420 Miles

Can I just say that I absolutely hate living so far away from Em! It's 420 miles from my place to hers, and that distance, on a good day, is just a number. But on a bad day, it's a weight that drags down the heart and soul of a man.

I like to fancy myself a fairly strong man. Not a whole lot keeps me down. I don't let it. It happens out of sheer determination. But, this week I have just really been down about this distance. It doesn't help that I still have 3 1/2 weeks until the next time that I get to see Em. But, I know that that kind of time can be endured through. It just sucks to have to do it.

All I want today is to just be able to sit down with her and talk...talk about anything, everything, and nothing all at once. Talk about the weather. Talk about our hopes and fears, our dreams and distractions. Our future and our past. Lessons learned, mistakes made, obstacles seen in the distance, and possible ways around them. And to be able to just hold her as we talk. Nothing in the world would make me happier than to be able to do that today.

With being down so much, I feel like the guy Mike Ness was singing about in 'Cheating at Solitaire'

When I got to the end of my dirty rainbow
And I found that there was no pot of gold
Well, I learned that I was empty and not quite as strong
For I had robbed my heart and cheated my soul
Look for the one with the watery eyes
I'll be the fool in the mirror asking you why
Cursing lovers in a warm, tender embrace
Scoffing at the the world and the whole human race
You can run, you can hide, you can feed your foolish pride
You can use and abuse, in the end you'll always lose at the game.

I don't like not feeling like I'm as strong as I think I am. I don't like feeling down. I don't like wishing for something I know I can't have. But that's where I am right now...and there's nothing that can really be done. I just have to ride it out until I start to feel better...feel like myself. Until then, I'll just quietly curse every inch of those 420 miles.

Thus Sayeth Your Haus

Random Thoughts

Over the past few weeks my mind has been pulled in so many different directions it's not even funny. I'm going to just throw a couple of them out there, just for the fun of it.

In under 120 days, I will be a married man! The best part about being able to put that statement into writing is that I have no apprehension about that fact. I'm engaged to a woman that I love with all my heart, and I know that she feels the same way about me. It helps that she's smart, funny, sensitive, and beautiful, but the important thing is that we love each other. I'm looking forward to her moving out here to Tucson!

Dad turned 60 last week. Em and I traveled to Georgia for his birthday party last weekend. We had a good time at the party, and I got to catch up with a lot of people that I hadn't seen in many years. Of course, the day we were leaving Dad had a track day. During his first set of the day, the bike slid out from under him. Dad has a mild concussion, six broken ribs, and a broken collarbone, but he will be fine. He came home from the hospital yesterday.

I've been traveling a lot lately. Granted, this comes with having a fiance that lives 420 miles away, but that's beside the point. Between vacation days and being sick, I haven't worked a 5-day work week since February. Unfortunately for me, I'm going to have to work a lot of them in May, as Em is doing some traveling of her own.

Travis Barker is a musical genius. Just throwing that out there.

The Stanley Cup playoffs have begun! The Bruins are playing against the Sabres in the first round. Unfortunately the B's lost Game 1 2-1. But, there's still plenty of time to turn that around. With the playoffs starting, I've started my playoff beard! I don't know what I'm going to do if the B's are still in the playoffs next weekend when Em and I are supposed to have some pictures taken. I will just have to cross that bridge when we get there.

I'm glad to have a new counselor in my quorum presidency (if you didn't know, an the Elders Quorum President in U4). While it's always good to have a full presidency, I really wanted the help for my other counselor, who has really had to carry the quorum on his back while I've been traveling so much. So, for him, I'm happy.

While this isn't all that's on my mind, it's enough for now. Until next time...

Thus Sayeth Your Haus

Victory Nor Defeat

A few weeks ago, I purchased a t-shirt with a quote scripted across the front and back of it. I bought the shirt because I liked the way it looks. Now that I'm wearing the shirt, I'm thinking about what's actually written on it. So, I took the time to look up who said it, and when they said it. If you can find it, let me know by leaving a comment. Bonus points if you can point out what I would find most humorous about the quote and/or context it was given in.

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

In case you wanted to see the shirt, it can be found here.

Thus Sayeth Your Haus

Unintended Consequences

I remember when I was a kid going to Fast and Testimony meeting and our bishop getting up on the months he conducted and starting his testimony by apologizing to those people who he may have unknowingly offended. He did not want to offend anyone, but he definitely didn't want people to not come to church because of that offense.

Now, I'm a bit of a brash fellow, and I know that there are some people I have upset and I haven't really even cared. There are some people that I have hurt and it was just inevitable. But, I found out today that something entirely inconspicuous I did back in October brought down the spirits of a friend of mine.

I know you know who you are, as you're among the five people who actually read this and you mentioned me by name in your post. So, I had no idea that posting a few pictures of an ice hockey game (and those who attended) would bring you down, and, for bringing your spirits down, I am sorry. I am guessing that you don't hold a grudge, as you have continued to acknowledge my presence, which is a good thing. But, yeah, that one is my bad.

Talk about the 12th Man

This was just too good to pass up. I saw this on the 'Shutdown Corner' blog on Yahoo! Sports, and the video was on YouTube, and now it's here. How can you not like a pigeon playing football? Enjoy!

Computer Security

Since becoming a Management Analyst back in February, I have found myself becoming more and more like an IT worker. I'm becoming more appreciative of technological security functions while maintaining the jaded view of a functional user of technology.

Now, I do not feel that my blog is as secure as it should be. This blog is susceptible to the evil demons of stupidity. As such, I had decided to employ the best security measure against the evil demons of stupidity...Saint Dogbert!








There...this blog is now secure!

What's your name again?

Ok, so when I saw this today, it was just too good to not go ahead and post. I mean, really, what kind of mind sees something like a 'Hello, my name is...' sticker and immediately thinks of 'The Princess Bride'? So, props to whomever came up with this.

The First Post

I am sitting in an all-day training session, waiting for the session to finish so I can get up and stretch. This is the third of these PeopleSoft Basic sessions I've had to co-facilitate, and is also the last of them. I've become the de-facto BenAdmin trainer, though I'm trained to be a functional person. Months spent learning configuration, analysis, and analytics, and all I'm doing is talking to groups of people who really don't care too much about what I'm saying. But, on the upside, I do get a change of scenery for a few hours. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but training all day long (especially one-on-one sessions) does get tiring.

I feel I should explain the title of this blog, seeing as how this is the first posting. While on my mission, I was given the nickname of 'Haus'. The inspiration for this nickname is the character from the TV show 'Bonanza', though I believe that character's name was spelled 'Hoss'. Since we were missionaries, we had a tendency to speak in a biblical manner. So, when I would get done speaking, and someone felt like being a wiseguy, they'd pipe up and say 'Thus Sayeth our Haus'. After a while, I'd end my comments with 'Thus Sayeth Your Haus'. That's where it's coming from.

While I may seem like a bit of a sports nut, there is a more intellectual side to me which I hope to express through this site. We'll see how it goes. But, in homage to my inner sports fan, I have to say this: Yankees Suck! Go Sox!

For now, this is all. Thus Sayeth Your Haus.