Just Be Outside...Just Be

This has been the hardest blog to write.  It was supposed to be my introductory blog...that blog turned into Ishmael.  This was supposed to be my follow-up blog, but that turned into something else.  This was supposed to be the introduction to "Things I like"....that blog I just failed at doing.

I pulled my second chute with that blog.

What are pet peeves but First World Problems.  That was supposed to be a title.  I bet that title would've won me blogger of the year award. That reminds me of a funny conversation I had with a good friend today.  The Governor's nephew also makes me smile...I need to figure out how to write about that.

I'd rather tell you, the reader, (mom, dad and Uncle Dana) about things I like.  I'd rather write about things I like than talk about things I don't like.

The moon moved past Nebraska and it made a lap around those cold Dakota hills.
Angels danced on Jacob's stairs.There was a silence in the bad lands and over Kansas the whole universe was still.
A single hawk burst into flight and in the east the whole horizon is in flames.
I feel the thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
and I hear the prairies calling out your name.

Once had a sky pilot tell me that Rich Mullins was too nature focused.  He called it humanistic philosophy.

I guess.  Don't mind too much about sky pilots.  In general I don't mind about too much.  It's probably my Libertarian bent, but I figure you can do your thing and I'll do mine.

I don't mind being a product of two "wannabe" hippies and Jimmy Carter's failed economic policy.  I still giggle at the fact that I have an Eagles record...the big black round thing...with my mother's signed name when she changed it.  I don't mind being a child of two people who understood freedom and saw Reagan's Bright Shining City.

I don't really mind too much.

What I like:

I recharge my batteries outdoors.

That's a harsh segue, but you're going to get that in this blog...it's my most failed blog and the one I need to get published.

I'm tired of it sitting in draft status staring at me like a failed lover.

Saturday was a beautiful day.  Temps mid 70's and a cool south eastern breeze.

We were pig hunting.

Pig are an invasive species in Texas...no limit...there is no quarter given.

Didn't see a single pig.

What we saw:

Two deer came in to feed.  Beautiful creatures and very tasty.  Looked to be about 2 years old.  They weren't totally alert and it must be because the rut has long gone.  During deer season they remind me of my wife.  Head on a swivel so they don't get suddenly mated.

In Texas we try to spread the rut out over a month versus the 10 days in most places.  It helps with deer longevity, keeping food on the table and in general why we're #1.

I forgot my Independence Day post for Texas.  I must be getting soft.

Hawks riding thermals and killing rabbits.

Cardinals eating corn off the ground.

Coyotes calling at dusk.  Strange call, it sounds very lonely.  I wished I had my raspy critter call.

Being outside is different.  It's a place where you need to actually be and you don't need to be.  Verbs and adverbs.  I used to hate doing that in school.

You can sit back and lose yourself and soak it in or you can focus and lose yourself.  It's a place where you are the apex predator or just the visitor.

When I'm outside I feel like God (big g) is talking just to me.  We come full circle to the humanistic part.

Being outside is good for the soul.  The city, the noise, the STUFF takes everything.  Nature gives back.  Nature lets you take...I've got a freezer full of venison...it doesn't care.

Come be or come and be.

I'm going to go watch "Catching Fire" with Ms. Marvel...hopefully it wets her appetite for real sci-fi which was the segue into things I like the whole time.

Saving Face...It's For Everyone

Don't read to the end.  It's going to be anti-climatic.  This is mostly my frontal lobe talking.  This one has turned into a "thoughts that I think" or "how can I be better".

 Don't say you weren't warned.

This is my work conversation from the other day ago before...yep...puzzle that timing out.  It's intentionally vague and many references will be intentionally vague because it's about work.

"Don't crap where you eat."  Dad said that.  Sorry mom, dad did say that.

The conversation is verbatim.  This post has been about 4 days stewing in my brain...which reminds me I love brain stew.

Enter Shaun:  smile on his face because smiling disarms people.  Also, it's the mask I wear.
Shaun approaches Dude.
Dude is sitting at his desk typing furiously.

Me:  "Dude, we need to schedule...
Dude:  "Not going to happen this week."
Me:  "We need to...
Dude:  "Not going to happen this week."
Me:  "Let's talk about...
Dude:  "Not going to happen this week."
Me:  "I'll make sure your boss, the CIO and the CEO know that you're not willing to do what's required in order to get to review this week."

Exit Shaun:  Clearly Angry

These thoughts are going through my brain:

You stupid, self-important ass cloud.  I'm trying to do you a favor.  You're going to get asked about it tomorrow and the best answer is always "We have it scheduled".  I'm somehow tasked with getting your work on paper.  I understand you're a network engineer and that what you do is magic.  "HPFM"...look that one up.  We're all amazed and awed with your ability to shut/no shut.

Working with artists is not my forte  (it's pronounced fort.)  For-tay is a fancy way of saying play loudly.  I learned how to say "is a fancy way" from my daughter's bedtime books.  It's not french though, it's Italian.  Forte (fort) defines the strong part of a sword.

That whole thing about forte was not going through my mind.  That was sidebar with council as I was writing this blog.

Where were we?

I resolved to be a bus driver.  See, there's a phrase in business that everyone knows...getting hit by a bus.  The idea is that you didn't see it coming.  You stepped out into it.  Your morning was going along merrily and as you stepped off the curb....BAM!...the bus hits you.

I wanted revenge.  I wanted to be the bus driver.

As the day ended I mulled over the problem.  I sent some emails to get it all setup.  I put balls in the air...ready to spike the following morning.  I was gassing up the bus.  I sat in the seat and made sure the steering was to my liking.

I went to bed with an evil grin on my face and slept self satisfied.

The next morning came along, the sun peeked through my blinds and gently caressed me with its golden embrace.  As slumber slowly removed it's coils I started to grin.  I showered quickly and got dressed.  Egg Shell Blue shirt for today.  If someone wears a solid blue shirt it's because they want to be taken seriously.  Salmon and Pink are also ran colors.  They are fun for a power play.  Pastels at first glance seem weak.  That's the point with pastels, you didn't see it coming.  I wore blue because I was the bus.

Don't wear white...it means you work for IBM.

As I sauntered merrily into work I saw my Cisco Kid buddy.  I like working with Cisco Kid.

This conversation is not verbatim.

"Hey, how you doing," I called out.
"Fine," says Cisco Kid.
We make small talk and then I grin and tell him my malevolent plan.
"Don't do it," pleads Cisco Kid.
I grin and look at him..."Remember all the buses, now it's our turn to drive."

"Let's not...let's not. Dude is having problems."
"What's going on?"

The rest of the conversation isn't important.  What I realized was that Dude was having a worse time than me in life.  The very fact that Dude was still at work meant he was probably better than me.  I wouldn't have been at work.

"Saving Face".  It means to let someone keep their honor.  It's a strong sociological concept.

Christians have a phrase "showing grace".  It means showing the grace the was given to me despite the fact that I earned none of it.

It's loving someone who can't give you anything and can't do anything but just need something.  That's the important part...the part at the end.  Not want...it's not about wanting...it's about the needing something.

It's the grace and the face that was given to me when I earned none of it.

Whether you agree with my theology or not...let's just get out of the job of driving buses.