10 Things That Haven't Changed About Me

Birthdays give us a chance to reflect on how much we have changed and grown but when you get down to it, there's a lot about myself that hasn't changed. If my past self met my current self (and the universe didn't implode) then those two guys would have a lot in common and could go out for pizza

I'm trying to get back in the swing of blogging and it's been awhile, so here's another list of useless information.

Here are 10 Things that Haven't Changed About Me:


1. I still have a weird sense of humor (think MST 3000 & "Tim & Eric")

2. I still drink too much soda and tea (and now coffee too)

3. I still always try to remember my dreams first thing in the morning.

4. I still day dream about how different life could be (the good, the bad and the nightmares).

5. I still sing out loud around the house, make up songs, whistle, hum, play air guitar or drum on my legs or the on the counter/ table all the time. Yes, I am still married, I don't know how I haven't driven her mad with my singing.

6. I still love peanut butter way too much.

7. I still love comic books, weezer and the Spurs.

8. I still surprise myself when I look in the mirror and remember just how white I am.

9. I still get the Inspector Gadget theme song in my head.

10. I still stay up too late, usually not accomplishing much of anything.

BONUS

11. I still write on the blog and have an obscene amount of grammatical errors! Yeesh. 

Quote of the Day

"I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." 

 

- Stephen Grellet

Home Again, Back to Reality

Well, I'm back.

I was away for 24 days from home in Ireland and London but most of my time was spent in Northern Ireland.  I loved my time there in a land full of contradictions. Of violence and of peace. Of beauty and despair.

In other words, I felt at home.

It's really hard to even put into words what the experience was like.

We spent two weeks at Corrymeela. Corrymeela is a peace center in Ballycastle, which is on the Antrim coast and beautiful beyond words. It's on a cliff side facing Rathlin Island and you can see Scotland on a clear day.  I would sneak out at random times during the day and just stare out at the ocean and take it all in. However, Corrymeela isn't just beautiful because of the location but because of it's mission and the people that help make it happen. 

On my last night at Corrymeela I was treated to clear evening and a sunset. The sun finally said its final goodbye a little before midnight. I just keep walking in circles to take it all in.
 

Now I am home again, and slowly (but surely) coming back down into real life. Kids screaming, work, bills to pay, ya know, reality. It's not bad, it's just normal. Actually, I couldn't wait to get home. Those last 3-4 days were tough on me. I was ready to see my wife and kids.

I am already working on a travel blog but until then....here is a poem I wrote while I was at Corrymeela. In fact, this was one reason how I knew what I was experiencing was having an impact on me...I started writing poems again!

Enjoy. 

We were at Corrymeela one night,
after the Shabbat prayer,
When the Zimbabwean began to sing…
We sang as Israelis, Rwandans, Americans and Egyptians.
We sang as peace teachers, peace believers, peace dreamers, peace makers.
We were at Corrymeela one night,
when it occurred to me,
could we wrap this moment into a package and share it with the world?