My Dad

First, I’d like to thank everyone for their support during not only the last few days, but throughout all the medical issues my Dad has had over the years. One of my favorite quotes is “Friends are the family that we get to choose”. This is the way I know that my Dad felt about so many people. For fear of leaving anyone out, I won’t even begin to try to start listing names.

I do want to say thank you specifically to Susan and Patrick. I won’t go too deep into things, but Susan played so many roles for my Dad. She took on so much more than someone in her position normally would, and has become a sister to me, and I know like a daughter to my Dad.

The last couple of years, Patrick so selflessly was as good of a friend as my Dad could have had. He played taxi, food delivery driver, barber, confidant, personal assistant, banker, and even nurse (which I won’t elaborate too much on). He spent countless hours with my Dad, either at the house, or making the drive back and forth to San Antonio to check in on him. He tied up loose ends, and just went above and beyond.

My thoughts on this service were to keep it as light and as funny as possible. My Dad would have turned his nose up at the thought of a funeral, or a memorial service. He never had any desire to be the center of attention, a BBQ, or a fishing trip would have been much more suitable.

My Dad used to always tell me two things regularly. First off, “do as I say, not as I do”, and also “learn from my mistakes, there’s no reason for both of us to make them”. Those things have echoed in my head throughout my life. In the last few days though, I’ve thought about other important life lessons he taught me:

Don’t put a hat on the bed…You just don’t do it.

Hand back a pocket knife as it was handed to you.

When driving, always expect the other person to do something stupid.

Cut a brisket against the grain…Learned that one the hard way.

You can worry a fire out…Evidently I did this at BBQ competitions quite regularly.

Keep your rod tip up when trying to land a redfish.

The designated hitter isn’t real baseball…Although I think he changed his tune on that in the past few years. After that game last night, I know he would have been so happy.

There really are too many things to list, but I think that the most important things that he taught me were patience and unconditional love. In my job I deal with over 1,000 middle school kids every day. If he hadn’t taught me that patience and unconditional love, I don’t think there’s any way I’d be prepared to walk into work every morning. Each day is a new day, and no matter what I’m here for you.

Throughout my life, and his, our relationship changed to not only have a father/son bond, but also as friends. I feel like I’m lucky to have been able to say that my Dad was my best friend. The thing I appreciated the most was that he was always there to advise, and that may be the thing I’ll miss the most about him. No matter how small, or how big of a problem I thought I had, after talking to him, it was never as bad as I thought it was.

I don’t know who created the measuring stick of fatherhood, but I’d like to think that my Dad stood shoulder to shoulder with the best of them. A small example, and one that I like to share with my current athletes and the coaches that I work with now is that in all my sports growing up my Dad missed one game.  One game! That was a basketball tournament game on a Thursday morning at 9:30 AM in Hondo. He made the 12:30 game the same day. He’d always have Granny, most of the time Susan, and whichever of my other friends loaded up and they’d make the trip wherever the game was to see us play.

Granny always called my Dad by the nickname “Bud”. I guess nicknames stuck with him after that. I started calling him “Pedro” for some reason at a baseball game when I was about 12. In Costa Rica, he went by Don Pedro. Many of you others here also knew him as “El Jefe”. He had that monogramed on his BBQ shirts. There was never any doubt at a BBQ competition who “El Jefe” was. He also loved giving nicknames. Looking around the room today, I’m sure there are quite a few who he never even called by your first name, just that nickname. Day 1 he started me with the nickname Sancho, it has stuck. There’s also The Pink Flash, GoreBob, Good God Gerdy, Mommy Dearest, Bato, Patricio, Scottie, Honey, PreeNO, Tio Bobby, Cuz, Gravedigger, Possum, Alabama, Brother in Law, Sister in Law, Stringbean, Porky, Memo, D.K., A.P., A.B., B.B,   J.J. (Jeremy the Jerk), Spank, Heavy C, and Carlito. There were also a few that I probably can’t mention. I think his nicknames were about the most obvious indication that you were special to him.

One of the many conversations I’ve had since last Thursday that stuck out to me was with Justin Hawkins. He said something that I hadn’t been able to put together myself…He said that when my Dad decided to move down to Costa Rica, most of us all wondered what he was thinking. Why would you pick up everything and just move to a 3^rd world country? The timing wasn’t great. He had the health concerns, his finances weren’t as solid as they should have been, and he didn’t know a soul down there. Justin told me, “As long as I’ve known Gordo, he wanted to live somewhere that was warm, somewhere where he could speak Spanish, somewhere where he could fish, and somewhere where there were beautiful Latin women”. In retrospect, he got everything that he wanted! Those almost 3 years he lived down there were probably the happiest of his life. I hope all of us get to live out our dreams like he did during those times.

I’ve heard so many stories in the past week about my Dad that I hadn’t before. It warms my heart knowing that he had an impact on so many others. Thank you all for being here. If our friends really are the family that we get to choose, I know my Dad had the best family ever.

Miss Me?

Faithful readers...Thanks for your patience...

Only 5+ years since my last post. So much has changed, so much is different..

So much is the same...

I actually hadn't thought of this thing in years, but while talking to a friend who just turned 30, I recalled writing something on my 25th birthday. I think it mostly still holds true.

I've probably got writer's block. I probably won't post for another 5+ years. Regardless, it's fun to come back and read. That's why I never killed the thing. Thought I might stumble upon it again..

Life is good, things could always be better, but they could be loads worse...

Hope all is well!

Lent Update

So the Fried Food thing hasn't gone so well! Whoops!

I ordered sweet & sour chicken on the day after Ash Wednesday without even thinking about it being fried. I was about halfway through when I realized my mistake!

Who needs to give up 3 things?

Proud to say that the no drinking, and no Facebook things are still going strong!

Here's my biggest problem with the Facebook thing though...

I just recently signed up for a free month of spotify. I am in no way musically inclined. I took piano lessons in 2nd grade, but they didn't stick. I don't have the coordination to play anything else. However, I absolutely love music though. All music! Seriously, you should see my iPod. I've got country, rock, rap, R&B, Spanish, etc. This was the great thing about spotify, just about everything was available on there to listen to.

Plus it broke of the monotony of the work day by having some great music that I picked in the background!

Well I was shocked to find out that you couldn't have a spotify account without a Facebook account. When I put my Facebook account on suspension, I lost my spotify access. Sad day. I must stay strong though. No Facebook for me, means no spotify. I'll just go back to Pandora.

So if for some reason, some spotify person accidentally strolls along this, pass on that the whole Facebook to join thing is not great business. I'd be more than willing to pay the monthly fee for spotify, but don't want to be strapped down to Facebook as well.

I'll step off the soap box now...

2012 has kind of been the suck so far. If I had the opportunity to do things differently, I would. Guess that's not a luxury that we're afforded though, so we must make the best of what we are handed.

Learn from our mistakes. Be strong, carry on!

Hope all is great!

Lent

It's laughable that my last post was about people celebrating Cinco De Mayo, without really knowing anything about it. Or even celebrating it and not being Mexican or of Mexican lineage.

Since my hypocrisy knows no bounds, I'll be celebrating Lent this year. Or at least trying. I'm not Catholic. I'm actually not sure where I'd slot myself in the whole gamut of religion. It's a topic that I usually like to avoid because I don't know a lot about it.

Back when my Dad was in the hospital, I got a book called Religion for Dummies. I read most of it, and don't really know if it helped me get a better picture of how things fit together.

So back to it...I'm not Catholic (although I've spent more time in the Catholic Church than any other). I wouldn't call myself an Athiest either. I've always heard the description of a God fearing Christian. Could I possibly be a God fearing Agnostic?

Back from that tangent, let us get back to the title of this topic, Lent. A lot of my very good friends are Catholic, so I always hear about what they're going to give up for Lent. Usually it's alcohol, or chocolate, or Dr. Pepper. By giving up some of the things you love, it is supposed to bring you closer to God. Although I've never understood how giving up Dr. Pepper could bring you closer to Him.

I gave up cokes several years ago. Not so much to bring me closer to anyone, but because I was challenged by a friend of mine to do it. I made it all the way to Easter, then longer, and here we are 7 years later and I haven't had a full bottle or can of soda since then. The only exception I've made is when someone buys me a mixed drink that has coke in it. Can't just let it sit there right??

This year, I'm debating giving up a few things. One of which I've already done on this Ash Wednesday Eve. I deactivated my Facebook account about 30 minutes ago. I'd already weaned myself from accessing it at work, and figure I can live with out it. I've actually been a little jaded with the whole Facebook thing as of late because I spend entirely too much time on it, and other than keeping me up to date on birthdays, I can't say I get a lot out of it. I started my profile in '04 I believe, so this'll probably be about as long as I've gone with out it. It'll be interesting to see if I go the same route with it, as I did with sodas.

Next up, I'm going to give the no drinking thing a try. I don't drink all that often anyway, so it shouldn't be so tough. I can't say that I'm usually too happy after a night of hard drinking, and the older I get the harder it is to recover. The most difficult thing will be to just remember it. I'm used to ordering a beer with dinner sometimes, without even thinking about it!

Lastly, probably the hardest one. I'm going to try, that being the key word (try), to give up fried food. This one probably won't last too long, but who knows. I've gotten so used to running over to whataburger or somewhere like that for a quick lunch in the middle of a hard day, that I'll have to do my best to avoid the french fries!

I'll update during or at the end of Lent, and we'll see how it went!

Sorry for such a shallow post after being away for almost a year! I just felt like sitting and typing. It's not something that I do nearly enough.

Hope everyone is well. Actually not even sure if anyone even still checks this thing.

Cinco De Mayo

I've heard Happy Cinco De Mayo, and Happy Mexican Independence Day several times today! I know it's not really Mexican Independence Day, but I'm not going to rain on anyone's parade. Even though it's not even a US holiday, I love it, because people go so crazy that have absolutely no ties to Mexico. I'm guessing it's more of just a reason to go out and celebrate with Margaritas and Mexican Beer. Count me in. Dos Equis here in about an hour!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!!!

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave!

I swear the older I get, the less predictable I come. I don't know exactly how to explain what I mean by that, but I'll do my best to convey it.

All the news in the last couple of days regarding the demise of Usama Bin Laden has been a bit overwhelming for me. I don't want to say it's bittersweet, because it's definitely much more sweet than bitter.

The way that these United States come together when something monumental happens warms my heart, sends butterflies through my body, and usually even tears to my eyes. Upon hearing that UBL was killed, and that all of our losses on 9/11 had been avenged, I can say that I had all of those feelings. I didn't know anyone who was in New York, DC, or Pennsylvania on that day, but as an American it cut deep. I'll be able to tell you about that day and what I was doing for the rest of my life. Some memories are permanently tattooed into your brain for your entire life, and that's one that'll never be forgotten by me.

Back to Sunday night, when all the losses of 9/11 came back it did make my eyes water. It was the closure that those who were directly impacted might now feel that really got to me. After watching the news, and seeing the elation of those who were reporting the news, or those who were sitting in Citizens Bank ball park in Philadelphia, my stomach did flips. People waving flags, chanting U-S-A U-S-A, crying in the streets. It was a feel good moment for me. Hell, it was a feel good moment for America.

Something didn't feel right though. Still doesn't. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, so I'm not going to sit here and tell you I don't believe it until I see a body. You could flash any carcass up there on the screen that might bear some resemblance to UBL and I wouldn't know the difference.

I think what bothers me is the euphoria that was felt from sea to shining sea after the death of just one person. Perhaps I should take it as more of a symbolic event. I completely and wholeheartedly agree that it was a tremendous milestone to bring closure to what happened 10 years ago come September.

It should not bring an end to the cautiousness and care we've taken over the last 10 years to have concern for ourselves and our nation. Maybe I should give people the benefit of the doubt, and assume that they see UBL's death as an important occurrence, but not the panacea for our worldly problems. As long as we're the land of the free, and the home of the brave, we'll have a target on our backs.

I don't want to sound like I'm super paranoid either. I'm just a big believer in not resting on our laurels.

While I'm on the negative nancy warpath...I'd also like to say that I wish it didn't take some huge event for the nation to come together in such a patriotic display. Thanks to Twitter I felt super informed on Sunday night of all the happenings. One of the people I follow is Mark Herzlich. If you haven't heard his story, click on his name and read the wiki info. Herzlich was retweeting pictures of college campuses around the US where students met up and had patriotic celebrations. It was awe inspiring to see America's youth so passionate and jubilant concerning The United States and our armed forces. Why can't we have that more often? Why does it take usually a negative event to bring us together and let the love for our home shine?

So to clarify my first statement, on not being as predictable as I used to be...10 years ago, I would have been crazy excited that UBL was killed. Had you told me 2 weeks ago that it was going to happen, I would have been stoked. After it actually happened though, while I was happy that some people might feel closure from the 9/11 events, I saw things much more big picture than just the death of one person. Maybe it's maturity (doubtful), maybe it pessimism, who knows...

Okay, off my soap box. Two other things I'd like to cover...

Twitter...If you haven't joined, you should. It's quite a tool in information sharing. You don't even have to follow anyone you know. It is such a great means of finding breaking news, following your favorite band or sports team, or learning about new things. I can guarantee you that if you stick with it long enough to figure out how useful it can be, you'll be hopelessly addicted to it, and check it twice as often as you check your facebook page.

Secondly, I'm going to completely out myself as a wrasslin' fan, but how the heck did Chris Jericho get voted off of Dancing with the Stars? C'mon America, he was nowhere near the worst dancer, and was much more entertaining than any of the others who are left. Pull your head out. That being said, I never watched the show before, and might not watch it again. It was kind of fun tuning in and seeing somebody that I used to follow long ago through his wrasslin' exploits on the national stage...

Haven't been keeping up with this thing as much as I'd hoped. I think about it a lot, just don't open up the computer all that often. Hope all is well with all of you!

Hodgepodge

Isn't that what Alex Trebek calls the categories on Jeopardy that don't really have any centralized theme? Hodgepodge? Well I'm going to roll with it anyway. Alex Trebek is my homeboy by the way. If he'd just let me on that show, I'd make a ton of money. (one paragraph in and already 2 Alex Trebek references, it's safe to stop reading now)

I had it on the other day in the background, and wasn't really paying much attention to it as I was doing something meaningful and important (sarcasm font needed). I hit a pretty hot streak, like 10 or 12 answers in a row to end the Double Jeopardy round. Quite impressed with myself, I decided to sit and watch final jeopardy just to boost my ego a little more. When it came back on I saw Alex, and the category, then the contestants. I had somehow missed it was Teen Tournament week. Hot streak explained.

This brings me to another important topic. Over sharing. I could have told the last story, and completely left out the part that it was the Teen Tournament. No one would have known the better, and I would have looked muy inteligente (Spanish for smart, attractive, and funny)!

Anyway, I'm really awful with over sharing. One of my favorite questions we used to ask in job interviews was "what is one of your worst personal traits?". We got a wide array of answers. Some just couldn't think of an answer, others said they were shy, or chewed their nails. As for me, it's my TMI (too much information) problem. I take great pride in the fact that if asked a question I should be able to answer in about 3 words, I take 5 minutes to do so. Some people like to say they are loquacious, I just say I get verbal diarrhea (a completely different kind of TMI there).

So I've been hitting the gym the last couple of weeks, with mixed results. I haven't lost much weight. I'd definitely fall in the heavyweight division if I were a UFC fighter. I'm getting much stronger though, and the old adage is that muscle weighs more than fat, so I keep telling myself that and throwing down the double whopper after a trip to the gym. Not really the double whopper part, I've been eating a little better too. The hard thing for me is eating small portions. I'm so used to our Texas sized portions down here. Plus I've got a bad habit of eating everything on my plate....

Okay, got sidetracked there. My whole point of talking about hitting the gym, is that I've been on a different kind of music kick here lately. I've never been a big fan of techno or electric music, but it's starting to tickle my fancy a little bit. I went on an iTunes spending binge the other night and bought some of the songs from the Top 10 charts that had a good beat, and might be fun to listen to on the treadmill. I ended up with a 34 song playlist that I've started listening to everywhere I go. Not that it's that great, but it pumps me up whatever I'm doing. If I'm working out, I tend to run at a faster pace. If I'm driving, I tend to take corners tighter and faster, and hit the gas on the straight-a-ways. If I'm washing the dishes, I tend to break a few.

I ended up with some Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Benny Benassi, Fatboy Slim. Some of them were older songs I'd heard, but others were completely new to me. While looking up and down the charts, I ran across a singer named Peaches. I've heard of her before, she sings some trashy songs. They've got a good beat, and are fun to listen to. I've just got to be careful who's around when I put them on.

Anyone else have any good suggestions?

Also, purchased the whole Florence + The Machine album. It's pretty great. She's got a very different voice, but my ears really likey! It gets 2 thumbs up from this guy!

Hodgepodge was about perfect for this one. I just typed for about 10 minutes, and at the same time, typed nothing substantial. I promise there are deeper thoughts in this noggin of mine, they'll show up eventually. Hope if anyone made it this far, that they're doing great!


Oh and by the way, I got the Final Jeopardy answer right. Those 14 and 15 year olds would have had quite the disappointing showing if I were there.

MANcation 2011

It's that time of year again. The temperature is slowly rising, the grass is turning green, and baseball is about to start up. This means several things. About 5 years ago, it meant a wedding just about every other weekend. (As I get older, it's gone from frequent weddings to a birth announcement every few weeks.) It also means that people are coming out of their winter slumber, and planning all kinds of events. We usually have BBQ Cookoffs, more weddings, and golf outings. Perhaps the greatest occurrence this time of year though, is the annual MANcation trip!

For several years now, we've gotten a group of friends together from the Hill Country and made the trip to Ruidoso, New Mexico for a long weekend of general debauchery. The cast isn't' always the same, we add a few and lose a few each year (marriage, babies, work, etc). Even with the fluctuating attendance though, each MANcation somehow tends to up be better than the last one!

We try to leave on a Wednesday afternoon and make the almost 550 mile trek to the Land of Enchantment. While we're there we tend to stay pretty busy between the Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino, Ski Apache snow skiing, golf courses, and the bars. It's usually a pretty long drive back home on Sunday, but plenty of stories are swapped on that ride!

Last year we played golf at a country club called Cree Meadows. After a pretty long 18 holes, we finished around 4. We were going to run back to the house and make dinner, but we had to retrieve our drivers licenses that were being held hostage until we returned the ice chests that so conveniently hook onto the golf carts. The Pro Shop was already closed, so we had to run up to the restaurant/bar to make the exchange. We decided to grab a drink at the bar before heading back to the house. This somehow turned into several hours, and making a ton of new friends.

Luckily, one of those in attendance brought a video camera, and we managed to catch this greatness. The names will be withheld to protect the innocent.

This year's MANcation takes place mid March. Here's to hoping it'll surpass last year!!

Dive Texas

Been thinking a lot lately about getting my Scuba Certification. Back in the day, my Dad made a bunch of trips all over the place on Scuba vacations. I didn't really see the appeal in breathing underwater.

I'm not sure what's so appealing about it to me now either. I don't know if I'm starting to like the idea of being underwater and seeing things that you can't see without the aid of the Scuba gear, or the the travel involved. Seeing as how there aren't a lot of exotic diving locales in Texas, that means flights, foreign languages, islands, boats, bikinis, and probably a few beers. After seeing it typed out like that, the later of the two looks very appealing.

I'm also not a very strong swimmer. Everyone says that doesn't matter too much. You just have to make sure you can out swim your dive partner, in case of sharks. To add to any anxiety about diving, I recently watched Sanctum in 3D. (I don't get the 3D craze, but that's a whole other post.) It's safe to say that I'll be staying away from any cave diving.

This also could be a way for me to broaden my horizons. I'm as bad as anyone about staying in my comfort zone. Staying above water, not straying too far from the norm. This would be pretty far out there for me. Plus the added benefits of the travel. What is there to think about? Maybe someday I'll be posting some wild underwater pictures. Time will tell!

Have a great one!

Gus the Crazy Dog

All you need for this trick is a hyper yellow lab, and a laser pointer. This is one reason my dog is better than yours..