Why Santa is real

I wrote this last night, and decided to share. 

This is to all of you who don't "believe" in Santa Claus. Or perhaps, those of you who once believed. And even to those of you who have never believed, here is why he does exist. 

Santa may not be a person, there I said it, I started off with it. But that's not the point.  This year I was able to help spend over $500 of donated money. This money was donated from college students, many of whom hardly have enough for themselves, but they realize they have enough to help others. A few of us set out to get as many things as we could from this family's Christmas list. We merrily went along, beaming smiles as we scurried about the store finding just the right things, and then some for our little family. The gifts were wrapped, and the names were written on the tags, From: Santa. 

I watched on Christmas Eve as my sister and her husband crept around their house, careful not to wake my sleeping nieces, with presents. If Christmas Morning is for the children, then Christmas Eve is for everyone else. I saw the magic in each of their eyes as presents were laid under the tree, the Oreo cookies were eaten along with the milk. I saw Santa working through them as they moved, I saw love. 

Tomorrow I will see my nieces with that same light in their eyes, the magic, the joy, the love. All because of Santa. 

Santa may be as impalpable as emotion, but he is just as real. 

Merry Christmas. 

Reemergence

GASP!  Man, that fresh air tastes good!  The last half of a semester can really smother you if you are not careful.  I, apparently, was not careful and I got a little bit smothered.  Not to worry!  Everything turned out fine and, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, I am back!

The good news: in the time between my last post and now I have taken up oil painting, the NBA started, and Oklahoma City is (believe it or not) better than expected!

The bad news: I ran out of razors about a week and a half ago and came to realization that The Baby - a distant second in most categories - can easily out-beard me any day of the week. (Sigh... This makes him more desirable than I am to play the role of Russell Crowe in "The Life of Russell Crowe")

The Baby has recently prodded me a little bit because I have not been posting recently, so, feeling bad, I decided that I would get back on and submit a post.  I logged into the blog account and saw that, while it is true that I have not posted for a while, The Baby has not posted either for a solid month, so I do not feel so bad anymore.

Oddly enough, what I wanted to post about today is similar to something that he posted in late September.  If you are unfamiliar with The Holstee Manifesto, I recommend that you read it.  The Holstee Manifesto a poster that is essentially made up of inspiring, "get-off-your-duff" statements and it is designed to inspire the very best from whoever reads it.  While I do not think that it is necessarily good advice to just quit your job if you don't like it, the idea is great - this is your life and if you are not sitting in the driver's seat you are never going to end up where you want to be.  You'll always just end up wherever the current driver takes you. 

I think that this analogy is interesting because I believe that sometimes it can be appropriate to "just be along of the ride" with the proviso that the driver is going where you ultimately want to go.  If you bump into someone who might make a great business partner because he or she shares your same goals, jump on in, take turns driving, and make sure that you're not the only one paying for gas!

The point is that we all have one life, so why not spend it finding out what we love and then doing what we love?  What is stopping us from making our dreams come true once we have a clear vision of what those dreams are?  I challenge you to open your eyes and really think about what you love, and once you have that clear vision, go get it.

My....well our love for Halloween

Now I usually don't DARE speak for the Golden Child, but on this rare occasion I may say that our interests are exactly the same...we LOVE Halloween!

Ever since before we were born our dear mother had a knack for crafts and making adorable decorations out of wood.  She would often get together with some of her friends and get design ideas from the endless volumes of craft books she had.  They would plan, the plot, cut, and paint the best holiday decorations for every season.  I believe that from this unparalleled holiday fervor sprang our delight and excitement for every single holiday during the year.

Halloween, every child's dream, FREE CANDY!  I remember being so excited for "Halloween Season".  Countless cobwebs and scary scenes strewn about the house.  It seemed like every year we had a new addition to our festive collection, one year I even endeavored to mimic my mother and her crafty-ness by making a decorative bat.....no it doesn't fly on its own or light up but it's dang cute!  I honestly have hundreds of Halloween stories I could tell ranging from walking miles to a mansion just to get the prized King Sized candy bars, to getting my candy stolen by some jerk when I was 7 years old.  But let's focus on the now.  Here I am, a college student in my twenties, but instead of making wooden bats my projects have evolved to my costume.

I took a small poll from friends before this past Halloween and was baffled to see how many of them (how many of YOU) weren't planning on dressing up for school on Halloween.  It seems common sense to me, a free pass to be whatever I want for a day...you better believe I'll take the bull by the horns and live it up!

To all you dear readers, you may already know (from previous posts) what I was going to be, and to the rest of you...you'll soon find out.  I'll stop beating around the bush and just show you what I mean.  This is what my Halloween 2013 consisted of

I went into a random class of over 450 students dressed as Clark Kent, after about 15 minutes my phone rang out the classic Superman Theme.  Answering the call of a citizen in distress: "What?....Where......?  I'm on my way!" And up, up and AWAY!  You're NEVER to old to celebrate your favorite holidays, you just need to be creative, and yes, aside from the 15 minutes of that class, I did wear my Superman costume the whole day.

midterms

All right people.  I decided I was going to get back on this whole blog thing once midterms were over, surprise, they're never over.  Ha ha, just after a shotgun blast of tests in a week there is always one lingering around the corner...or a project.....or both.  I mean seriously, it never ends.  Or so it seems.

From the age...0 until about 6 or 7 my siblings could convince me to do just about anything.  Which is pretty much why we have about half of theses stories to tell.  "Hey, let's get Dan to do (insert dangerous activity)".  This experience followed that same blueprint, oh what humble beginnings.

I spent countless blissful summers on a lake near my hometown, and to this day it remains my favorite location on the planet.  Like most days, I would swim and fish, swim, and swim some more.  My brothers, sister and I would take rides on the boat, and try and get as close to death as possible being whipped around on an inflatable tube with the force of about 12 g's (to experience similar force, take a max speed banked turn in a fighter jet).  Invariably the day would come to a close and we would adorn our conglomeration of assorted sweatshirts, all of which were far to big, and would often cover us down to our knees.  Waiting for dinner to be ready, us boys would wander around looking for new adventures.  We, and by we I mean my two older brothers coerced me into, playing a classic game of Dan Go Stand on The Dock and See if We Can Hit Him.  (I say classic because this game happened more often than I would like to admit.)  And so it begun, I would walk back and forth like the little ducks you see at a carnival midway with a target painted right on the flank.  Rocks would rain down from the sky, seldom ever hitting the dock on which I was standing.  I was in more danger of getting splashed than getting hit thanks to both of my brothers being little sissies :)  But as the age old saying goes, "even a blind squirrel can find a nut..."  In came a comet, but WAY to high to hit me.  It banged against the tin roof of the cabin and I made a taunting gesture towards my assailants on the shore sticking my tongue out "Nah nah, can't hit me!"  Little did I know how close my life would come to that of the great physicist Newton, for I would also discover the power of gravity, hands on.  The rock took its course, rolling down the slanted roof until it took off like a ski jump and SMACK!  Right on the top of my head.  "AHHH!" I yelped, almost losing my balance into the water.  All I heard was an eruption of laughter echo across the water from the shore.  Boys will be boys, and that for sure was not the last of our shenanigans!

Self empowerment

That's to the "Challenge" that was made to me in an earlier post.  Pshhh I mean come on, why wouldn't you take a bet that is a guaranteed win.

On my first day of kindergarten I walked to school, since it was only a bloc and a half away from the first house of my childhood.  Since I was in the afternoon session, I came in about lunchtime for my brothers (both of them attending the same Lena Whitmore Elementary School.  I was excited to explore this great new world (I remember being twice as excited since I got out of school at the same time as my older brothers).  Was I out of my comfort zone?  Sure thing.  Did I LOVE my time there?  I look back at my years walking those halls and running on that playground fondly.  What am I getting at here?  People, I know for a fact I had some rough days, I remember getting sent to the principle's office on several occasions, walking home, hands shaking with fear because I KNEW I was in so much trouble with every adult in my life.  BUT that's not what matters most.  What matters most is what we've accomplished in our lives.

Why not be positive?  You've done so much already.  If you're reading this you have access to the internet, and the world is yours.  Feel empowered, because you have the ability to do great things.  From kindergarten to now, look at what you've done.  Leave a comment about something you did in your life.  From overcoming your fear and sharing something for show and tell in the first grade.  Or mustering the courage to raise your hand for the first time in class.  It's all about the little things here, and they all count.  Why am I so positive....why not?

Dating Advice From A Happily Married Guy

Ever since I got married I have had some very interesting interactions with single guys trying to attract and/or ask out single girls.  On more than one occasion I have literally found myself right in the middle of the line of fire when some poor sap is trying to ask out a girl who clearly (and unfortunately in most cases) is not interested.  One of those experiences happened today.

I had finally trudged my way up to the beautiful campus at Utah State University after locking my keys in my car (I guess it was just that kind of day) and was hopping in an elevator to head to my second class of the day.  Within seconds I was joined by a young man who was squarely in the middle of asking out the young lady who was entering the elevator with him.  After a fleeting look that clearly said, "Seriously?! In an elevator with a complete stranger standing RIGHT THERE?!?!?!"  I attempted to blend in, which, you may not be surprised to hear, is a difficult thing to do in an 8 foot by 8 foot metal box that is shockingly well lit.  The conversation ended something like this (my thoughts in italics):

"...yeah, so if you wanted to go with me that would be cool.  It should be pretty fun." he said, clearly proud of himself.

"Oh, yeah... Yes. That, uh... that sounds great. It... it sounds really fun." she said while simultaneously searching her excuses database.

"Seriously? Give this guy a break and just say 'no'!"

She continued, "Just, uh...let me check my schedule..."

"Sure. Check your schedule. Here, I'll check it for you. Oh! You're not available that night?! Shocker."

"...and then I'll call you." 

At this point the girl girl actually glanced over at me as if to ask for help.  The guy, on the other hand, could not have been more pleased with himself.

"Oh! Great! Yeah! Just let me know as soon as you know."

"Act more excited dude, seriously."

The elevator stopped and the three of us exited.  She gripped her books and took off down the right hallway. I smiled and then chuckled enough to be unintentionally noticed by the guy.  "What?  Is something funny?" he said, laughing a little himself.  "Oh, no... nope."  We started to walk.  

Now, for those of you that know me you know that I tend to keep to myself in most social situations.  I prefer to just sit back and watch.  After all, the more you talk the more likely you are to eventually stick your foot in your mouth and I am not particularly fond of the taste of feet; however, my lack of verbal interaction allows me to sit back and observe.  If you haven't already noticed what I had noticed, let me tell you.

It just so happened that this guy started walking in the same direction that I was walking.  The differences between this guy and myself continued to express themselves because he started talking to me as we walked.  Apparently my proximity to him during the most important interaction of his life made us fast friends. 

"So, where are you heading?" he asked, confident to start a new conversation.

"I'm just on my way to the Engineering Building."

"Me too.  I'm an engineering major.  Almost done.  What about you?"

At this point we had walked a fairly good distance from the business building and the young lady was long gone.

"Yeah, I'm almost done with Psychology."  I paused and stopped walking.  He stopped. "You didn't give that girl your phone number, did you?"

He stopped dead and his happy-go-lucky smile was betrayed by the frustrated "hand-through-the-hair" gesture.  He looked back down the now overcrowded walkway with a fanatic look in his eyes, then he looked back at me.

"Go get 'em." I said with a shadow of a wink before he bolted back through the crowd, "She's got a pretty good head start by now anyway."

The Soundtrack To Our Lives

I have always really enjoyed the idea of the "soundtrack to your life" - there is always a group of songs that seamlessly meshes with your current circumstances and can relate really well with your life at the time.  The soundtrack changes as we grow, gain new experiences, and shift from different life stages.  For example, when I was in high school playing basketball the soundtrack consisted mostly of Metallica songs (because that is what always got me pumped up for basketball), but when track season rolled around the soundtrack featured "Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy because, thanks to Forrest Gump, that is the song that gets me the most pumped up for running.

There have been times in our lives when The Baby and I have had similar soundtracks; however, I was thinking about this the other day and I do not think that there has ever been a time when our soundtracks have been as different as they are right now.  A brief overview is in order:  Dan is an early-20's single dude, so his life consists of girls, school, free time, frolicking, girls, free time, a large amount of "do-whatever-you-wantery", and girls.  I am a late-20's married dude with two daughters under the age of 3, so my life consists of school, work, girls (but not in the same way), work, school, cardboard Batman costumes, and poopy diapers.  Now let's consider our different soundtracks (for the sake of length, our soundtracks have been reduced from 15 tracks to 6 tracks each).  My soundtrack is currently called "Tranquility for the Soul" while Dan's is called "Yahoo! That's Right! Blikity-BLAM!"

Track 1

John's Soundtrack: 

"Hey Me, Hey Mama" Ray LaMontagne.  This is a fun little calming song when you are taking a break between writing people up for insubordination and 4.5 hours of upper-level Psychology classes.

Dan's Soundtrack:

"Don't Stop The Sandman" Rock Sugar.  A perfect blend of "Enter Sandman" and "Don't Stop Believin'" This song is fantastic.  Perfect song for someone who is a little bit classy and a little bit rock n' roll.

Track 2

John's Soundtrack:

"The Wheels on the Bus" Various Artists.  My oldest daughter loves this song.  If you sing it once, be prepared to sing it 1,000 times.

Dan's Soundtrack:

"Girls, Girls, Girls" Motley Crue.  "Friday night and I need a fight/ My motorcycle and a switchblade knife/ Handful of grease in my hair feels right/ But what I need to make me tight are/ (chorus) Girls, Girls, Girls/ Long legs and burgundy lips/ Girls, Girls, Girls/ Dancin' down on Sunset Strip/ Girls, Girls, Girls/ Red lips, fingertips."  That seems about right.

Track 3

John's Soundtrack:

"Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Baker's Man" Various Artists/ Versions.  This song is great because it can be tailored to be about anyone.  Simply throw your name in at the end and all of a sudden that baker is making a cake for YOU, my friend.

Dan's Soundtrack:

"Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" A Perfect Circle.  Hardcore and edgy, this is the song that a Viking warrior listens to before filling his helmet with the blood of a fallen enemy, jamming the helmet on his head, and then charging onto the field of battle on a horse made of lightning.

Track 4

John's Soundtrack:

"I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song" Jim Croce.  After a stressful day of jumping through hoops (a.k.a. school) and work this song calms me down more than anything, and it is one of Aimee's favorites.

Dan's Soundtrack:

"Easy Skanking" Bob Marley. Just kidding. :)

"Riding With The King" B.B. King & Eric Clapton.  I imagine Dan taking girls on dates and this phrase inevitably escapes his lips: "Don't you know you're ridin' with The King?" Not as "uppity" as his other songs. This is Dan's "calm down" song... sort of.

Track 5

John's Soundtrack:

"Tootie" Hootie & The Blowfish.  For some inexplicable reason this song has the second-most plays on my itunes right now.  Is it the way Darius Rucker (he's such a nice guy!) often indistinguishably croons, or is it the overwhelmingly calm melody that makes me listen to it over and over?  Maybe we'll never know.  All I know is that this song is fantastic.

Dan's Soundtrack:

"Everyday" Bon Jovi.  Incredibly, this is the only inside joke song on the list.  The very beginning of this song is perfect for Dan.  Just listen to the first 6 seconds.

Track 6

John's Soundtrack:

"Happy Trails" Van Halen.  Don't be fooled by the fact that this song is performed by Van Halen.  This is the best song to listen to right as you are leaving work.  Every day.  For the past two months.

Dan's Soundtrack:

"Shoot To Thrill" AC/DC (on repeat for most of the day).  Maybe it's because of the fact that if Dan were any superhero he would be Tony Stark/ Iron man, or maybe it's just because I picture Dan zipping around campus on his long board with this song blaring from the heavens and Dan screaming "YEEEE-OW!" right in the face of anyone in his proximity.  Take your pick.  This song has Dan's name plastered all over every note.

Most Difficult Omissions:

"Pusher Love Girl" Justin Timberlake

"I think It's Gonna Rain Today" Neil Diamond

"I Don't Want To Live On The Moon" Ernie from Sesame Street

"Shout" Disturbed