Deep Thoughts For Those Who Take Life Way Too Seriously:

Okay, so check it out. These are not Troy-originals. I saw, I read, I liked, I copied. Enjoy.

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like.....night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
5. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
7. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
14. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
15. OK, . . . . so what's the speed of dark?
16. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
18. Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
19. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
21. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
22. Just remember --- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
23. Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear> > bright until you hear them speak.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Okay, so the title for this post is meant to be a conversation starter across many topics. The question could lead to mind blowing discussions about social stigmas, political platforms, or environmental ethics. Or it it could lead to discussions about who will be voted off American Idol tonight (I am hoping it is the odd red head & the remaining duo from the two friends for the girls and for the boys, I hope its the Indian kid & the tall, dark, and handsome guy).

So, feel free to reply to one or more of the following topics (or come up with a new one) when you ask yourself: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

1. On the corner of Michigan Avenue and 10th street?
2. American Idol?
3. The War in Iraq?
4. RoseMary's baby? Wait, that's Ana Nicole's baby. Or is it?
5. Heroes?
6. Our next President?
7. Bored and need a new hobby?
8. Given the opportunity to have a conversation with a deceased well known person?
9. Given the opportunity to have a conversation with a deceased person that was close to you?
10. Suggestions for future posts?

That's it for now....

Have fun stormin' the castle!

In Honor of Valentine's Day

This list was actually "borrowed" from another blog. There. I'm not going to jail for plagerism. For bad spelling? Maybe.

In honor of Valentine's Day, MSNBC presents the 5 all time cheesiest love songs of all time:

1. “My Heart Will Go On,” Celine DionThe movie may not have coerced you to tears, but listening to Dion pledge her eternal love certainly will.
2. “Love Hurts,” NazarethWhile the blame for this lyrical gem (note the sarcasm) doesn’t all fall on the shoulders of the big-haired Nazareth boys ... they should be held responsible for bringing it transcontinental, all the way from their pint-sized hometown in rural Scotland, to American top 40 radio.
3. “Every Breath You Take,” The Police“Every Breath You Take” reads like a stalker’s to-do list: “Every single day, and every word you say, every game you play, every night you stay, I’ll be watching you.”
4. “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” Meat Loafthe stringy-haired crooner’s oozing, goozing opus, has all the characteristics of a classic: mushy sentiment, sappy orchestration and a healthy dose of amorous excess.
5. “In Your Eyes,” Peter GabrielPeter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” became an instant hit, encouraging lovers everywhere to mend broken hearts with grand romantic gestures.

The runners up:

1. "You're Beautiful," James Blunt
2. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," Starship
3. "Wind Beneath My Wings," Bette Midler
4. "If You Leave," OMD"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," Bryan Adams
5. "This Kiss," Faith Hill
6. "All Out of Love," Air Supply
7. "The Flame," Cheap Trick
8. "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston
9. "You Are So Beautiful," Joe Cocker
10. "I Got You Babe," Sonny and Cher
11. "More Than Words," Extreme
12. "You Light Up My Life," Debbie Boone
13. "Close to You," The Carpenters
14. "From This Moment On," Shania Twain

The Tortoise Prevails

In the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare, the Tortoise wins the race. Well, call me the Tortoise of blogging. I realize that it has been a while since my last post and some of my readers - holy crap, I have readers - dropped me a line encouraging me to post again. Apparently more than one person likes to hear me go on and on about whatever strikes my fancy. So as does the Tortoise in his race against the hare, I intend to prevail in this new hobby of blogging.

A lot is going on right now. Our pool is nearly complete. I am shopping for a bike at the behest of my two older brothers. Work is crazy with a capital Q. Wesley amazes us almost daily as he grows from a toddler into a boy. Mayra remains beautiful. Life is good. Life is full.

Oh, I just sold a house. It was an easier than normal sale because it was a house for sale in our neighborhood that our friends Kim and Erick had found and wanted to see. So, they saw it and then they put an offer on it. After some non-adversarial interchanges between me and the listing agent, we had a deal! I sat on two Open Houses over the last two weekends for another agent in the office. I can't say that any business has come from it, but it was educational to say the least.

I am gearing up to help to my friend Matt with judging at the Odyssey Of The Mind competitions coming up, first regional, then state. It's my second year doing it and I really enjoy it. Check out www.odysseyofthemind.com for more info if you'd like.

My dad and step-mom are still working crazy mad to get out his fictional book. They recruited Gizzy, Mayra's cousin, to do the art work for the jacket. It's not my cup of tea but I suppose that's a good thing since it is written for women. :-) In any event, I wish him the best with it.

That's about it for now. Maybe I won't wait so long before posting again. Take care!

First Ever Blog Posting

So, it's that week between Christmas and New Years when it's a shame to take off from work because traffic is great and the work environment is mellow and one of my friend/coworkers, Hilda, sent me a link to her blog. So I thought to myself: "Self, you should create a blog." And here I am. Yes folks, I am a virgin blogger, a virgger if you please. It's true. The guy that has been in the IT field for over 7 years has never written a blog.

So what to blog about?

Christmas was really cool. Our only begotten son, Wesley, is two-and-a-half (yes, we do halves) and we got a real kick out of observing him become aware of Christmas much more than he did last year. Though I must say that last year he drooled on his presents enough that the wrapping paper just sort of washed away so it didn't matter that he hadn't yet devolped his unwrapping skills. This year though he was quite proficient. At one point he was unwrapping two gifts at the same time. Then at some point, he stopped in midstream and asked for the one and only Christmas gift that he had been asking for since the point that he was made aware that such thing existed, which was about two weeks prior. "Lollipop Orange", he asked inquisitively. He had hand puppets, a keyboard synthesizer, a xylophone, and a race car. Yet he was asking for the lollipop orange, which by the way had started out as lollipop blue but after a couple of days had changed to lollipop orange. Had we forgotten? Of course not. A few days earlier I came across the stash of Halloween candy we had at work and but before me did my eyes see? In the mix of candy that noone really wanted but felt too guilty to throw away, were some lollipops. They were quite small and I managed to find one with a orange wrapper and one with a blue wrapper. I think that there is no mystery to the flavor stamped on the orange wrapper. But oddly enough, the stamp on the blue wrapped lollipop announced that it was raspberry. Raspberries are blue? Who knew. I always thought that they were, well, raspberry in color. Hey, if peach can be color and fruit, and so can orange, then why not raspberry? But I digress. Which as you get to know me through my blog, you'll learn is something I do quite well and with a fair amount of proficiency. There I go again.

So there we were. The video camera was running. My wife and I were sitting around Wesley and were watching with complete enjoyment as he stopped opening his gifts so that he could enjoy his lollipops that I had painstakinly procurred for him and had stowed away in his Christmas stocking. First he devoured the orange one, then the blue one. And I say devoured but he did it with great care and precision. It really is fascinating to just sit back and observe him. - well, to observe any little tyke, I imagine, though I am quite partial to this one.

So there you have it. While that wasn't our complete Christmas day, it certainly was the highlight.

I hope you enjoyed my first blog posting!

Troy