C Note(s)

I f it's one lesson I've learned from my time on Spaceship Earth is that heartbreak is a catalyst for action with me. I'm hoping I'm not the only one, but perhaps I am? I fear the abyss of depression as I barely managed to crawl out of it the first time around, and know deep-down I might not be able to do an encore performance if it happens again. That's why I run, no, actually sprint the other direction! After a girl broke my heart, I got a spark in my ass. Which involved: bagels, Bucket Lists, and Barcelona. WCP hit me up about what I wanted to do for New Year's Eve Y2K12. I ruefully thought, "Well, I'm not repeating last year's celebration!" I told her on my Bucket List was to celebrate NYE in another country. Due to timing, finances, and planning, that narrowed it down to Canada and Mexico. And due to proximity, it was decided on Canada. Plus I know she has an entire network in the club scene, so there might be resources and/...

It's that time of year that I dread. I honestly have no idea from year to year how I'll react. In the 19 years since my mother's death, it's been more smiles than tears, that I'm can thankfully say. Regardless, I hope you have yourself a Merry Christmas. I remember talking to my girlfriend about that pivotal Christmas in 1997. The memory is so surrealistic that it's almost palpable in my mind. Our family tradition is to have a rotating Santa Claus to distribute the gifts. As you can imagine this was the last task on our minds. I volunteered to do it. Again, last thing I wanted to do but knew Mom would want us to keep digging. Ironically, we didn't have much time or money to purchase gifts for one another with cancer treatments being draining in both aspects. Which meant it was a short task to say the least! Regardless, it still felt like we were all at ground zero for a ginormous bomb that detonated on our house. We were some accustomed to checking in ...

So my #TabulaRasaDay Declaration for 2016 was: Write, finish, edit, and publish Napkin Nights 2: A New Dawn . In order to be able to market to a larger audience than Lulu, an on-demand self-publishing company, I must complete a few steps in the application process. I've started said process by ordering my own paper back version of the first book - Napkin Nights: The Crunk Chronicles . So far it's only available on Lulu.com, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble as a NOOK product. After the application process it'll be available additionally on Amazon, and Barnes & Noble as paper back! Speaking of paper back and to kick start sales here's a link to Napkin Nights: The Crunk Chronicles ,  with a 20% discount, please click here . #napkinnights #whatsnextRiceChex #burningthemidnightoil 'los; out

Eight years ago, I declared December 1st as Tabula Rasa Day ! I have invited several new peeps to participate so they asked me the origin of Tabula Rasa Day, so here is the answer ... The story starts with my sister living in a bad apartment complex, and the first few months of my divorce being finalized. My ex-wife and I made an agreement about the sale of the house, and that I would move out of the house while it was being sold. The search was on for an apartment with my sister! And this isn't the first time we've lived together either, or on account of the ex. In my mind, I wasn't ready to encounter my ex on a regular or semi regular basis so I wanted to be south of her as much as possible. That meant near my work location of Issaquah. My sister also worked at Costco Travel with me at the time, so it would benefit her as well to live in the city of Issaquah. I located an apartment complex that was mere minutes away. However, I was busy as hell so I was unable to v...

It's days away from the gluttonous day of feasting known only as Thanksgiving. A day of wanton disregard of caloric intake, alcohol consumption and merrymaking. The origin of the holiday is so far removed, that I believe few actually remember it. Regardless, I'm still wishing y'all, Happy Thanksgiving! I remember the last Thanksgiving we had with my mother prior to her passing. She was home from the hospital after they "released" her - that's a completely different story for another time. As much as she wanted to, she didn't possess the strength to cook the feast the family was gonna demolish. My Aunt Patty and yours truly stepped up for cooking duty. I don't even remember when I started cooking turkey but in the time spent I've become quite adept at it, even though it's only an annual event. Aunt Patty cooked everything else. Every Thanksgiving, save for this one, was a joyous occasion. We usually invited over family members to watch t...

As I spy my calendar on the wall of my home-office, and hold my "turkey letter", I noticed I'm nearing my 1st anniversary at 747. My heart and face smiles, as I'm grateful for the support that got me there, as oppose to the role I was in at Costco Travel. While I do miss that side of the business, I feel (and still do) better served in front of the Costco Member and other Costco employees 24/7/365. That visibility started 11/30/15, Cyber Monday, and continues to this day. I honestly thought I would be wearing a red vest by the end of 6 months. I understand now that the additional 6 months was necessary. Not because of my learning curve, and my abilities, but the acceptance of the crew I would be working with and for . I've been coached that I can try all I want to move around but if I don't have the support from the top brass all the way to the maintenance guy - I'll never get anywhere. I'm grateful for those words of advice, as I echo them i...

So, the other day this happened. It reminded me of... Sapphire Sled and I: The Adventure Continues!  More on that later! The other day I left my girlfriend's house in Monroe a grip later than I wanted. I pressed the gas pedal down a little harder in a few areas than I usually do. Then I was fast approaching the exit I needed for northbound Highway 9 to start my work shift. As I left westbound 522 I knew it was tight right-handed cloverleaf. The caution sign rates it as 30 mph. From formal and informal racing experience, I knew the braking zone would be where I would slow down the most. I applied the brakes, but to my surprise there was a wicked bump at the beginning of the downhill right-hander. This upset the inertia of the car. It kicks out the rearend to a 35 degree to the left. No need to panic, just steer into the skid. Still coming around. Damn , I thought . I goose the gas, crank the steering wheel to the right, and yank the emergency brake to complete a 360 degree spi...

The other day I was given another compliment on my ability to kiss. I feel I can be puffy chest, loud and proud, as this is not the first time I've heard this. I'm pretty good at the Kissing Game: My First Kiss. Not gonna lie, I love the act of the kiss. In fact the first kiss with someone, to me, is the most intoxicating. There's no replacing the adrenaline coursing through my veins, my heart pounding in my chest that it threatens to escape through my ribs, and then... contact. MMMM, MMM, good! Granted I've encountered a kiss from a girl that was ... let's just say, not as enjoyable as others, but still fun. I'm sure the same could be said about my kisses, but after the most recent compliments I'm gonna be so bold as to state that it's one of my anchor points of my dating game. While practice makes progress, I like to think passion for a skill is a game-changer. As I said, I love kissing. It's so intimate, sensual, and intoxicating, that I...

Halloween is right around the corner so I thought I would stroll down memory lane about my past Halloween's. More like my "last" Halloween: Trick or Treat. My "last" Halloween of trick or treating was a watershed moment in my adolescence. You see, it all started when I wanted money. That's right, greed. I wanted money to purchase items that tween boys like, such as candy, comics, video games, etc. My parents never subscribed to an allowance like my friends because they felt house chores are part of the community, needed to be contributed to, and more importantly, done for free. I was 13 years old, so I couldn't find employment in the work force, but save for one: managing a newspaper route. I thought, "Alright fine. A paper route it IS!" And my Dad wouldn't agree to signing the papers for me until I agreed to joining the Boy Scouts since I just completed Cub Scouts and didn't want to continue with it. Again, fine, I'll do w...

I'm usually not fired up enough by news reports that warrants an online response. However, the local recent headline of "Fifth Team To Forfeit to Archbishop Murphy" has done exactly that. The question at hand is: do you fight or forfeit - who actually wins? What am I specifically talking about? I'll tell you. Through the first 3 games the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats have won and outscored their opponents for an incredible 173-0. Then the next team to play was Sultan High School, which they forfeited to the Wildcats citing unfair competitive edge, player size, and that it would be unwise and unsafe to play. YOWZA! T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More)  My immediate reaction originated from a boy who wasn't selected to be on the high school team, let alone have any playing time. That boy was me! I'm confident I had (have) the skill needed to excel as a competitor but was never given the chance. I gaffed it off as nothing because in my 4 years of hi...

As part of my gear as a supervisor (Supervisor In Training - SIT) is a store issued, handheld radio. At first it's fun because it's new and shiny with insight into a world you don't know as a cashier or non-radio holder. And then ... that luster wears off quickly as you realize why everyone doesn't have a radio. It's for good reason, too. I usually joke, "It's all fun and games at Costco until someone gives you a radio." No one is taught the proper use of a radio, how it functions, or even radio etiquette (yes, there's a decorum to follow) One would think for all the Costco University classes, modules, and continuing development courses, that there would be one to address radio use. There isn't! Radio check, 1, 2, 3 A large portion of my frustration stems from my experience as a technical licensing holding amateur radio operator aka HAM. My call sign: KF7LGI. And another portion of my frustration is my experience of being a part-ti...

Seriously, y'all. Quit creepy clowning around! In fact, I find it ridiculous that I am even posting an entry to address this recent trend. But here I am, writing about it. I wanna get back to the basics: Grimaldi, sweet, and fun type of clowns. I realize this message will not be read by the very people it's directed to. That much, I get. However, those that are part of the this creepy clown cycle that do read this can break the cycle of negativity. You know, a love-conquers-all type of approach. As much as I've been able to source out, the first 2016 creepy clown sighting that was documented  was in Greenville, South Carolina. The full article was written by Matthew Teague of The Guardian , and be read in detail here . But here's the introduction: T he first person to spot a clown, the patient zero in the current  epidemic  of threatening clowns sightings spreading across the US, was a little boy at a low-income apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina. ...

Fall is in full effect. That tells me school's in session, the yearly routine starts again, and traditional events are about to kick off. One of which is Homecoming! Many of my adult friends have children that are teenagers now. Tells me, I'm getting old!  In high school, I pretty much could take or leave Homecoming Dance. Since it's centered around returning residents, and alumni, and I'm the oldest in the family, it wasn't a big deal. I never really had no desire to be elected Homecoming King, so I never pushed myself to do all that I needed to be selected. However, that being said, as an adult, homecoming has a completely different and more meaningful definition to me. I understand that “you can’t go home again” has entered American speech to point out how human nostalgia is weighted with both an inaccurately positive bias ("Absence makes the heart grow fonder") and an inability to appreciate the changes wrought by time on places and people we...

Recently, I've reconnected with people of my past which has been fantastic. Especially, when you make that #rainbowconnection - Having said that, this usually will unlock memories of the past as well. My latest reconnection was actually a reconciliation that took place before either of us were dead. I'm so grateful, too, as we had regrettable falling out. All too often this happens way after the fact. In fact I'm losing my point. For some reason that unlocked this memory I've stored for 17 years. Maybe because my relationship with her was during my teenager years? HM. I digress . It was 1999, and no we didn't party like #itslike1999 late November. Although, one would think with the media coverage that it was New Year's Eve instead of the WTO (World Trade Organization) Riots aka The Battle of Seattle . On the morning of the day, I knew that there was some buzz about the WTO Meeting on the news. And that there were would be active protestors. What I ...

My recent self-inflicted passport woes reminded me of a worst-case, nightmare scenario I had the pleasure of living through at the Canada-USA border. Being unorganized, and getting old is a bitch, isn't it? At least I am resourceful enough to live through these stories in order to tell them to Spaceship Earth. I call it: #OhCanada - My Border Crossing. Aiight, it was the mid '90s so travel and border crossings were easier than today. I had just started working at the newly formed AAA Washington Express Travel Call Center (Carter Mears) after graduating from Edmond Community College with AA in Liberal Arts AND a Certificate in Travel and Tourism (Gretchen Maliska) My live-in girlfriend was a tall drink of water, which clinched my thirst on the daily. You see, she was an aspiring model, young, fun, yet plagued with back problems with her height of 6 feet. Her prescription pain medicine was so strong it was narcotics based. #TallDrinkofWater had shared with me in passing t...