Being thankful, Day #17

Today, i am going to share how i am thankful for my Tilley.  I know, this is a little silly, but today is the last day of the Fall soccer season for me and my family, and i am sort of known for wearing "The Hat".  Maybe it was in the military i grew used to wearing a hat, but i have found that hats are extremely handy.  A brim is great to keep the sun out of your eyes, or from getting a sunburn on my neck.  The problem with baseball style hats is that the brim is only partially useful, it can only point in one direction at time so if you want to use it for both the next and eyes, you have to keep flipping it back and forth.  I have a similar problem with the sun visor in my car, but i digress. Hats are also really useful to keeping one warm in the winter, and cool in the summer.  It also has a huge feature that an eyeglass wearer like me really needs, a cover to keep the glasses without spots in the rain.I am not sure my Beloved gets it though.    I wear the hat, pretty much any time we are going to be outside for more than a few minutes.  So, i wear it anytime i am at one of our children's soccer games.

I bought it when she went in to the hospital for gallbladder incident. I had been on the fence for a while, especially because Tilley Hats can be a tad pricey compared to the hats more easily available, but i assure you they are well worth the difference.  I first heard about Tilley when i was at Hershey Park, but a woman who owned one.  The hats are guaranteed for manufacturing defects for life, and insured for loss for up to two years.  If you lose your treasured possession in the first two years after your purchase - for any reason - you can purchase another at half the cost.

I purchased the LTM06 AirFlo design and have never regretted it.  In the winter it keeps my head warm (even with the air flow vents), in the summer it keeps me very cool - and when i really need a boost - i stash ice in the pocket and let it melt (another trick i learned in the Army), the all around brim keeps the sun (and rain) out of my eyes and off of my neck and ears.  I love my Tilley. If it gets sweaty and dirty, i just hand wash it and let it air dry. I told my Beloved, "we've been married twenty years, but you are just going to have to get used to it".   Because the hat plays.

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Wednesday Wickedness - 20100707

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Wickedness. We are like other memes in that we will ask you ten questions each and every Wednesday. But our little "twist" is that each week we will pick a famous person and pick ten of their quotes. Each of our questions will be based on the quotes. Got it? Great! Let's begin this week's meme!

Today we picked Robert Pattinson. Here's Wednesday Wickedness!

1. "I don't really see the point in washing your hair. If you don't care if your hair's clean or not then why would you wash it?" How often do you wash your hair?

Um... EVERY DAY!  And i keep it SHORT!  Like if icangrabitinbetweenmyfingersitistoolong short!  Don't get me wrong, i am not a prude about it... but for me i have to wash my hair every day.  If i don't, it itches!  If you are not going to wash your hair, and i can smell it, don't get offended if i start carrying around a perfume bag like they did in Colonial times either.

 2. "I take way too long to get dressed, like way too long. But only for things like shows or if I have to do public appearances. Like, I’m ridiculous, I’ll keep getting changed and getting changed and then I’ll just put on the same thing I wore the day before." Do you take longer to dress for a special event?

Indeed i do.  Especially if i am with my Beloved.  I want to make sure i am complimenting what she is wearing.  Other than that, i don't care.  I used to care when i was in uniform because then i was not representing just myself there either.  But just for me... i don't care.

3. "My dad's a car dealer, but I grew up in London, so I always say I don't drive…I get driven. I got a driving lesson in Oregon, and then I bought a car in L.A. and I basically learned how to drive by people honking at me. I'm terrible at driving." Are you a good driver?

LOL - i once read that 80% of drivers believe they are an above average driver.  We all know that cannot be the case.  I consider my self a good driver, but i have not always been, and i am not always now.  Driving is something that requires 100% of your attention, anything less than that there is a potential for disaster.

4. "I don't spend any money. The only thing I've really bought is my car, which cost $1,500 and keeps exploding. It would be nice to buy a house for my parents, but at the same time my parents are so comfortable where they live; they would probably just feel like it was a burden. I wear the same clothes every day and the only thing I used to splurge on was DVDs." If you had his money, what would be the first thing you spent it on?

I would pay off my mortgage. Right now that is the only recurring monthly bill (other than credit card bills, but those are paid off in FULL every month.  After that i would really like to set up 'recurring giving' accounts.  Basically accounts where the interest alone would be substantial amounts of money to be given, and then in the will what ever organization the account was for would get the account balance.

5. "I aspire to be Jack Nicholson. I love every single mannerism. I used to try and be him in virtually everything I did, I don't know why. I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when I was about 13, and I dressed like him. I tried to do his accent. I did everything like him. I think it's kind of stuck with me." Who is your favorite actor?

Over all Tom Hanks is my favorite actor.  With the exception of "The Road to Perdition" (i couldn't make myself watch him be a bad guy) i have loved every movie he has done.  "Forrest Gump", "Saving Private Ryan", and even "Cast Away".  "From the Earth to the Moon" - excellent series.  Nothing is coming to mind that this man has touched that i do not like.  No one is perfect, and i am not saying he is perfect, but i just really like all that he has done.

6. "Someone stole my shoelaces once from my shoes. I still wear them and never put laces in them - they're like my trademark shoes now!" Have you ever changed your appearance because of a random happenstance? 

I now love to wear my Tilley hat.  A couple of years ago i was at Hershey Park and a really hot and sunny day, when i saw a woman wearing one.  My Beloved was not sold at first, but she has come around.  It is now known as "The Hat".  I wear it almost all the time when outside.

7. "I never really considered myself attractive. I was always kind of gangly in school." Do you consider yourself attractive?

No, not really.  I have these eye brows that are incredibly thick... and at odd angles (IMO).  If you ever saw Van, from the TV series Reba, do his faux smile thing... you'd get the idea.  My smile is also weird, and my laugh...  not good.

8. "I definitely want to record an album, direct a film and start my own religion. I definitely wouldn’t have to pay taxes anymore.” If you started your own religion, what would it be like?

This is not an option to me.  My "religion" (which Webster's defines as

"a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as thecreation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and oftencontaining a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.") is Christianity.  My beliefs are not surrounded by, or about, me.  Now, if you are talking about a denomination of Christianity, i would not have to create my own because i so believe in the what Sovereign Grace Ministries, 9 Marks, Together for the Gospel, and Desiring God are doing that i would be able to forgo my career in order to find a way to plug in more directly with them.

9. "I do bear some similarities in the sense that I’m not good at romance. I also think I lack basic finesse when it comes to women. I give up too easily even if I’m very attracted to someone." Have you ever given up too easily in the game of love?

I don't think so.  The reason i say that is because i am so in love with my Beloved i cannot really see how it would have worked with any of my previous "failures" (all three of them).  There are times when i feel i am not giving enough of effort to my Love now though.

10. " I don’t want to disappoint girls who might think I’m very cool and smooth, which I’m not, I’m afraid. I’m still quite shy, although that seems to be something of an attraction for women." Are you, or have you ever been attracted to shy people?

Um... i am not really sure as i've not really thought about it.  I don't mind shy people, and i believe i give them a little extra latitude when i interact with them.  If they do not "warm" up i do eventually give them the room they seem to desire.

Duck and Cover

Today is another one of those days where my attention is constantly shifting. Tis a good thing i have kept a few notes of some topics to ramble/blog about. 8) Earlier this summer my family and i were at Hershey Park and enjoying a wonderful day. My only "issue" was that the sun was blaring pretty hard and my neck was getting toasty. In the past i've work a simple baseball style hat, but even then i would have to turn it front to back and vice versa to keep the sun off my face or neck. Going even further back i once picked up an inexpensive fedora-like hat, but my beloved kept telling me that she didn't like it. Maybe not in a straight forward manner, but she would effectively convey a dislike for the whole idea. Well, this past summer i decided that in this case... i no longer cared about her impression of the hat deal. I enjoy hats, i like hats... i'm getting a hat (this being decided after toasting my neck and face at Hershey park). We were on our way out of the Boardwalk when i saw the "perfect" hat. I stopped the person wearing it and asked about it. "It's a 'Tilley'", she said. I thanked her and hastily scribbled the web site on my 'palm-pilot' (i.e. the palm of my left hand). Now, before i go on i want to say that my beloved is not against me wearing hats. She just is a little self consious of people's impression of me - something of which i care not - LOL. So, after a little on-line searching i found the "perfect" hat for me. The LTM6 AIRFLO^® Nylamtium^® Hat (pictured to the left). It is lightweight, allows air to flow across the top of your head, has a chin strap for windy days, and has a lifetime manufacturing warranty! They are a tad pricey though. But in the end, when it arrived, i knew it was "my hat". Since then i wear it whenever it rains, whenever i am at a soccer game, or whenever i am just going to be outside for any length of time. I love it. My beloved still struggles with it though. In the end i've told her that it is now a part of me. To love me is to love the hat. I've told her, "the hat plays". 8) Now all i have to do is finish my walking stick that i've made. It is sanded down, decorated. All i need to do is put a thick layer of something on it. lol

Roller Coaster Ramblings

The Tour de France will end this Saturday and i am pretty confident that Lance Armstrong will not be bringing home an 8th victory, and i am happy with that. When he announced his return to professional cycling he said his intended goal was to raise awareness of his charity "Live Strong" and he's been doing an outstanding job of raising cancer awareness. I was concerned that his own personal drive would cause a distraction between him and his Astana team mates, but when Alberto Contador took the lead and then made sure he stayed there this past weekend, i like how Lance is playing the team member. Everyone knows Lance has ambition and drive, but i am glad to see that he is not so caught up in all that enough to realize that he is a team member and he can still get his message out by helping his team and team mate win the overall Tour. Just to be completely random... i ran across this YouTube video of a marriage proposal at Disney World and thought i'd share it. Today there are a lot of news articles on how President Obama referred to the police who arrest a Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr, as 'acting stupidly'. This has brought to mind several recent 'altercations' with the public getting televised and not really showing the police in general in a very good light. I am not going to speak to all of the recent events, nor am i able to speak intelligently about the incident in Cambridge, MA. It is impossible to govern or police a citizenry without its consent. There is a time and a place to voice concerns about some actions - the time may not be when the officer has you pulled over, or he is confronting you (even in your own home). More often than not, if you work with the police in a cordial tone and attitude, you will be on your way much sooner. Last night my beloved and i went out to dinner. I was not feeling all that great so i ordered up a couple of blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup. Yum! My love got her usual roast beef with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. Of those menu items the kids only like the roast beef so she likes to indulge and go out to eat so she can savor it. *lol* Speaking of spending time with my beloved, last night we put in the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. We had started it earlier in the week (well, it 300 minutes long!), but i was not going to be denied last night! I stayed up until 12:30 just to finish it! What a goof i am, but i do really like that movie. I finally got to try out my new hat. It started to rain and i realized that i had left my windows open in my car so i donned it and took off. One of the few times i've regretted parking at the furthest point from my office building. But i love it already. Water resistant, light weight, vented and a nice wide brim to keep the sun off my neck and the my glasses dry. I continue to struggle with a fear of man regarding the letter i want to write. I've not slowed myself down enough to just pray through it and get the pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it were). Please just pray that ultimately God is glorified with whatever takes place.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to [1] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, [2] and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. [3] Follow the pattern of the sound [4] words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. (2 Timothy 1:6-14, ESV)