Longhorn in Paradise

Can you believe that another month has ended? I swear it feels like this year has flown by. I just started writing 2006 on my checks! Well, if I wrote checks. Which I don't. I mean, who needs checks? Does anyone write checks anymore? Besides the lady in front of me in line at the grocery store? I have actually gotten to the point where I will scope out the lines and choose the line where there is a 40 year old or younger man with a basketful of groceries before I will get in back of an older woman with half as much stuff...because you just KNOW that she is not only going to be writing a check, but she will be filling out her little check register as well. "now, let's see...that is a $14.36 check and take that from the balance, to get...." Jeez Louise! Get an ATM card already!

Man, that was a tangent...here I was wanting to talk about how fast the year was going by and what I had to be thankful for in 2006 and next thing ya know...

So, I am certain that all of us are thankful for something...some of us were probably cajoled into sharing this information at a Thanksgiving dinner somewhere..."now, let's go around the table and have everyone share what they are thankful for this year". How sweet. Nothing like putting people on the spot in front of relatives they hardly know and see only once a year...do you think that the percentage of people that say "I'm thankful for a loving family" is like 95% or higher? Well, that is the easy answer...I am here to share with you absolutely EVERYTHING I am thankful for in 2006...the good, the bad and the ugly.

1. I am thankful for my loving family -- I know. I just dissed this thanks, but dangit, its true! Many of you probably are not surprised at this as you have read their comments on this blog...and, quite frankly, you have to be a pretty loving family just to keep up with this crap. :-) They are truly the most caring, loving people you would ever want to know. To have so many of them take time out of their busy lives to come visit us out here on the coast, really means a lot to me.

2. I am thankful for great friends -- Again, you have seen some of my best friends post on this blog...and there are others who refuse to read it, but that's ok. It is nice to have great friends live so close...Greg, in particular, gave me the shove I needed to get a drum set and start playing the instrument that I always loved, but was reticent to get into...Patrick and Brady have made trips out here to basically just hang out and see what our life was like out here. Groy has been here 9 or 10 times and we have seen him for about an hour, but that's ok too. We take whatever we can get...we chose to move out here and knew that would make it difficult to see friends and we appreciate any time we have to see them. I know others have come out, but I am purposefully making this list non-exhaustive...too stressful re. forgetting names. :-)

3. I am thankful for the birth of my son -- May 11, 2006 will always be a special day for me as Hagen joined our world and he has been letting us know he is there ever since...man, is that kid loud! Seriously, every day he becomes more and more bareable and one day will be a real joy to be around. ;-)

4. I am thankful for professional connections -- It is good to be able to switch jobs without interviewing...I am interviewing candidates for the position I am vacating and it is a really crappy process. I have not been interviewed for a job since I went to work for SourceNet in 1999. 4 jobs ago. I am the poster child for it is not what you know, it is who you know...I hope to join the "what you know" crowd in the not-too-distant future.

5. I am thankful for my beautiful daughter -- now, you may be saying "didn't you give thanks for your whole family? doesn't your son and daughter get covered under that?" Well, for those of you asking that question, why don't you do your own damn blog? Who are you to question what I write on this blog? sheesh. Seriously, I want to reiterate a couple things. 1) this thanking is done in no particular order...I am certainly more thankful for my daughter than my son, yet she appears two slots lower than him. 2) When I said family, I meant, mom, sister, brother, aunts, cousins, etc. 3) Any negative comment I make about Hagen is in jest. The kid is unbelievable in his personality, looks and charm. He has become a rather amazing little boy. It is just fun to make negative comments at his expense that he can read later and spend years in therapy about. :-) Now, back to my daughter. What else can you say about this little girl that I haven't already said on this blog? She is freakishly intelligent (latest record is brand new 24 piece puzzle in less than 15 minutes), unbelievably charming ("what'd I just do?"), nearly as funny as her dad ("do your ears hang low, do they wobble too and fro, can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in an ELEPHANT!), and incredibly beautiful (see any of the pics on this blog). She lights me up every night when I come home (as does her brother).

6. I am thankful for my beautiful wife -- She puts up with me...nuff said. Truly, those of you who know me know that I am stubborn and opinionated and I fart an awful lot. I am like a 5 year old that has to be reminded to put on my seatbelt and to wash my hands after going potty and to brush my teeth before I go to bed. I forget things all the time...she is constantly having to load up the kids and drive my wallet/watch/computer/jacket///// down to me at work because I forgot it in the mornings. I take the wrong route almost everywhere we go...I like to "discover" shortcuts (did I mention she gets carsick?). I sit on my butt every Saturday in the fall drinking beer and watching football..screaming at the tv...oh wait, she is doing that with me. Man, that is something to be thankful for...SHE WAKES ME UP FOR COLLEGE GAME DAY! I can't say enough about that girl. Did I mention she is a great cook?

7. I am thankful for The Browns -- Now, I know I already mentioned friends, but dammit, I meant it when I said stop questioning me or go do your own blog. Just think to yourself for a second about the following...young family with a toddler move to a city they are unfamiliar with...know noone...bought a house they could barely afford...how scary is all that? Truly. It was petrifying. Now, think about how good it would make you feel if someone came down to welcome you to the street before you even really got started unpacking...offered to help you out...had a young toddler of their own and the sweetest 8 year old daughter you could hope to meet. Now, you may be saying...well, shoot, that is just common courtesy...well, we lived in Austin for 2 years and had no clue what our next door neighbor's name was...I could barely pick them out in a lineup if I had to. Anyway, they soon started inviting us over for drinks...dinner...chipping golf balls in the back yard...we basically ate together 3 or 4 times a week that first summer. Then the pushing me to get into drumming...Denise and Kat shopping together on Mondays...jam sessions on Friday nights....introducing us to the wonderful Mongers, Charlie, Rene, et al. They really took us in as family and we will always be thankful for that. Kat and I always say how lucky we were to pick the particular street on which we now live...and the Brown's played a huge role in that feeling.

I am most thankful for the aggregate of all these things...being alive...having healthy kids...a roof over our heads...a steady job...great friends....loving family...wainscoting. I could go on and on (and for those of you who made it this far, you know that I basically already have). To all that read this blog and comment, thank you too. This is a great release for me made even better by the fact that it keeps me connected to all of you.

I think my friends in Queens of the Stone Age say it best....

"I want something good to die for, to make it beautiful to live"

Much love to all,

jak