Strength or Weakness??

There is one thing about me that I know is different than some people. While I am a pretty shy person, I am also very blunt. I am not afraid to say what is on my mind. I think honesty is a great trait to have and have always been proud to say i'm an honest person. I'm starting to wonder though if sometimes being blunt and honest isn't always a good thing. There have been relationships in my life that have ended due to my blunt honesty. There are certain things people don't like to hear and by tellling them these things, they felt the need not to be friends anymore. I know that most of these people were probably not true friends if they couldn't handle me telling them the truth, but it is still hard losing friends. I'm now just trying to figure out where the line is with when and how honest to be with friends. Do I not say something and keep their friendship, or say something and risk losing everything? I just really don't know anymore.

My Week

This week was a vacation week for me. I thought it would be perfect to get away from work, rest and relax my mind, and spend time with old friends. I went down to Des Moines and spent the week there with family and friends. Normally I have a lot of fun and this is extremely relaxing! For some reason, this time wasn't relaxing at all. It didn't seem any different, but I didn't sleep much at all and my mind was racing the whole time. Not on any one thing in particular, but a little bit of everything. I got home today and I now feel both mentally and physically exhausted. Now I'm off again tomorrow to start another week of work. I don't know how to recover from being exhausted like this as I don't know that I've ever been both mentally and physically exhausted like this.

Pet Peeve #1

Well I'm a pretty laid back person most of the time, but I do have a few pet peeves. One of my biggest pet peeves is when you call someone, leave a message for them to call you back and they never return your call. Not only is this frustrating, but extremely rude as well. It doesn't matter if this is at work or personal, it is still terrible. This week I called someone and asked them to call me back regarding a work project. They didn't return my call after a few days so I called again and left another message. Finally by the end of the week I tried calling again. This time they answered the phone and told me that it wasn't them that I needed to get ahold of. I actually needed to contact someone else. So I wasted an entire week trying to get ahold of the wrong person, when all it would have taken was a call back and I would have been able to move on a lot sooner. Now i'm just behind. The same goes for personal calls as well. I understand people are busy, but its at least respectful to let the person know you are busy and can't talk.

The Dream

Last night I had possibly the best dream I've ever had! The dream started with me getting a new job offer. I was offered a job in the front office of the Atlanta Braves. First off, I love baseball so this was great, but secondly, the Braves are my favorite team so it was great! I was also excited to move south and get away from Midwest winters! The first day on the job I was told that as a new employee, I got to throw out the first pitch of their game that day. This is one of the things I've always wanted to do! I also got asked to sit in the dugout during the game. After the Braves won the game, Chipper Jones came up and asked if I wanted to go out with the team. The next day I got to the ballpark and there waiting for me was the girl of my dreams (no pun intended) :) So I took her on a tour of the ballpark and then we spent the day together. So this was pretty much the best dream ever!! I just wish the dream would come true!!!!!!!

The Welfare System

Just thinking about the current Welfare System today as I walked through Hy-Vee. I watched as multiple people used either welfare checks or food stamps to pay for their groceries. I then watched as these same people went out to their cars that were worth twice as much as mine. I also looked at the kids that were wearing designer clothes. The adults were not only buying the items on their welfare checks, but also cigarettes and alcohol. Now I'm not saying that I spend my money wisely all the time and make purchases that make sense, but I also don't rely on the government to pay for my groceries. I believe the government really needs to look at the welfare system and revise it. I know the government has requirements to be on welfare, but I don't believe these requirements do justice. There are people that use welfare wisely and really need it. I have no problem with the government helping these people out, but there are others I believe shouldn't receive help. I knew a guy from college that received food stamps because he qualified, even though his family was very wealthy. I don't believe it is only the government's fault though. I think people need to take responsibility for their actions. If you need assistance, by all means take it, but only if you actually need it. There are many other things the government needs to do, but I believe this is one thing that should be looked at in the next few years!

The Flightmate

The past 2 weeks I have been on travel for work in Baltimore. During this time I also spent some time traveling to D.C. as well. It was a lot of fun, but lots of work at the same time. On Friday, I got to the airport and prepared to leave for home. I got on the plane and waited to see who would be sitting next to me. This is always interesting. Will I get someone that doesn't want to talk, a little kid, or someone that would take up both their seat and mine. I waited until the plane was almost completely boarded, when an elderly gentleman sat down right next to me. I wasn't sure what to expect when he sat down and was completely surprised how much of an impact this gentleman would have on me. Even though I was sitting by the window, he looked out the window like a little kid on their first flight. His arms and legs were shaking like he was nervous, but I could tell it was not nervousness. The plane took off and he continued to look outside and move around. Finally after we had completed our takeoff, the gentleman finally spoke. We completed the usual small talk and he proceeded to tell me about his trip. He was going to visit his daughter who was graduating with her doctorate degree. He continued telling me more about his life and I realized he had had a very tough life. One of his kids died and his wife had a severe case of Alzheimers and passed away a few years ago. All through this, he kept a positive attitude and looked forward to what was next in life. Next week is his 87th birthday and he truley believes that life is too short to not have a positive attitude. He told me that he loves flying and every time he fully enjoys it because he never knows when it will be his last. My conversation with this gentleman really made me think about all the things I take forgranted. So my goal for this week is to really think about things and enjoy everything I do, even though it may not be the best situation!

First ever blog!!

So I decided to start myself a blog. Everyone that knows me knows that I have a lot of opinions and am not always afraid to express them. So I decided that I would start a blog. I came to this conclusion while I was in D.C. this past weekend and had a good conversation with a girl in a coffee shop there about politics. It was interesting hearing the other views on different subjects. So if anyone has any suggestions about what they would like me to write about please let me know. Oh and don't be afraid to comment on my posts cause i'd love to hear everyone's views!! :) More to come!!