tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36695034069672483102024-02-19T01:32:30.129-05:00Charlie Sierra Twenty-FourCameron's attempt at being a help. A demonstration of my motto, "Happy to help, any time."
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-73305282438696303352018-04-14T19:25:00.001-04:002018-04-14T19:25:19.253-04:00Re-aligning my life to realityI'm a technical guy, which is critical when you work at making complex technical things work [again] by assisting your customers in understanding your employer's software. This is not the software you downloaded for your laptop or PC. It's certainly not as simplistic as that app you have on your phone, but parts of it can be there too.<br />
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It's "middleware," which means it's a component of a much more complex, normally multi-server solution. That's a minimum implementation, often these are interconnected systems that span 3-15 vendors of hardware and software.<br />
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The short story, though perhaps it's a bit late for that, is that it's a tough job, and I have never professed to be the best at it. It's stressful.<br />
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It's my job, and I love it.<br />
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I'm sure I'd love another job, but this is the job I have and I'm not one to give up.<br />
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I have a strange way about me, it would seem, I think of others. I always do, it never ends and for those people that are in my life, some of them are rewarded for what may seem like nothing, but this is not the case. These people are good people and I believe that good people deserve good things to happen to them. I also believe anyone can be given the opportunity to be appreciated because life is hard. The biggest challenge to this tendency is that I'm not rich.<br />
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I'm a Jesus-curious, guy that tries to see the best in people. Sadly, people keep proving me wrong. People can be real jerks. I persist in not following that lead. I try, every day, to make things better in some way.<br />
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Anyway, my mission (blog) is meant to do good. I hope it does for you, but no promises on how well I'm going to keep this up, I have zero habits, which may be my biggest flaw.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-29778611087205557662017-01-26T13:07:00.001-05:002017-01-26T13:07:10.213-05:00Seek Common GroundI'm trying to focus on a theme these days, #SeekCommonGround, but it's difficult when we, "the west," are presented with the rhetoric and ignorance of the newly inaugurated. We, not the extreme left, or the extreme right, the reasonable and wide middle, must seek commonality of our causes. It is the ways in which we are the same that will unite us will lead us through these strange and difficult times and must remind ourselves and each other that we care about more than the fringe, we are the heart of our society. Being that heart we must seek to draw the edges to the middle and create a peaceful force of resistance to the change we are now witness to.<br />
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We do not need to ridicule this new POTUS, but rather highlight the good when it does appear. We must seek to call out his lies, constructively through distribution and dissemination of facts and support of those facts. We need harp on the inarguable facts and to leave theories, falsehoods, and memes behind. This is no time for comedy or wit, this is a serious concern to the free world, to the goodness we seek in society. We can build an inclusive, compassionate, and loving society through focused efforts to mitigate the damage being done as it's being done. Peaceful protests, authoring accurate and respectful papers that forge a path to this common ground, and seeking leadership that have the qualities that motivate the middle to suppress the fringe, drawing them toward the middle, helping them feel included and part of the solution rather than outsiders or forgotten.<br />
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Listen, think, observe, and love. This is a situation where "Love thine enemy," is essential.<br />
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Are you in?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-52327523643539093422015-09-26T09:28:00.001-04:002015-09-26T09:28:39.217-04:00Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dRl8EIhrQjQ" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />Saying good-bye to the #ANTISOCIALNETWORK, if you're a real friend, grab my digits or e-mail address by 10/1/2015!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-57475175391127748122015-05-31T22:46:00.001-04:002015-05-31T22:46:50.850-04:00The Great Divide of 2025...The world has changed, some say for the better, but the outcome has been a harsh pill to swallow. In December 2019 Congress passed an order to create the great barriers one to the north of the United States along the border with Canada, the other along the border with Mexico. Everyone metre of these borders was covered by a an armoured auto-gun and these were virtually indestructable. Alaska was abandoned as a state, as were Hawaii and the protectorates of San JUan and the U.S. Virgin Islands as the Aquatic Defense Systems (ADS) were implemented along the east coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the west coast as far north as the Strait of Juan de Fuca. When these systems were completed in 2029, the only access points in the United States of America were where the high-speed Transcontinental Transit Tube connections at New York, Chicago, and New Los Angeles. The T3, as people called it, was the only way in or out of what Americans called the Dismembered States of America.<br />
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New York and New Los Angeles, which was just over the California border from Reno, Nevada, were glorious cities, and Chicago while it had been given sufficient funding for its infrastructure and beautification, well it opted for more inclusive options and after the great crash of 2025, and was mostly overrun as Chicago became the last hope for folks in the mid-west and southern states. The walls that were supposed to have been built under then Mayor Ford, were not built. Rather, the cities raised train systems were turned into subways, an odd obsession of the Mayor. The walls that were built after his removal from office protected the T3 port, the one remaining link with Canada, to Toronto. The military used the same technology around this port as divided the two countries. 15-story tall walls, with massive automatic gatling guns that could saw damn-near anything in half long before it got close enough to do damage. Their range of fire overlapped and protected the city, the port from the great hoards that roamed the wasteland of the United States.<br />
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People across the USA suggested these must be end-times, and the crazed and religious found themselves on the same side, forming a militia that aimed to protect themselves and claiming they were the saved. They had no idea that the rest of the world went on without them.<br />
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In Canada, as the concerns of economic meltdown transformed into a radicalization of the cause and the few naturalized members of the 1% in the country recognised what they loved about Canada was the people and their resolve to be, well, Canadian. The school systems were changed, embracing the teachings of the First Nations, the indigenous peoples, teaching survival skills and how to live off the land. Larger cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and East Vancouver were industrialized and the general population became thankful as they saw the wall that separated them from their neighbours to the south. It served as much as a tool to keep people out of the US, as it did to ensure the problems they created remained inside their walls. A few escaped that fate, but those autoguns took care of them before they hit land in Canada.<br />
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Canada had been ruled by a new political party that leaned neither left nor right, straddling the line as best it could for a fair society. They had worked with the former leaders to implement this new school system and WageShare a program that ensured no one was left behind. Even the most incapable person was now able to live comfortably and contribute to the economy. Those that had become old or infirm were guaranteed safe haven and accommodation in the major cities, able to work call-centre like jobs, often from home and on a guaranteed living income. Lotteries were held weekly, not to raise funds, but to ensure people had some joy in their lives, people would win credits that could be applied to any item in the Hudson's Bay Catalogue, the national store, owned and operated by the government since 2025. HBC had been a Canadian-owned icon until being acquired by a US company, but when the economy started to fail and retailers across the globe failed to adapt to the advent of Internet shopping.<br />
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The Canadian government chose to buy the company and integrate it into its social revolution making the first entirely electronic, government issued, currency a practical solution in this new world. The artisan and New First Nations community that populated Canada's rural and wilderness areas were able to trap, hunt, or create products for sale in HBC as a supplement to their Minimum Guaranteed Income. Socially, the Minimum Guaranteed Income, or MGI, served as a tool that ensured those that could work, did. It became a social faux-pas to live off MGI alone.<br />
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People were taught that if some was infirm or over the age of 65 they were deserving of the MGI, as any Canadian is, but if the someone was not at retirement age, and was not incapacitated, they were expected to work. They would always have their MGI, but people learned to exclude people that were not contributors. Even if you were between jobs and not in work rehabilitation therapy, you were expected to be involved in volunteer efforts, either locally helping other citizens, or overseas with one of Canada's various aid organisations. Rehabilitation therapy was a work training a discrete occupational therapy program offered by the Canadian Centres for Mental and Physical Health, you were expected to attend this program after any termination, whether by choice or not. The service helped ascertain whether you needed any assistance with the career change. The program was designed and functioned as a tool to ensure employees were happy and well treated, and that companies had support with new hires.<br />
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Everyone received the basic MGI weekly, but an employer could allocate from their coffers additional funds as a reward for higher skills or hard work. Every business signed up for the Canadian Profit Sharing Plan, it was required by law, and National Bonus Day shared that fund with every working or retired Canadian. In reality of half of the plan's funding supported the bonuses for the people, a good portion of the fund went to helping fund Canada's Universities and Colleges, as well as innovation projects of which Canada became a significant world power in.<br />
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Life in Canada was such a drastic contrast to the US, but it wasn't for the lack of trying. Peacekeeping missions from Canada were allowed into the US, but the only viable solution was found to be strategic air drops. Canada's air force was entirely peacekeeping and DART related, offering assistance anywhere in the world at a moment's notice. Too often that support was required in the US and airdrops of medical supplies, food, and well trained, but unarmed personnel put themselves in harm's way to try to make things better in what the Americans called The Great Divide.<br />
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With global warming behind them the usable land in the US had decreased significantly. whole cities and a few states were abandoned under the rising waters. Florida was gone for the most part, as was much of the east coast, New York City was walled not only from the land, but from the sea, as they feared the worst. The land remaining The Great Divide was the vast wasteland, or what some call the re-naturalized lands, that were the cities and communities across the country. Aside from the few remaining metropolii, the urban landscapes of the other cities were destroyed by the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers in what the government called the collection. In 2030, the government, having implemented all of their urban containment zones, where the wealthy could live in peace behind great walls and no-go zones. The Anonymous Occupiers, those outside those walls were loaded onto traditional trains and send to the Greater Denver Area (GDA), now a prison camp, but people didn't learn that until they arrived. The plans had been in the works for years, ever since the Denver Airport was built.<br />
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Millions of people were shipped off to a new utopia in the midwest, few were heard from again, not really. The Department of Civil Peace had graciously accommodated the new residents of the GDA, they were moved into these scenic high-rise communities that face the mountains. Each apartment came with all the amenities and absolutely no need to leave their complex. In fact, while they could leave their complex, on foot, the roads leading away from the complex seemed to have constant, though varying, catastrophic events prevent departure "at this time."<br />
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The newcomers who wrote home, to friends and family had nothing but great news to tell, and after a month or so of correspondence the DoCP had enough information to automate responses. The Artificial Intelligence and Surveillance System that the DoCP operated was keylogging all of the correspondence and could not take over for the real person, their communications were cut off, they were knocked out, en masse, and moved into the chambers below the Denver Airport. The remains were turned over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Energy for disposal.<br />
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The system was so effective that the lower income areas of urban centres has people volunteering for relocation to the Denver Skies Community as it was advertised. Over two hundred and forty million people moved to Denver, into wonderful furnished apartments with full-time jobs and a paid month off before starting work. The trains left every day at 8:30AM, they returned too, in the dead of night. No one who moved to Denver Skies ever returned, but for years they shared their stories, maintained their blogs, and kept up with family and friends on social media through the grace and kindness of the Department of Civil Peace.<br />
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The usual chatter of social media changed after Facebook went out of business in the US, the media was controlled well enough that no one knew the reality, that they secreted their employees out of the U.S. to Sweden one night after building a new location there. The media in the U.S. didn't talk of that, not in the Great Divide, the free US didn't hear about those things. Though after Facebook left the US, they didn't tell people they moved either. They knew they'd relocated after the San Andreas incident, but no one stopped to consider where their operations were.<br />
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Life went on after socio-economic crash of the U.S.A. Through some bit of luck and coincidence, North and South Korea found peace after their leader Kim Jung-Un died of a brain tumour. The successor was a peaceful heir and had been disgusted by the state's activities and treatment of people. They knew to keep quiet and bide their time, playing a part and accepting the grooming for leadership as it came. Once in power he opened up talks with South Korea and the United Nations. They disbanded the army and opened the gates to disarmament. Beijing considered this an opportunity to move on North Korea, but this was quickly ruled out as ALL of the members United Nations moved in to build North Korea's infrastructure and a humanitarian effort. Teachers from across the globe were flown in to help with retraining and occupational therapists from Canada were sent in with the DART teams to help prepare this once sheltered people from the culture shock they will be facing.<br />
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The United Nations, after moving from NYC, became a global relief and mediation organisation, offering top-notch and unbiased negotiators to resolve conflicts around the world. They finally reached a peace with the Islamic State Militants and the other Islamic extremists in 2034, it was much easier with the political spirit of the 1& out of the way.<br />
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You see, the 1% walled themselves up in those few urban protected zones, and forgot that the rest of the world could not be controlled, that the rest of the world was watching. It came too late for the 247 million Americans killed in the Denver death chambers, but the observers that went into the U.S. those fearless few that left other countries as peacekeepers, they knew they would never come home, the landed, did what they could to help the residents of The Great Divide and either joined their communities or died as the attempted to return to their homes.<br />
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The United Nations was more than just a negotiation solution, they also provided, as a last resort, they military solution to some problems. In 2039, 10 years after the American Cull began, the U.N. gave up on negotiations. The order was given and those that could escape on the T3 made their way to Canada, Japan, or Europe's capital, Brittany Nouveau. They were incarcerated until the trials. The urban centres of the US were leveled by cluster bombs delivered from the UN's Global Defense Space Stations. The cluster bombs were non-nuclear, high-speed and designed with stealth technologies that allowed the devices penetration through the automated defence systems. You see the 1% that controlled the US had not seen the value in the personnel of the military and designed them out of the equation, after the automated defence systems were set up across the US the soldiers were the first wave to enjoy the new life of the Denver Skies Community. The Department of Civil Peace disbanded the armed forces and cycled the soldiers, unit by unit, into the Denver chambers below the Denver Airport. They didn't see it coming. The train ride in was long and as it went into the tunnel headed for downtown Denver they left their lives behind. After descending under the city, the gas started, the unwanted passed out and entered a deep sleep, the tunnel veered east, toward the Airport.<br />
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The trains were long continous cars with smooth designs, flowing and modern. The trains were propelled magnetic levitation and were very fast, but the real design key was that the front and rear of the trains could open up, and they did so as they passed through a vast water-filled chamber under the airport. The bodies of the unwanted were flushed from the train, the train was put through an automated wash and then shunted to the drying yards near the eastern-most runway of the airport. They would dry in the hot sun and be ready for their return to the Denver Skies Terminal that night.<br />
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The bodies were collected through a process of waterflow, conveyors, and finally mincers. Nothing was wasted. The bodies were shredded and mixed with a nitrogen rich mulch and spread across the agrifields in Nebraska and Kansas, the two remain protected states, also walled, and harvested by machines that were designed to save the world.<br />
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Sadly, the world didn't want food grown by machines, they found their roots, as it were, and when the U.N. began working with countries on better growing options and profit sharing lessons learned in Canada, Europe, and Russia were applied the need for manufactured food dropped. People had new opportunities to eat healthier and the education needed for each citizen in the developing world. In reality the whole world was developing, again, and working together to build a New Earth, on earth.<br />
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The U.N. saw it fitting that the bombs fell on those urban centres on July 4th, 2039, a new day of independance. The UN DART and peacekeeping forces went in in the following days to ensure the innocent lives were not lost. The bombs were not lethal, but rather meant to disable systems. They were electromagnetic pulse bombs that crippled these centres and allowed for a mission to dethrone the 1%-ers. On July 4th 2040 The few million free Americans were able to return to the urban centres and begin the re-building of America, for the people, by the people. The UN's DART teams had cleaned up the after math of the bombs and removed all weapons systems. The cities' infrastructure systems for water, sewers, and hydro were rebuilt with the latest green technologies. Even IKEA pitched in as they did with any DART mission with their economical and well-packed home decor. Yes, the UN even has deployable IKEA furniture builders. They always left a few allen keys for use new residents, just in case.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-76058265753082688272014-04-18T15:24:00.003-04:002014-04-18T15:26:35.516-04:00This Man's LifeI have not become what anyone would consider remarkable, but this is my own humble opinion. Others tell me I’m good at this or that, but I don’t share their enthusiasm or their perception. Most of my life is dismissable, or… it was.<br />
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Last week something remarkable happened. Okay, some people would call it a mental break. You see I've had a rough year, some might say I've had a rough decade, adulthood, or perhaps life. It’s not that I grew up poor, unfortunate, abused, or damaged, I was just different. I was diagnosed with ADHD, which means I was a holy terror in school. I hated school, my parents hated that I hated school, but they tried their best to help me through it. It was hell on my mother who had already raised four children. I was the “Oh Shit,” she had at age 38. I will never understand what she was thinking having a child at that age. Sure we do this now, but in 1967 this was risky. I guess it worked out okay. I exist.<br />
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Anyway, so last week I think I’d had enough, my credit cards were nearly maxed, my job sucked, and my life was, well, chaos. I’ve been doing my best to simply hold it together, but there comes a time when things just can’t move forward. You can get stuck, lost in a moment or the pain of the daily grind. I was recovering from back pain thing, and facing a zero balance. So I snapped in the only way possible. I ran, for once I ran. I never run.<br />
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I don’t really remember the trip to the airport, it was simply me on autopilot. I bought a ticket to nowhere with just the clothes on my back, my new boots, my BlackBerry, and my wallet. Once I paid for the ticket my available credit amounted to $5.95, but I certainly wasn't thinking. The flight left in 25 minutes, and I barely made the gate and didn't really clue in to what I had just done, I remained in this state through Ottawa, as if sealing my fate.<br />
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As we disembarked from the plane I asked the flight attendant where we were. He laughed and said, “B-Bye. Enjoy your stay.” It wasn't until I saw the terminal building that I knew where I was, and panic began to seep in. How was I going to get home? Does anyone know I'm here?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-49287112508654327402013-11-29T15:35:00.001-05:002013-11-29T15:35:16.034-05:00My TrajectoryI'm struggling to remain satisfied in my role, I'm under-empowered for my character and abilities, but there's no asking for guidance or training, the politics suggest I'm merely a peon, unworthy of their knowledge. While I know differently, I've given up on telling the powers that be that I'm ready, willing, and able. There's just no point... here.<br />
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I need to move on, and I will when the right role comes around. I need to find the spirit and enthusiasm to apply to jobs this weekend. I need something new.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-14414578902140039042013-05-06T09:08:00.002-04:002013-05-06T09:08:14.785-04:00Monday morning...I'm here, ready to serve my employer, but where are my responsibilities? Sure, I fix what's broken, get people and technology working, but what else? I was told there would be flying cars... No, not really.<br />
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I was told I'd be handling account management to some extent, I was told I'd be responsible for more, including rights management, and such, but... when? I was told I'd be working on the PC Image, but I have yet to see that either.<br />
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I cleaned up the messes here and things are running smooth. If this is all there is, This is not a fulfilling experience. I've had moments of happiness, and I've loved this role, but it seems that my co-worker simply doesn't want to share the tasks, make me part of the solution.<br />
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So, what's next for me if this is my trajectory?<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-68176665935821167692013-04-30T07:58:00.002-04:002013-04-30T07:58:40.653-04:00The ebbThe company that employs me has a higher demand for manpower at tax time. Today is the last day of tax season and so this week marks the ebb of the employee flow. It strikes me that these people must find something new to do for the remainder of the calendar year, and leaves me wondering what their plans are.<br />
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I, frankly, hate job hunting. Are these people employment sadists? No, I think not. They are accustomed to contract work, quietly departing without a whimper or a tear. They simply vanish into the dust and chaos of our lives. This is the nature of tax, but wouldn't it be grand to make this seasonal work fit your life. Taxes from January through May, Outdoor work through September or October and 2 months of the Christmas rush. Can one live like this?<br />
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I may not be the one that tries, but perhaps this suite of roles is a way of life for some.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-62503802334307254182013-04-19T14:36:00.000-04:002013-04-19T14:36:05.934-04:00I love my job...I do. I love my job. That doesn't mean I don't have days when it's difficult or frustrating to be at work. The last week has been less than ideal, I'm intermittently busy and feeling less than ideally healthy. This is my worst-case scenario for a week. I also have a co-worker who refuses to hand over responsibilities, either for his own feeling of self-worth or perhaps a subconscious resentment of me, my skills, my positive attitude. I don't know, but I hope he figures out I'm here to help.<br />
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The job is great, it's the politics that are best avoided, that and the anti-American sentiment that ripples through this once Canadian organisation. There's a distinct lack of communication, and a raft of other issues, but this is normal. My time at Lafarge North America was a perfect example of the chaos of big business. It was baptism in truly BIG business, even though I worked for Microsoft (Canada) years ago, MSFT was not big business then, it was a fraternity, campus-like, and fun.<br />
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Loving your job is a choice. You can regard the demands on you as a burden or a blessing, but employers can regard you in the same way. There's no such thing as "job security" these days. The best you can do is commit to the role, do your best, and be happy with how things are. If you are truly dissatisfied, you can choose to move on. I do NOT recommend jumping out of a role without being there a year, and when you do leave, you need to leave on the best possible terms. No rants.<br />
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The sad reality is that business these days <i>owns</i> you, your only right is the right to leave. It remains up to you to stay positive, and your spouse, friends, and family owe it to you to help you remain positive and committed. They should not be berating your employer, or you for not finding a better one. Only positive energy, prayers, and outlooks will help make the burden less.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-57590167662760547032013-02-24T21:23:00.002-05:002013-02-24T21:23:05.605-05:00Being FatYou do not choose to be overweight, you become overweight through a process of putting others before yourself, potentially depression, and an over-commitment to everything else in your life. In my case, I did not become overweight because I didn't care, but because I didn't care about myself enough. It could easily be due to self-esteem issues, but even when you're not perceptibly fat it can become a weight around your neck if you are labelled fat, out of shape, etc. Your slight departure from the perfect world of a B.M.I. safe weight becomes an anchor, or worse.<br />
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It's a journey you don't know you're on, until it's too late. You may the the sort that can rope in that stray 5 pounds, or you may be like me and simply be too involved with life to notice you've gained 20, 40, or 60 pounds... it can sneak up on you.<br />
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I was a big kid, not overly fat or obese, but it seems that family told me I was, though it may have been someone projecting their own struggle with their weight on me. My family is full of big people, men and women that have descended from big people. I recall one picture of my great grandmother on my Dad's side who looked like my Uncle Ed, in a dress. The big nose, the weight problem, the battle is ages old. Is it heredity? Yes, but it's more than that. Society has given us a jobs, roles, and responsibilities that are sedentary in nature. I developed software solutions for 15 years, this means you sit at a computer and coerce a machine to do what you want it to. There's not much movement in that. I gained 230 pounds in that same time. I could suggest that my problems started before that, when I married someone who really didn't share my interest in cycling, something that was keeping my mind clear and my body salvageable.<br />
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As I focused on salvaging my failing marriage I tried to bring my wife into the realm of cycling, riding to the point of being tired, past the limit you think you have, and she was not a fan. This ended fairly quickly, and after 7 years of stress and trying to change me so she would be happy with me, so was the marriage. The stress had only just begun.<br />
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Eating as an anti-depressant is not new for me, I'd gained about 30 pounds over my marriage, and divorce doesn't make it any easier, but this was nothing compared to my life after the "dot com" crash (~2000). I had a couple of good years in a world of technology under-my belt, but when the tech jobs dried up, I was looking for work and I tried "Roadside Assistance" (towing) on... That's a low-paying job if you're honest. While making next-to-nothing I was granted an audience with the Ontario Courts courtesy of my ex-wife and the Family Responsibility office. You don't know stress until you're told you'll lose your license if you don't pay the full-amount of child support ($1200+)... I barely earned that as it was. That was the end of driving, and the beginning of weight-gain... I went from ~250 to ~300 pounds in a few months while trying to work without a license. I had a very supportive girlfriend who drove my to a dispatch job with the towing company, and a boss who did all she could to help me earn a living. It wasn't until I got the case heard and settled that I was able to leave towing. I was back to development, a favour from a friend, and then a job (~2003). I was back in technology, but the stress was over.<br />
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In retrospect I could have spent my time working out, but that seemed self-serving and I was trying to provide for my kids, work was it. I stabilized, but found myself out of work again, and trying to maintain support payments, without my parents that wouldn't have been possible, but work came my way again, though I weighted ~330 now in 2006. In 2009 I was again out of work... my weight increased to ~360... then last year on another hiatus from employment I peaked just above 380 pounds.<br />
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Three Hundred Eighty!<br />
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Then I took a new job, but not as a programmer, as desktop support. This job has me on my toes!<br />
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Have I solved anything though? No, not about me, my curse. No, I've created a scenario when I must be active to succeed in my role. This serves a purpose, but it is not solution, but a side affect, an affect of a loss of ~10 pounds in a month.<br />
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What needs to happen is a more drastic change, but consider this...<br />
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My day [ideally] begins at 4:40AM, waking up and getting out to walk the dog (the dog is a new addition too), this is a short walk because I need to be in the shower by 5:45AM and I need breakfast. By 6:05 I'm out of the bathroom and I'm out the door at 6:20AM... I return home ~6:10pm, make dinner for myself, my daughter, and spend an hour catching up with external-to-job things (~7:30pm). I walk the dog, then head for by ~9pm.<br />
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I live by the motto, "Happy to help, any time." I really need to find time to help me.<br />
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I need to make "me" a priority.<br />
<br />Cameron (CharlieSierra24)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03868275166713212095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-6787530458219314232013-02-11T08:58:00.001-05:002013-02-11T08:58:19.356-05:00Employed! Now to Fix My Child Support.Child support, I have always maintained, is a responsibility. If you are not the primary custodial parent you owe it to your kids to work hard to ensure your kids have what they deserve. The issue is some people have a problem with that word "deserve."<br />
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I don't, but I do have concerns about the attitude of the courts. In fact I can safely say I am wary of and distrustful of judges, but still I try to work out a support amount that's fair and reasonable based on my income, something I am honest about with my ex-wife, and the Canada Revenue Agency. So I truly resent when a judge tells me I haven't earned enough money when I dedicated my life to earning as much as I possibly could.<br />
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That aside, I am very happy to be employed again. Three weeks in and I'm getting my bearings and making a difference. It's a busy office, and a demanding role, and I'm not telling my ex-wife where I work, period. She's played games before, filing court actions rather than discussing things. The FRO knows I'm working and I'm paying the last agreed-upon amount reliably and I am 1 month ahead for safety's sake, but I do need to address my recent changes.<br />
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I'd like to get my finances in order, then look at the new value as one based on last year's income rather than some interim amount. My income last year (while on Employment Insurance) dropped by 27%, I reduced my support by much less than that when you factor that my daughter moved back in with me last September, but that doesn't matter much, what will matter is coming up with a fair deal this year, and not letting my ex-wife try to steam-roll the deal with unexpected expenses for my daughters, such as Hypnotherapy or Dental work that I simply cannot afford. This year, no deal unless I'm satisfied that the expenses are reasonable and necessary.<br />
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So, the deal I'm looking at is based upon my income last year, period. There's been no discussion of extra-ordinary expenses to date, so I will disregard them. I'm waiting on my tax forms to arrive (due by February 28th) and from that I can put together an arrangement. She can take it or leave it, and leaving it means we head back to court. My intent is to be fair.<br />
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Neither of us want this, but If I need to take that path I'll start with a new Form 15.<br />
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<br />Cameron (CharlieSierra24)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03868275166713212095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-15069611646394173662013-01-06T10:57:00.001-05:002013-01-06T10:57:24.299-05:00The ParentsYou love your parents, or you should in an ideal world. They brought you into the world, raised you to the best of their abilities and taught you everything you needed to know to survive in this world. Well, that's the game plan people we expect from people with children, but...<br/><br/>My parents love me, there's no question about that, and it's good to assume they do unless they abuse you. Even then it is entirely possible that abusive parents love you, care about you, but just have a really messed up ide of how to show that love. I'm not going to talk about my experiences as the youngest son of 5 children, the one that was a "whoops," and is 12 tears younger than my next sibling. I am also not going to blame them for the way my life turned out, because frankly it turned out fairly well, albeit not stellar career-wise.<br/><br/>Parents get the messy end of the stick most of the time, even when they're as perfect and dedicated as possible, it happens that some (most) children have the impression that parents don't understand, when they actually do. don't worry, teenagers are programmed not to believe parents.<br/> <br/>My father is the patient sort, he's kind and thoughtful. I think it's where my "nice guy" personality comes from. He's always ready to help others, do what he can to make things better for someone, including his family. He was always working when i was kid, I'd spend time at his shop, his typesetting business, I would be left to my own devices, playing, riding my bike and prentending/dreaming around the industrial mall. I felt useful when I was able to help, shooting some text for paste-up on the Headliner machine. This was the age of the phototypesetter, The few computers he had made loads of micro-confetti as they were fed or created punched paper-tape as the data source. Yes, before thumb-drives, there was magnetic media, but befor that there was paper. While this was not the extent of spending time with my Dad, this was likely the most memorable. I don't recall much prior to age 4, though pictures tell of great fun at the family cottage and Christmas.<br/><br/>Once I started school my mother went back to work, I think she resented this, but My Dad's company wasn't making as much money as he'd hoped and by the time I was 8 the company was shuttered, debts paid by the sale of that family cottage and life went on. My mother and father fought quite often, and I suspect I was to blame. I was not a good kid it seems. I was difficult, and... let's just say I paid for being special.<br/><br/>My mother... <br/><br/>A couple who loves each other should forgive each other... it's unfair that sometimes only one half of that forrmula has the capacity to, but this is a reality. To persist in denigrading a spouse over issues year over year is abuse, it is pushing someone to react and the only reactions that are acceptible are divorce or death. My father will eventually, it seems, choose to escape this abuse through his own death (natural causes). Then what will she do? Who will she use to bolster he own significance in the world? If she uses family, though she already assumes all men treat women like property, she will find herself very alone.<br/><br/>I'm a bad son... I know some of you are saying this, but you don't know her. <br/><br/>Don't assume i don't love her, I do. I simply wish she'd stop abusing my father's good nature. It was her need for control, her frustration with me that drove a wedge between my father and I when I was young. He was left to punish me because she couldn't eny more, she wasn't strong enough to hit the target when she needed to inflict pain out of frustration, anger, or resentment. Unlike my father I wouldn't endlessly accept abuse, perhaps this is why I ended my marriage. Perhaps I just don't enjoy conflict. And no, I do not expect complacency in a spouse or partner. I expect intelligence without greed. My idea of a relationship is that you both commit to making the other happy and support them, honestly, through life. You can be critical, constructively, and your intent is to make life, this crazy world, a little better for each other. You won't always agree, but you'll find common ground because that is what you will both seek.<br/><br/>I'm a parent... I'm sorry (to my children) that I couldn't have endured as my father has, but I am not him. I would have been divorced or in prison long ago if I'd remained... There's one other option, yes... giving up on your own self-respect and becoming a shell of yourself. That would be worse.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-41383585201764743882013-01-05T08:11:00.003-05:002013-01-05T08:22:38.813-05:00Going back to your roots, with humility.Let's not consider this cliché, but I am sitting in my parents' basement at the very desk I did my homework on as a child, roughly 25-35 years ago, and I'm considering my options when it comes to career goals. I can tell you that while I had an unexpected and fortunate opportunity to play the role of a BlackBerry evangelist yesterday showing off my technical prowess and product knowledge, the reality of my employment situation is never far from my mind.<br /><br />While I have to "irons in the fire" there's no telling if those either of those irons will become a horseshoe (a job). While I face the potential reality, I am also hopeful. I recognise in myself the capacity and potential to be a real asset to their technical staff. I have the skills and experience to really make a difference, and sooner or later someone will notice, though if later, they may recognise it in the seat of a GO or Brampton bus driver.<br /><br />One must have humility in these times. The young must have all the high hopes and eagerness to get out there and replace the older generations, but there's no reason for the old guard to shuffle off quietly, they have a responsibility to share their war stories, admit their faults and inspire the young to be ethical and determined in their quest.<br /><br /> I love talking to young people, though I do not feel old per sé. I'm 45 and I have a great deal to give. I have technical knowledge, workplace experience, sound ethics, and quite a bit of reality to share with the young folk so they will not make the mistakes, or will at least be more prepared than I have been. Many of my errors, career choices, began right at this desk, the first one being not going to college. I recognise now that going through a proper post-secondary institution, going to all of those classes and getting the degree is essential if you don't want your fall-back to be working at McDonald's. It's not that working there is a bad experience, it is simply a minimum wage role that is hard to survive on in this day and age. When you get older you must embrace humility, live with and on less.<br /><br />(to be continued)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-9674075331539588722012-12-08T08:16:00.000-05:002012-12-18T11:02:51.713-05:00The way God intended...I'm in Muskoka, more precisely, the town of Kearney, and this is what is meant by getting a life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKcv-xqQlPCYH2OeBRq2vIfm5JJYCwwiZhXOVRzeclypmydkBzYN8jZDZETTfeYQuFn4OtEp45bZsJf9UTkbtvx8lyoPtUHmHdqR4J27VrOoiOPfPOkeBACXJ412iCqsQ9WHje9PVQt2F/s1600/IMG_00000019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKcv-xqQlPCYH2OeBRq2vIfm5JJYCwwiZhXOVRzeclypmydkBzYN8jZDZETTfeYQuFn4OtEp45bZsJf9UTkbtvx8lyoPtUHmHdqR4J27VrOoiOPfPOkeBACXJ412iCqsQ9WHje9PVQt2F/s1600/IMG_00000019.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-7370044686609480652012-12-07T08:34:00.000-05:002012-12-07T08:35:06.512-05:00Starting the trip right...<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M_CYTLcJOhWLZTWQt_1Hedh1T5cWgzMU-jrZ6ecP0eNdF21MPSS28c46yWSTn4UPvi4C05l8rNK-2mUziigFgHUttG_gP0kkDVw3cvr3SKAnm8pOHFVrcEZm8Pt51lPKvI2UPREaCyFX/s1600/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FVG9yb250by0yMDEyMTIwNy0wMDQxMi5qcGc%253D%253F%253D-706513"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M_CYTLcJOhWLZTWQt_1Hedh1T5cWgzMU-jrZ6ecP0eNdF21MPSS28c46yWSTn4UPvi4C05l8rNK-2mUziigFgHUttG_gP0kkDVw3cvr3SKAnm8pOHFVrcEZm8Pt51lPKvI2UPREaCyFX/s400/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FVG9yb250by0yMDEyMTIwNy0wMDQxMi5qcGc%253D%253F%253D-706513" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5819196672504306274" /></a></p>With a large double-double at Tim Hortons Yorkdale. It's just upstairs from the bus terminal.
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<br>Cameron Stevens - <a href="http://cstevens.ca">http://cstevens.ca</a>
<br>Sent from my BlackBerry 9790 or PlayBook on the Rogers Wireless NetworkUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-77307716157809355382012-12-07T05:37:00.001-05:002012-12-07T05:37:26.298-05:00Six days of BlackBerry...Today I begin a trip, actually two trips where I visit my sister in Huntsville, help out some people with web development along the way, visit a friend in Breslau, Ontario, and then get to visit the home of my favourite communications tools, RIM... It's 6 days on the road and I'm taking 1 backpack, My BlackBerry Bold 9790, and my BlackBerry PlayBook as my computing tools.<br />
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I will have a Kobo eReader on-board for some additional reading, but this is my adventure.<br />
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I will try to post updates here as I go.<br />
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Day 1: Up at 5AM... all packed, catching a bus at 0720h<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-40103820630503358672012-11-26T21:11:00.001-05:002012-11-26T21:47:01.270-05:00Oh! You pretty things... David Bowie may not have been thinking of this...<br />
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It was not one man who sold the world, it was all of us selling out on the dream the dream of being good people who could live for the good of others. We're selfish, but this is no surprise we're human. We have needs and we deem them more important to be satisfied for ourselves than of others. Even this post is a selfish act of telling you, the reader, that you are to blame for our downfall. We're all just a little too greedy, to much of that "ME GENERATION" to see it.<br />
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<b><i>Changes</i></b> would be nice to see, but the few who try to make a difference, they fail because their generosity is eroded and fed upon by the takers in this world, the world has so many people who need love, a leg up, and help, but the moment there's a chance for those folk, there's some else there ready to take advantage or simply destroy that hope. It's the nature of humans, we're the worst of God's creations. We are the only species that goes out of its way to destroy the goodness that we've been given.<br />
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We need <b><i>Heroes</i></b> to lead us, but we're left with pawns of corporations that pretend to lead us while looking for their share of our pie. We have idealistic escapes while we look for<b><i> Life on Mars</i></b>, but we find nothing, and do nothing, to save our home, our mother Earth. Even if you don't believe in God you must have noticed the beauty of this planet and while it may not be dead before you leave this place, there are generations that will be living with problems you disregarded, contributed to, and left behind. Anyone one who does not feel they are <b><i>Under Pressure</i></b> to make this place a better place is a criminal in my mind.<br />
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It is not simply the ecological disaster we have created it's the hatred! Why are we so set on having contempt for each other? We need love each other, not look at our faults as differences to set one above another, but to define a <b><i>Modern Love</i></b>, that does not regard boundaries as lines upon which to lay defences, but rather to build bridges. We need to look to the future to the <b><i>Golden Years</i></b> of humanity, but we have a problem if we look at the core of our being, humanity is a baseless foundation. It is for this reason that we seek faith, God, the discipline of the laws of a higher power. Some people recognize that faith, those laws are a salvation, some take liberties with beliefs and turn them into a tool of hatred, humanizing faith and disregarding the laws as they were intended. Jesus told us to love each other, not love each other conditionally. He did not tell us to judge each other, he simply told us to LOVE EACH OTHER.<br />
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Why can't we do this?<br />
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My beliefs teach me that to love another person, I must first learn to love Jesus, love God, first. This is my quest, to seek a path that allows me to follow Jesus' example, to LOVE GOD before all others. Once I get that figured out, then maybe I can love everyone else with the same, unconditional love that Jesus loves us all with.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-6684366283940984512012-11-08T23:58:00.001-05:002012-11-22T11:29:08.066-05:00Failure is only a perception...It seems to be that your own success is often masked in a belief that you have failed when in fact you may not have.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-12205053681006796232012-05-21T23:30:00.002-04:002012-11-22T11:37:25.458-05:00Wearing My Emotional Kevlar VestThe cool night air wafts through an open window, there is a slight need to suppress the anxiety that I am actually unemployed, again, and not on vacation as I am telling myself. I face the reality with some trepidation and with a goal to re-discover my path, to cast into some foundation a plan by which to be employed and move forward with my life. This "vacation" is a short time to discover myself again, to examine the job market and what I must do to be, or become, marketable for a position with some longevity.<br />
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I have been assured that I am good at being a help, a blessing, but being a technological good samaritan doesn't pay well. I need to be paid well <i>enough</i> to pay all my bills. I recognize I have too many bills, too much overhead, to live comfortably. I need to reduce costs.<br />
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Some would suggest to take on a boarder, that might work, but it's so hard to trust these days.<br />
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Anyway, the vacation ends June 3rd. I'll keep you posted.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-28589251561325141282012-03-24T19:13:00.000-04:002012-11-22T11:38:15.397-05:00Have we lost it?Okay, so you're wondering what "it" might be.<br />
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It... IT is that thing we hold on to when life seems to be getting too much to handle. When we have finally lost "it," whether we know it for ourselves or not it is the sign that we have run out of the sanity we are expected to have, day-in, and day-out.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-62031606651792657412012-03-14T04:11:00.001-04:002012-11-22T11:55:45.532-05:00"What are you good for?"The negative air about that question is dangerous, but it's a question we need to ask ourselves from time to time, especially if you're like me and while you have skills, they have been diluted by being in a position that has not utilized them well, or may not even have a title or description that would garner hope from an observer.<br />
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My name is Cameron Stevens and I'm responsible for... </div>
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My name is Cameron Stevens and I'm go at... </div>
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My name is Cameron Stevens and I make...</div>
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My name is Cameron Stevens and I'm a technical problem solver.</div>
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The question becomes, "What is a technical problem solver?"</div>
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This is much like, "What are you good for?"</div>
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Finding purpose in what I do is challenged by the vagueness of what I profess to be, I am a <a href="http://www.cstevens.ca/home/about-cameron/a-jack-of-it" target="_blank">Jack of I.T.</a> and I need to better define what I am... but I'm having trouble doing this right now. I know I'm good at what I do, I simply need to find a way to define it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-37286885206090346932012-02-14T09:59:00.000-05:002012-11-22T11:29:08.056-05:00Like your Job? Give back and be happy, really.Community will get us through this, but we've forgotten what this is.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-47021522242078794372012-01-17T06:07:00.002-05:002012-11-22T11:31:06.773-05:00I Am A Technology Junkie"Hello, my name is Cameron and I am a Technology Junkie."<br />
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I confess, technology is one of those things that just never stops amazing me, it's remarkable what people will build and I can't get enough of it. To my credit, it's not that I blow my pay cheque on technology, frankly I read about it and go through a constant churn of ideas of how I might be able to use the stuff, for practical or impractical purposes, on a day-to-day basis.<br />
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This is my porn, though not something that's sexual. A cool device, or some interesting new computer language, or a neat new software gets my day of on the right foot. Even a retro experience that takes me back to the days of my youth and the technology we've left behind can be fun. I still have a diskette (3.5" floppy) that has a game I played in (approximately) 1985 on it, it's on a USB Floppy Drive and every few years I set it up and play it a little, not on a Virtual Machine (VM), but is technical nostalgia. It's also someone's legacy. I talked to the developer, a former Air Traffic Controller, who had to give that up because he was going blind. The game was shareware, "Dulles" was his legacy, It is why I pay for Shareware I find useful. I never paid for Dulles, I lost track of the developer before I could send him $20. This was back in the days of CompuServe and before The Internet and PayPal, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't have tried.<br />
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My passion for technology is my advantage, I see the purpose and function of technology and mentally play with it even when I can't touch it yet. I store it's existence away until a need comes to light, and I share my discoveries, the best ones, so that others can do the same.<br />
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I might be an addict, but not in the worst sense. I maintain that my passion for technology has a selfless, help others, sentiment to it. I try, daily, to be a blessing. Perhaps technology is just my tool to that end.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-68967972516251202852011-12-27T20:52:00.000-05:002012-11-22T11:29:08.068-05:00Best Christmas EverI have said for a very long time that it is not what you receive but how graciously you give at this time of year that makes the season joyous. I will reiterate that, but offer you the caveat that you not presume that giving requires anything tangible or store bought.<br />
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It is this thought that was proven this year. I was given the best Christmas ever by some manner of adoptive family. I have a new brother, and this was my first Christmas with his family, his whole family as part of that family, though we've known each other for years.<br />
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I will jokingly suggest that I was in Breslau, Ontario, having Christmas in an evergreen forest. The family is the Wood family and my acceptance is that akin to adoption. I was witness to great family love and co-operation and to the idea that giving at Christmas while traditional and awesome for the children to experience, is tempered by the understanding of what Christmas is. It is a celebration of the birth of Jesus and we need to remember this by being a blessing to each other on a day-to-day basis. God, the father of Jesus Christ, gave his only son by sending him down from heaven to show us what it was to be good followers of God. His story is found in many books of the New Testament and it's worth a read, though admittedly I have yet to read any one in it's entirety.<br />
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Being a blessing to others is the greatest gift to God you can make, and I believe that forgiveness of others, loving others simply because they, we, are all children of Jesus Christ, and he loves us, so just as your mother or father will look kindly on your helping out a brother of sister, the Lord looks kindly on each of us offering love and support to one another. Just as Jesus pledges his love for us as an unwavering and everlasting love, not conditional on our actions, he must also consider it a gift to him when we show this love to others, our peers, or friends, and the strangers on the streets of our lives.<br />
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My friends, The Wood Family, they are a blessing to me. They gave me the best Christmas ever.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3669503406967248310.post-65831369623637876692011-12-03T06:35:00.001-05:002012-11-22T11:29:08.065-05:00My daughters impress me...I have two wonderful daughters, each with challenges I can related to, and they both have the strength and character to be remarkable individuals on a day-to-day basis. They have fears and follies that challenge them, they have trials and tribulations that make life scary, interesting, and wonderful. They are good young people with good hearts and sharp minds. And they both suffer as I have at times with various afflictions of mind and body, yet the seem better off than I was at that age, and yet not.<br />
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They are affected by the strife between their parents, they feel the tension, the angst that I cause their mother, and that their mother causes me, and they hate it. They want none of it and I both sympathize and am dumbfounded as to how to remove them from it. For the bulk of their years I would not speak ill of their mother, but I've resigned to the fact that their mother would put them in the middle. I do my best to encourage patience with their mother and re-enforce the notion that they need their mother, but I'm tired of being the nice-guy, walked on, again and again because I'm <i>supposed</i> to be positive.<br />
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I have been the one who defends the character of a person who seems to have no respect for others, no interest in anyone beyond herself, to my daughters. I have endured being financially raped by the courts by a system that is biased, stupid, or just plan ignorant to the pain and suffering that it has caused. me. A system that has stolen over $15,000 from me, and cause me no end of stress and frustration. And a system that would do it again in a heartbeat and because of that I'll give in again and again because it's safer than going before some idiot judge who may just tell me I'm at fault for having the brains to see my ex-wife is a vindictive...<br />
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I loved her once, but she never respected me for who I was. My relationship with her was a product of low self-esteem and I regret my own stupidity in marrying her. She is a person I cannot even contemplate trust in, and if I knew what I know now about her I would never have set foot in her world. I pray that God delivers me from this hell and I can just leave this behind. It's killing me.<br />
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I do NOT give up. I forge ahead, persisting in being a good person, trying to find hope and peace and doing EVERYTHING IN MY POWER to provide for my daughters, but I am beaten. I remain defeated and at a loss, rarely having a moment or opportunity for peace in my own being. This is why I believe in God.<br />
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My faith delivers me from evil, gives me peace and hope, and takes the burden of hate and jealousy from my shoulders. If you don't believe in Jesus Christ or God, you're missing something. No, not at the moment of this entry, but it will, soon as I get to that part of my day when I stand, naked before my God (and usually in the shower to be honest) and pray for his guidance and for His will to lead me where I need to go, what I need to do. I release control of my fate, my destiny, to His will. This does not mean I give up. I pledge my support and my intent to live as I believe he would like me to live and beg him forgive me for my human flaws. I ask him to remind me as I do what I do, day-to-day, to ask myself, "What would Jesus do?"<br />
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Indeed, what would Jesus do?<br />
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I have been challenged recently with fears of job loss, which is like <abbr title="Post Traumatic Stress Disorder"><b><i>PTSD</i></b></abbr> for the repeatedly downsized. Combine that with my experiences in courts over divorce and custody issues and I'm just burnt out. I want to realize some peace and my faith is truly my only out.<br />
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I refuse to feel guilt for my actions, I try, daily to be a good person and just like you, I am <i>not</i> perfect. I make mistakes. I am thankful that those around me, my friends, my family, the people that love me for who I am, are there to re-assure me that I'm on the right track, or not. I believe a real friend <i>will</i> tell you when you're being an idiot. I have, and love, each of them and I appreciate them as much as I can. Many may see my life as blessed, and they are right. I count myself as truly blessed to have the friends and family I do, and I try to give back, not just to them, but to others through whatever means. I have been blessed with a personality, a desire, that begs me to help others, so I do.<br />
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I live by the motto, "Happy to help, any time."<br />
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I give what I can, when I can, to whomever needs it, I have plans to make a difference in bigger and bigger ways, and do what I can to show people that God is real and influences the tides of life. I have witnessed the good, and endured His challenges. I am thankful to my God for his graciousness, and can honestly say I have been rewarded by my faith.<br />
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I am at peace, and very thankful I have two wonderful daughters. I pray for them to find faith too, but I also pray for:<br />
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<ul>
<li>My ex-wife</li>
<li>People around me in trouble</li>
<li>Strangers I see as I go through my day that seem to be having trouble</li>
<li>Drivers who are frustrated in Traffic</li>
<li>My friends and family as they have their lives to contend with</li>
<li>You</li>
</ul>
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Praying for someone is not a judgement, it is a request for God to look in on someone and help them find peace. So many feel confronted when being told of the Word of God, they feel accused of being bad people, of being judged, but that's not the intent. Admittedly it <i>is</i> how it can be perceived, but I assure you it is not the <i>intent</i>. This is something that Christians need to work on when they are trying to "save" others. Some people are offended that the person who is accosting them thinks they need to be "rescued" in the first place. I felt the same way.<br />
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I say this with all my heart and soul, as a gift to you:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>God be with you today and always. Let him into your heart and allow him to guide you. Do not judge, for that is not our burden, but His. Look for the good in people and pray for those that are embattled with sin and the burdens of life, that they may find peace. The Lord, Jesus Christ, loves each and every one of us and asks only one thing... love Him, trust in Him, believe in Him, and when you can do that, help others find their way as well. Peace is in the faith you have in God.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Bless you.</i> I am now going to have my own conversation with God.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0