, and make plans for what you will do, but keep in mind that this life is temporary, mundane, futile, and tenuous.

    Ecclesiastes 1:2 -"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

    Thursday, December 31, 2009

    10 Most Memorable Moments of the Last Decade...

    I took this idea from BT over at trappster.com. This is a look at my life in the two-thousands(?). Which brings me to a different idea... What do you call the last decade? I'm almost glad it's over, because noone in the last 10 years could answer that question. I grew up in the 80's and 90's, but then the millennium/century turned and everyone was confused. I digress...

    Here's the list:

    2000. This was the year I turned 16 and got my drivers license. This is one of those proverbial coming-of-age events. THis was also the year that I became an Eagle Scout which is one of my proudest moments.


    2001. I went on my first mission trip in 2001. My high-school youth group took all of us to Colorado Springs for a week during this summer. It was particularly memorable, because we drove to Colorado, stopping in Oklahoma City to see the bombing memorial.


    2002. In February of 2002, I had the worst day of my life. I was involved in a car accident that totaled my mom's car. I walked away thankfully, but it was by far the most traumatic experience I have ever had. I learned a lot from it, and I grew a lot because of it. If anything else happened in '02, I don't remember it, because this trumps it all.


    2003. 2003 was a transitional year for me. I graduated high-school, got my first car, went on a trip to Ecuador (which BTW is an amazing country), and started college with strep throat.


    2004. This is the year of "The Flood." I was in the Million Dollar Band at Alabama, and I woke up early on the Saturday of the Iron Bowl to find that my dorm room was 'puddled' with water. Needless to say, I was late for practice that morning. Not only did my room flood, my brother's room (which was located below mine) also flooded, and the basement of the dorm flooded. Turns out there was a pinhole leak in a pipe next to my sink inside the wall.


    2005. In the spring of 2005, I finished 5th in Mallet Wargames. Wargames is a one-shot-one-kill game played on campus at Alabama starting the Monday after Sprig Break. Everyone in the Mallet dorm plays all over campus 24-7 until one person remains. I killed myself during finals week, because I was too stressed out. In the fall of 2005, I took too many lab classes at the same time. I had 4 tests, a presentation, and 5 finals within the last two weeks of class. Those two weeks I lost 10 lbs. due to stress.


    2006. The summer of 2006 my friend Tyler and I played NHL Hitz on X-box every day after work. My nickname was "Skeeter," and I was good. It's an extremely addicting game. Not very difficult, but when you play with someone else, it is impossible to stop playing.


    2007. This was another transitional year. I graduated from college, got married, started my first job, quit my first job (a story for a later date), started my second job, and attended 12 weddings. Yeah, it was a busy year


    2008. In 2008, my wife and I bought our first house and got a dog. We love both of them


    2009. Earlier this year, my wife was involved in a car accident that totaled her car that we both loved. Thankfully she was not injured, but the whole experience was in itself tedious. I dread car shopping, much less being forced against my will to go car shopping. Nevertheless, we found another car that we like.


    I'm sure there are many more examples I could use, but these stick out in my mind. I'm looking forward to the next decade because, I have a chance to write it. I have a clean slate. What will I do? I don't know, but I do have a list of things I want to do. Check out my post tomorrow for what I plan to do in 2010. I don't like the use of "New Year's Resolutions," because it is overused and cliche. So, I will call it goals, aspirations, or something like that. At the end of the next decade I will be 35.

    What will you do with your next 10 years?

    Tuesday, December 1, 2009

    Time Flies

    Wow... Where did August, September, October, and November go? I guess school got in the way. Nevertheless, I have lots of good blog information stored in my $1000 butterfly catcher also known as my phone. So keep watching the blog for some cool updates coming by year end.

    Friday, July 10, 2009

    The Man-Purse or "murse"

    So, I have been contemplating this for a while. The question at hand is the following: "Is a briefcase a murse?" I sent this out on Twitter (which forwards to Facebook). I got some interesting responses and discussion some of which I will share here.

    =


    I think I'm man enough to say at occasion my briefcase can be considered a murse but for good reason. Unlike a colleague of mine who blatantly admits that his attache case is a murse without question. It contains asprin, cleaner for his glasses, etc. So, it brings us to this. What makes a briefcase a murse? I think there are two distinct categories: 1) what it contains 2) how it is used.

    Contents:
    If your briefcase contains your keys, wallet, lipgloss, etc., then it is a murse. However, if it contains your laptop, calculator, business cards, etc., then it is not. Umbrella... Maybe. Top Secret Files... definitely not. Mirror... purse all the way.

    Use:
    If you use your briefcase in a certain way, it can be called a murse. Obviously it is a murse if you have more than one and color-coordiate with your outfit. If it has a padded shoulder strap, you may be on the fence. I think this point is moot, but it's up for debate. It may be best to lose the strap all together. If you take it with you to any place other than work or home, it is a murse (as in Walmart).

    The bottom line is that you have to be careful not to turn your briefcase into a murse.

    Ways to de-feminize your briefcase/murse:
    1. Carry a Crocodile Dundee knoife (that's the Austrailian spelling of knife)

    2. Put your keys in your pocket
    3. Leave your briefcase at work (you don't need to work at home)
    4. Lose the shoulder strap (If it's too heavy to carry in one hand, it's a murse.)

    Other Suggestions... What are your thoughts.



    P.S. I have to give credit to my Facebook friends who added input to this. They supplied some of this debate: Madison P., Steve S., Amber S., and Jessica B. Thanks for the great input.

    Friday, July 3, 2009

    #moonfruit

    This is pure marketing genious at work. Moontweet is giving away a Macbook Pro every day for 10 days (today is day 4) to a random person who Tweets "#moonfruit" that's it no catch.



    MoonFruit is a website builder that has been around for 10 years now. To celebrate their existence, they are giving away computers. What could be more perfect than spreading your brand (for free) on Twitter? Think about it, those who are on twitter are most likely to be young adults who are tech savvy and either have a website or have thought about having their own website. This is free advertisement for their company and brand. Furthermore, "#moonfruit" is the number 1 phrase on Twitter currently. That's huge.

    Tuesday, June 30, 2009

    Dinner at Pensacola Beach



    I had dinner tonight overlooking Pensacola Beach. I thought I would share some photos.



    (photos taken from my iPhone)

    Tuesday, June 16, 2009

    Kurt Cobain - Smells Like Ecclesiastes

    Harm and I awoke this morning just like any other morning, but this wasn't just like any other morning. Harm went to the kitchen and let out a shrieking scream. I'm pretty used to this, because we had lots of strange bugs when we lived in the apartment. I thought she found a bug, but no... Goldilocks had fled the coop. The storm the night before must have been too much for her, and she jumped ship. She jumped out of the fishbowl into the sink where she met her end. Unfortunately, she must have thought all drains lead to the ocean. This one led to the disposal, but she never got that far. She was removed to take the porcelain express.

    This event reminded me of a Bible Study I led a few years ago in college that discussed different aspects of suicide. Here are some excerpts and thoughts of mine on this subject. This study was in a series of lessons surrounding the book The Rock Cries Out: Discovering Eternal Truth in Unlikely Music by Steve Stockman. It is a very good book if you are familiar with the artists he writes about. If not, it is still a good read, but you may need some supplemental information to help with what he doesn't explain.

    So from this book, I took Chapter 3: Kurt Cobain - Smells Like Ecclesiastes to analyze suicide.

    Some Background Information:
    Kurt Cobain and Nirvana rocketed to the most popular band on the planet. Less than 31 months after Nevermind was released, Cobain was dead. Several things have been attributed to his demise. At age 7, his parents divorce impacted him big time. “Since the age of 7 I have become hateful of all humans in general.” His music was detrimental to his health. The anger and screaming caused an ulcer to form in his stomach. Furthermore, he suffered from scoliosis. Thus, his guitar weight made his back pain worse. Experts have speculated that four major components attributed to his death. 1) Hopelessness of heroine addiction, 2) stomach pain, 3) emotional pain, and 4) delusion of the drugs that he was on. We must be careful not to associate this demise with Cobain’s lack of religious belief. It is wrong to assume that non-Christians are unhappy. Success is an addictive rush. So what is the point?

    Two Questions:
    If success can make me happy why do I need God?
    If success can make me happy why did Kurt Cobain commit suicide?

    Suicide
    Here are some interesting demographics from the National Center for Health and Statistics



    Some additional thoughts and reading material on this subject.

    Is suicide ever acceptable?
    10 Commandments - Thou shalt not kill.
    Jesus - “Love the Lord your God…”
    Numbers 11:12-15 - Moses asks God to kill him.
    Judges 16:29-30 - Samson commits suicide
    I Samuel 31:4-6 and I Chronicles 10:3-7 - Saul
    Matthew 7:25 - Judas
    Philippians 1:20-26 - Paul

    A permanent solution to a temporary problem.

    What should we do?
    II Corinthians 4:18 - Fix our eyes on Jesus
    Matthew 6:19-20 - Store Treasures in Heaven
    Luke 12:19
    Hebrews 4:15

    Smells Like Ecclesiastes
    Ecclesiastes 1:2 - Everything is meaningless
    Ecclesiastes 12:13

    Everything under the sun is meaningless

    Everything without God is meaningless

    We need the vertical in order to make sense in the horizontal.

    What do we learn from Kurt Cobain?


    Let me know your thoughts.

    Friday, May 15, 2009

    2nd Annual ASME Skeet Shoot


    Today was the second ASME Skeet Shoot. We were able to raise enough money to give out three scholarships this year to a student from The University of Alabama, UAB, and UAH. Each student is a Mechanical Engineering Junior or Senior. This year's recipients received their scholarships at the event and all of the donors were able to meet them and congratulate them in person.

    Our venue was Selwood Farms near Childersburg, AL. This has been our location both years, and it has gone very well. The course is challenging and the host is very hospitable. We hope to continue our relationship in the future. One interesting thing about Selwood is the restrooms. I have posted pictures that designate the male and female restrooms. See if you can figure out which is which... Some people actually had trouble with this.