Commemoration

Mark Taylor

Today marks the death of my friend Mark Taylor. He lost his battle with cancer and the rest of us lost a good friend. I am better for knowing him and his outlook reminded me that life may be hard, but it is worth the pain and risk.

I hope his wife and kids know that this man had such an impact on the rest of us. He will be honored by myself, always.

Don't waste time and don't forget to live life and not just show up.

-JaeX-

Thank you

Hello,
I know it feels like its been awhile since I last blogged, but I figured that most were busy with the holidays. Thank you to all those involved for a wonderful weekend.

Thank you to my Mother and Stepfather for a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner. I may despise the whole Native American Genocide thing, but pumpkin pie rocks.

Thank you to my wife and our friend Maile for the company standing in line at Black Friday.

Thank you to a dear friend of my families for always helping out when we need it.

Thank you to Best Buy for once more being there to become my black Friday bitch as I totally owned it.

Thank you for my friends and families good wishes .

Thank you to the Earth for spinning and deciding that now is not a good time to stop.

Thank you to Joss Whedon, for existing.

Lastly I am thankful for my children as I cannot tell them enough how much I love them both.

Well back to finishing up my edits and I will make a proper post soon.

With love and thanksgiving,

JaeX

Friend Me

Friendship is easily talked about, but maintaining friendships are hard work. I have a wife, kids, job and many hobbies, but none of those are the reason for the dissolution of friendships. I need those true friends in my life and seeing them once a year or less isn’t nearly enough. These are brothers and sisters that I love and respect. Their place in my heart is a part of me and helped me define who I am today for better or worse. We can’t let distance keep us from visiting. We can’t let our chaotic lives keep us from what could easily be the last time you can just hang out with that special person in your life. You don’t have to go back in time to hold your friends close to your heart.

                I am going to make it my personal mission to make my friends a part of my life. I want to show them that they matter now, as much as they did before. Can you make that pledge and keep it? Try. This year I have seen friends disappear. We cannot tell those friends how we feel or how much we appreciate what they did to sculpt who we are. I love my family without reservation, but they are only a portion of the whole that became who I am today. I want us to make a decree between friends, acquaintances and family. We can’t dedicate our lives to them, but surely we can dedicate a couple hours a month to those whose loss would be felt for all time.

                These are people we love and we need to hold onto them. I have five people that I feel I can’t go on ignoring the feeling I get without seeing them enough. How many do you have? What are you willing to do to keep them in your life? Call them. Email them. Send them a postcard. Do anything to make them a part of your chaotic life. I will make this happen for my friends. Look at your friends on Facebook and see how many you call a good friend, but rarely ever talk to or see. I have a few friends that live a couple hours away. I will drive there once a month and see if they can have lunch. I have one who I see frequently, but this holiday season has been crazy so I will make sure I call or message him until after the holiday more often. I have two who made impacts in my life that I feel to this day for better or worse and I will try and reconnect with them after such a long time without contact.

                Make a pledge. Make a connection and maintain it. The older you get the less you can confidently say that “I have plenty of time.”

Win or Lose

The election is over and whether you are happy about the outcome or not the fact remains that Barack Obama is still the president. Stop complaining. Stop crying. Stop trying to criticize and accept this reality. I tried my hardest to avoid political commentary on this blog for the entire electoral process and was proud that it did not pop up its ugly little head. Now I am only going to post this one political piece in regards to this.

I voted as did my family and so did many of my friends. We did not all vote on one side of the fence, but ran the gambit of choices. I love that we were all able to make a decision and have it be reflected in the presidential race. I live in Oregon so I know our Electoral College votes are more of an honorary title that a true game changer, but if you voted and your candidate lost, please do not think you made no impact. Your choice was not the popular choice, but that doesn’t mean it was wrong. As long as you voted your heart and conscience then be proud to be in this country because a lot of people will live their whole lives without a political voice.

The only thing that makes me post this is that some people voted and didn’t even know why they felt the way that they did. They spewed inaccuracy and venomous hatred that wasn’t their own on both sides of the campaign. Parent’s voices echoed and religion became a point of consideration more that factual and careful analysis.

I voted for Obama, but not because I hated Romney even though I am a registered Republican. I  believe that Obama spent his first four years realizing the true hardships as a Commander in Chief and was able to admit that he made mistakes and wasn’t prepared for the reality that his perceptions of presidency were not anywhere near the practical applications. I honestly believe that he has learned from his ineffectiveness and we will see a very different president, for better or worse during this next term. I also do not believe that Romney would ever admit that, let alone any president in office running for a reelection. People posted things related to the collapse of America and the tragedy that this was. These are ignorant statements from spoiled children trying to take their ball and go home since they lost and refuse to play anymore.

Obama will not destroy the country. He may change it. He may remain ineffective. He may even make some horrible choices with dire repercussions, but he will not cause the great American Empire to fall. The next president will be stuck either trying to continue a legacy or cleaning up a mess. This is the way our government functions and the idea that we could fall apart from one man’s decisions that are triple checked is asinine.

The next time you think this country is falling apart try living in countries that actually are. Try living in a school where the girls’ school criteria is designed around what their society and religion determines is appropriate material. Why would a woman be able to take business classes or mathematics when all she will ever do with her life is add children, divide income amongst wives and count multiply bruises? What about living in a place where children are forced into sex slavery in order to families to prosper. What is it that you fear because I am below the poverty line and would still not trade this country for another? I love you all regardless of your opinion, but just make sure you believe in something for your own reasons.

Friendship is work... so what?

I love you guys...

It is a tragedy that this cannot be said more often. My brothers and sisters. Those that have died and gone before us. You are all my family. There are some of you reading this that mean so much to me and I try and show you all, but there are those who will never read this and for some reason or another are no longer part of my life. You are still part of my heart.

We were close and inseparable at one time. I looked forward to your company above all others. Your presence made my life more meaningful and whether it was a relationship gone wrong, a separation due to time, or just the natural ways in which we lose touch and disconnect from one another, I wanted it to be know that you are missed. Reach out. Touch someone that you have neglected. Invite them for dinner. Have a drink with them. Send them an email and explain to them how your life is going and how much has changed. Even if it is never read or responded to that doesn't mean it didn't matter to them. I know it matters to me when someone goes to the trouble of updating me on their life.

I hope all of you will try one time this year to reach out to someone from your past that mattered and would like to know what has become of their one time friend. This is my attempt to start a movement that may never catch on, but couldn't possibly be more important.

To those that are here with me now, I love you. To those that have passed from our world, I love you. To those that have hurt me, I love you. To those that I hurt, I love. To those that I have hated... nope... I may still hate you, but I still think you should know I am well. Make the effort and make the connection.