Yesterday I lost a friend…

Yesterday a friend of mine passed away in the night. He was 54. He was an IT professional like me. About a year ago he lost his job and with it, his health care benefits. As time passed his financial status continued to decline as did his health. He eventually became homeless and sold most of his worldly possessions just to have money to survive. He lived in one of my spare rooms for a while until the faithful night that I had to rush him to the ER at 2am while he vomited up blood. He became too sick to live with me and migrated back and forth from the free hospital and his father’s house. Eventually, he was approved for disability as a portion of his illness was acquired while doing military service. He now had access to the VA hospital, and for a time it seemed like he was going to recover. One of my clients (who was also a close friend of his) owned some rental property and offered him a small trailer to live in. Shortly after he moved into the trailer he stopped answering his phone. Many people assumed that it was just shut off because he didn’t have the money to pay for it. After two days of not hearing from him, a relative went to the trailer and found him in a diabetic coma. They rushed him to the ER, but it was too late to save his leg. It was amputated just above the knee. Over the next 6 months he would battle wave after wave of sickness and infection. At times it appeared that he was on his way to recovery, then would fall ill again and end up on a ventilator in the ICU. It was a torturous existence. Several times while he was on the ventilator, he was conscious and aware of his surroundings. When he was not on the ventilator he struggled to speak, but was able to communicate to me that he wanted to live. Unfortunately fate had other plans.

My friend had a birthday less than two weeks before he passed. On his Facebook page several people wished him a happy birthday. I responded to them by letting them know that true friends would know that he was in the ICU fighting for his life. Many people said they were praying for him, and when he died they said he was in a better place. They were right of course, but not because we is now in some heavenly place, but rather because wherever he ends up has to be better than the state we find ourselves in today.

In 2011, we live in a world of fake friends, of people who don’t have care for the plight of the less fortunate, where everyone is out to get “what’s theirs” and to hell with anyone else. As the unemployment rate continues to rise and millions of people just like my friend are denied their basic human rights, the mega rich get to live in gated communities, taking advantage of all capitalism has to offer. The morality of the rich vs. poor in America has seriously damaged our humanity.  Mean while, the general populace is brainwashed by talking heads, and media pundits, who have somehow convinced them to loath one another and vote against their own self interests. Why does the world have to be filled with so much hate and distain for our fellow human beings? Why does reaching out a helping hand have to be a chore for those who can afford it the least? When are we as people going to wake up from our “self coma” and change this world we live in?

Until the world learns how to love unconditionally (see chapter 7 of my book), I take solace in knowing that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, so hopefully that he will have better luck the next time around. Rest in peace my friend.

Posted in Spirit | Comments Off on Yesterday I lost a friend…

Home At Last…

I’m writing this blog post from Beth Page, Tennessee. It’s beautiful country out here. It’s a landscape of rolling hills, small streams, colorful flowers, tall trees, and real wildlife. I didn’t really understand why my mother moved here after grandma died. I thought she would move close to either my sister or I, as we both have children. I thought she wanted to be a grandmother herself. Instead, she moved to Tennessee, to live alone, out in the country. She moved there to die. Not in the literal sense, but rather she wanted to spend her last years on earth in a peaceful place, not far from where she grew up. A place still locked in a 1950’s time warp. A place full of memories from a time when life was simple, and care free. She was looking for a release from the stress of being in a bad ten year marriage, and watching her mother die over the last three years.

I left my contract job with Dell in Round Rock, TX because my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She goes in for surgery on the 23rd of December, the day before Christmas. She already lost a part of her right breast two weeks ago. This time they will be removing one of her lymph nodes, and injecting a die to see the extent of the cancers growth and where it has spread too. The surgery is open ended. They have a target, but will remove anything they find while she is under. This means we have no way of knowing the extent of the surgery, or what her recovery time will be. She has been told that regardless of the outcome, she will have to undergo chemo and radiation treatment.

I’m here to spend some quality time with my mother before the surgery, and to act as her care giver afterward. I will have to take care of her and her animals as she will not have the use of at least one of her arms. I’m glad to be able to spend this time with her, but at the same time I’m also sad because I will be missing x-mas and my daughter’s birthday. I don’t even know how to explain to Isabel, who will be four, why her daddy won’t be at her birthday party…

How much disappointment can a person take before they give up all hope? I was asking myself that as this year I have lost my grandmother, my dog, my job, my home, and now the prospect of losing my mother… Things aren’t good on the home front either. The financial and emotional distress that has accompanied all this loss has taken its toll on my marriage. The future isn’t looking very bright. I find it difficult to sleep at night, and I wonder if fate is just testing me or simply kicking me when I’m down.

I walk with my mother across a wide field leading to an out cropping of trees. As I hold her hand, she points out birds, and parts of nature that a city dweller like me might miss. My mother is strong. Stronger than me it seems. At 65 she has come to know a peace that I have a hard time putting into words. I try to quiet my mind as I feel an urgency to “get things done”, to be working on some project, or lining up the next phase of my life. I realize that I have lost my ability to relax. Here I am surrounded by majesty and I can’t turn off the part of my mind that is always moving forward. I want to make lists, plan for contingencies, cover all my bases…

We went to the goodwill store today. She dropped off some items, and I picked up some books. We had dinner for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner. Even though it was less than 40 degrees out, we had ice cream and laughed about old times. We watched TV and I got her into “The Tudors”. We walked in the woods and across the fields collecting brown plants, and grasses for a vase on the table. We drank hot chocolate. We took pictures of cows and horses, and went exploring in old barns. We visited a farmer for some fresh eggs. We drove around the countryside and visited old churches and cemeteries. We ate pizza.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I can tell you that I made the right decision leaving my comfort zone to spend this time with my mother. This is priceless time; no amount of money can buy. For me, I believe I was given this opportunity to learn to relax, and take things one day at a time. And as for my mother, no matter what happens, she is home… at last.

Posted in Mind, Spirit | Comments Off on Home At Last…

Today Is My Birthday…

Just wanted to thank all my facebook friends for the well wishes, and “Happy Birthday” messages. I’m not going to tell you how old I am, (and you will not be able to find out as I use different years when registering on sites like facebook, linkedin, etc.) but I’m getting up there. Many of you have asked how I’m doing so I’m posting this “state of the union” as pertains to my current situation.

As I review the events that have transpired since my last birthday, I can summarize with the following;

At the end of 2009 I had been at the same job for more than 3 years, was making over 80K and was pretty comfortable with my lifestyle. I had a side business that was bringing in an additional 20-30K and it was growing slowly without any real input on my behalf. I had survived a near fatal car crash a few years prior, and although I still had some lingering debt from my hospital stay, I was in pretty good shape financially. My wife had brought a bundle of energy into the world three years earlier, and I was thoroughly enjoying being a father, and watching my prodigy grow and experience all the joys of childhood. My life was going nowhere but up, and for x-mas 2009 I bought a beautiful V-Star Classic motorcycle with the intention of making new friends, riding, and living out my mid-life crisis as a weekend warrior. Then 2010 rolled around and my entire life flipped upside down.

2010 was a banner year for me and my family. It started with the death of my grandmother. While this was not completely unexpected, as her health had been declining quite a bit over the last few years, it was a lot harder to deal with than I expected. She wasn’t just my grandmother, but a link to my grandfather through the stories she would tell whenever I visited with her. With her gone, I felt like I had actually lost my grandfather again as well.

Two days after I returned from her funeral, I was laid off from my job. They say that losing your job is one of the most stressful things a person can go through, and my experience definitely fit the bill. It wasn’t so much the loss of the role, but rather the way it was executed. I had given a great deal of my personal time and energy to this company and its leaders. My reward for doing this was to be let go with no warning and little severance package. I watched as many of the leaders of that company, walked away with “secure futures”, with no concern about the people that had made the company great. It was the worse example of what can happen in a capitalist society, where everyone is only looking out for themselves.

I tried to recover quickly, but made the mistake of jumping into the first job I could find that would provide me the same pay rate without thoroughly researching the company. I soon found myself asked to compromise my ethics by giving false recommendations to their clients and potential clients. When I refused to do this, they manufactured “customer complaints” and terminated me.

Within two weeks of this happening, I had to put our dog of over 9 years to sleep. My wife brought the dog with her into our relationship, and I had grown to love it as time went by. Back when I owned the shop, the dog actually stayed with me rather than being left at home. I had become the dogs care giver in many ways, as I took over the responsibility of grooming it and maintaining its health. It broke my heart when I had to put her down. To lessen the impact on my wife and child, I buried her at my friend’s house out in the country where he had recently laid his own dog to rest. My life was beginning to sound like a country western song…

I tried to rebound by getting a new business up and running, but I didn’t have the seed money I needed so before long I had to make some very hard decisions.

In order to keep from going into bankruptcy court my wife and I put our house up for rent and relocated to Austin to live with her parents. I can’t begin to tell you how hard that was for me to do. I had put a lot of work into that house, and now I would be walking away from it, most likely never to return.

To top it all off, I had been the primary bread winner in our family for the last 9 years, and before that I had always found a way through tough times without relying on others to get by. Granted, we were moving in a positive direction as my wife was to start a new opportunity working for her step mother, but in order for that to happen I would have to change roles, and we all know that is not an easy thing for a “leader” like me.

After getting everything with the renters squared away, and moving the entire contents of our house into a rental storage unit, I started the process of looking for gainful employment. I assumed that it would be easy to land on my feet, but found that job after job I was turned away because I was “over-qualified”. (In capitalist terms, that means they don’t want to pay you what you were making before, but know that if they hire you it is highly likely that when the economy turns you will move on to a better paying job.) Several times I came close to landing great high paying jobs, but was turned down after the third interview. Each time it put a dent in my confidence, and made me wonder if it was something I was doing wrong. How could someone like me, a clean cut white boy, with three college degrees, and over 40 technical certifications NOT land a job in over 8 months!?!? It was baffling.

Many people have asked me how come I’m not depressed, but the key to staying positive is all just a matter of perspective. As I write in my book, “A New Reality; Ten Steps to Transforming Your Life!” one only has to look around to find others with problems that make yours look small. For example: I have a friend in the hospital fighting for his life. He went into a diabetic coma due to an infection, and had to have his leg removed above the knee. He is still struggling after the surgery, due to sickness, and has had to be put on breathing machines just to survive. It is uncertain if he will make it over the next few months. One of my relatives by marriage is struggling to survive breast cancer at the young age of 50. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy, with no promises that it will ever go into remission. I could go on, but I think you get the message. As bad as this past year has been, I wouldn’t want to trade places with either of them.

So… How am I doing? At the time of this writing, I am back on the upswing. I landed a contract job with Dell. My wife is finally starting to make some money in her new role. I was able to finish and publish my book. I have made a ton of new friends, and have had some experiences that have really opened my eyes as to the current unemployment situation in the US. (I will be writing more about this in another post.) I am currently fielding new opportunities, and I’m also looking forward to taking some vacation time in North Carolina (my old stomping grounds), and starting my second book (an autobiography).

A wise man once said, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters”. For me that means finding the good in whatever life throws my direction. I consider myself privileged to have friends like you to share it with.

Posted in Mind | Comments Off on Today Is My Birthday…

My Unofficial Diet and Exercise Recommendations.

OK, those of you that have seen me already know that I’m not really fat. I’m 6’4″ and currently 220lbs, which makes me about 15-17 pounds overweight. I was around 203lbs, when I was out in the club scene around 10 years ago, but having a career in Information Technology, and being married (my wife is an excellent cook) has caused me to gain a few extra pounds. Add this to the fact that I will be turning 43 this year (oh the horror) and the last thing I want, is to end up getting adult onset diabetes, means a lifestyle change is in order.  My goal is to be at 200 – 205lbs in the next 4-6 weeks.  (Just in time to show off my improved physique at Renfest’s Highland Fling in traditional Scottish Garb!)

I should point out that having the mental outlook presented in my new book “A New Reality: Ten Steps to Transforming Your Life!” does wonders for reducing stress, and enabling you to live life as a “no-limit” person, but it won’t make you lose weight. For that we are going to have to develop an action plan and follow through.

I always recommend a diet change to my clients because something as simple as the “ZONE DIET” can make drastic changes in one’s appearance in a very short time, and sometimes it’s just what a person needs to increase their self esteem and feel like they are accomplishing something.

Note: I’m not a trained dietitian, or nutritionist, so before starting I’m obligated to state that you should “check with your doctor or health care provider before starting any kind of diet or exercise program”.

Now with that out of the way, I will tell you that the ZONE DIET isn’t a “diet” in the traditional sense, and you can make slight deviations and still see results. However, the closer you stay to the diet the faster you will shed pounds. This diet was developed with diabetics in mind, and is recommended for those not needing medication to control their diabetes’s. This program will basically “reset” your metabolism, and make your body burn calories at a faster rate than you currently are. It is very easy to maintain in the long term, and you don’t have to buy and “special” ingredients or foods that you wouldn’t normally buy at the grocery store. The key (and what I like about it the best) is that you must eat something every couple of hours, which means you don’t get hungry. I have presented it in loose fashion below.

Morning (7:30 – 8:30AM)

  • 1 whole wheat english muffin w/all natural peanut butter (or at the least low sodium or low fat peanut butter if your grocery store doesn’t have the “all natural” kind.)
  • 2 eggs scrambled (you can chop up some veggies to add to the eggs, and you can use salsa for flavoring)
  • 6oz unsweetened pineapple juice (you can substitute other types of juice here as well.)

Mid Morning (10:00 – 10:30AM)

  • Handful of raw mixed nuts and some fruit (you can substitute a protein bar, or any kind of nuts that aren’t filled with salt and fat. I usually check the dry goods section of the local HEB, and get cashews with either cyan, pepper, or some other type of seasoning.)

Lunch (12:00 – 1:00PM)

  • Salad (mixed greens with vegetable toppings, I recommend chopped onions, broccoli, bell peppers, celery, etc. You can buy these pre-chopped for faster preparation.  Also you can use FAT FREE dressing, light Italian, or vinaigrette, but you CAN’T use any dressing with Total Fat over 3% per serving or you’re just wasting your time.)
  • 6 OZ of fish (optional)
  • 1 apple/orange or similar fruit

Mid Afternoon (3:00 – 3:30PM)

  • Handful of raw mixed nuts and some fruit (you can substitute a protein bar, or any kind of nuts that aren’t filled with salt and fat. I usually check the dry goods section of the local HEB, and get cashews with either cyan, pepper, or some other type of seasoning.)

Dinner (6:00 – 6:30PM)

  • 6 OZ fish (you can substitute baked chicken)
  • 1-2 cups veggies (no peas, corn, or carrots)
  • 1 apple/orange or similar fruit

Desert (optional)

  • 100 calories of 70% or greater Dark chocolate

Before Bed (10:00PMish – assuming you are up this late.)

  • Fruit Smoothie (4-5 ice cubes, 1/2 cup dannon non-fat yogurt, 3 pineapple rings, 1 1/2 cup assorted berries, 1/3 cup protein, 1 tsp local honey) Note: I rarely even did this as I’m not a fan of yogurt, but again the closer you can stick to this the better.

You will notice that there is no bread, processed foods, beef, milk, or sweets on this diet. Even vegetables with cellulose (corn, peas, and carrots) should be avoided. You are essentially eliminating carbs, and it should be pretty obvious that things like ice cream and soda’s are a big no-no. The key is making sure you eat small amounts every 3 to 3.5 hours. You should also try to consume water with every meal or snack.

Finally, I should tell you that for the first week or two you will be spending some time in the restroom as your body gets used to eating healthy again. If you are having too much difficultly in the digestion area then scale back a bit and eat a more normal dinner, then switch over when it becomes more manageable.

I also recommend joining a gym or adding some exercise to this diet although it is not required. In fact, you can achieve a great deal of weight loss without ever stepping foot in a gym. Despite what you have been told, exercise rarely ever produces weight loss, but is a good way to increase your cardiovascular system, and can make you “look” better by increasing muscle mass.

Here’s what I recommend as a work out schedule:

(4 times a week) complete workout including the following:

  • 15 minutes hard cardio (treadmill, stair master, or bike).

2 SETS of 9-12 reps (abs, calf, forearm 20 reps) of the following:

  • Upright Row or Military Press
  • Hack Squat or Prone Leg curl
  • Calf press
  • Dumb Bell Incline Press or Dips
  • Hammer High Row or Dumb Bell Prone Row
  • Overhead cable Tri-Extension
  • Band walk with Dumb Bell Curl
  • Crunch on Swiss ball Core

You can alternate between muscle building and cardio if you want.

Very Important: Start out very slow, and do not over do it in the first two weeks. If you’re not used to working out you will get a lot of muscle fatigue and soreness by pushing for results, which can de-motivate you from future workout sessions.

Posted in Body | Comments Off on My Unofficial Diet and Exercise Recommendations.

A New Reality: Ten Steps To Transforming Your Life! (Book Proof)

Here is a video of the book proof, direct from the publisher.

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=SKPPwMfL2kc">http://youtube.com/watch?v=SKPPwMfL2kc</a>

Posted in Mind | Comments Off on A New Reality: Ten Steps To Transforming Your Life! (Book Proof)

Project Improvements and Updates

OK, In order to get information out to you guys in the quickest way possible, I’m switching directions and making this primarily a VIDEO blog.  I am doing this because it takes me a lot longer to type in information, than it does to shoot a video and upload it to YouTube.  I am in the process of adding the correct plug-ins to the word press blog to enable embedding of the video content.  We will see how this goes shortly…

I am waiting for my first shipment of books to arrive as it is much cheaper to sell the books directly via this website than to have people order them from Amazon, CreateSpace, Borders, etc.  Additionally, I was going to offer life coaching out of a rented office space, but have decided to try the virtual landscape instead.  This way I can reduce overhead, and see clients in the evenings from the comfort of my home.  The technology that supports this is readily available, so why not use it?

Finally, I am working on building partner relationships with all different kinds of gym managers, personal trainers, nutritionists, massage therapists, and anyone else that works in a profession that can improve my future clients quality of life.  I will have a separate page set up for that today and will begin listing partners and deals for visitors of the site.

Posted in Works | Comments Off on Project Improvements and Updates

Inception – The Movie That Makes You Think!

If you haven’t gone out to see Inception (2010), I highly recommend that you do.  It’s rated PG-13, so it’s suitable for just about any audience.  It’s classified as an action, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, but it has a lot more to offer the critical thinker than one would expect.  The entire movie revolves around dream states and it really makes you think about what we experience as reality and it’s importance to us in the grand scheme of life.  One of the things I rarely seen discussed about this movie is the fact that the main character has come to an understanding that many of us lack.  He has a choice.  He can continue to do what he is doing, which pays him handsomely and allows him to live a live many would call luxury, OR he can give it all up for the love of his children.  In fact when you look at the movie in a larger scale, while in the dream world he can have anything he wants in the form of material possessions as he has the ability to “create” anything his mind (or sub conscience) desires.  However, he knows that these “things” are not real, and he has come to the understanding that what he really wants out of life is to experience the love of his children, and the reality of being a father.

I have discussed in my book that one of the many reasons why people have a hard time finding happiness is due to the pursuit of material possessions rather than living live through experiences.  In many ways this philosophy of thought is the same as the minimalist movement (links for some additional reading and info are located in the blogroll section) in the understanding that we cherish the best “moments” in life rather than the best possessions.

The most discussed item in reference to the movie is the last scene.  Specifically whether it is taking place in “reality” or “limbo” as the writers have left clues, hints, and red herrings that could lean in either direction.  I don’t need to join in on the debate as my belief is that the writers were trying to send a very deliberate message.  In the end of the movie he is reunited with his children and is “happy”.  He got what he wanted, and is now living his life for the experiences he wants to have.  The message is very clear on that.  We should be doing the same.

Posted in Support | Comments Off on Inception – The Movie That Makes You Think!