A Second Chance, Revisited

It's just been over a week since I've started my daily blog of thanksgiving, and it has already resulted in somewhat of a miracle for one of my friends.

Remember the post that I wrote about my grade school/high school friend Charlie Gatz? (Entitled "A Second Chance")

Charlie and I haven't been in contact for awhile, even though we are Facebook friends.  Well, I received an unexpected email from him today, with the subject "You're Not Going to Believe This".

After reading his email, I was just floored, happy, speechless, humbled...every positive emotion I can think of.

With his permission, I present to you his edited email with some minor commentary:

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To: Vladimir Paje
From: Charlie Gatz
Date:  1/09/2012
Subject: You're Not Going to Believe This

Vlad (aka Bob),

The best way to describe this e-mail to you, Vlad, is to say that it's a 'witnessing' from me to you.  I think you'll understand that.  Here goes:

I just got an e-mail today from my fiancee - in Australia. ...  In it, she told me about something she wasn't sure she should have done.  Unable to sleep, she Googled my name, which brought up your recent blog about me.   ...

Well, your blog gave her the encouragement she needed to get through what is to be our last stretch of being separated before we get married.  She had been burying what she has been feeling lately- and she sent me an e-mail before the one mentioning your blog that we need to make time to talk with each other more often.  She said that your blog inspired her to be thankful for what she has now rather than what she is missing.

So, in this regard, I have to give you thanks, Vlad.  You've given someone very special to me strength to get through a very trying time - half way across the world, yet closely tied to your past.  It amazes me that she (my fiancee, all the way in Australia) was able to read a blog by a good high school friend (which she doesn't realize).  

You are forever forgiven for dating Kathy Woodard knowing I wanted to date her so very badly.  LoL
[Kathy was a mutual band friend of ours in Jr and Sr. high school, and was my first girlfriend.  And for the record, she liked me first ;-) Sorry, Charlie :-P]

Additional stuff:  [This part talks about how Charlie met his fiancee, a neat story in of itself] 

I met my fiancee in a chat room in 2005 while going through my divorce.  We started to get to know each other and shortly after spending many hours together online, decided *gasp!* to try the long distance relationship thing.  We lasted about six months ( a very special six months though) but couldn't keep it going so we went our separate ways.  

Fast forward 5 years.  No contact, no e-mails, I've been dating someone I wasn't really happy with but unsure what direction to take my life.  I left the person to make a new life for myself and during this time of change, kept thinking about her.  Mainly, how I thought she was the one that "got away".  

So, for about two weeks - I searched for her.  I had no mailing address, no e-mail address or phone number with which to try and get a hold of her.  While putzing around on an old MSN Messenger account we used to talk through, I was poking around her profile and found an e-mail address I hadn't recognized.  I was pretty discouraged by this time and had come to the conclusion that I probably wouldn't be able to get a hold of her.  I sent an e-mail just pouring my heart out and sent it. 

Two days later, she e-mailed me back!  

We kept e-mailing, updating each other on what's been going on in our lives in the past 5 years.  I asked if she had settled down and found happiness to which she replied she hadn't.  Every night since finding her, I prayed saying "Thank you" to God for having me find her again.   Never have I prayed so much in my life: not even when I was dating Cathy Tyre! [Another mutual band friend]

Though we couldn't figure out 'how' we were going to be together (she's from another country and we've never met!) - things started to work out.  First, she made plans to visit with me this past December.  O M G, Vlad, you want to talk about nervous?!!! I've known this woman for 6 years, told her my deepest darkest secrets and was suddenly going to meet her in person! 

On December 3rd, I picked her up from Orlando International and met her for the first time.  We got along great!  We confirmed what we already knew- that we were so compatible, that I drove her to Key West on a full moon weekend, took her to the highest building and proposed to her.  She said,"YES!"  

Now, we are trying to get a K1 Visa so that she can enter the country to marry me. The biggest hurdle which was to prove we had actually met, was now behind us and now we want to spend the rest of our lives together.  

Her going back home and trying to go back to what we had been doing for a year's time is the hardest part of this whole experience.  We just have to get through this last part and then we're going to be able to be with each other indefinitely.  

Nevertheless, she has been pretty discouraged.  . . that is, until she read your blog about me.  

So, again, thanks Vlad : )   I owe you much for that blog! 

Sincerely and appreciatively,

~Charlie

P.S. I did read the blog (She linked it in an e-mail she sent to me).  I don't remember you doing that in the cafeteria.  I wouldn't put it past you though LoL.  It was a very nice blog :)

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Sunday School

For 2012, I've decided that I would devote my Sunday posts to Spiritual things.

For those of you who don't know, I'm a Mormon, which is a nickname for people who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   You may have seen those "I'm a Mormon" ads on TV or internet.  You can read my "I'm a Mormon" profile here.  

The nickname comes from another set of scriptures that we read in conjunction to the Bible, called The Book of Mormon.  I'm really excited that this year's Sunday School curriculum is devoted to this book.  Last year, we studied the New Testament, and the year before, it was the Old Testament.  

As the Sunday School teacher was going through the overview of the Book of Mormon, and how it is a keystone to our religion,  I traveled back in time, some 20+ years ago, when I didn't believe in God.  That was during my high school years.  I grew up as a Catholic, like most Filipinos, but then I stopped believing in Him.

I started dating someone at the time that was a Mormon, but I didn't want anything to do with religion, because I didn't believe God existed.  But during the later part of my high school years and my first year in college, I began questioning the meaning of life, and if there really was something more out there. 

Ultimately, it was the Book of Mormon, through reading and prayer, that brought me back to God.  I had a personal relationship with God again.  I also knew who to turn to as my Savior, and that is His Son Jesus Christ.  I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I can return to my Heavenly Father again, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon, for it has helped me come to Christ, and daily reading ensures that I keep living a more Christ-centered life.  

The Book of Mormon is a historical record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas (600 B.C. to 400 A.D.) It is holy scripture comparable to the Bible and contains Christ’s everlasting gospel. Its central message is to convince all “that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”  Click here for more information.

Family Time

Today was one of the few times that I had a chance to do something together with my parents.  Using a makeshift grill, they decided to grill some chicken...a lot of chicken.  And some fish too.  And some squid on a stick.

But back to the chicken.  It was really neat standing around the grill, each with a utensil in hand to turn and move the chicken around.   Just a nice time together.  

Here's a picture of my mom basting some squid on a stick...yum :-)

I'm thankful for the time I had to spend with my parents today.

Make A Run For The Border

I had Taco Bell for a late dinner tonight.  As I was staring back into the kitchen area, I noticed how a lot of things have changed since I worked at Taco Bell, my high school job.  It was back in the 80's.  I remembered my stating salary was $3.41 per hour.  Crazy huh?

While I was working at Taco Bell, they slowly transition to the crappy food that it is now.  I'm not sure why I still eat there, with La Nopalera around the corner where I can get authentic Mexican food for a cheap price.  Before, we use to make almost everything in the store: ground the beef, fried the tortilla shells, grilled the steak and chicken, pressure cook the beans, etc.  But now all of it is pre-made at some factory and shipped to the stores.

With that being said, it was still fun times working with good friends, and a good way to break into the labor force, learning how to work for a paycheck.  Of all the positions that I worked there, my favorite was cashier, because I enjoyed talking to people.  I didn't understand it at the time, but later in life, I realized that that was a huge indicator of what type of jobs I would enjoy.

I highly suggest any teenagers reading this blog to work at some fast food place or restaurant just for the experience.

I am grateful for my experience at Taco Bell.

Honesty With Your Fellow Man

I had to take my car to the shop today...twice.  One for a planned maintenance, the other was unexpected.

For the planned maintenance, the tires were balanced and rotated, and I also had an alignment done.  Total cost $0.  As usual, they tried to upsell services that I didn't need or were overpriced.  It's part of some (dare I say most) automotive repair shop's business model.

Shortly thereafter, my AC stopped working.  Because I didn't trust the first shop (thinking they might have been the ones to sabatoge my AC because I refused their extra services), I went to another shop to have them look at it.  To check the AC compression was free, but the compressor wasn't even turning on, so they checked the electrical for $40.  It was a blown fuse, and something I could have checked myself.  They even used the spare fuse that was in the fuse box.

But which store did I feel treated me more honestly, and will start getting my repeat business?  The latter.  I felt bad for thinking the first shop tampered with my car, but precedence has made me wary of their honesty.

Tires Plus is the first shop.  Pep-Boys was the second shop.

Thank you, Darrell, of Pep-Boys Orange Park, FL, for being an honest and genuine service representative. 

The Gift Of Choice

I've pondered this topic for most of my grown life, especially for the past six years.  The ability to choose (sometimes called free agency or free will) is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us.  Choice has consequences.  Most people think that the word consequence has a negative connotation, but according to one definition, consequence means "the effect, result, or outcome of something".  Initially, I thought that this topic of choice was going to be one post entry this year, but I've come to realize that it will probably be multiple postings.

I watched part of the Orange Bowl tonight, West Virginia vs Clemson.  Before the game, ESPN did a bit on Dabo Swinney, the head coach of the Clemson Tigers.  He had a difficult upbringing, his father dealing with alcoholism, the family splitting up, with Dabo living with his mother, barely making ends meet.  He eventually went to college, and get this, invited his mom to come live with him.  And for three years they lived in an apartment together, and slept on the same bed.  (Thinking about my college experience, I couldn't fathom thinking of the same scenario.)  ESPN toured Dabo's current home, now that he is a successful coach.  The home was a far cry from the humble beginnings of his childhood.   They showed the bedroom suite that Dabo used growing up.  Dabo's son now uses this suite, which includes the same bed that Dabo and his mom slept in when he was in college.

During his younger years, Dabo said that he chose to be positive, because there was no use choosing to be miserable.  That part stuck out to me, because it is a mantra that I strive to live every day.

I'm glad that I can choose my attitude, and that I can choose to be positive.

I love hearing stories like Dabo Swinney, and countless others, especially in my personal associations, because they reaffirm my beliefs.

Life is not over...and trails and tribulations are a part of it, some that are brief, and some that are still ongoing, but regardless of things that are out of our control, we can still choose to be positive and happy.

Deep Freeze

My brother called me tonight to remind me to drip the faucets and drain the outside water pump because of the deep freeze that is coming through Florida tonight.  This morning, the temperature had already dropped to the 30's, but tonight was going to be much worse.

Already in shorts for the evening, I changed into some jeans and put a jacket on.  I left the warm comforts of my house, and stumbled in the dark around to the side, flashlight in one hand, wrench in the other, and a cell phone in my pocket.

I didn't know which plug to unscrew so I called my dad and he walked me through to find the correct plug.  

I am thankful for the technology that makes our lives easier, and more comfortable.  

I did some research online to determine when the items listed above were developed or made popular:

• Jeans - 1873
• Wrench - 1800's
• Cell phones - 1990's
• Flashlight - 1899
• Central heat - 1700's
• Water well pumps (electric) - couldn't determine the origination, but I guess it was sometime after electricity production was developed.

Although technology is great, I have some concern that the same advancement of living is causing us to be "soft".  I'm sure that's why camping, fishing, and doing other things outdoors is so fun, because you are much closer to nature, braving the elements that God has created.

Don't get me wrong.  God designed us to discover, learn and create these things.  We just need to put aside technology every once in awhile to remind us what it's like to live without it.