It's been raining a lot, and the snow finally melted away. The trees look like they're ready for spring in a couple of weeks.
My new job location takes 30 to 40 minutes to get too, so I haven't been watching the news that much.
It seems like all my time has been revolving around work.
Its the same old thing. Get up at 6, get home at 5, then try to muster enough energy to enjoy the rest of the night.
Usually that involves having a harmless beer at a local bar (I like Blue Moon with an orange in it), or coming home, and watching a movie or playing Wii with Becky.
I guess, at this time of the year, life can't really be described as being depressing, it's more like just plain ol' boring. Its too cold to go out and play.
It takes 10 minutes to put on my t-shirt, shirt, sweater, overcoat, scarf and of coarse, the pants and stuff.
We went to New Jersey and New York.
Every place is starting to look the same to me. Unless there's something that is unusually beautiful, its just another sight. Houses strewn together, factories, shipyards, bridges, tall buildings, and lots of people. The Statue of Liberty and the ferry to and from there was, well, just not that exciting.
On the other hand, the taxi drivers in New York made the trip worthwhile for me.
Those guys are the best racers I have ever seen.
They come within inches of other cars, and don't even sweat it. Most of the roads don't bother with lines to mark the lanes.
Driving in New York is more like a free-for-all. I enjoyed driving there, but when we finally decided to take cabs, those guys made me feel like a beginner.
On the other plus sides of the week
I talked to Robert and Rod this week. Its nice to reaffirm we have friends out there.
Soon, we'll be headed back to Vegas for a short stay. I can't imagine what the economy has done to it.
Our friend Jeff is picking dropping us off at the airport and picking us up.
I keeping hearing about local layoffs in large proportions
Its funny though, I don't see much about it in the news. I really think the big things that are happening aren't being reported to the public.
Once again, I really feel lucky to be working at this time.
Its odd though, I'm working in a large building complex where maybe only 1 in 5 cubes are being used.
I guess most of the people at work think it is life as usual, but I can't help myself from seeing things in a different way.
Welp...that's my babble for a cold Saturday morning.
Love to all, and may happiness fill your days.

You know, I was thinking about that 19 year old that posed for the Statue of Liberty. What a sight!!! She's in a sheet, holding a torche, and a book, wearing sandles. Doesn't that make you wonder what was on her mind.

BL stands for "Bryan Lund". Also known as BLLB for Bryan Lund, Lover Boy....

BL and I went to high school together and Jeff worked with him for a good number of years, as recently as 2003, at CDG in LA.

Why are you always "Mobile"? I want to IM with Jimmy...

Jimmy - Ask Jeff to look at your photos here, and ask him if he thinks you are turning into BL...

Did you slug this cop, after you took the photo?

I actually got to go up "Lady Liberty" and look out from her crown. And then up her right arm to the torch.

See how studly I am for having not wait so long to go to NYC!!! That was back in the 1970s.

I am so glad you finally made it to NYC, one of the world's great cities. Someday, I think you should go back for a week and see all the city has to offer a visitor. Museums, plays, more of the people, the feel of the city during a work day. See the NY Stock Exchange from the observation deck on a trading day. And much more.

But this weekend trip was a great start.

Ahhhh..there's more to come...these are just some of my crappy pictures...hahaha

So, you went to NJ on the long weekend? And with Jeff!!! He's from NJ, you know. Did you also go to the "Rotten Apple" (New York City) too?

NYC is one studly city. Even too studly for Jimmy.

I'm working in a new office. The people there are great! I can't think of a group of people that I've enjoyed more.
Its a family of sorts, and I feel like I've been invited in.
If my life were a song, it would be happy one.
And I'm proud to say, if I had the chance to do anything differently, I wouldn't change a thing.
Its all been a pleasure. This life has been a beautiful gift. I couldn't imagine anything better.

I realize I'm about the only person who reads this blog. That's kind of nice. I can say things here that aren't said anywhere else.
My thoughts at the moment are about Music and pictures, both of which I've collected throughout my lifetime.
I have over 17,000 pictures, and 1,000s of songs.
They each have a deep meaning to me.
I was just listening to Don't Speak by No Doubt.
In an instant, I am in my truck, parked at the Mgm Grand garage. That was the moment that I decided it was time to get divorced. Our marriage was dead. Drinking was all we had. My life was propelled by my desires, and hers were restricted by fear. With that combination, our destiny would have been to drink ourselves to death. Without words, a plan was set into action. The plan was to help her find happiness, so I could have mine. It took a year, but it worked. Now she's happy, and now I'm happy. We are still friends. The love wasn't lost. But it was that initial thought began in my truck, in the parking lot of the Mgm Grand, listenning to Don't Speak.
When I hear a song, or see a picture, something amazing happens.
Almost in 4D, my mind puts me in that time. I can smell the flora. I can feel the weather. My emotions match the time.
Even those pictures of when I was only 3 years old, I can remember that kid voice in my mind, with those scrambled thoughts, and its amazement of everything that I assumed would last forever. Lying on the grass, picking clover with my mom stands out. I asked her why everything was so beautiful.
Its easy to forget who we are, and what we stand for.
We are born to be something. We all have our functions to perform. Just what they are isn't quite so clear. But for me, I believe I've done what I was supposed to do.
In this blog, I hope to show a life that has gone by. The ups and downs show in pictures and thoughts.
One thing that should be clear, is, that I was never in control of anything. I was just following the plan that I was born to accomplish.
And the planner is so much bigger than any of us.
There's a universe much larger than the one we can see with our eyes
That universe is in our minds. It defies nature. It can freeze time, and can even reverse it. It can create. It can destroy.
Its where I live in times like now, in the middle of the morning. Thats when I go back and visit all of my loved ones and enjoy moments with them.
It is not insane to remember the loved ones in your mind. It is insane to think they exist in the world outside of your mind.

There seems to be a time when a place just isn't just a place anymore.
Memories of the cold streets, faceless buildings, fields of grass, quiet bridges and empty streams become alive with the people that you shared memories with.
You'd know the feeling if you'd ever lost a love one. Every place you go reminds you of that person.
All of those fun times you had together come back like faint images on a foggy morning.
As contractors we know that we are dispensable employees.
We carry an emptiness inside us where ever we go.
From town to town, from group to group, we know it will end. In our hearts, we are saying goodbye when we say hello.
But sometimes...only sometimes....there are places that feel like home.
I've had that feeling in Louisville, San Diego and Pittsburgh. People knew my name and for a short time I had a sense of belonging.
It's odd that a sensitive person like myself would pick a profession where I'm a drifter, and I fear if I didn't have Becky to come along with me, I'd lose my mind.
Her memories and my pictures tie the times together, seemingly giving them purpose.
Today was a sad day for me.
We're changing offices at work. The people I've grown to like and admire so much, will be separated from us. All of the drifters like myself will be corralled together.
Changing faces, changing places. Memories past.
Once again, work will be just a job with endless computer correspondence and my life will be a cubical, with a monitor for a view.
Sometime soon, I'll be sitting at my desk at home.
I'll have those wonderful morning conversations with my brother, and I'll look in my back yard, and remember those 40 someone odd people that have lived in my home.
I guess, in the end, when everything falls apart, I will have been the glue thats held at least a few things together.

'The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
Greed is right,
Greed works.
Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.
Greed, in all of its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.'
- Gordon Gekko (Gekko was the main character in Oliver Stone's 1987 film Wall Street)
As long as someone has money, they'll spend it, and when they do, we'll have jobs.