Accountability

Today I am thankful for the people who were at the location that they were suppose to be at the appointed time, and also for the ones that sent me a message letting me know in advance that they were not going to be there.

This is just a small part of being accountable, but it does speak loudly, even if it was just being in attendance.

I'm not perfect, but it is something I strive for and expect out of myself.

I can go deeper into this topic, because I have a lot of strong feelings about accountability, and why I think our society is on a downward trend because of the lack of accountability in our adults that is trickling down to their children. I'll just leave it at that, because today, I am going to focus on those that were accountable.

Google

At the University of Florida, I took a course called "Computers In Modern Society".  Towards the end of the course, we watched "Sneakers", a movie that showed how technology, such as encryption (or the breaking of), can be used for good or evil.  

In the movie, one character quotes a very profound statement:

"There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!"

This movie came out in 1992.  I watched it in 1995, just when the internet was in its public infancy.  As an aside, the development of the internet started in the 1960's...and no, Al Gore was not involved in the invention.  It just started to be used publicly in the 1990's. 

Although, we're not necessarily at war with the control of the information (funny I say that in light of recent anti-SOPA, PIPA protests), I am amazed at how much information is available at our fingertips.  Moreover, Google created sophisticated algorithms to harness and index all of this information that is in the internet.  

Need to know how long to boil an egg?  Google it...or maybe ask you mom.  

Not sure where Auburndale, FL is?  Google Map It.

Need to learn how to change the transmission fluid in your car?  Once again, Google it. 

Need to look someone up.  Google stalk them :-)  

Speaking of Google stalking...I remember the first time I did that.  It was in 2003.  And her name was Kenna Friddle.  I met her at a church function in Orlando, and I was just curious to see if I could find any information on her in the internet.  Doing a Google search on her name, I found out that she was in a Black Belt magazine for winning a forms competition when she was in grade school.  It's still in the internet and you can see it here.  

The funny thing is that it seemed so taboo back then because it was new.  Now, it's commonplace.  But I digress.

In grade school I remembered doing research papers by going to the library, looking up books in the card catalog, and writing notes on note cards.   Years later, when I was working at Harris Corporation in Melbourne, FL, the department secretary was helping her son look up information on the internet for his research paper, and they were allowed to internet listings for references.  

There's even a bibliography format for an internet listing.

I can't imagine life without the internet now...and it's not necessarily about information.  It's also the convenience of making purchases and transactions.  The first flight that I booked online was to Oregon with American Airlines. The first online bank I had was with ING.


And of course, it allows common folk like you and me to blog.

I'm grateful for the internet, and Google.  

Under The Weather

Another long day, so this will be short.  I've been feeling under the weather since Monday (it's Wednesday now) and it's slowly getting worse.  I don't think I'm sporting a fever, even a slight one, and I hope that it doesn't come to that in order to get better.  I've been popping vitamins like there's no tomorrow...well, not really, but I've taking a lot more than usual.  Even a teacher at an elementary school gave me a packet of Emergen-C this morning.  Never tried it before.  It's yucky...bleh, but she warned me.

Coughing was another symptom that started today.  I hope that it stays at that...

Isn't it interesting how you perceive life when you start getting sick?  The normal part of me wants to just relax, rest a little, take it easy.  But another part of me takes this as a challenge, to press forward, to continue to be productive.  I've seen so many people work through illnesses (full blown illnesses), and generally that's not good, but there's something I admire about pressing forward...especially when things "need" to get done.  Motherhood comes to mind..  I think of so many moms that work through their illness, because children depend on them.  There is no break.

Kinda puts me to shame sometimes....so with my "under the weather" illness, I just need to suck it up.

And naturally, when you're not 100% healthy, you more fully appreciate the times that you are, and right now I am thankful for those times.
 
So I'm going to down some more vitamins, drink plenty of fluids, and hope that I can stave off this illness that's trying to emerge.

Zzzzzz....

I'm tired. Worked a full day today, and I had rehearsal in the evening.  Tomorrow is another busy day.

I need my sleep. I'm glad that I can sleep.  And I should be in bed before midnight tonight, which is uncommon for me because I'm a night owl, even if I have to wake up early the next day.

I know people who have chronic insomnia.  I even had my bout for a couple of months back in 2005-2006.  No fun living off of 1-2 hours of sleep a night.

So I'm thankful for sleep, and that I can sleep.

I always wondered why God made us so that we need sleep.  Besides giving our bodies the needed rest to re-energize, and fix or rebuild for the next day, the awake/sleep cycle allows us to end a day, and begin a new one, a natural way to segment our time, to start all over.

So goodnight...see you in the morning.

Plants vs Zombies

Eric (my best friend) and his two sons, Enriquo and Dawson, have been living with me for several years now.  A few months ago, the kids started playing this game on the computer called Plants vs Zombies.  The game looked very "childlike", much like the other games they play, so I didn't pay attention to it.

One night, they left the game up on Eric's computer, and out of curiosity, he started playing it.  Before long, he became addicted to the game. "Hey, Bob" says Eric...BTW, Bobby was my nickname growing up..."You need to try this game out.  I like it better than Angry Birds."

I usually don't take much stock as to Eric's validity of how good a game is, because when he likes a game or sport or activity (hmmmm...."Call of Duty", golf, poker, and yes, fishing), he borderlines addiction in all of them, except for fishing, where I can confirm that it is an addiction.

But I did give the game a try...and I like it better than Angry Birds...and I'm addicted to it.  It is a great strategy puzzle game, hidden behind a child-like theme that plants have to protect the house from the incoming zombies.

Thanks for the recommended game, Eric.  

And for those of you who are already playing this game, there's a puzzle feature called "Vasebreaker Endless" and "I,Zombie Endless".  My current streaks in those puzzles are 20 and 13 waves, respectively.  Who can beat that?

Spirit Filled Day

Sunday was a busy day for me (This blog is a day late).

Our regular church service and Sunday school classes were from 9am-12pm.  And after visiting some friends briefly at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, I headed back to church for a series of meetings, potluck dinner, and devotional, from 3pm-8pm.  Eight hours...

And then on top of that, I was asked to accept a new calling in the church.  For those of you that don't know, the Mormon church does not have a paid ministry.  It is up to us to voluntarily run the congregation  (wards as we call them).   A calling can be as simple as being a door greeter, or as "complex" and demanding as the Bishop (the Spiritual leader) of the ward.

I thought I was going to be worn out from a lot of "doing", but this day was by far one of the most Spiritually uplifting Sundays, as well as productive.

Some of the key things I learned today, and plan to "take action" in my life (that the whole purpose, right?):

• When God commands you to do something, you have to "go and do" with faith, even when the solution does not seem evident, or if the task seems improbable.  1 Nephi 4:6
• Remember that the mighty change happens first in the heart (humbling one's self and trusting in God).
• The scriptures will lead you to the answers.  The answer may not necessarily come from the words of the scriptures, but by reading them, your heart and mind will be in the right state to receive the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.
• There's no such thing as a boring talk (or sermon).  It goes again with being in the right mindset, to be ready to receive the gifts of knowledge and promptings.  You choose that.  That's why when a group of people listen to the same speaker, each individual takes something different from the content of the message.

I'm grateful for the lessons that God gave me today.  I'm also grateful for the people that I associated with, my friends that lifted me up Spiritually today.    

Good Friends

I know a lot of people, but it is the deep relationships of a few good friends that really bring joy to your life.  Today, I had an opportunity to visit with some friends from church that I haven't seen in a month or so.  It's always good clean fun.   Well, clean can be subjective, but relative to the rest of the world, we were pretty clean.

If you ever have a chance to play Apple's to Apples's, it's a very fun and funny game.

Thanks for bringing joy to my life today.