goodtimes

it’s been a long time..

goodtimesbg — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:33:38 +0000

hello there,

it’s been a looong time since i updated you ol’ buddy..

tonight is a viewing of an old friend, John U.

he was a good man regardless of his (sometimes) rocky life. I like to think i’ll never forget that man. in some ways, I like to believe that he was somehow oddly the man who set me on the path i’m on.. my most early, distinct memory of him was at the age of 14 or 15 when he loaned me the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. Up until that point in my life, i never knew such literature existed. and what a change it made. so much so that at 19 i purchased my first house. i’m convinced that played a role. and for that, I thank him.

we’ll miss you, John. you’re in a better place now, I know though, so I don’t necessarily wish you back. May God and His Angels entertain you with the music you loved so while here on this earth. Rest in Peace.

Blake

just another post

goodtimesbg — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:58:37 +0000

my heart is heavy as i write.. i think i have just lost the most important thing in my life. however, i did find a bit of hope in the story you can read below. in it, the author lost something but by a Divine Miracle he found it again. maybe that’s what it will take for me…a miracle. To that end i shall be praying. enjoy the story. bg

¶¶¶

It’s On My Heart: Lost Coin

By Jim Hinshaw

JimHinshaw@siptraining.com

I really debated about writing this article. Just had one of those moments that define our beliefs, reinforces some things we take for granted. Let me go back to November 11th, Veterans Day. I was traveling to a project, saw a guy in uniform three rows ahead of me. You may already know this, but it bears repeating. When I see people in uniforms, I buy. Whatever they are having. So I told the lady who was moving the cart down the isle that if that soldier wanted anything, I was buying. She did exactly that, he asked who had bought. She told him what I had told her, an American citizen who appreciates you. So he gave her a challenge coin to give to me. It was inscribed “Command Sergeant Major in recognition of excellence.” I was blown away. I have bought lots of soldiers stuff, first time I had ever seen or heard of a challenge coin. I went to my meeting and asked if there was a veteran in the group; we had a army vet present. Showed him the coin, he was impressed, you just don’t see that coin every day.

I have showed it all over the country, like some kid with a new knife or something. OK bad analogy, but you get my drift. Turns out the story behind the challenge coin is this. When a soldier does something above the call of duty, a commanding officer sometimes gives him a challenge coin. If he does not have the challenge coin on him when he sees the officer again, he owes him a beer, or whatever.

Now move ahead a month later. I had just finished a project in Orlando and had just gone through security. I put the coin into a small dish and sent it through. As usual they looked a long time at my briefcase, it has about $175 in quarters in one pouch. Well, maybe not $175, but a lot. When I get change in the airport, I put it into the bag, so they always look at it twice. It took some time, there were questions, they finally cleared my bag. So I picked up my luggage, got into the shuttle that runs from the terminal to the gate, took the ride to gate 46. I realized I was hungry, stopped at a food court, ordered my food, then realized my coin was missing. You probably are thinking, get a grip! It’s only a coin. Not to me, it was something pretty special. Now I am not sure what to do. If I go back on the shuttle, the doors open on the outside of the cars, you get out and are in a hallway that goes back into the terminal. I asked an airport guy if there was any way to get back into the back side of the security area,

he said no, you have to go back into the terminal, then back through security. Nuts. I still had an hour, so it probably would have been okay, but you never know, things can go bad fast in airports.

So I went back, and I actually said a little prayer, asking God for guidance. When I went through the lines, you have choices of about 8 rows. Not even sure exactly which row I went through, so I planned on asking one of the TSA guys when I went back through security. Then I experienced a miracle. Yup, in my humble opinion, a real, live miracle. The shuttles have two sets of doors, double doors. The outside sets take you to the terminal, after the shuttle is empty, the inner sets open up, and the people who cleared security come into the shuttle. There is a TSA guy sitting at the entry to security to be sure that everyone is going from security to the shuttle, not the other way.

So it is just a woman and me in the shuttle car, it comes into the terminal, and we watch the outside set of doors open to the terminal. The inside set move, but don’t open. They click several times, but don’t open. The woman next to me says” we’re trapped!” I said no, we just leave when the doors from security open. They opened, all kinds of people rushed in, and we saw our chance to scoot out. So I did, and the minute I walked into the corridor the TSA guy turns his back on me, and walks away.

Wow! I follow him up to security, never been on this side before. Lots of TSA guys milling around, and bunches of x-ray machines all looking alike. And I cannot remember where I came through. I asked the first guy I saw, told him my problem of the missing coin. He said “Oh, the challenge coin, I got it over in lost and found”. He walked my over, handed me the coin, told me he had eight of them from his days in the military. He was impressed that I had one, since I didn’t look the military type, being an antique and all.

So you may say, that is a pretty pathetic miracle. You were expecting me to see a vision, hear about someone cured of leprosy, throwing away their canes, or one of those “regular miracles” you hear about. And I realize this is live, goes out to a lot of folks, some who may not share my feeling at all on this subject. I guess my point is this. I really felt great about the fact I got my coin back, and in my humble opinion, it was God’s hand that put all that together. If God cares about my little coin enough to stop the doors on a shuttle from opening, then open the doors on the wrong side, have a guard take a break just when I walk out into a corridor, and point me to the one guy out of 50 who had my coin, he cares about our lives and what is going on. And I think he wants me to share this story, just to prove that he is in the details of our lives. I do believe that he cares about the details, the Bible tells us he knows the hairs on our heads.

My prayer for you this year is that he will show you something marvelous so that you realize he is involved in everything we are about. It may be a huge thing, or a small thing, but you will notice it immediately as something that you could not have imagined doing on your own. It will be what a lot of people call a lucky break. I have been involved in that sort of thing in the past, this was different, and you will know it when it hits. Sorry to get preachy, but on the other hand, someone needed to hear this message, thanks for listening.

**************************************************************************

Jim Hinshaw

Isn’t she beautiful?

goodtimesbg — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:27:48 +0000

What you see are the only two pictures I have of ‘M’.. the most gorgeous girl i know. She’s such a happy person; her laughter reminds me of a waterfall, dancing down over rocks, hanging in the air, enveloping all who are near. Don’t laugh, because if you were as lucky as me you would agree. Maybe someday she’ll be mine; all mine. Where, like i told her, a phone will no longer be our regular means of communication. according to her, she likes that idea. haha.

She has a birthday coming up on January 9 so maybe i’ll get the oppurtunity to be with her then. I sure hope so because Goodness knows I can’t wait to see her again.

again…here she is!

goodtimesbg — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:10:03 +0000

getting her face painted...

here she is..M!

goodtimesbg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:07:19 +0000

look at Frosty the Snowman!

here’s ‘M’… we were all together at a christmas lights festival… we noticed all these little kids walkin around with painted faces and some of us were like, “cool!” so we hunted down the booth where it was being done and got in line! $2 later and we’re all set

: did anyone know Rudolph had a beard? lol

here i am with my Ruolph the really Red-nosed Reindeer painting.. unfortunately, the rest of the guys were chicken so i was the only guy to get it done.. it took just a bit to wonder why ppl were always starin at (what in the world?) but then i realized – it’s rEd AND it Glitters!! lol

finally, it’s updated

goodtimesbg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:43:40 +0000

yay.. finally i have updated this blog with all the posts from my old blog.. unfortunately, they are all backwards but for the few who read here, that shouldn’t be an issue. or at least i hope it’s not.

today happens to be christmas eve..and i’ve been at my desk since a bit before midnight on the 23rd. i came home from work (on the 23rd), ate a few bites, worked on a sudoku puzzle, then promptly fell asleep..at 8:00pm. of course, i was awake and ready to go by 1030pm so at 1100pm i decided to come out to my office.. seems kind of strange having spent all nite out here but that’s ok. i’m on vacation time.

all for now, i ges. i’m going inside to sleep for an hour or two.. we’re having christmas with my paternal side of the family; that will prove interesting as usual i’m sure. will post more when the time is available.

goodnight and goodmorning

first post

goodtimesbg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:19:17 +0000

Thursday, August 14, 2008

first post

hello! this blog was created strictly for my coworkers and those with whom i associate with on a daily level. this is not for recreation but rather communication..

i’ve created this blog to share small (or large) daily events and highlights with each of you and would encourage you to read this often as i may make personal mention of one of you.. but only in a good way. also, checking it will enable you to be informed and up to par in the ‘game’ that some people refer to as their ‘J-O-B’… no, it’s not a requirement that you read my ramblings but i would strongly encourage you to do so.

it’s fast approaching 2 a.m. and i neeeeed to be getting some rest, for tomorrow is friday which is at least for me, almost like a monday or it can sometimes seem this way. for most people, friday means the end of the week and the beginning of a “strong-end” (why refer to it in a degrading way by calling it the weak-end? smile). but you see, right in there is where the challenge lies: it means that we in leadership must close the chapter on one week while simultaneously getting ready to start another only two days later. :-O so ms. mary sue, who’s a/c is broken and the parts are on order, will need to be called and broken the sad news: it will be monday. when she gets unhappy, we must deal with it while keeping her calm and trying to stay calm ourselves. then, we have to schedule it for monday and oh, while you’re at it, call the company and make sure that the parts are in transit and hey how about getting a tracking number; let’s see where that package is. and if it comes in late friday or some time saturday, make sure you or someone else will be available to go out and make the repair. OR all the pending jobs for the previous week must be scheduled into the next week, with time allowed for jobs that take longer than they should or even for those times when someone calls and they need immediate service today in one hour. wheeeee so now maybe you are getting a little glimpse as to what goes on while i’m parked at my desk staring at my laptop, looking all intent on doing something important.

time’s up….. look for more later!!

Posted by Blake at 10:50 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 14, 2008

goodtimesbg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:18:13 +0000

Monday, August 18, 2008

a quote of interest

here’s a quote of interest…

Professionalism is not about how cold and unhuman you can look, talk or act.
It’s about being personable and friendly while keeping yourself composed, in-check and controlled…
It’s about staying in-touch with your mission…
It’s about doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it…
It’s about the behind-the-scenes things that make it all happen…
That’s professionalism.

-Anonymous

Posted by Blake at 9:22 AM 0 comments

Labels: quote, quotes

90 days later…

goodtimesbg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:16:40 +0000

90 days later…

wow it’s been almost 90 days since i posted. unbelievable. and i have to say that this blog will be getting wwwaaaaaaayyyy off track from work today because buddy, i’ve got both guns blazin’.

i often think of great things to post but my j*o*b (for lack of anything else to blame) doesn’t permit me the time i would like… for example, its 12:47 on a tuesday and i’m posting to my blog. red flags anyone..?

lately i’ve been thinking about a lot of interesting things such as female influence, dreams and all other sorts of great stuff, all at the same time. this is in addition to the things i focus on at work, of course, but nonetheless i will venture far enough to say that it makes for interesting reading, in my opinion.

several topics come to mind at the moment but the most dominant one is female influence on a largely male culture as it pertains to work, accomplishments, a drive fueled by testosterone, savage attacks against one male to another and all other sorts of things that men are known for, etc.etc. do NOT get me wrong! i am not saying that women have accomplished nothing, are worth nothing, should sit at home and do nothing… no, no, no >>>>

haha someone just stepped in my office and said, “yeah you still look the same.”

“what??”

“well you said to come see you after lunch.. and you still look the same.” lol what a sense of humor.>

>>> heaven forbid. i’m not saying any of that. at all. But what i am saying is that (highly) successful men, and probably even just ordinary men, have all been subjected to female influence to some degree or another and that’s what motivated them to the position they acquired or are striving to acquire.

men will go out and fight wars, dream big, risk their lives, be willing to be ridiculed by all simply because of the lady who holds their heart, who inspires them, believes in them and simply tells them, ” I Love You.” This has been proven down through the ages and is still going on today. when a man is seeking to win a woman’s affection, he will go to many great lengths to prove his love. Or at least look for the smallest and simplest oppurtunities in which to make even a tiny, favorable impression. Things that look ridiculous to a third party are of no question to the man seeking to impress; driving for hours just to turn right around and go back where he came from, spending large sums of money for things which have little lasting value, subjecting themselves to tireless labors, ever working, thinking, wondering how he can make that beautiful lady see that he is the one, The Man.

i personally find this all intriguing. not because men are so “stupid”, but because i am describing myself to a ‘T’… no, i haven’t went all out to impress a woman but give me half a chance (big grin). If i was given the chance i think i probably would be a “fool for love” as they say… but i don’t know that to be factually correct. I sometimes think of all the nice ways to impress someone but since i have no one to practice on so, my thoughts are only ever thoughts, not actions.

on the other hand….

if female influence is so strong, have you ever wondered about the situations where the male in the relationship was oppressed, held down, mentally strangled etc. etc.? or maybe the female was so domineering and selfish that she left the male completely unattended, not caring whether he bloomed and blossomed or budded and died?

while this is in a complete opposite, my mind is drawn to the story of johnny lingo and his eight-cow bride, sarita. in this story, sarita was held to the highest position in johnny’s mind even though she wasn’t a beauty queen when he married her. in fact, she was anything but. however, johnny saw something in sarita that he knew he could make shine. and he did; to the point that people could hardly believe she was the same person.
in the story, johnny helped sarita realize her true potential. but the point i want to make is this: do women truly understand the power they posess when it comes to being that true ‘helpmeet’ or helper that God has crowned them to be? do they realize the influence they exert over the strong, masculine,naturally domineering man that is their husband? do they know they can draw him in like a snake does a flying bird? or that they can cause him to be ten thousand miles away and yet be sitting in the same room? these are my musings as i often wonder not so much about women that are already married but more so for those women who are not. do they know? has anyone told them? or should they not realize these things until after they are married? obviously certain single females know these things becasue otherwise therre would be no callgirl services or bars or all the other places that single women pick up on men of all sorts. no, my message is not to those type of people but rather for those who are sincere and earnest about God and Life…in earnest to know the Master’s will.

it hurts for me to be single and watch other men mistreat their wives or even abandon/divorce/leave them altogether. no, i’m not eyeing divorcees or other men’s wives, i’m just saying that these men have cast away to the rubbish heap a woman who could be a lady if she were shown the proper love, respect and attention. i can only assume that the Devil is so successful in his game that these men I’m talking about will never see their folly. truly, these situations need our prayers…

i would like to mention several things before i close, though, and this is in regard to those women who have shown me special attention, hoping i would reciprocate the feelings (which are, by the way, human emotions, not true impressions from Above.) the message is a simple one and it goes like this:
————————————————————————————————-
yes, you were beautiful in many ways. you had the perfect tan, with a well-toned, proportionate figure and you carried yourself in such a way that men couldn’t help but notice. No, you weren’t provocative, at least not intentionally; but it was your mission to turn heads and for this i don’t fault you. I just fault the way you went about doing it.
i know you wished i would ask you out and i would’ve loved to, but that would be living a lie. i would break your heart while slowly destroying my conscious (which you may know nothing about) as well as grieving my Saviour (something else you may not know much about.) yes, i know you go to church on Sunday but that really means nothing to me; it’s what you do every other day of the week that is a real reflection of who you are. and since i’m a self-perceived realist, i was looking for the “real” in you.
i didn’t ask you out because i didn’t like you. the fleshly part of my nature had already envisioned you walking beside me, or rather, parading beside me for the onlookers to stare; and how they would swoon and talk after we were out of earshot. their silent glances would reassure us both that we were privileged to be with the other.
but when i sat back and thought about the next 60 years, i had to ask myself some hard questions. and since i asked the questions to myself, i had to answer them. Or i could’ve just stuck my head in the sand and let them go unanswered, but then i would’ve been back to square one and i really prefer progress over being stalled doing nothing. the answers that i gave myself to the questions i asked, made me realize that for however nice you were, you were not the one for me. actually, i believe my questions were answered with the the help of a Higher Power who knows way more than i ever will…
this whole process was done in under a minute, while the whole time you were standing there talking and laughing, showing all who would notice your pretty smile with perfect teeth. but i know deep inside me that it was all a facade, fake. just like all the make-up you were wearing. the ‘real’ you would sign divorce papers faster than i can say “what’s this??” when i’m being served by the marshall.
i honestly believe that you probably would love me…for a time. but i want more than a little of your time. call me greedy or selfish but i want it all. i plan to give my entire being, my complete life to the one i love and will accept nothing less in return. and quite frankly, i just don’t see that in you. so yes, it was nice meeting you and have a great day but you won’t be hearing from me any time soon. after all, i think you already knew that.

————————————————————————————————-

to understand more about how i feel on this whole issue, read this lady’s post; it is my deepest desire to be like her husband, Copper. read closely how she writes about him; it’s intriguing.

i could keep on for a while but i think i’ve said my piece for the day. to all the God-fearing, Christian ladies out there that love their husbands, may God richly bless you as i’m sure He already has. to those of you who are skeptical, i say just give it a try.

i’m leaving now, but i’ll be back. in less than 90 days.

Posted by Blake at 9:46 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

goodtimesbg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:10:34 +0000

What a day…and more thoughts

man i don’t even know where to start. today was a bum day with not a lot of productivity. the early morning was dreary and overcast, then turned to rain and heavy thunder around mid-morning and rained all day until the afternoon when it finally stopped. now everything is muddy and messy, vehicles are dirty, puddles here and there and it’s even a bit chilly out.

in order to get to my real reason for posting, i’ll cut right to the chase. for those of you who know me well enough to be reading this blog, you already know that i’m trying to change (with the help of a Greater Being than myself) and you may even know a few of the things i’ve went through or are going through. combine that with the my last post and you start to get a picture of where i’m going with this. it can be described with three short words: frustrated, lonely and wondering. here’s the breakdown:

frustrated- because i don’t understand the reason things are going like they are with the staff and their delays, with my relations with ‘M’, with my job (as in, why people are uncooperative and hard to work with at times)

lonely- because i went from having a dear girlfriend to talk to five times a day to telling her that she may not be The One (hey wait. that should have went under ‘frustrated’) and eternally breaking up with her.. lonely because i feel like i did at sixteen (single, looking) but now i’m seven years older. lonely, because now the future doesn’t look too bright (can anyone explain that one to me??)

wondering- wow, what in life ever stays the same?? it seems daily things are changing, things i don’t understand. when will the economy turn around? what will our new President be like? what does God really have in store for me? (and this next one is a big one-der) how is it possible that i went from a life of ease and contentment to giving up all the lusts of the flesh and the pride of my eyes, to facing emotional anguish, temptations that threaten my mind and would like to divert my soul, feelings i don’t understand…how can this be?? and yet, deep down in my heart i know the answer. i understand the behind-the-scenes workings that occur, how the devil is always bargaining for our souls, how he cannot read our thoughts but can ever so craftily insert just the right (evil) thoughts at just the right time, whether it’s hate, envy, jealousy, lust or any other unnamed evil he can think of. wondering… why life seems so difficult, but then i think of how “all things work together for good” and it gives me rest. momentarily. until i begin to wonder again.

enough on all that. most of those thoughts were sent from my subconscious mind to the very forefront of my functioning, conscious mind by a simple act on behalf of another human, particularly a female. as i think of it i still can’t believe what went on….dunno why it left me in such shock. i guess when a girl asks a guy out, particularly when he’s not expecting it, it just catches him off-guard. now for the real story: i had stopped past the local drug store to speak with the John, the pharmacist, about some work we had recently performed for him. i usually speak to him out in the open, in front of his coworkers/employees and it’s never a dull conversation. we have often discussed my culture and beliefs as i answer his (or anyone’s) stream of never-ending, sometimes humorous and comical, questions about M-nites. i say all of this because we have openly discussed my status and i have told them that even though i’m x i don’t party, that i work a lot, don’t watch tv or listen to the radio. now i might also add that in this drugstore there’s one particularly striking blonde that works there, that’s single, available (or so John always tells me) and is his neice, whom he thinks i should hook up with. one day while i was at his house, i finally told him that i really didn’t need any help, that i was proficient at picking up gals on my own and that i was just plain tired of hearing all about women. after all, i have a job that demands quite a bit of me and women (or more hopefully, Woman ( ‘M’ maybe?? ) will be there when the time is right and not a minute sooner. evidently that blew over him like an ocean breeze because it didn’t change his demeanor any lol..

when i ended my conversation with John, i told i’d see him later and proceeded to walk out the door. halfway to my truck i hear someone calling my name and i turn around to see who it is and whaddya know… it’s that blonde half running, half walking with hair flying coming my way. as she comes up to me she says,

——–

“hey blake, i have a proposition for you . every year here we have a christmas supper and we usually go out to eat someplace nice. i was wondering if you would like to go with me to the supper, since John always bugs me so bad about who i bring along. it would be a group of people- all of us that work here. just don’t tell John because i don’t want him to know.”

and as i stood there in a nano-second of silence with my mind spinning, wondering what to say, it was almost as if i was in a daze with what i replied…

“i’d love to say yes, but… i don’t think i can.”

“o that’s ok. i just thought…”

“i know. i’m sorry. i’d love to but i can’t. where uh.. where do you guys normally go?” (what a blasted thing for me to say)

“we usually go to coleman’s..this year it may be bonefish though.”

“ok. let me think about it. if i change my mind i’ll let you know..otherwise, like i said, probably not.”

i could see what appeared to me to be a bit of a crestfallen look in her eyes as she backed towards the building..

“ok. well just don’t tell john because i don’t want him to know.” and with that i walked back towards my truck as she headed inside.

——————————

the rest of the afternoon was spent with a million things going through my head as i contemplated the possibilities, the maybes, the what-ifs. i honestly believe that was the worst temptation i’ve been through in a long time. pretty girls with white teeth and captive eyes are what pull my flesh into that toilet-bowl, hurricane-like spiral that only leads down. emotions. feelings. questions. why?? i just don’t understand it. and yet i still believe that one day, if our Heavenly Father sees fit, that i will be awarded a bride who is more beautiful in every way than any other female i’ve ever known and will be just the help-meet that is needed to help guide me through those Pearly Gates.

in times of trial such as that i faced today, i can only humble myself and cry out to God hoping He will hear my feeble cry and boost my strength to pull through. so far, He has always been faithful and i know He always will be; i have no doubt about that.

it’s time for me to go. maybe tomorrow will yield more new thoughts and more new things to think about. with my short prayer for strength, i close…

Dear Lord, you know i’ve committed it all to you. Without You i am powerless, weak in my own strength. Help me through, boost my courage, give me Your strength. in Jesus name, Amen.

Posted by Blake at 4:57 PM 0 comments