31 Days of Lessons Learned: My Wife is one Supportive Lady

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Thirty One

My Wife is one Supportive Lady

Short, sweet, and to the point tonight since all of you are either in sugar comas or tired from chasing after kids in sugar comas.

I’ve been with my wife since August 24, 1997.  I was 17-years-old and about a week away from my senior year of high school.  Due to all the moving around I did in my younger years, this was my third high school in four years.

Ten years after our first date, I married her.

Five years after that, we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary.

Through our entire life together, I don’t think I’ve had a bigger cheerleader.  Even if she thinks I’m making a bad decision, if it’s important to me, she’s 100% behind me.  This support isn’t just for the little stuff either.  If I need help, support, or just a word of encouragement, I can count on her.  That’s a cool thing to know you have.  I hope all of you can find someone just as supportive because it helps when the major decisions come up.

I’m mentioning all of this because my wife realized how important my 31 Day Blog Challenge was, so she made sure I had time to write.  Hell, she even came up with the main idea.  I was going to do 31 Days of Top Ten lists.  Instead I went with Lessons Learned, which I think resulted in compelling reading.  There were a lot of lessons I didn’t get a chance to write about, so you may see this feature come back from time to time.

Now that the blog challenge is over, it’s time for my next great adventure.  This year, I’m making a return to NaNoWriMo for the first time in about eight years.  I’m rusty when it comes to creative writing, but I need a good swift kick in the pants, and the pressure of finishing in 30 days is an intense motivator.  Plus, I know that whenever I’m missing that inner motivation, my wife is one word of encouragement away.

I may have just saved the best lesson for last.  Thanks for all your support.

Thanks babe!

My Girls

Now, a little housekeeping.  Since this a stream of consciousness type blog, expect my posts in November to be focused on NaNoWriMo and Movember (I’m doing that for the first time too).  Once we get past November, anticipate a potential format change here.  I know I won’t see the type of numbers I did in October, but I’d love to have as many of you as possible stick around now that I’m done with the blog challenge.  Use the poll below to let me know what you want to hear about the most.  I’ll put that under

For now, I’m headed to bed.  A good night’s sleep right before the first day of NaNoWriMo seems like a good idea.  Thanks again for following along these last 31 days.  Hope you stick around for my next adventure.  You can bet my wife will be right by my side…that’s for sure…

31 Days of Lessons Learned: One Small Idea Can Change Your Course

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Thirty

One Small Idea Can Change Your Course

 

This is one of those lessons that can affect you on a minor scale and on a global scale.  This is a lesson that can affect you as an individual, or the entire world.  When an idea gets expressed, there’s a ripple effect and you really don’t know exactly how far that idea will go.

I’m not going to get that deep with this lesson though.  We’re one day away from being done (and one day away from Halloween), so I’m going to talk about how a little idea affected how Halloween 2012 is going to play out.

I mentioned a few lessons ago that my daughter is going to be Batman for Halloween this year.  Since the only costume I had was a Giant Banana, my plan was to go as a Giant Banana wearing a Batman shirt.  Not too creative, but it’s all we had.  While at work one day, my wife got the idea that I should go as Robin.  Seems like a good idea, but the costume would be pretty tough to pull off right?  Wrong.  This little idea got into her head and she wouldn’t stop until she figured out how to make a Robin costume for me.

She ended up finding this picture…and it was on.

Bat Dudes

Based on this Robin costume, my wife knew is was a doable goal.  She went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and got the supplies, while I raided my closet to make sure I had the right clothes to construct the Robin costume.

After about $10 at Jo-Ann Fabrics and some assistance from Aunt Pam, my wife had this…

Dane, the Boy Wonder

If you ask me, it looks 100 times better than the source material.  We even watched about half of the ’60s Batman movie to make sure we had the right Burt Ward Robin look.

Because of the little idea my wife had, I’m looking forward to the best Halloween ever.  My daughter may not remember it when she grows up, but we’ll have visual proof.

Let this little Halloween blog be a lesson to you.  Don’t discount your ideas, no matter how small they are, because they could change the world…or at least the amount of fun you have on Halloween.

Thanks Rachel – I owe you one.  You outdid yourself.

31 Days of Lessons Learned: We are but Pawns in Nature’s Game of Chess

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Nine

We are but Pawns in Nature’s Game of Chess

We’re coming down to the bitter end of my 31 Day Blog Challenge.  I was going to write about what I learned from my seven years in the book industry today, which seemed rather fitting given the news that Penguin and Random House were merging.  That kind of took a back burner though when all of the news about Sandy’s destruction started to trickle in.  It’s windy as all get out here in Michigan, but I can’t complain considering all of the damage going on to the East of me.

It seems like there’s been a lot of crazy weather occurrences going on lately and we’re just forced to, for lack of a better phrase, weather the storm.  For as advanced and civilized as the human race is, all it takes is a storm like this, or the tornado in Dexter this past summer, to show us how really insignificant we truly are.

The one good thing to come out of natural disasters though, is proof of how resilient the human race is.  We get knocked down, but we get up again (Chumbawumba reference not intentional).  And, when all the chips are down and things look hopeless, we unite and help each other get through trying times.

East Coast friends.  It looks bad right now, but just remember that when Sandy finally passes, you’ve got a nation thinking about you and doing what they can to help.  No matter how small Mother Nature may make us feel, she’s no match for the drive and resiliency of our people.

Hang in there friends and stay strong!

31 Days of Lessons Learned: I Was Lost in Love Until I Found Rachel

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Eight

I Was Lost in Love Until I Found Rachel

While I was out grocery shopping this afternoon, I received a notification on my phone that I was tagged in a picture on Facebook.  Curious, I opened it up and took a gander.

Young Love

This is a picture of us getting ready for my Senior Prom (class of ’98 represent).  I did a lot of moving around in my middle school and early high school years, so I actually skipped my Senior Prom and went to the prom for Rachel’s school instead.  I knew her friends better than most of the folks at the school I was going to, so it just made sense for me to make that decision.

Fast-forward to 2012 and we’ve been going strong for 15 years (5 of those years married).  Sure, we’ve gotten angry with each other, disagreed with each other, and argued with each other in those 15 years…but the one fact remains, we’re in love.  No matter what, we make a great team.

Before meeting Rachel, I was pretty clueless with relationships.  I was either stuck in the friend zone and being taken advantage of, or making the wrong decisions.  All of that changed when I met Rachel though.  We were kindred spirits ready to take on the world.

We’ve grown a lot in these past 15 years, and even on the tough days, I owe so much of the man I’ve become to my lovely wife.

Seeing this picture again today also taught me something else as well.

I need to make sure, even on bad days, that I always look into my wife’s eyes like I am in that picture where we’re helping each other get ready for Prom.  I forget from time to time that she’s one of my biggest supporters and cheerleaders.  Even in that picture, with my hair covered in this nasty concoction of my mom’s hair products, you can see my wife is clearly my soul mate.

Even though I know that already, it’s nice to see a nice reminder of where it all began.  I’ve talked about Rachel a lot in my 31 Day Blog Challenge, but I haven’t actually posted anything about the lessons I’ve learned from her (a fact she jokingly has been reminding me about).  The truth is, I haven’t stopped learning from Rachel.  It all started with chatting and phone calls.  Then progressed into a bit of smart-assery on my part at the restaurant she worked as a bus girl at the time.  She didn’t put up with my shit and even upped the ante, and she’s never changed.  That’s just one of the reasons I love her.

Doing our best myspace pose – still going strong over 15 years later

…and Lily makes three

31 Days of Lessons Learned: It’s Hard Being a Tigers Fan Lately

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Seven

It’s Hard Being a Tigers Fan Lately

With the line-up this year’s Detroit Tigers have, they should have easily won the division and coasted into the post-season.  Instead, watching them this year was like riding a roller coaster:  filled with amazing highs and unbearable lows.  Through it all though, they figured out a way to win and make it to the World Series.

I’m extremely happy about this, but man is it hard to watch them right now.  It almost feels like whatever momentum they had during their pennant chase and whatever run they’ve been on while they got past the A’s and swept the Yankees is completely over.

Their pitching has been absolutely amazing (save for JV’s Game 1 egg) and the hitting just isn’t there.  The bats aren’t just cold, they’re frozen.  Now they’re down three games and on the brink of elimination.

I’m extremely frustrated and very critical about the performance the Detroit Tigers have had this World Series…but I’m still a fan.

So, while it’s hard and frustrating to be their fan right now, it’s something I am.

Rally Caps on folks.

Rally Caps On!

31 Days of Lessons Learned: Don’t Stifle Your Child’s Creativity and Decision-Making (Girls Can Be Batman Too)

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Six

Don’t Stifle Your Child’s Creativity and Decision-Making (Girls Can Be Batman Too)

Before I get started on this lesson, let me make a quick note.  While I mention it’s important to give your child the space to blossom and find their own way, if he/she is doing something wrong or potentially harmful, I would recommend stepping in and stopping the behavior and/or decision-making.

OK, on with the lesson.

I think we’re all guilty of trying to force our will on someone from time-to-time and making them be something they don’t want to be.  I’ve learned that I don’t really like it when it happens to me, so one of the conscious decisions I made when I found out I was going to be a dad was to make sure my daughter wasn’t exposed to that type of thing.  While I want to guide her and teach her right from wrong, it’s important for me to let her discover herself and her creativity by the decisions she makes in life.

I was almost guilty of this recently though when we were hunting for her Halloween costume.  At first, she wanted to be a monkey.  Then, with about two weeks to go, she changed her mind to a squirrel.  We had trouble coming up with a passable squirrel costume, so we decided to let her loose in a costume store.  We went to her section and let her choose the costumes to try on.  It was almost costume overload because she had about six costumes she was choosing from initially.  Right when we had it narrowed down to a reasonable number of costumes, Lily added one last costume to the list:  Batman.

My inner geek was extremely proud.  The Batman fanatic in me might have shed a tear.

After that initial swell of pride hit, I started to panic.

Would people confuse her for a boy?  Would people think I put her up to it?  Can I talk her into a Batgirl costume?  What would people think?

Because I had those thoughts, I tried my hardest to talk her into going with a cute little witch costume.  In the end, my daughter’s mind was made.  She was going to be Batman.

The more I thought about it, the more I chastised myself for my original thinking.  How cool is it that my daughter chose Batman as her costume?  I think that’s awesome.  And to think, I was going to impose my will on her and make her settle for a witch costume.

Want to know what’s even cooler than my daughter dressing up as Batman?

My wife is making me a Robin costume.

Watch out come Halloween because the Dynamic Duo is on the prowl.

BatLily – at today’s Detroit Zoo Boo.

31 Days of Lessons Learned: Take Advantage of Interlibrary Loans

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Five

Take Advantage of Interlibrary Loans

Before I get started on today’s lesson, I wanted to make a quick announcement about the remaining days of this blog challenge.  I have plans on what I want to write about for the rest of the month, but I’d like to ask the folks who are following along a question.  Are there any topics you’d like me to cover?  I’ve learned lessons all my life, so I can come up with lessons on the fly too.  If you’re so inclined, please feel free to reply in the comments. 
OK, now onto my regularly scheduled program.

I never had to worry about access to books when I worked at Borders.  If there was a book I was even remotely interested in, all I had to do was send an e-mail or two and it would be on the way for me to review.  Aside from the people, the access to books is one of the things I miss the most about working directly in the book industry.

I still have lots of books in my collection, but I’m always reaching for the latest and greatest.  Since I can’t afford my book habit any longer, I’ve come to rely on NetGalley and the Ann Arbor Public Library more and more.  With the exception of five years, I’ve lived in the Ann Arbor area most of my life and I have NEVER used their interlibrary loan service until this year.  It has completely changed my life.  I have a pretty eclectic taste in books, so while the AADL has a very huge collection, there’s a lot of stuff I just can’t get.  Now that I’ve discovered MeL, I’m learning that I can manage in a post-Borders world (especially when some of my publishing friends remind me from time to time and mail me a book from an author I like…makes me feel good to know I’m still remembered).

In the past two months, I’ve checked out about eight graphic novels from all over the state of Michigan.  It’s glorious.

Check with your local library wherever you are.  If they offer this service…take full advantage.  Hell, your taxes are already paying for it.

31 Days of Lessons Learned: Overconfidence can jump up and bite you

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Four

Overconfidence can jump up and bite you

All day yesterday, I walked around with a bit of swag.  Why?  Because the Detroit Tigers were opening the World Series with Justin Verlander vs. Barry Zito.  It was in the bag, right?  All of America thought so…even in California (according to ESPN SportsNation that is).  The poll was overwhelmingly skewed in Detroit’s favor.  It made sense…the Tigers just finished sweeping the Yankees and the Giants just finished a grueling series with the Cardinals.  Everyone in my neck of the woods was looking for a huge victory by the Detroit Tigers.  We all had our Olde English Ds displayed with pride and just knew JV was going to get things rolling.  I was even thinking about taking a day off to go down to the celebration parade.  Hell, people were also making cute pictures like this one…

Saw this shared all over Facebook – I will credit the original creator if you let me know who you are…

What a difference a day makes.  Now I, along with Tiger Nation are sitting around in disbelief after watching the monumental World Series collapse of our beloved Detroit Tigers.  America seems to have changed their opinions as well.  A majority of the country now things San Fran will win the Series in 5 or 6 games based on the latest poll at ESPN SportsNation (only Michigan seems to think Detroit will pull it out).  It was almost like they reverted back to their frustrating selves from the regular season…no hitting, bad fielding, mediocre pitching.  It looks like the rest was not a good thing for the team after all.  I just hope we don’t have a repeat of the 2006 World Series.  That was a brutal series to watch.

Watching the San Francisco Giants dismantle the Detroit Tigers re-taught me a lesson…overconfidence can be a dangerous thing.  Sometimes it helps, but most times it just knocks you on your butt and makes you question yourself.  I’ve had that happen on more than one occasion in my life.  Thankfully, I’ve become gun shy in the process.  I’d rather be over confident than have no confidence at all.

Also, you’ll notice that I’m a day behind right now.  I was pretty deflated after the World Series game, so I wanted to sleep on it before I posted my lesson.  You’ll get another lesson from me later today.

31 Days of Lessons Learned: There’s a Fine Line Between Classic and Dated

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Three

There’s a Fine Line Between Classic and Dated

From now until Halloween, my wife and I are watching horror movies every night to get in the spooky mood.  I love horror movies, so this is definitely my favorite time of year.  Tonight, we watched the original Carrie movie from 1976 starring Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, and the dude from Greatest American Hero (among others).

I’ve seen it on more than one occasion and I still like watching it, but this time around, I noticed a few things that just don’t jive these days.  For starters, the opening girl’s changing room scene feels like a scene out of Porky’s.  If you think about it, the actresses in that scene are all playing high school kids.  Do you think a movie filmed these days would have a scene depicting a room full of naked high school kids?  I don’t.

The clothing and the music also make this classic horror film feel pretty dated.  So much so that all the scares and mayhem feel completely telegraphed with all the music cues.

The whole time I watched the movie, I just kept swaying between thinking Carrie was a classic or just another dated flick.

What I learned is that it’s just too close to call.  I guess it’s a dated classic…

I guess that conflict is one of the reasons they’re remaking the movie…well, that and for another payday.

I just hope some of the other horror flicks I plan on watching in the next week don’t conflict me this much.

31 Days of Lessons Learned: I Can Run a Mile!

31 Days of Lessons Learned:  Day Twenty Two

I Can Run a Mile!

To most of you, running a mile may not sound like a big deal.  That’s okay.  Just know I’m extremely proud of myself.  If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been struggling with my weight and I’ve recently lost 30 pounds and started a Weight Loss Class sponsored by the University of Michigan MHealthy Department.  It’s more than Weight Watchers – it’s a structured three pronged attack that focuses on exercise, nutrition and psychology.  I’ve been learning a lot in that class (and hope to share my wisdom with my family soon) and because of it, I’ve also gained some confidence.

On my way home from tonight’s class, I started thinking…  “You’re running a mile tonight.”

Not quite sure why that thought popped in my head.  The closest I’ve got to that lately are my lunchtime walks.  I couldn’t dismiss the thought though.  By the time I got home and had dinner, it was settled.  I was going to run a mile tonight.  I told my wife during dinner, then played with my daughter a bit before she went to bed.

It was time.

I grabbed my running shoes, which are stained from volunteering to be a color thrower during the Ypsilanti Color Run and went on my way.

I had my friend’s exercise mix from 8tracks playing in my ears and off I went.

I tried to keep a steady and manageable pace, but I definitely slowed down a bit towards the end.  The important thing is I never stopped and I never transitioned to walking.  Towards the end, I may have been able to go faster if I walked, but it’s the principle of the thing.

So, after 25 minutes, I did something I haven’t done in 15 years.  I ran a mile.  After my cool down, I came back inside and checked my route and found out I actually ran 1.2 miles instead of one mile.  Boo Yah!

Hopefully, this can motivate you to try something that you’ve been hoping to accomplish in your life lately.  It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.