Manni's blog

Define Necessity

2011-12-12T18:58:00.001-05:00

The picture says it all....

Trying to make sense of it all...

2011-12-07T01:39:00.004-05:00

So I'm sitting here in my hotel room, surfing through Facebook before I head off to bed and I stumble upon this video that a friend posted....

http://www.youtube.com/user/BlahBlahBlah2145#p/a/u/0/TdkNn3Ei-Lg

Now, watching this video made me think of a few recent conversations that I had with people regarding the topic of bullying. The big question was "What is up with all the bullying lately?". As I sit and ponder that question, I know that bullying is for sure nothing new, heck I'm sure I was bullied at some point as a kid, but why does it seem like it is more prevalent these days?

One has to think that social media has had an influence on it all. With the invention of YouTube, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, now anyone and everyone can have a voice. The mere fact that anyone can share their story for all to see gives us greater insight into the lives of many with just the click of a link. Bullying has gone on for decades, it just now has a face and a name, and a story behind it.

So what does that all mean? Well it means that we can no longer just turn the other cheek and pretend that these things don't happen. Hearing the point of view from one person makes it "real". I'm not just talking about bullying here, I'm talking about the whole gammat conflicts we face as a human race. Social media exposes us to the impact of these issues on a very personal level, one which main stream media may avoid or neglect to report upon.

So what does THAT mean? For one, it makes me think that the "problems" or "issues" that I have in my life are nothing compared to that of others. It makes me happy and grateful for the things that I do have in life. On the other hand though, it also makes me think about all of the hate, problems, and injustice in the world.

What it really boils down to is this....the hate, and pain, and suffering need to come to an end. Now, I know that is entirely impossible to put an end to it all, but I think if we all just make a conscious effort to do something, at least one thing, everyday to make the world a better place, that maybe, just maybe, things will get better. If you can positively impact the life of at least one other person each day, that the gesture would be returned for another and so on.

It could be something as simple as sharing a link to a video on a webpage....it did for me. Now I'm not saying this one video is going to completely change my life, but it was a reminder for me that...

1) To cherish what you have

2) Inspiration is everywhere

3) Life is too short to waste on hate and anger

4) One person CAN make a difference

I know, this all sounds like new age hooey or liberal hippy talk, but the truth is that no matter who you are, what you believe, or what side you are on, that we are all human. We all laugh, we all cry, we feel joy, and we feel pain. Happiness and sadness are universal. We are all given an finite time in this life, why not live it to the fullest? Why waste time with judgment, hurt, anger, pain, and sadness? Spread love, joy, happiness, and compassion.

Why post this you ask? Two reasons...1) Writing something is therapeutic and makes it more "real". I'm not perfect by any means, and just by writing this reminds me of what I can do to be a better person and 2) that if just one person reads this and gets some type of inspiration, then we are just one more step closer to making the world a better place.

Another year gone, ZERO posts!

2011-01-03T17:30:00.003-05:00

I figure I better post something for the new year. 2010 was a BUSY year, tons of travel, lots of new and interesting experiences. The UK, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, all added stamps to my passport. I hope to continue to travel and explore the world in 2011!

A year and a half later....

2010-05-10T14:32:00.003-04:00

I wonder if blogging is a lost art? If so, that didn't last very long. I'm thinking of how I want to utilize this blog in the future....any suggestions? I'm pretty open to anything here. I think Facebook has turned into the new "blogging" since you really can post just about anything there that you could in a blog.

Quick post

2008-09-19T13:23:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post today. Yes, it has been a while again since I wrote last. Anyway, I write in another blog focused on fitness at dmjuice.com. Also, I always update my Facebook so that is a good place to get up-to-date info on me as well.

I'm a slacker

2008-08-21T21:08:00.002-04:00

So it has been WAY to long AGAIN since I've written in this blog....ok, where did I leave off???

The gym closed on May 1st, I'm still dealing with some of the closing details, but for the most part, things are pretty finalized as far as the closing. It was a sad day when we closed our doors, but it was for the best.

I'm still working at Genesis10 now and I've also started personal training at Prairie Life Fitness. Not much else has been going on since the gym closed though. KJ is working a few part-time jobs now, training and some medical type jobs.

Football season is about to start and we are unfortunately going to miss the first game! We will be in Chicago watching the Cubs smash the Phillys in the bleachers at Wrigley Field (the BEST place on earth to watch a baseball game in my opinion).

I've been hooked to the Olympics lately, it was exciting to see Shawn Johnson do so well since she is from here (West Des Moines, Iowa). It was a heartbreak to see Lolo Jones (also from Des Moines, Iowa) trip on the second to last hurdle and lose the gold (she placed 7th). I just watched womens beach volleyball last night, it was great to see Misty and Kerri bring home the gold AGAIN! Oh and don't forget about Michael Phelps, that man is AMAZING! Go USA! One comment I will make is on some of the judging of the women's gymnastics. Having kinda grown up around gymnastics (my sister was a gymnast), I have a good idea of what a well executed routine looks like and some of the mistakes made by the Chinese should have got them more deductions they they received. Also, there is NO WAY that those Chinese girls are 16!

Man, there is so much going on in the news lately with the pending election, the attacks on Georgia, and the Olympics. I usually like to comment about current affairs but I'm going to keep it short for now. Like I always say, hopefully I'll write more and more often, we'll see.

Another month flies by

2008-04-28T06:59:00.003-04:00

Really, what is my deal here? It has been OVER a month now since my last post. Well, I should have more time now to post on this blog as the gym that I own is going to close as of May 1st. Yep, you heard it right, the gym is closing. It has been a whirlwind of a time over the last two years, researching, planning, opening, and now closing the gym. I've learned a lot about the small business world, much more than any classroom or textbook could teach me that is for sure. I'm not sure if I'll ever own another small business, but if I do, I will be a lot more prepared than I was this time. I guess I can SAY that, but you really never know, every market is different.

In any matter, I'm still going to work for Genesis10 as a consultant to pay the bills and futher my career. I'm not sure what the future holds for me at this point, so I just have to take one day at a time. I know one thing, that it will be a big weight lifted off my shoulders once the gym closes. I still will have a LOT to deal with in wrapping things up, but at least I will be able to focus a little more on my professional career in consulting and decide what my next step in life will be.

Damn it all....

2008-03-22T20:03:00.003-04:00

It is 7:05pm here on a Saturday night and I'm killing time while working at the gym and think to myself, "hey, I haven't posted on my blog in a while"....so here I am.

Unfortunately, I really haven't kept up with the blog as much as I should have so here is a quick rundown on what has been happening since I wrote last in November.

December was pretty uneventful, went to MN for Christmas and also had Christmas at my sisters per the usual. I worked at the gym quite a bit, other than that, not much else that I can remember....

New Years Eve was spent at the Murphy's Mansion again this year, pretty laid back party, but a good time overall, I think we were home by 1am. The rest of January was a blur, I know that I worked a TON at the gym with the new year resolution business and all. I did start a new job too with Genesis10 as a consultant. My first assignment was at Farm Bureau. Also, KJ and I did go to Mexico for our 1 year anniversary and for Vachel's wedding. It was a great time, we only went for 4 days, but it was a well needed break. There was a good size group of people that went to the wedding, including my best bud Jonny and his wife Jordan. It is always fun vacationing with friends, the only way to go in my book. Anyway, we did a zip line tour and played a LOT of beach volleyball during the four days, not to mention a little drinking and food probably every 2 hours! The remainder of January was filled with work, work, and more work.

February wasn't all that grand, nothing really eventful during this month but a lot of working at the gym and at my consulting gig. Business at the gym slowed down a bit, but tanning picked up a little with spring break coming up. We did go to Vachel and Katie's house for a game night with another couple. That was my first experience with the Wii, and that thing is a ton of fun!

March started off with a bang with Baconfest on the 1st. It was a fun time, I took home the 1st place trophy for the bacon eating contest! Come on, would you expect anything less? Vachel came in second, we are the bacon kings!

Jon and I also made a trip down to KC for Paul's 30th birthday party, we went to a dive bar downtown called The Peanut. This place was like a bigger Lumpys (for all you ISU grads), it smelled like stale beer, the floor was sticky, and when you played pool, the balls popped out the side of the table....but this place turned out to be just the speed for us. We did some shots, played tippy cup, and had an all around kick ass time and got to see some friends from college that I hadn't seen in a while.

That following Monday was St. Pats, in grand tradition I went out early (about noon this year though) but was done early too, having a three hour break in the middle to get some work done and then home by 10:30pm that night. Still a good time, we got to see a few bands play at AK's.

Now that I've caught up with the present time, I really don't have much else to blog about. The gym is still up and running and I'm still working for Genesis10. I'm starting to run again, training for a 5k that is coming up in a week or so and for the Hy-Vee triathalon the summer. I just had my test for high-orange belt with Douglas Karate a couple of days ago, that was pretty intense, but I passed.

It is now 7:32pm and I'm signing off for now. Who knows, I might try and make this a regular thing, even though I say that all the time and never do it.....

- MB

Day After Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T08:24:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, this is my second post in two days. I think this is a record! I'm debating though on keeping this blog or not, MySpace has a blogging feature, but I don't go to MySpace very often and I think this blog site has a better interface so I probably will keep using this site.

I really don't anticipate anyone reading this blog but it seems like a convenient way to write down my random thoughts, work on my writing skills, and really just to debreif and write nonsense for a few minutes a day.

Turkey day was pretty laid back, the usual at my sister Kim's house. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and squash...all very tasty. I think I ate way to much though. Dinner was followed by watching football and some fun time in the snow with my nephew and eventually a long nap.

We closed the gym yesterday at 12pm and I decided to try and turn the heat off for the day/night to conserve energy. When I opened the gym this morning at 4:40am the temperature was a mere 55 degrees. Needless to say I'm not going to try that money-saving trick again. It is now 7:32am and the heat has been on for the entire time and the temperature is just now getting to acceptable levels (around 67 right now). Luckily nobody has been in yet this morning.

My new personal goal is to avoid spending any time just watching TV. In the past I've used this as a way to unwind and debrief, but really I can do that while being somewhat productive. Instead of instictivly turing on the TV when I get home, I think I will pick up a magazine or maybe even a book and read instead. There are only a few things on TV worth watching anyway (Modern Marvels, Human Weapon, CNN, UFC, Family Guy, and South Park). Undoubetly I'm missing a few, but for the most part that is all I watch. Sometimes I might watch Law & Order: SVU, Dirty Jobs, Intervention, or Nip/Tuck. Now that I think about it, I guess there is more on TV to watch than I thought....

My mind is starting to wander, I think the ADD is kicking in or something, I'm bored with this blog writing already.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

Yet another couple of months have gone by since I've written in this blog....everytime I come across this blog, I swear to myself that I'm going to write in it more often, but that is never the case.

You know what I just realized is that there are so many differnt types of communication available online now that it is so hard to keep track of them all! For example you have all the online messaging programs like MSN Messenger, ICQ, AOL IM, Yahoo Chat, Google, etc...the list goes on! Then you have the networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, MeetUp, and so on. Not to mention personal web pages, blogs (like this one), online groups like MSN, Yahoo, or Google, and message boards, I mean you could spend your entire day, every day just updating your information! And don't forget sites that share media like shutterfly, kodak, flickr, and youtube! Trying to get your pictures and videos online to share with others is a constant battle. I almost forget the most prevelant one of them all, e-mail! Show me one person that doesn't have at least 100 e-mails in their inbox waiting to be filed, responded to, or deleted.....if you DO actually find that person, smack them for me for being to damn productive.

With all these type of communication available, in theory, if everyone kept everything updated all the time, the we should know everything about everyone at any given time right? You should be able to know the bar that your friend in California went to last night, or the opinion of a co-worker on a movie they saw the week before, or even what your 2nd cousin removed had for lunch yesterday. It is quite ridiculous if you think about it all. What ever happened to just interacting with people face-to-face? Maybe it is the gas prices.....yeah, lets just blame it on the gas prices.

Anyway, I think today I'm thankful for being able to update this blog today, even though it may be another couple of months until I update it again, but hey, can you blame me?

NOW OPEN

2007-09-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

We are NOW OPEN! Performance Fitness and Health Club is open for business as of September 9th, 2007. Feel free to stop by and take a look at our facility. I'll post more info later.

Performance Fitness and Health Club
www.performancefitnessandhealthclub.com
100 E Laurel St.
Waukee, IA 50263

Yes, it is a miracle....

2007-06-11T13:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, another post and it has only been a few weeks! It is truly a miracle.

Bank financing has been approved!! We are finalizing some layout issues and anticipate to begin build-out here in the next week or so. Very exciting.

Ok, so this post isn't earth-shattering, but I was online looking something up and figured I'd put up a few words and maybe post a picture....

This is of me on top of Rockafeller Center in NYC.

Yes, I know, it has been a LONG time....

2007-05-14T11:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, I know it has been forever since I've posted but there has been good reason!!! Actually, no there isn't, just busy as usual.

I'm sitting at the Families First, Inc. office right now running some updates on a few PC's so I thought I'd write a quick blurb to update this blog. We are on the cusp of getting final approval for financing for our new gym! This is a very exciting time for all of us. Oh, I don't think I mentioned that I got married back in January either! Yes, yes, it has been way to long since I've updated this blog.....

I got married to Kelly Jo Pass on January 19th in Tulum, Mexico at the Dreams Resort. It was a great time, all inclusive resort and we had amost 40 of our closest friends and family there to share the event.

Anyway, looks like the updates are finishing up, need to head home and get some work done there before I train a client at the Y. I'll write more soon.

Prost!

2006-11-16T19:21:00.000-05:00

Last night of core class is tonight. This post is for Steve, a classmate, who mentioned that I hadn't updated my blog for a while, so I'm taking the time to update ya'll (if anyone actually reads this blog)....

I no longer work for Citigroup, uh, lets see, I'm working on a business venture....that is about it.

Been a while...

2006-09-25T18:05:00.000-04:00

So Blogger.com doesn't work very good from work, that would explain the absence of posts as of late. I forogt that I created a post on 9/11 and was going to edit it and post it later that day, but got sidetracked so I just posted it today. I wanted to post some before and after pictures, but I'm too lazy at the moment to do that.

Only 9 more working days left for me at Citi. Tomorrow I'm not going into the office, instead just working from home. Not much else going on since my last post, things are coming along with the wedding, school is getting busy, but all in all, nothing too exiciting.

Right now I'm waiting for my other group members to join me as we have a group meeting to finalize our papers that are due this week. I have to get started on my Technical paper that is due in the middle of October. Today was actually a REALLY productive day, I like when I have days like these, however, they also REALLY wear me out. Hopefully we will get done with this meeting early tonight. I'm meeting Jonny at the gym to lift back and bi's tonight, it will be the first time back in the gym since Friday morning. I haven't been very good with going on the weekends lately.

This week looks pretty busy with doing stuff for the gym and class. Work should be quiet as it is the second to last week. ISU v. UNI game this weekend! That should be a good game. I hope we pull out a W here since we've lost our last two. I didn't get to watch any of the Texas game, but from the recaps, it sounds like we took a good pounding. Meyer was sacked like 7 times, that is unreal. Come on, where is the freakin' protection guys!

Anyway, I'm all out of words for the moment now, maybe I'll post again later this week.

Happy belated birthday to Trina! Sorry I couldn't make it to the party. Also a belated birthday goes to my co-worker Brian.

Five Years Later

2006-09-11T12:26:00.000-04:00

It has been five short years since the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the thwarted attack on the White House. I figure this is an appropriate time to remember where you were when the attacks occurred. This, along with other points in time (the Challenger crash, the tsunami in India, the Columbia disaster), will always stick in our minds.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in my first apartment that I had right from college. I lived in a little 500 square foot, 1 bedroom apartment in Ankeny. It was you average morning, I was getting dressed to go to work at CMF&Z, where I was a PR Account Coordinator, my first job out of college.

I was watching the Today show, it was on one of the four channels that I could get with my rabbit ears had since I couldn't afford cable. I was buttoning up my shirt and heard Matt Lauer's reaction to the first plane that hit. I looked up and saw the images on the TV. I thought to myself that this was just a freak accident, that there must have been some mechanical malfunction. Then right there on live TV, the second plane hit. Then and there, like everyone else in the nation, I knew that this was no accident. Stunned, I sat in disbelief on the end of the bed, watching the reaction of the Today show team. After a few more minutes of TV coverage, I turned off the TV and decided to go into the office, obviously not aware of the other events happening.

I drove to Des Moines, listening to the radio the entire way down, consumed in thought, pondering how this could happen, who would do this? Once at the office, the atmosphere was one of tense emotion. A group of us gathered around a TV in one of the conference rooms, looking for the latest updates on the events. At one point, some feared of more attacks on other cities in the nation. Nobody knew anything and at that point, anything could happen. My office was a block away from the capital and some feared that our own little capital was vulnerable to an attack.I remember my sister calling me asking if I saw what happened. We both were stunned and worried about our family in upstate New York. Calls to relatives eased our minds, they were safe.

Then came the strong emotions of sadness...I remember watching the TV and seeing the images of people fleeing in horror, people falling from the buildings, then the buildings collapsing. Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't imagine what the people there were going through. Then news broke of the other attacks, one at the Pentagon and one aimed at the White House. Shortly afterward news broke of all flights being grounded. We were expecting clients from Chicago, they obviously weren't coming....

I remember checking CNN.com for updates on the attacks and just getting an empty screen...a strange feeling that maybe the Internet was somehow effected by these attacks.

So many things went through my mind that day. That day has changed me forever. I will NEVER forget.

Too Close of a Call....

2006-09-04T15:39:00.000-04:00

Man, what a freakin' tense game! ISU better shape up their defense before this weekends game against UNLV. At least the weather was great and tailgating was fun per the usual. The lots weren't as packed as they were last year, but I'm guessing that is because it was a Thursday night game. I would upload a picture, but this stupid site is being slow....

In Memory of Marcus Fiesel

2006-08-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

I just read on CNN.com the story of Marcus Fiesel, a 3-year-old disabled boy who was wrapped like a cocoon and left in a closet to die while his foster parents attended a family reunion.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/30/parents.charged.ap/index.html

This story makes me sick to my stomach. I felt the need to post this on my blog as I feel VERY strongly about crimes against young children. Children are so helpless and need the love of their parents. They are innocent and full of curiosity and wonder. Children are kind-hearted and tell you how it is. NO child deserves to be treated like this and it breaks my heart to hear of stories like this. I don't have any children of my own, but I have two nephews who I love so much and I couldn't even imagine anything like this happening to them.

Landslide brought it down....

2006-08-29T12:55:00.000-04:00

It is going on 5 years since the death of my mom and not a day goes by that I don't think about her. For some reason, today was a tough day in dealing with this memory.

Life is pretty damn hectic right now and seems out of control at times.

At work today I was listening to an old CD of random thinking music (a lot of things are quite random in my life it seems). One of the songs was Landslide, a remake version by Smashing Pumpkins. I can relate the words to how I feel about the loss of my mom. Some days I wish she was there to talk to, just to hear her voice and her unwavering words of encouragement. Oh what I would give to have her here right now. I often wonder if she is looking down on me from above. I wonder if she is proud of me, of what I've accomplished in life.

Here are the words of the song....

I took my love, I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
til the landslide brought it down

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, Ive been afraid of changing cause ive
Built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And Im getting older, too

Well, Ive been afraid of changing cause ive
Built my life around you
Time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And Im getting older, too
I get older, too

I took my love and took it down
I climbed a mountain, I turned around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
The landslide brought it down
The landslide brought it down

Iowa State Fair

2006-08-21T10:27:00.000-04:00

KJ and I had the pleasure of visiting the Iowa State Fair on Thursday. This is our one and only visit to the fair this year and it was plenty enough for me. I really just go to the fair for the food and this year was no different, I scarfed down on...

Cheese curds
Pork chop on a stick
Teriaki beef on a stick
Fried mac and cheese
Chicken Gyro
Pork Rinds

I would have ate more, but we weren't at the fair very long. We saw the biggest boar, I didn't get his name, but I did pose with him. I think he likes me (notice my shirt)....

We also had the chance to see the biggest bull, his name was Blacky...

and finally, we saw Shannon Brown perform...

You can see more pictures at my Shutterfly account, just click on the link to the right.

There is also a video of a noisy pig and one of Shannon Brown performing on my YouTube site:

Noisy Pig (funny stuff)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JiGmDSUpzE

Shannon Brown (sound sucks since I was so close to the speaker)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ela-uwNp9Xg

Till next year!

Thursday, August 17th 2006

2006-08-17T09:24:00.000-04:00

It's raining today, funny how I tend to write posts when it is raning outside. I guess I lose my ambition to do anything really productive when it rains so that is why I write a post. I have a 4 hour meeting here in about 9 minutes so I will have to make this one short.

Softball last night was a good time, even though we lost 19 to 10 (I think). I hit a few dingers but nothing towards the fence, probably should get into the cages more often and work on my swing. Only two more games left of the season though. I wonder if there is a fall ball leauge.

7 minutes to the meeting, I have a few things to get out before I head to the meeting so I will close for now.

South Park clips

2006-08-16T16:35:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have to share these with everybody....great clips of classic South Park

Uncle Fu*ker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXEeERXFVhY&NR

Kyle's Mom is a B*tch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nglMDkUbRSk

Suck My Balls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFBEpcZyy-8

Dog Whisperer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTmKagTHZ6c&NR

WTC Movie

2006-08-15T12:08:00.000-04:00

Jeff and I saw the new World Trade Center movie on Sunday. This was a very well done movie, I would highly recommend seeing it. I have to admit it was pretty moving for me. The movie was done very tastefully and paid respects to all the lives that were lost that day. It provided the point of view from the families of the Port Authority Police Officers who trapped in the rubble. This was a very different point of view than any that I've seen before about the events of September 11th.

I had the opportunity to visit New York City and the World Trade Center in May of 2000 and it was a spectacular site. I remember standing at the foot of tower one and looking towards the sky in complete amazement of how tall the building was. And to have two of them side by side was just an amazing site. We had also seen the towers from the view of the harbor. Just recently I made a trip back to New York City this August. The gap in the skyline where the towers once stood is very noticeable. Visiting the actual site turned out to be an emotional one as I stood and remembered my earlier trip to the city and what once stood. There was a small memorial on the site with flowers, ribbons, and pictures from police and fire departments all over the area/country. In addition to this memorial was a display that showed all the names of the people that died that day.

Updating site and other things....

2006-08-15T11:55:00.001-04:00

As you can see, I've again updated this site. The two major changes include the layout and the addition of some more links. Check out some pictures from New York City by viewing my Flickr or Shutterfly sites (see links to the left). Let me know what you think, I get an e-mail when you comment.

Today was the last day that I house-sat for my sister (she is in San Diego). I will probably be finding Gunner and Hunter's dog hair in my stuff for the next few weeks!

Not much else is new as of late, still working on the details for the wedding and the gym. Classes start back up on August 26th so I'm taking advantage of the free time to get a lot of things done around the house. My goal this week is to finish the business plan and work on organizing my office and the garage. That will take quite a while, but at least I can put a big dent in it.

I will also put a link on here to our evite to the wedding in Mexico....

YouTube

2006-08-10T13:53:00.001-04:00

Instead of posting all my videos on here as well, to see all the videos I have posted, go to my YouTube channel, the link is located on the shortcut bar to the right.

It's raining, it's Friday....

2006-07-21T09:43:00.000-04:00

...nothing else really to write about. Heading to dinner tonight with KJ and helping a buddy move on Saturday.

Ok, that is pathetic, I'm sure I can think of SOMETHING to write about! Doesn't really matter what I write here though, I don't think anyone reads this besides myself anyways (which is ok since it is kind of funny to read what I wrote in the past).

Maybe if I write about something more controversial or opionated then people will read this more. Not that having more people read this is my ultimate goal, but some feedback or conversation perhaps wouldn't be bad.

So what is happening in the world today, lets see....the whole Hezbollah attacks. These are just crazy. Israel is looking worse and worse everday. I dont't know enough about the situation though to make an informed opinion on the topic though.

I'm dumb....

2006-07-14T10:40:00.000-04:00

...so I can't really post pictures here at work if I don't have any flippin' pictures to POST! All of them are at home so maybe in the next week or so I'll get some online....

Damn GPO policies!!!

2006-07-14T09:27:00.000-04:00

So I guess Citi is blocking the spaces.msn.com site now so I'm unable to post pictures to that site right now, I'll see if I can post some pictures to this site though...

It's FRIDAY

2006-07-14T09:18:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's 8:14am and my mind is already wondering on other things...so I suppose I'll take a break and write in this blog. Hmm, so what is new lately you ask? Not a whole hell lot really. Our IT department here was told a couple of weeks ago that they are eliminating all of our positions, SUPER! So as of October 7th, I will no longer be employed with Citigroup...that is unless I find another position within the company. Other than that, things are GREAT.

KJ and I have finally decided on a location for a destination wedding, looks like the Riviera Maya is the place and the date should be around the third week in January 2007. No clue on the place of the reception though....

Wook's wedding is this weekend so that should be a good time although I hear Troy couldn't make it into town...that is a bummer.

Hmm, what else....not much else this weekend and I actually think next weekend is going to be pretty low key. That following weekend though is our annual guys trip to Chicago for a couple of Cubs games. Abbie is also having his bachelor party that weekend so that should be a blast. Also, Antuany and I are leaving for a four day trip to NYC that following Monday, talk about a busy week/weekend!

I'll post pictures at my other site so look for updates there...

Back from Germany

2006-05-08T15:59:00.000-04:00

It's is Monday, I just got back from Germany on Friday night. I spent most of the weeekend catching up on sleep and hanging out with KJ. Today I was going through some pictures of the trip, I miss Germany already. I don't know what it is about traveling to other countries, but I LOVE IT! I think my goal is to travel at least once a year. Ideally, I'd have a job that would require me to travel internationally all the time, that would be my dream job. In case some of you don't know, I made a separate blog for my trip:

http://spaces.msn.com/mannib

Anyway, just taking a break from the hectic work day today. I think I will be using this blog more often as it is a good way to just get some thoughts down on "paper"....

Favorite songs of the moment:

Teddy Geiger - For You I Will
Shinedown - Save Me

and...(don't laugh)... Nick Lachey - What's Left of Me

I wish is was easier to post pictures to this site...

This is a test post from e-mail...

2006-04-18T12:11:00.000-04:00

Not sure how this is going to work, but I figure I'll give it a try.

Bored at work today...

2006-04-18T11:57:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm sitting on this long conference call on training on how to use our Global Talent Management System. Fun, fun. I guess I have to be careful on what I post here since someone from work could possible read this and bust me (Wook...Jeff) although I think they are as bored as I am today....can't post a picture for the day, GPO IP policies block uploading files to this site.

New format

2006-04-16T16:50:00.000-04:00

All right, I'm switching up this blog a little bit. Hopefully I'll update this more often. This is a test picture of me in Hawaii.....

Calling Mr. Sullivan....

2006-04-16T16:15:00.000-04:00

Hey Lance,

Shoot me a message with your e-mail address, I can't find it! Hope you read this post.

All right Mr. Lance Sullivan....

2006-03-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, so a good friend of mine Lance left me a little comment that this blog is boring. Well, well Lance, this damn blog isn't for your entertainment! Actually, it could use a little more interesting information so I'll use this opportunity to share a few good memories I have shared with my bud Lance.

I remember back in the day at Iowa State when we...

...dyed our hair blond for no good reason...(I still have a picture of us in the study room). Then when my hair grew out a little I looked like a damn hedgehog. Man we were freaks.

...road tripped to the 311 concert and on the way home going about 35 the whole way in that crappy car of yours because it was blizzard conditions on I-80 and we about slid off the road a few times.

...our drunken late night parties in the basement of the fraternity....no need to go into more detail there, you remember the parties!

...were talking about this chick (don't remember who it was) and you said "that chick is so hot I'd let her..." ah crap, maybe that line shouldn't be ever published. You know what I'm talking about, strap boy.

...had your bachelor party. Enough said.

...would take turns napping in that damn recliner in room 1. I think you spend 3/4 of your time up at Iowa State asleep on that damn brown piece of shit (that also had a tendency to steal car keys).

There were many more crazy times...too many to write them all!

March 21st, 2006

2006-03-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I haven't written in this blog in over a year so I thought it would be a good time to get this damn thing up to date. It's a Tuesday morning and I have a ton to do, but am having a hard time getting motivated to get stuff done! I figure if I get my creative juices flowing by writing in my blog, then I will be better suited to finish the editing and additions to the document that I'm working on. Well, ISU has just confirmed that that we hired the UNI coach, McDermott. Ok, I have a ton of crap to do, I need to get going. Maybe if I have time, I'll add more later.....

01/02/05 - A NEW YEAR!

2005-01-02T19:08:00.000-05:00

Well, going to try to start this year off on the right foot with this blog and keep things as up to date as possible!

Ok, let's see....Christmas was good, I find the older you get, the less and less presents you get. I know that isn't the purpose of Christmas, but just a general observation. I don't mind really though, I like to give. Anyway, spent Christmas Eve with the GF, nothing exciting. Saturday went to my sisters to open presents, that was fun to see the kids with all of the new toys! I gave my GF a necklace, it came in a small box and when she was going to open it my sister almost started crying and freaking out because she thought it was an engagement ring! I was like, I'm not on my knees or anything!!! After that, drove to MN for Christmas with my GF's family. Pretty laid back as well. Hit up the Mall of America on Sunday and saw Meet the Focker's (pertty funny). Learned a little sign language too (poop). Headed back home Monday...

When I got back into town, I went straight to my kickboxing class, showered, headed home to change and then met my buddy from CA out at the bar to watch MNF. Was out for quite a while that night, ended up at Rock Bottom for a while and ran into Nuveen and Shawn. We played a few games of beer pong, good times. Headed to an after-hours after that for a little while, pretty lame, so I headed home and passed out.

Got up a little late the next day, didn't make it into work until 9:30 or so, not good! Left work at 2pm and headed to the bar at 3pm for the bowl game. Yes, it sounds like I'm an alcoholic, but seriously I usually don't drink like that! Was at 3rd base until about 11 (ISU won!) and then headed to the Cabaret. Hung out with Dory, Angie, and Zahn for a bit there, made a couple new friends too. Headed to Perkins afterwards for some food. Came back to the bar to get my car when I found my buddy Justin passed out in his car. Bad news. I woke his butt up and took him home with me, he passed out on the couch.

The next day I was exhausted! I worked for about 13 hours then went home and amazingly couldn't sleep! I was trying to get things put away from traveling not to mention lots of clen laundry to put away.

Thursday I felt sicker than a dog. Didn't make it to the gym or church, got my haircut, that was about it.

Friday was a little better, pretty busy at work. Went out to eat with some friends at El Monterey, tasty food. Went to this guy Murph's house for a party, that was fun. Played a little poker and drank screwdrivers since I was still a little sick. Finally went home around 1:30 or so I think.

Saturday I was WORTHLESS. Didn't do much of ANYTHING. Was sick still and a little hung over. Actually ended up watching a couple of movies and eating takeout from P.F. Changs. That was about it. Went and looked at a house with Jon, ate at Culvers too, yum.

Today wasn't as productive as I wanted, didn't get out of bed until 10:30, great way to start off a new year. Spent some time with my sister and the kids and helped around the house a little then went to work (which is where I am now!).

Well, I'm going to close for now. No resolutions to note right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with some...

12/19/04

2004-12-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

Wow dude, I've really fallen behind on this thing! Hey, life is busy! I've been taking time off my PT job and that is when I usually post so that explains a lot. I COULD post from home, but I hardly touch a computer when I'm not at work.

Christmas is about a week away, about half of my shopping is done though, thankfully. I haven't asked for anything so it should be interesting what my GF and sister come up with.

Work at the FT job is so freakin' busy! Been working Saturday mornings and going in early/staying late during the week. Hopefully a little OT and extra effort will pay off.

I just checked the stats for my homepage, looks like I've goto 5 hits or so yesterday, yee haw! That is my project for this weekend maybe, on the way home with KJ to MN, maybe bring a laptop and use Front Page to tweak the site. We'll see.

Been working out a little bit more, haven't gone since Friday though, not good. I need to be more committed to it to see better gains. A resolution of mine, that I plan on starting early. Need to be more committed to everything in my life. Need to pray more too!

What else is new, it's pretty slow here at the PT job tonight, probably why I'm writing in this log. I wonder how I can get better publicity for this thing, I like feedback from people. I may start writing short-stories on here, just to get back in the practice of fiction writing. Use my creative juices.

Ran into a speed bump on my academic path to excellence though, turns out work will only pay up to $5,000 a year for school (80% or up to $5,000 that is). Not nearly enough to cover the MBA tuition at ISU. I'm going to talk with HR next week, hopefully I can get that upped or something. I should have a good chance since I'm not getting paid what I'm worth. Evals are coming up here in the next couple of months, hopefully things go well and I get a nice healthy raise in April.

I have a laundry list of things to do tomorrow and this week (as usual) gonna try hard to be VERY productive, I've just been so tired lately and not too motivated. Hope nothing is wrong physically with my body, just seem tired a lot and kind of weak. Maybe I need to change my diet a bit, more carbs in the AM? I've started drinking coffee, but I don't think that is very good for me. Should post a question on caffeine on menshealth.com and see what comes up from people, they have usually given some good feedback.

Well, going to sign off for the night, about an hour left of work. Hope to keep up on this log!

12/06/04

2004-12-06T19:10:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well.... I know myself ALL TO GOOD!!! So it's been like almost a week since I wrote in this journal! What is up with that! Anyway, so to pick up from where I left off...

12/1/04 - Work was the same, nothing too exciting, worked until 9 (I think) and that is about it...

12/2/04 - Work went well, busy day as usual. Small group was good, went through some very interesting points. It's nice to meet other guys that go to my church, some people to relate to. Immersion was GREAT, very uplifting, God spoke to me loud and clear that night, it was amazing, God spoke to the GF too. Very moving.

12/3/04 - Work was very busy this day, tried to get a lot accomplished before the weekend. Went out to eat at Mondo's, bacon chicken and cheese sandwich, good stuff. Went and saw my friend's new baby boy. Damn cute!

12/4/04 - Went to kickboxing today, felt great to get back into that class. Molly, my old cheer coach was there, haven't seen here for a while. Headed to Chicago with Justin, picked up Antuany along the way to Chip's bachelor party. Lots of fun, was out WAY too late though, didn't get back in until 4:30am or so! Getting to old for them nights of partying!

12/5/04 - Drove back from Chicago, man was that a long drive! It was good to get home. Watched some movie called Spartan? It was ok, but very confusing.

12/6/04 - TODAY! Yeah, ok, now we are caught up. I could probably go into detail more about the last few days, but I'd rather not, nothing really worth publishing, not like ANYTHING I'm writing is worth publishing though....busy day at work today again, hope things slow down in the near future, getting fusturated and discouraged with work lately. Tonight hasn't been too bad so far at the PT job. Need to take some time off though, getting kind of overwhelmed with things in life I think. Spinning my wheels. Need to take time for myself to get back on the right financial track and get life in order! Someday right????

11/30/04

2004-11-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

I just realized how organized and meticulous I can be. I mean, look at the dates of these posts! The same, day after day. We'll have to see how well I keep up with this on the days that I don't work my PT job.

Today has been a busy day once again. Got up at 4:30 again, but fell back asleep (I was up till about 12:30 last night playing Halo 2 with my roommate). I was supposed to play racketball with my friend Troy, but didn't get up until 6:15 so didn't go.

Got into work about 7:30 and hit up a few issues, then got some BK for breakfast. The day went by pretty fast. Went to my sister's office to do some work for her and then got back in the office around 3pm. Got a crap load of stuff done in the last hour and hurried off to my PT job. It't been a pretty slow night so far, only 5 calls in a 2 hours span. Not bad at all.

Do you ever wonder why people ask "how ya doing" when greeting you but don't really expect an answer, or give you one, when you reply and ask the same? Something I noticed today coming into work. The security guard always ask how I'm doing, I just respond with a quick "hey" and never really answer the question. Odd, isn't it? I had some other strange observaton today but can't remember it at the moment. Went through by bag trying to clean it up a bit, there is so much crap in there! I also started a "to do" list too, it is a mile long already. There is never enough time in the day to get everything done.

No big plans tonight really, just heading to the GF's for the night. Maybe watch a movie or play a game, spend some quality time together. Well the night just got busy so I'll be closing for tonight. Later!

11/29/04

2004-11-29T17:29:00.000-05:00

Hey hey, I made it another day. AMAZING! Anyhow, so today was a pretty typical Monday, hectic as ever, but pretty productive over all. I got up around 4:30 this morning, but fell back asleep and didn't get out of bed until 5:15. Hit the gym up from 5:40 to about 6:40 (worked legs and lower back some, nothing to strenuous) and then went to work. Traffic wasn't too bad today, despite the crappy weather (snowing outside). VERY busy day at work though today, not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I really need to get more organized at work, I have so many tasks/projects going on that I'm losing track of things!

Well this post isn't too exciting, not much going on in my head right now. Things are going good with the GF, had a talk with her last night about life and we watched the movie Elf, kinda funny (the movie that is, not the talk).

I'm at my PT job again tonight, just got off an hour long call, didn't get it fixed, man I hate when I can't fix stuff! Hopefully the night will breeze by again. Trying to think of other things I can do to be productive at work besides this journal. I want to start on my own website, but I have no ftp program installed....maybe I'll try and get one installed right now.

I'd like to get my own webpage up with pictures and stuff like that. Maybe a portfolio at some point....

Well off to be productive, no big plans tonight, need to clean up the room as usual, can't forget to call the lawyer tomorrow about the trial on 12/2, that should be interesting....

11/28/04

2004-11-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm going to give this a shot now, since I have a few minutes to waste here at work. This is my first "daily" entry. Not sure how this will go, but lets give it a go....

Pretty dreary day today, weather is getting colder, days are shorter, even a few snowflakes on the ground today. I woke this morning around 8:15 (didn't get much sleep, think I finally got to bed around 3 or 4 am), dressed and left the GF's house. I had all the intentions of having a REALLY productive day today, but that was a crock. I got home and stripped down and crashed hardcore in bed. Got up a couple hours later thinking "ok, I'll just rest for 5 more minutes then I'll get up and be productive". Well that didn't happen. I finally got my arse out of bed around 1:30. Talked with the GF a bit on the phone and then headed to the gym. Lifted bi's and back today, only got in about a 40 minute workout. I did however take the time to hit the steamroom/sauna. That felt great, I really need to take the time to hit that up each time I workout, great relaxer. Showered and headed to my sister's office to help set up the new printers. As usual the place was a zoo, she was in the middle of moving furniture and both of my nephews were there (along with another kid, a friend of Cole's) running around. I did get my little nephew Cole to draw me a picture, going to bring that one to work tomorrow and put it up in my cube. Got the printers finally setup (still need to hit the other PC's in the office) and headed off to my PT job (where I'm at now). Been here since 4:30, heading home at 9:00. GOING to be productive when I get home, I swear! I have some laundry to do/put away and need to get out winter clothes. I wonder who will actually read this thing? I bet it'd be interesting to go back after a few months and read my older posts....

So that is the plan, it's about 8:27 right now, going to take my break at 8:45 as usual and then take off at 9. Head home, eat, get some stuff done and then probably have the GF come over if she wants to watch a movie or play a game or something. Going to shoot to be in bed by 11 I think. It's been a long weekend and I think work is going to be busy next week so should get a good nights sleep. Getting up at 4:30 to hit the gym in the am. I always feel better if I make it to the gym.

You know I should have made this thing a bit more anynonymous, but then I guess what do I have to hid right? I'm an open book anyway, may as well publish my life for everyone to read, even though it's not to terribly exciting.

I'd love to be a writer someday, this blogg thing is good practice. I need to work on my spelling and usage of words, I get this daily e-mail with a new word to learn everyday, but I end up skipping over it to get to the important e-mails like my daily dilbert comic. It is uncanny how much that comic strip relates to real life in the office.

Wow, I've written a lot so far. I'm so completely ADD that my sentances and paragraphs are all over the place, no real order to this post. Maybe I'll get better with time. For now thoughts are going into words and words on the page....

Going to work on legs tomorrow probably, even though I HATE leg day...need to get better at doing squats and lifting legs more that 1-2 times a month as well. I should print out a calendar to use to keep track of what I'm lifting and how much. Kind of a motivator.

Pretty dead night at work, only 10 calls today so far, probably will get one more here and can call it a night....

I really think I'll like this blog thing...ok, ok. my mind is running in a million different directions now, going to get some stuff done for real. Later days fellow online bloggers...

- Dingo

Another reason to start blogging....

2004-11-28T20:46:00.000-05:00

I just thought of another good reason to start blogging my life...my father was diagnosed with a rare brain disease about 10 years ago called Pick's disease. He has almost completely lost his memory. Supposedly I have a 25% chance of getting this disease. I guess this would be a good way to chronicle my life.

Also, if I ever feel the need to write my memoirs or an auto-biography, I can go off of my posts here....

Oh, and it is also a good coping mechanism. Journaling is a method suggested by counselors to help deal with psychological issues.

More than ya'll needed to know I bet....I hope someone takes the time to read my posts and give me some insight on my life, opinions are always welcome.

My first post

2004-11-28T19:42:00.000-05:00

I'm just testing here....this is my first post. Seeing how things go...should be interesting to see if anyone reads this.