It's a sad time

It has been many moons since my last post, and today I write with a sad heart. Many of you have heard of the Oceanside police officer that was killed in the line of duty. He was my friend, my co-worker, and a brother. When I first heard the news that Dan was shot, my stomach fell throught he floor. The day before I was hanging out with him in the desert shooting our guns and haveing a blast. How could this possibly be. I began to feel very angry as I quickly gathered my gear and rushed into work. What started as another day off turned into a nightmare. After the long night experiencing an emotional roller coaster, I returned home and crashed. People cope with experiences such as this in their own ways. I realize there will be no more memories created with Dan, and I need to remember the ones we already have. I think the worst part about this is I have to now answer many difficult questions from my 8 year old daughter who sees the news and feels my sadness. Friday I returned to work for my normal shift, and I almost called in sick. But I realized I need to be with others who felt the same, and to keep myself busy. It was a long night.
Time will heal the pain and sorrow, but my heart truely hurts for his wife and two month old son. What a horrible bit of news to recieve. The way Dan was killed could not be prevented, nor are there any tactics that can be practiced or learned. What can be learned is life can end very quickly and without notice. You can not wait to patch relationships or develope new ones, because you may never know when they will end. As I struggle through this with tears in my eyes, I just ask everyone to take a quick moment and tell your friends and family you love them and appreciate them...there may not be a chance tomorrow.

Its Raining Cars

As of late, I have been finding myself running alot. Mostly in the evening around my house, with my homie Rico (my dog). I have to train for the big 5K race. Yeah I said 5K. Many have tried and many have failed. Ha...Yeah right. Really I am trying to lose a few lbs that mysteriously formed after my surgury. Fishy. Maybe its because I love to eat and drink Fraps so much. Oh well. On the weekends, I have been going on some peacfull walks on the Carlsbad seawall. However, since I was told by a friend that a psyco driver drove off the cliff and landed his car on some poor old guy walking below, I now stay on the street level. At least I have a better chance of doing some hollywood roll to avoid the 2 tons piece of scrape metal coming my way. 8 in the morning comes early, but it is nice and cool out and I am already awake. A walk in the fresh morning air while drinking my favorite drug, coffee, is a sweet way to start my weekend days.

Killer Marshmallows

I think we would all agree that a golf ball launched at 100 mph could kill someone if it struck them in the head. Ouch! Well a golf ball weighs 48 grams, and a marshmallow weighs 4.6 grams. And I am talking the large bon fire ones, not the little pea shooter type. So how fast would a marshmallow have to be launched to kill someone? Let me tell you, because I am nerd (and I like physics). For a marshmallow to be launched at the same kinetic energy as a golf ball traveling 100 mph, you would need, say a marshmallow slingshot, with the capabilities of launching those chewy treats at 1043 mph. Oh yeah. So if you are frolicking around the beach taking pop shots at random passerbys, make sure your launcher is not to powerful. Who knows, you may end up killing someone....but I doubt it. Have fun.

Marriage on Demand

Tonight for my Anthropology class, I had to write a paper on prearranged marriages (yeah I know, geek). It made me think, what type of lady would be chosen for me, if I had to abide by that rule. If I had to write up a dream sheet of approved qualities, this is the readers digest version of what it would entail; he would have, just kidding, she would be athletic, tall and slim, not the type that takes freaking four hours to get ready to go to dinner, a good friend, but not just a friend, and fun to hang out with. Additionally, she would be educated, maybe kinda dorky like me, and want to massage my feet every night. Haha Yeah right, I am just kidding. It seems these days, quality women are hard to find. They are either super good looking, but then they open their mouth and start talking, and that ruins it all, or they can have an intelligent conversation, but are rough on the eyes. MY EYES!!! You want someone that you think about daily and long touch her lips or breath her scent (ok, lets not get carried away, this is a family site, isn't it). It is not often you find someone that has both of those qualities. But then, isn’t that what everyone would want, best of both worlds. They should be someone you want to do things for, even when they say, “Farm boy, fetch me that pail.” And you say, “As you wish.” But hopefully her name is not Buttercup. Haha By the way, you don’t happen to have six fingers on your right hand? So for all you listeners out there, before you marry, chose wisely while you can, because in familias like those in India and many Islamic cultures, they are chosen for them. Y no apresúrese en el matrimonio, usted puede lamentarlo.

Febreeze: Fact or Folklore

I recently did a study (yeah, like today) on a product some people swear by, and others have yet to discover. Yup, I am talking about the ever famous Febreeze. Febreeze is a spray that eliminates 99.9% of odor causing bacteria’s. But did you know, in 1999 the famous Procter & Gamble product came under fire. The allegation: Febreeze was responsible for killing many household pets. Uh oh, Rico stand clear. So I looked into it and according to the National Animal Poison Control Center (take a breath), there is no evidence of foul play. The concern is the zinc chloride (which is supposedly harmful to pets) and that it uses aerosol propellants (which pose a danger to many types of birds). No kidding. So the ever understanding P & G came out with a new and improved version in 1998 without zinc chloride and used pump action (hehe) to spray the scented aroma. I think it is common sense. Don’t use Febreeze as a Binaca replacement on your dog, and never spray your bird while in flight. Let us stick to using the antimicrobial spray on our couches, vehicle upholstery and our bed mattresses (hehehe). In addition to this factual study, local folklore believes Febreeze, when used frequently on the mattress, is a natural tractor beam for relationships (unknown if short or long term). As long as you don’t get crazy with your meadow and rain or linen and sky scented spray, the results can only be positive.

My Drug of Choice

Like many Americans, I love Starbucks. Through much counseling I can now admit that. Did you know coffee was discovered on the horn of Africa more than a thousand years ago? Originally, coffee beans were eaten, not drank. Little tribes in east Africa used to mix ground coffee with animal fat and roll then into balls. Tribal warriors would eat the coffee balls (hehe) during battle to give then energy. No kidding, eh? After several different uses by other cultures such as Ethiopians, the Arabics finally got it right in the 11th century. Yeah! Did you know a standard issue Frappacino is a little over 500 calories. Holy crap. Not that I am a huge fitness buff, but that is still a lot to burn. It is just hard to resist the creamy, rich, blended taste that goes down so smooth and cools your body from the inside. Slurpees are only about 330 calories, and are extremely tasty, but Fraps seen to have them beat. For me to burn 500 calories, I need to run 5.2 miles, play basketball for 40 minutes, chop wood for 45 minutes, or have sex (at a moderate pace) for 5 and a half hours. Sweet. That just motivates me to drink a Frap every day. Just need to find another Frap drinker to burn calories with. Anyway….don’t let coffee intimidate you, it can be a good thing. Is it a requirement to drink coffee to work at Starbucks? I think I know a former employee; I’ll have to ask her. Well, until next time, careful when you drink coffee and drive, and stay near a bathroom.

The beauty of Distraction

Have you ever been doing some sort of task that has some form of value, whether it is for your work, school, or health, and found yourself continually distracted by something? It could be a noise, a pain, or even a person. As of late, I have been doing a task that, in a round about way, is for my work and I continually get distracted by “something”. It is not necessarily a bad thing and has the power to drive me crazy; pulling me from the depths of a bad mood or bringing about a well needed smile to my face. I have even tried in the past to fight back the smile, yet with this “distraction,” it always seems to surface no matter how hard I try to hold out. Not all distractions can be unhealthy either. Some can motivate you to work harder or even encourage you to not give up or procrastinate. Its like when I go running, I like to take my dog Rico. I feel if I slow down or even walk I am disappointing him. I don’t want to do that to my cool doggy, so I push harder or try not to reschedule on him. And sure, sometimes he may trip me and I fall into a bush on the side of the road and scratch the crap out of my leg trying to recover, but he is a distraction that is worth the pain, blood, and tears. OK…..anyways. So for all of you out there (yeah, like there is a big line), remember that some distractions can be extremely motivating, rhythmic, or beautiful, and to not prejudge them. Give it a chance.

P.S. Remenber, this is about a random thought and is totally hypothetical (yeah, right).