For the first time since the late, great, Ronald Reagan was President the Tigers have secured a spot in the American League Playoffs. For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Communist Soviet Union the Tigers are in the playoffs. Not since Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi), mony mony (Billy Idol), and I Think We’re Alone Now (Tiffany), were in heavy rotation on the radio, have the Tigers had a champagne celebration in their club house. What is it that I keep hearing people talk about? ‘Can you believe how bad the Lions stunk it up?’ and ‘Did you see MSU fall apart against Notre Dame on Saturday?’
I am fully aware that the American Pastime is no longer baseball, much to my dismay. I know we live in a football society. But I really thought people would be more fired up about this than they are. Are people here getting used to our teams making it to the post-season? We had a long stretch with the Red Wings making a run every year for the Stanley Cup. The last few years the Pistons have had good seasons resulting in appearances in the playoffs, and a championship. Are people just too used to it? I don’t know. I don’t think I get it.
Even if it’s just me and Mike Ilitch (the owner of the Tigers), and a few others that I have yet to come across, there are people that are delirious in Detroit over the Tigers success this season. Let me formally say; Congratulations to the 2006 Detroit Tigers on securing their first playoff spot in 19 seasons!!!
2006-09-25
2006-08-24
81 Wins and Anxiously Awaiting More
They finally did it. The Detroit Tigers have secured their 81st win of the season. The guarantees something that true Tiger fans have been long waiting for…a non-lossing season.
While some teams fans have been spoiled by the year after year of successful baseball; year after year of playoff appearances; and year after year of reasonably expecting a chance at a World Series appearance. While some fans have become spoiled, and unappreciative those of us who have worn the badge of Tiger Fan, sometimes painfully, have forgotten the fun and joy that comes with watching your team win more games than they lose.
The last time the Tigers accomplished this mark, that for many teams passes without note, was 1993. As a way of explaining just how painful the last 12 seasons have been let me offer these points of comparison.
Atlanta Braves fans have been able to cheer their team on to 1239 regular season victories. They have enjoyed 12 first place finishes in the National League East. They have witnessed 12 playoff appearances, which included 3 trips to the World Series and one Championship
New York Yankees fans have cheered their team on to 1219 regular season victories. They have been handed 10 1st place finished in the American League East and three 2nd place finishes. Their fans have watched 11 post season appearances including 6 trips to World Series resulting in 4 Championships.
Detroit Tigers fans, who are some of the most dies hard in all of sports, have cheered their fans on to 850 well earned victories. Since 1994 the Tigers have never finished above 3rd place, and never closer than 16 games behind.
I started think what was going on when the Tigers last won more games than they lost. After a short amount of research on Google I found some interesting news events from the year 1993.
President Bill Clinton introduces the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy in the military
The first World Trade Center bombing occurred.
The ATF and the Branch Dividians infamous standoff & battle occurred that year
Ruth Bader Ginsberg joined the Supreme Court
Schindler’s List was the big movie of that year
Three other events that changed the world happened hat year:
-Intel released the first Pentium processor
-Microsoft released Windows 3.1
-Mosaic WWW software was first released to the public
That's right. None of us had easy access to the internet then. In fact few of us had access to Windows then.
I’ll leave it there and let it sink in just how long Tigers fans have been waiting for this.
While some teams fans have been spoiled by the year after year of successful baseball; year after year of playoff appearances; and year after year of reasonably expecting a chance at a World Series appearance. While some fans have become spoiled, and unappreciative those of us who have worn the badge of Tiger Fan, sometimes painfully, have forgotten the fun and joy that comes with watching your team win more games than they lose.
The last time the Tigers accomplished this mark, that for many teams passes without note, was 1993. As a way of explaining just how painful the last 12 seasons have been let me offer these points of comparison.
Atlanta Braves fans have been able to cheer their team on to 1239 regular season victories. They have enjoyed 12 first place finishes in the National League East. They have witnessed 12 playoff appearances, which included 3 trips to the World Series and one Championship
New York Yankees fans have cheered their team on to 1219 regular season victories. They have been handed 10 1st place finished in the American League East and three 2nd place finishes. Their fans have watched 11 post season appearances including 6 trips to World Series resulting in 4 Championships.
Detroit Tigers fans, who are some of the most dies hard in all of sports, have cheered their fans on to 850 well earned victories. Since 1994 the Tigers have never finished above 3rd place, and never closer than 16 games behind.
I started think what was going on when the Tigers last won more games than they lost. After a short amount of research on Google I found some interesting news events from the year 1993.
President Bill Clinton introduces the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy in the military
The first World Trade Center bombing occurred.
The ATF and the Branch Dividians infamous standoff & battle occurred that year
Ruth Bader Ginsberg joined the Supreme Court
Schindler’s List was the big movie of that year
Three other events that changed the world happened hat year:
-Intel released the first Pentium processor
-Microsoft released Windows 3.1
-Mosaic WWW software was first released to the public
That's right. None of us had easy access to the internet then. In fact few of us had access to Windows then.
I’ll leave it there and let it sink in just how long Tigers fans have been waiting for this.
2006-08-14
Still The Best
Much to Derek’s dismay the Tigers are still in first place and they still have the best record in baseball. Yes they got swept by the WhiteSox and they have a 3-9 record against the ChiSox this season. But it’ll be ok. I’m actually glad to see them struggling right now.
Even with the sweep, which puts their losing streak at 5, they are still sitting on the best record in the Majors. Their pitching staff is still one of the best in either league. Their march to the playoffs is still all but assured. As of Sunday, we currently have 76 wins. Which is more than all but two seasons in which Bobby Higginson endured in his dozen years as a Tiger.
The Tigers are on pace to win 105 games. That is one more than the 1984 team won on their march to the World Series. Now, even the most optimistic of Tiger fans (me included) don’t expect this pace to continue. Even if the team plays close to .500 ball (22-23) from here on out we’ll finish with 98 wins. That will likely be good enough for both a playoff spot and the division championship. It is starting to look like 100 wins isn’t too far out of reach. Having said that you’re not going to get me to make any October predictions, other than, if the Tigers make the playoffs, they are going to have to play very well to advance.
There seems to be a fair number in the media (Detroit included) saying ‘see they aren’t for real’. There is a lot of people looking for this surprising team to fall apart, and struggle to make the playoffs, if they do at all. Seriously, all they have to do is win 14 games from here on out and they will have won 90. While that doesn’t seem like it will get them into the post season, it will certainly keep them in the hunt. But falling to a barely-over-300 winning percentage is pretty unlikely given the season they are having.
I personally am glad that they are struggling right now. It won’t really bother me if they drop 2 of 3 to Boston this week. This team seems to believe they can beat anybody on any given night. If they don't win this series all that does is fuel the media and drama. If the Tigers end up facing the Red Sox, or the Yankees for that matter, in the playoffs, I have no question that we will give them a good series and make them earn every victory they get. And in the background you'll hear the media chirping about how they Tigers can't seem to beat the elite teams.
We have a pretty tough schedule for the rest of the month. We’ve got another series against Chicago, a series against the Yankees, and one against the Indians. The only possible rest is against the Rangers later this week. But the September schedule doesn’t look quite as tough.
The schedule has the potential to be an ally for the Tigers. They should right themselves sooner than later. At which time they’ll be in good position to be firing on all cylinders heading into the post season. It is much better to be struggling (which happens to even the greatest teams) in the middle of August, than in the middle of September.
Just remember, and I hope that every member of the Tigers remembers, as of today they still have the best record in baseball, and they still have a 5 ½ game lead over the White Sox for the lead in the AL Central.
Even with the sweep, which puts their losing streak at 5, they are still sitting on the best record in the Majors. Their pitching staff is still one of the best in either league. Their march to the playoffs is still all but assured. As of Sunday, we currently have 76 wins. Which is more than all but two seasons in which Bobby Higginson endured in his dozen years as a Tiger.
The Tigers are on pace to win 105 games. That is one more than the 1984 team won on their march to the World Series. Now, even the most optimistic of Tiger fans (me included) don’t expect this pace to continue. Even if the team plays close to .500 ball (22-23) from here on out we’ll finish with 98 wins. That will likely be good enough for both a playoff spot and the division championship. It is starting to look like 100 wins isn’t too far out of reach. Having said that you’re not going to get me to make any October predictions, other than, if the Tigers make the playoffs, they are going to have to play very well to advance.
There seems to be a fair number in the media (Detroit included) saying ‘see they aren’t for real’. There is a lot of people looking for this surprising team to fall apart, and struggle to make the playoffs, if they do at all. Seriously, all they have to do is win 14 games from here on out and they will have won 90. While that doesn’t seem like it will get them into the post season, it will certainly keep them in the hunt. But falling to a barely-over-300 winning percentage is pretty unlikely given the season they are having.
I personally am glad that they are struggling right now. It won’t really bother me if they drop 2 of 3 to Boston this week. This team seems to believe they can beat anybody on any given night. If they don't win this series all that does is fuel the media and drama. If the Tigers end up facing the Red Sox, or the Yankees for that matter, in the playoffs, I have no question that we will give them a good series and make them earn every victory they get. And in the background you'll hear the media chirping about how they Tigers can't seem to beat the elite teams.
We have a pretty tough schedule for the rest of the month. We’ve got another series against Chicago, a series against the Yankees, and one against the Indians. The only possible rest is against the Rangers later this week. But the September schedule doesn’t look quite as tough.
The schedule has the potential to be an ally for the Tigers. They should right themselves sooner than later. At which time they’ll be in good position to be firing on all cylinders heading into the post season. It is much better to be struggling (which happens to even the greatest teams) in the middle of August, than in the middle of September.
Just remember, and I hope that every member of the Tigers remembers, as of today they still have the best record in baseball, and they still have a 5 ½ game lead over the White Sox for the lead in the AL Central.
Mini Series Part Four - What, No More Choir?
Welcome to episode four of my blogging mini-series. In this episode I will be discussing the events of Sunday and my observation there in.
If you know me even a little, you probably know that I have been involved in choirs and music departments for much of my life. This part of my life goes back to at least the second grade. Yes Derek, that would be more than 25 years ago.
Last Christmas I found myself involved in too many things at my church and I was starting to feel at least a taste of the pressure that full time church workers feel. I was involved in choir. I was participating as a small group guide for the confirmation classes. I was the treasurer for the churches bowling league. I was also trying to put time into organizing, establish, and support our new (at that time) young adults ministry called FaithWorks. I was starting to fear burning out, so something had to go. I decided the thing that my participation would be missed the least would be choir (since there were 6 other tenors, and at least 3 of them were as good or better than me). So after the Christmas Concert I took a hiatus from the music department completely. This was a very difficult thing for me, and it took very little time before I started to miss it. I decided that things should be less crazy by fall, at which time I’d rejoin the choir. From the moment I made that decision I was really fired up to get going again.
I think it was late spring when the announcement came out that our director of ten years was taking a call to a new place. He was heading to a church near his family’s home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This came as no surprise to those that knew him. It was no surprise, but that didn’t diminish the disappointment in loosing such a talented Minister of Music, and choir director. Even with the announcement I was still fired up about getting involved with the choir again come this fall.
Anytime someone leaves a church that position needs to be filled. Especially when it is a position as visible and critical to a church like mine, where the music ‘heritage’ is deeply engrained in that place. There has been a huge shift in recent years in how church music is presented, not only in my church but in many churches around the country. There is more attention paid to the non-traditional music. This change has also effected the type of person that they want to fill that role. Our senior pastor hand a meeting with the choir a couple weeks ago to discuss the plan, and future, with them. I had a prior commitment so I couldn't go. Therefore all my knowledge in this area, so far, is second hand and conclusions drawn from that second hand knowledge. But before I expound on that let me tell you about Ken’s (the director) last official day with us.
We sang all three services. So after being out late I had to be up and at church by 7:30, or at least I was supposed to be. I ended up being only a few minutes late. It went really well. We had a bunch of people that have sung with us in the past join us for Ken’s final services.
Immediately after the last service we had a luncheon thing for Ken. It was nice. The Senior Choir did a little skit and sang a couple songs. We ended with one of my top 5 favorite choir songs, ‘The Lord Bless You And Keep You’.
It appears that this may be one of the last chances I will have to sing with this group for quite a while. From what I have been told the church has decided not to seek an interim leader for the adult choirs. Which means that, maybe with the exception of special events, the choir is being put on ice for a while. So, I was all fired up about coming back to choir and now it looks like there is not going to be a choir to come back to.
Current speculation is that the call process to fill the vacancy could take at least a year just to place the call. After that only God knows how long it will be before the position is filled.
This is really sad, in my opinion, because of the music heritage of that church and how the music department is so engrained in the personality of the church. I heard one person say ‘without the music what else does this church have?’. Well, we still have God and the Gospel message. This is in no way going to kill our church, we’ve been through more difficult challenges. However, it will have an impact and it will make our services a little less special, at least to me.
My new issue relating to that is, where am I going to get my choir fix? I have to decide what I am going to do. I am involved in the music that we do for FaithWorks, and I am starting to take guitar lessons soon. We’ll see if that fills the void.
Thus ends episode four. Stay tuned for more.
If you know me even a little, you probably know that I have been involved in choirs and music departments for much of my life. This part of my life goes back to at least the second grade. Yes Derek, that would be more than 25 years ago.
Last Christmas I found myself involved in too many things at my church and I was starting to feel at least a taste of the pressure that full time church workers feel. I was involved in choir. I was participating as a small group guide for the confirmation classes. I was the treasurer for the churches bowling league. I was also trying to put time into organizing, establish, and support our new (at that time) young adults ministry called FaithWorks. I was starting to fear burning out, so something had to go. I decided the thing that my participation would be missed the least would be choir (since there were 6 other tenors, and at least 3 of them were as good or better than me). So after the Christmas Concert I took a hiatus from the music department completely. This was a very difficult thing for me, and it took very little time before I started to miss it. I decided that things should be less crazy by fall, at which time I’d rejoin the choir. From the moment I made that decision I was really fired up to get going again.
I think it was late spring when the announcement came out that our director of ten years was taking a call to a new place. He was heading to a church near his family’s home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This came as no surprise to those that knew him. It was no surprise, but that didn’t diminish the disappointment in loosing such a talented Minister of Music, and choir director. Even with the announcement I was still fired up about getting involved with the choir again come this fall.
Anytime someone leaves a church that position needs to be filled. Especially when it is a position as visible and critical to a church like mine, where the music ‘heritage’ is deeply engrained in that place. There has been a huge shift in recent years in how church music is presented, not only in my church but in many churches around the country. There is more attention paid to the non-traditional music. This change has also effected the type of person that they want to fill that role. Our senior pastor hand a meeting with the choir a couple weeks ago to discuss the plan, and future, with them. I had a prior commitment so I couldn't go. Therefore all my knowledge in this area, so far, is second hand and conclusions drawn from that second hand knowledge. But before I expound on that let me tell you about Ken’s (the director) last official day with us.
We sang all three services. So after being out late I had to be up and at church by 7:30, or at least I was supposed to be. I ended up being only a few minutes late. It went really well. We had a bunch of people that have sung with us in the past join us for Ken’s final services.
Immediately after the last service we had a luncheon thing for Ken. It was nice. The Senior Choir did a little skit and sang a couple songs. We ended with one of my top 5 favorite choir songs, ‘The Lord Bless You And Keep You’.
It appears that this may be one of the last chances I will have to sing with this group for quite a while. From what I have been told the church has decided not to seek an interim leader for the adult choirs. Which means that, maybe with the exception of special events, the choir is being put on ice for a while. So, I was all fired up about coming back to choir and now it looks like there is not going to be a choir to come back to.
Current speculation is that the call process to fill the vacancy could take at least a year just to place the call. After that only God knows how long it will be before the position is filled.
This is really sad, in my opinion, because of the music heritage of that church and how the music department is so engrained in the personality of the church. I heard one person say ‘without the music what else does this church have?’. Well, we still have God and the Gospel message. This is in no way going to kill our church, we’ve been through more difficult challenges. However, it will have an impact and it will make our services a little less special, at least to me.
My new issue relating to that is, where am I going to get my choir fix? I have to decide what I am going to do. I am involved in the music that we do for FaithWorks, and I am starting to take guitar lessons soon. We’ll see if that fills the void.
Thus ends episode four. Stay tuned for more.
Mini Series Part Three - The Wedding and The Piano Bar
This is part three of my blogging mini-series. Thanks for sticking around. In this episode I will discuss the events and observations from a very busy Saturday.
The weather couldn’t have been better for this day. The humidity was low, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the temperature was comfortably warm all day. A virtually perfect day in that respect.
I started the day late, as I was out pretty late the night before. As I was washing the clothes that I had intended to wear to the wedding, I changed my mind. So I actually went clothes shopping. Now, I’m never going to be confused as someone who is a metro-sexual, or even someone with great fashion sense. But I think I did pretty well picking out what I wore. If I do say so myself, I looked pretty darn good.
Nearly my entire family was at the wedding, with the exception of my older brother and his family (but they are split between Kansas City and Iraq right now). The wedding was really nice. It has been a long time since I’ve been to a wedding at my church. It looked really good. The reception was nice too. The food was excellent, and the planning of the seating assignments was pretty good too.
It was great seeing people that I haven’t seen in many years. I was given the opportunity to have conversations with people that I really haven’t talked to much before. Its weird, but growing up in a church like mine you can go years knowing a family, or knowing of a person, but not actually having a conversation with that person. That was the case with two of the people at my table.
My brother and sister, and their respective spouses were sitting together at a separate table from me. I spent some time over there talking with them. Now, this shouldn’t be worthy of bringing up, let alone using an entire paragraph to discuss, but it is. I have a great relationship with my sister and her husband. I am so grateful for that. My relationship with my brother and his wife is returning to good after a long period of contentious and unfriendly exchanges. I really doubt they will read this, but I am very happy to have that thorn removed from my side, after nearly a full year. I am looking forward to being able to restore the relationship between us and more importantly to build and strengthen my relationship with their kids. It is going to take time, but the rewards will be worth it.
The only bad thing, or rather disappointing thing, that happened at the reception was my inability to get to talk with two of the brides sisters; Karol, my friend since childhood, and Kim, who I wanted to thank for the great advice while deciding on getting a dog. The only one of Kathy’s sisters that I was able to chat with is the one I know the least, Krystal, and that wasn’t until the next morning at church. There is a decent chance that Karol will read this. Sorry Karol, I really wanted to talk to you but I kept getting blocked out, and then I was getting pulled out the door by another commitment.
Although my reintroduction to Karol’s husband made me chuckle after the fact. He was doing his usher duties by the door into the sanctuary when he saw me walk up. ‘I know you, don’t I?’ he said as I approached. I spent a couple days staying at his house and he drove me and Derek around NYC, including a game at Yankee Stadium. But, in his defense that was what, four years ago?
In all seriousness though, it was wonderful to see everyone again, even those I didn’t get a chance to talk with. I was glad that I could participate in such an important day in a friends life.
After the reception I grudgingly went help entertain Mary’s out of town guests at a local drinking establishment called JD Key Club. This is a very popular dueling piano bar. The place was packed. There was very little room to move at all.
The basic concept of this place is this; you’ve got two guys playing piano facing each other. They interact with each other, trying to out do the other, but also feeding off each other to entertain the crowd. You can make requests for your favorite song (along with a tip of course), but then you can also pay to get them to stop playing a song.
Being a place that typically draws the college set I expected to be one of the older people there. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were people there that made me feel quite young. But the vast majority of the people there were, predictably, under 25. Now maybe this is a sign of my age and my fading tolerance for that type of environment, but I thought the entertainment was a little raunchy at times. For the most part it was fun and entertaining. But there were more than a few moments when I was thinking ‘ok, was that really necessary?’
Afterward we went to Big Boy. Part of the group I was with was a couple college kids. One a senior (finance major) at Univ of Minn, the other is a recent graduate with an accounting degree from Univ of Minn. I found that I had a lot in common with them, and enjoyed talking to them. But it’s the weirdest feeling talking to a person that age about what they can expect in their career. It was kind of a surreal experience in a way, since I don’t really feel old enough or experienced enough to be doing such a thing. We were out until well after 1am. I haven’t done that in such a long time. I really paid for it though the next day (more on that in the next episode).
With that I am going wrap up this episode. Stay tuned for more.
The weather couldn’t have been better for this day. The humidity was low, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the temperature was comfortably warm all day. A virtually perfect day in that respect.
I started the day late, as I was out pretty late the night before. As I was washing the clothes that I had intended to wear to the wedding, I changed my mind. So I actually went clothes shopping. Now, I’m never going to be confused as someone who is a metro-sexual, or even someone with great fashion sense. But I think I did pretty well picking out what I wore. If I do say so myself, I looked pretty darn good.
Nearly my entire family was at the wedding, with the exception of my older brother and his family (but they are split between Kansas City and Iraq right now). The wedding was really nice. It has been a long time since I’ve been to a wedding at my church. It looked really good. The reception was nice too. The food was excellent, and the planning of the seating assignments was pretty good too.
It was great seeing people that I haven’t seen in many years. I was given the opportunity to have conversations with people that I really haven’t talked to much before. Its weird, but growing up in a church like mine you can go years knowing a family, or knowing of a person, but not actually having a conversation with that person. That was the case with two of the people at my table.
My brother and sister, and their respective spouses were sitting together at a separate table from me. I spent some time over there talking with them. Now, this shouldn’t be worthy of bringing up, let alone using an entire paragraph to discuss, but it is. I have a great relationship with my sister and her husband. I am so grateful for that. My relationship with my brother and his wife is returning to good after a long period of contentious and unfriendly exchanges. I really doubt they will read this, but I am very happy to have that thorn removed from my side, after nearly a full year. I am looking forward to being able to restore the relationship between us and more importantly to build and strengthen my relationship with their kids. It is going to take time, but the rewards will be worth it.
The only bad thing, or rather disappointing thing, that happened at the reception was my inability to get to talk with two of the brides sisters; Karol, my friend since childhood, and Kim, who I wanted to thank for the great advice while deciding on getting a dog. The only one of Kathy’s sisters that I was able to chat with is the one I know the least, Krystal, and that wasn’t until the next morning at church. There is a decent chance that Karol will read this. Sorry Karol, I really wanted to talk to you but I kept getting blocked out, and then I was getting pulled out the door by another commitment.
Although my reintroduction to Karol’s husband made me chuckle after the fact. He was doing his usher duties by the door into the sanctuary when he saw me walk up. ‘I know you, don’t I?’ he said as I approached. I spent a couple days staying at his house and he drove me and Derek around NYC, including a game at Yankee Stadium. But, in his defense that was what, four years ago?
In all seriousness though, it was wonderful to see everyone again, even those I didn’t get a chance to talk with. I was glad that I could participate in such an important day in a friends life.
After the reception I grudgingly went help entertain Mary’s out of town guests at a local drinking establishment called JD Key Club. This is a very popular dueling piano bar. The place was packed. There was very little room to move at all.
The basic concept of this place is this; you’ve got two guys playing piano facing each other. They interact with each other, trying to out do the other, but also feeding off each other to entertain the crowd. You can make requests for your favorite song (along with a tip of course), but then you can also pay to get them to stop playing a song.
Being a place that typically draws the college set I expected to be one of the older people there. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were people there that made me feel quite young. But the vast majority of the people there were, predictably, under 25. Now maybe this is a sign of my age and my fading tolerance for that type of environment, but I thought the entertainment was a little raunchy at times. For the most part it was fun and entertaining. But there were more than a few moments when I was thinking ‘ok, was that really necessary?’
Afterward we went to Big Boy. Part of the group I was with was a couple college kids. One a senior (finance major) at Univ of Minn, the other is a recent graduate with an accounting degree from Univ of Minn. I found that I had a lot in common with them, and enjoyed talking to them. But it’s the weirdest feeling talking to a person that age about what they can expect in their career. It was kind of a surreal experience in a way, since I don’t really feel old enough or experienced enough to be doing such a thing. We were out until well after 1am. I haven’t done that in such a long time. I really paid for it though the next day (more on that in the next episode).
With that I am going wrap up this episode. Stay tuned for more.
Mini Series Part One - The Dog
I have a serious blogging problem.
I allow myself to go weeks without taking the time to update this thing. Then when I decide that I have the time and motivation I have so many things to cover I don’t do any of them justice. Such is the case today.
I have a potentially slow morning so I am taking the time to type up a new entry. I have no less than five topics to cover. Each of which probably deserve individual entries. I may split them up and post them periodically to make it look like I’m really actively updating.
The past month, since I have last posted, has been a busy one. But that is nothing new. I am going to focus this entry on observations and thoughts from this past week and weekend. Since, that will make it easier for me to remember everything.
Last week Sunday I made a decision to test my dog, Hank, to see if I could further loosen the tether that is his schedule, while encouraging his development. I decided to see if he could handle being left alone for an entire work day. Fortunately I work fairly close to home so that time isn’t much more than 8-9 hours.
Hank did great. He didn’t make any messes and went straight outside when I told him too. Now, being pent up all day in his crate meant that he had a great deal of energy to expend when I let him out. A couple of those days I would not have been surprised if his head spun around while he was doing a back flip. But he did great. I decided to test him a little more this week to see how it goes.
Now, I know I’m probably doing this a little bit too soon. Everything that I have read has told me that he shouldn’t be left alone for 8 hours before his first birthday, which isn’t until October 9. But everything that I have seen and been told (by his vet) that he should be pretty much done growing by the time he hits 9 months. At a couple of points this summer I unintentionally tested him, and he did fine. Maybe you dog people out there can tell me if I’m doing a bad thing or if my thinking is reasonable.
After talking to someone that arguably knows more about dogs development than anyone I know, I think I need to get Hank back into obedience training. I allowed him to become a puppy school drop out last spring. In the only formal class I have had him enrolled in was at a PetSmart, on Saturday mornings. The teacher was great and he and I actually did learn some things. But the biggest thing I learn about Hank during that class was that he needs Ritalin. There were far to many distractions going on at that store during that time. That class was 8 weeks long. He did fine through week 4. Week 5 he got sick in class and wouldn’t participate after that. Week 6 I had a conflict and we couldn’t make it. Week 7 I was sick and didn’t want to deal with it. Then I figured why bother going to the last week. But I got a good tip and I think I’m going to follow up on it. Apparently the Humane Society runs classes not to far from my house. I’m going to have to look into that and see what schedules and rates are.
He, and I, certainly need the training. He has calmed down so much over the past six months. However he still jumps up on me and visitors too much. I need to get him to listen to me when I give him basic commands. The only one he does respond to consistently is ‘sit’ and he loves to play fetch.
After he is calmed down and trained I have several things to repair or replace. He chewed up the trim around my back patio door. He has chewed the corners on my kitchen table and chairs. He has rendered my grill useless by eating the tubing that runs from the propane tank to the grills. Fortunately the tank was empty to she he was never in any danger. Otherwise, just typical stuff that a puppy gets into. But that will give me a good excuse to re-do my kitchen, which is needed.
Thus ends part one of this too-long-to-post-as-one entry.
I allow myself to go weeks without taking the time to update this thing. Then when I decide that I have the time and motivation I have so many things to cover I don’t do any of them justice. Such is the case today.
I have a potentially slow morning so I am taking the time to type up a new entry. I have no less than five topics to cover. Each of which probably deserve individual entries. I may split them up and post them periodically to make it look like I’m really actively updating.
The past month, since I have last posted, has been a busy one. But that is nothing new. I am going to focus this entry on observations and thoughts from this past week and weekend. Since, that will make it easier for me to remember everything.
Last week Sunday I made a decision to test my dog, Hank, to see if I could further loosen the tether that is his schedule, while encouraging his development. I decided to see if he could handle being left alone for an entire work day. Fortunately I work fairly close to home so that time isn’t much more than 8-9 hours.
Hank did great. He didn’t make any messes and went straight outside when I told him too. Now, being pent up all day in his crate meant that he had a great deal of energy to expend when I let him out. A couple of those days I would not have been surprised if his head spun around while he was doing a back flip. But he did great. I decided to test him a little more this week to see how it goes.
Now, I know I’m probably doing this a little bit too soon. Everything that I have read has told me that he shouldn’t be left alone for 8 hours before his first birthday, which isn’t until October 9. But everything that I have seen and been told (by his vet) that he should be pretty much done growing by the time he hits 9 months. At a couple of points this summer I unintentionally tested him, and he did fine. Maybe you dog people out there can tell me if I’m doing a bad thing or if my thinking is reasonable.
After talking to someone that arguably knows more about dogs development than anyone I know, I think I need to get Hank back into obedience training. I allowed him to become a puppy school drop out last spring. In the only formal class I have had him enrolled in was at a PetSmart, on Saturday mornings. The teacher was great and he and I actually did learn some things. But the biggest thing I learn about Hank during that class was that he needs Ritalin. There were far to many distractions going on at that store during that time. That class was 8 weeks long. He did fine through week 4. Week 5 he got sick in class and wouldn’t participate after that. Week 6 I had a conflict and we couldn’t make it. Week 7 I was sick and didn’t want to deal with it. Then I figured why bother going to the last week. But I got a good tip and I think I’m going to follow up on it. Apparently the Humane Society runs classes not to far from my house. I’m going to have to look into that and see what schedules and rates are.
He, and I, certainly need the training. He has calmed down so much over the past six months. However he still jumps up on me and visitors too much. I need to get him to listen to me when I give him basic commands. The only one he does respond to consistently is ‘sit’ and he loves to play fetch.
After he is calmed down and trained I have several things to repair or replace. He chewed up the trim around my back patio door. He has chewed the corners on my kitchen table and chairs. He has rendered my grill useless by eating the tubing that runs from the propane tank to the grills. Fortunately the tank was empty to she he was never in any danger. Otherwise, just typical stuff that a puppy gets into. But that will give me a good excuse to re-do my kitchen, which is needed.
Thus ends part one of this too-long-to-post-as-one entry.
2006-05-16
Pure Joy?
Ok kids, everyone turn in your Bibles to the book of James (it's toward the back of the New Testement) , James chapter 1 to be specific. Verse 2 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” This passage goes on to talk about how trials build perseverance which eventually leads to a more perfect, or mature, faith in God. While I do not believe God sends bad things into our lives, I do believe he uses these things to teach us, strengthen us, and to make us better Christians. So I guess I’m wondering what I’m supposed to be learning from this past six weeks that I have gone through.
Bear with me here. I’m not complaining, just pondering what I should take from all this.
First I break my thumb forcing me to wear a brace/cast thing for the past six weeks. It is getting much better, and the injury could have been exponentially worse than it was. I have an appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping he tells me I can stop wearing the brace. But it was just step one.
A couple weeks ago the transmission on my still relatively new car breaks and has to be overhauled. I know nothing about cars. I felt like the guy in the computer commercial saying ‘so the security is in the blinky thing?’ when it was explained to me. Now, I was spared having to shell out more than $4,000 for this repair because it was still under warranty, by all of 400 miles. Ok, so this clearly could have been far worse than it was.
This morning I wake up to hear my sump pump doing and impersonation of Old Faithful. It was spewing water up instead of pumping it out. After the panic subsided, and my Dad came over to help, We figured out the problem. A check valve had broken and was pushing the rain water back into the house rather than outside. The obvious water pressure broke most of the pvc joints in the sump pump contraption. There are two things in home repair that freak me out; plumbing and electricity. This involved both. It took all morning but we got the valve replaced and the all the pipes back together and in working order. Another good thing is there was minimal water damage. Yet again, even though it freaked me out pretty good, it could have been a whole lot worse.
Finally, over the past couple months I’ve been seeing one of my doctors to resolve a recurring problem. A few weeks ago he comes back to tell me that I have stones in my bladder again, and he wants to go in to remove them before they get to big or cause any more problems. I am going in this Thursday for that. I’m not overly worried or nervous about this. But it will render me useless for a few days.
Hmmmm, so in reflecting on this as I write maybe my ‘pure joy’ is in the realization that even though bad stuff and inconvenient stuff happens it could always be worse. In spite of these kinds of crazy things in my life, God is still clearly very good to me. I’ve got good friends, I’ve got a good family (well mostly), I’ve got a good job, and I’ve got this blogger thing to help me reflect on stuff. Who could ask for any more, right?
Bear with me here. I’m not complaining, just pondering what I should take from all this.
First I break my thumb forcing me to wear a brace/cast thing for the past six weeks. It is getting much better, and the injury could have been exponentially worse than it was. I have an appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping he tells me I can stop wearing the brace. But it was just step one.
A couple weeks ago the transmission on my still relatively new car breaks and has to be overhauled. I know nothing about cars. I felt like the guy in the computer commercial saying ‘so the security is in the blinky thing?’ when it was explained to me. Now, I was spared having to shell out more than $4,000 for this repair because it was still under warranty, by all of 400 miles. Ok, so this clearly could have been far worse than it was.
This morning I wake up to hear my sump pump doing and impersonation of Old Faithful. It was spewing water up instead of pumping it out. After the panic subsided, and my Dad came over to help, We figured out the problem. A check valve had broken and was pushing the rain water back into the house rather than outside. The obvious water pressure broke most of the pvc joints in the sump pump contraption. There are two things in home repair that freak me out; plumbing and electricity. This involved both. It took all morning but we got the valve replaced and the all the pipes back together and in working order. Another good thing is there was minimal water damage. Yet again, even though it freaked me out pretty good, it could have been a whole lot worse.
Finally, over the past couple months I’ve been seeing one of my doctors to resolve a recurring problem. A few weeks ago he comes back to tell me that I have stones in my bladder again, and he wants to go in to remove them before they get to big or cause any more problems. I am going in this Thursday for that. I’m not overly worried or nervous about this. But it will render me useless for a few days.
Hmmmm, so in reflecting on this as I write maybe my ‘pure joy’ is in the realization that even though bad stuff and inconvenient stuff happens it could always be worse. In spite of these kinds of crazy things in my life, God is still clearly very good to me. I’ve got good friends, I’ve got a good family (well mostly), I’ve got a good job, and I’ve got this blogger thing to help me reflect on stuff. Who could ask for any more, right?
2006-05-10
Alright Already!
I’ve been taking a lot of heat from people about my lack of blogging recently. I’ve even been getting comments from Derek’s mom. So I guess I should get to it. Inspired by some of Derek’s posts I’m doing a list of things I’ve been up to since I last updated this blog. These are in no particular order, just the order they popped into my head.
1. I dug out my high school letter jacket for an anti-valentines/80’s party. Sounds lame, but it was actually fun.
2. You probably know by now, but I’ve been nursing an injured thumb. It’s been about six weeks since I had my stage diving accident. Things seem to be progressing nicely. I hope to get rid of this brace/cast thing soon.
3. I had to get my transmission overhauled on my Saturn VUE. The thing is 3 years old and the trans just crapped out on me. By an act of God this happened with about 35,600 miles on the odometer. My warranty runs out at 36k. 400 miles saved me more than $4,000.
4. Dad retired. I’m jealous.
5. Michael got confirmed. He’ll be graduating from junior high in about a month. Congrats to him for surviving what, for most people, is the most trying and traumatic years of their lives (junior high).
6. My dog is now a eunich. He went under the knife and lost his manhood.
7. Another note about my dog. He’s growing up to be a horse. He is now six months old and weighs 62 pounds. I was told, when I bought him, that he shouldn’t top 60. Let me say that again, he is six months old. That means likely six more months of growing before he stops.
8. I have been exceptionally busy with FaithWorks. I’ve actually been doing a decent job of keeping that blog up to date. faithworksstjohnrochester.blogspot.com
9. I participated in a digital camera scavenger hunt. I thought it was going to be lame, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. This added new places to list of travels that my little red lobster magnet has been. He has traveled to Vatican City, London, Dublin, New York, Chicago, and now Rochester Hills.
10. I have booked all the speakers I need to for FaithWorks Unions for the entire year. I can now either sit back and relax, or start making contacts for 2007. I haven’t decided yet.
11. I got a new boss at work. Thanks to a restructuring I now report to some one who makes me say ‘wow, and I thought Derek was anal’.
12. I had yet another first date. Must not have gone as well as I thought since she wouldn’t let have a second date. Oh well.
13. I have topped 2400 tracks on my iPod. I am up to 2415. I have a couple new CD’s that I need to pick up, so that number should climb.
14. I am loving the fact that the Tigers are playing so well right now. I couldn’t stop smiling watching my boys beat up on the Twinkies of Minnesota by a combined three game score of 33-1.
15. Derek’s mom is getting ready to retire. I’m jealous.
16. I recently discovered that I’ve got two weddings to attend on October 14. One in Grand Rapids, and one in North Carolina. I’m not sure how I’m going to pull that off.
17. I have arranged for an ‘Ask the Pastor’ session for FaithWorks. He has agreed to answer questions on pretty much any topic…the harder the better. Any suggestions?
18. Oh, I almost forgot! My dog knows how to operate a light switch. Isn’t that pleasant.
19. I want to extend this list to 20, but I can’t think of anything. Let’s see…my bowling season ended. My team finished in 5th place out of 9 teams. I ended up with a 145 average (which is an improvement for me)
20. My commitment with Head 2 Heart is almost up. YEAH! One thing I have learned is that junior high teachers are either saints, or they are certifiable nut jobs.
21. Oh, how could I forget. I got free tickets to the Pistons first round game against the Bucks. I was sitting 4th row, courtside. I was across the court from the Pistons bench. It was a lot of fun. I’m sure Derek appreciated the phone call I made him while there.
Hey I did it! Ok that’s enough. I’ve wasted a fair amount of time at work doing this. I hope you are all satisfied with this for a while. Feel free to leave comments or questions. Maybe that’ll spark more postings, you never know.
1. I dug out my high school letter jacket for an anti-valentines/80’s party. Sounds lame, but it was actually fun.
2. You probably know by now, but I’ve been nursing an injured thumb. It’s been about six weeks since I had my stage diving accident. Things seem to be progressing nicely. I hope to get rid of this brace/cast thing soon.
3. I had to get my transmission overhauled on my Saturn VUE. The thing is 3 years old and the trans just crapped out on me. By an act of God this happened with about 35,600 miles on the odometer. My warranty runs out at 36k. 400 miles saved me more than $4,000.
4. Dad retired. I’m jealous.
5. Michael got confirmed. He’ll be graduating from junior high in about a month. Congrats to him for surviving what, for most people, is the most trying and traumatic years of their lives (junior high).
6. My dog is now a eunich. He went under the knife and lost his manhood.
7. Another note about my dog. He’s growing up to be a horse. He is now six months old and weighs 62 pounds. I was told, when I bought him, that he shouldn’t top 60. Let me say that again, he is six months old. That means likely six more months of growing before he stops.
8. I have been exceptionally busy with FaithWorks. I’ve actually been doing a decent job of keeping that blog up to date. faithworksstjohnrochester.blogspot.com
9. I participated in a digital camera scavenger hunt. I thought it was going to be lame, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. This added new places to list of travels that my little red lobster magnet has been. He has traveled to Vatican City, London, Dublin, New York, Chicago, and now Rochester Hills.
10. I have booked all the speakers I need to for FaithWorks Unions for the entire year. I can now either sit back and relax, or start making contacts for 2007. I haven’t decided yet.
11. I got a new boss at work. Thanks to a restructuring I now report to some one who makes me say ‘wow, and I thought Derek was anal’.
12. I had yet another first date. Must not have gone as well as I thought since she wouldn’t let have a second date. Oh well.
13. I have topped 2400 tracks on my iPod. I am up to 2415. I have a couple new CD’s that I need to pick up, so that number should climb.
14. I am loving the fact that the Tigers are playing so well right now. I couldn’t stop smiling watching my boys beat up on the Twinkies of Minnesota by a combined three game score of 33-1.
15. Derek’s mom is getting ready to retire. I’m jealous.
16. I recently discovered that I’ve got two weddings to attend on October 14. One in Grand Rapids, and one in North Carolina. I’m not sure how I’m going to pull that off.
17. I have arranged for an ‘Ask the Pastor’ session for FaithWorks. He has agreed to answer questions on pretty much any topic…the harder the better. Any suggestions?
18. Oh, I almost forgot! My dog knows how to operate a light switch. Isn’t that pleasant.
19. I want to extend this list to 20, but I can’t think of anything. Let’s see…my bowling season ended. My team finished in 5th place out of 9 teams. I ended up with a 145 average (which is an improvement for me)
20. My commitment with Head 2 Heart is almost up. YEAH! One thing I have learned is that junior high teachers are either saints, or they are certifiable nut jobs.
21. Oh, how could I forget. I got free tickets to the Pistons first round game against the Bucks. I was sitting 4th row, courtside. I was across the court from the Pistons bench. It was a lot of fun. I’m sure Derek appreciated the phone call I made him while there.
Hey I did it! Ok that’s enough. I’ve wasted a fair amount of time at work doing this. I hope you are all satisfied with this for a while. Feel free to leave comments or questions. Maybe that’ll spark more postings, you never know.
2006-01-11
Happy New Year, a little late.
Now that year-end close is done and I can breathe a bit I should post another rant. And since I’m being called out by Derek’s mom I guess it’s time to get back into the swing of this blogging thing.
The biggest change in my life recently is the dog. It’s been an interesting couple of months. There has been many funny moments, more than a few frustrating moments, several moments of breakthroughs, and a few moments of wanting to through him through the nearest window.
It’s been fun watching him experience the effects of gravity when he unknowingly hurled himself off the edge of the deck onto the ground below (luckily only a foot and half drop). It’s been fun watching him learn that snow is not only fun to chase it is actually very slippery when trying to turn corners in a full out sprint. He is still trying to figure out why he can see through the glass door but he can push his head through it. This one doesn’t seem to be sinking in quite as quickly as the other lessons.
I’ve cleaned up more than my fair share of feces off the kitchen floor. I’ve been awoken at 3am more the past two months than ever before in my entire life. I have found myself scolding him like my parents used to scold me. Only, the look on his face is different from the one that I’m sure was on mine. He looks like he’s thinking ‘don’t you know yet that I don’t speak English?’.
I’m still looking forward to the day that I can say he’s house-broken. Likewise I’m still looking forward to the day that he stops using me as his favorite chew toy. It’s kind of interesting taking him for walks. He acts like everything is like a new discovery, even though we have already passed four other fire hydrants, and 40 or so mailboxes, and many dozen shrubs and trees, on this walk and yesterdays walk and all the previous walks.
Let’s see, the other big thing in my life right now is the FaithWorks group. I’m leading my own small group, which actually kicked off yesterday. I’m responsible for heading up the organization of the FaithWorks Union, our once a month gathering. I need to start lining up speakers, so if you know anybody let me know.
With my crazy schedule the last couple months I haven’t been able to bowl with my team. It dawned on me this weekend that I hadn’t bowled on league night since before Halloween. Remarkably my team has held on pretty strong with a constant stream of subs filling in. Going into this weeks competition we were in third place, four points behind the leaders, and playing against the second place team. We ended up splitting the points with them (4-4). We were all pretty happy about that.
Another random thought here....it dawned on me the morning of December 23rd that I forgot to send out Christmas cards this year. I bought them, printed off my list, nad then forgot about them. So if you didn't receieve a card from me, and you normally do, don't take offense. Yet another example of my poor memory.
The Hall of Fame inductees were announced. I echo Derek’s surprise that only Bruce Sutter got in. I really thought that Rich Gossage and Jim Rice would make it. I think you could make a strong case Bruce Sutter, but him alone?
I guess that’s it for this time.
The biggest change in my life recently is the dog. It’s been an interesting couple of months. There has been many funny moments, more than a few frustrating moments, several moments of breakthroughs, and a few moments of wanting to through him through the nearest window.
It’s been fun watching him experience the effects of gravity when he unknowingly hurled himself off the edge of the deck onto the ground below (luckily only a foot and half drop). It’s been fun watching him learn that snow is not only fun to chase it is actually very slippery when trying to turn corners in a full out sprint. He is still trying to figure out why he can see through the glass door but he can push his head through it. This one doesn’t seem to be sinking in quite as quickly as the other lessons.
I’ve cleaned up more than my fair share of feces off the kitchen floor. I’ve been awoken at 3am more the past two months than ever before in my entire life. I have found myself scolding him like my parents used to scold me. Only, the look on his face is different from the one that I’m sure was on mine. He looks like he’s thinking ‘don’t you know yet that I don’t speak English?’.
I’m still looking forward to the day that I can say he’s house-broken. Likewise I’m still looking forward to the day that he stops using me as his favorite chew toy. It’s kind of interesting taking him for walks. He acts like everything is like a new discovery, even though we have already passed four other fire hydrants, and 40 or so mailboxes, and many dozen shrubs and trees, on this walk and yesterdays walk and all the previous walks.
Let’s see, the other big thing in my life right now is the FaithWorks group. I’m leading my own small group, which actually kicked off yesterday. I’m responsible for heading up the organization of the FaithWorks Union, our once a month gathering. I need to start lining up speakers, so if you know anybody let me know.
With my crazy schedule the last couple months I haven’t been able to bowl with my team. It dawned on me this weekend that I hadn’t bowled on league night since before Halloween. Remarkably my team has held on pretty strong with a constant stream of subs filling in. Going into this weeks competition we were in third place, four points behind the leaders, and playing against the second place team. We ended up splitting the points with them (4-4). We were all pretty happy about that.
Another random thought here....it dawned on me the morning of December 23rd that I forgot to send out Christmas cards this year. I bought them, printed off my list, nad then forgot about them. So if you didn't receieve a card from me, and you normally do, don't take offense. Yet another example of my poor memory.
The Hall of Fame inductees were announced. I echo Derek’s surprise that only Bruce Sutter got in. I really thought that Rich Gossage and Jim Rice would make it. I think you could make a strong case Bruce Sutter, but him alone?
I guess that’s it for this time.
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