and so it is...

just like you said it would be, life goes easy on me most of the time...

ok, wouldn't it be nice if mr. damien rice had some supernatural gift of foresight. not that ushering in my day to his single "blower's daughter" is a bad idea or anything because it can actually be the right kind of jolt one needs to put things into perspective, however today i find his claim to be a little difficult to swallow... life hasn't gone easy.

not unlike most of the world, i am currently falling pray to this economical shift that has sent our great nation into a tailspin. let me come clean and tell you that i'm not really feeling sorry for myself, rather i'm simply feeling compelled to paint this picture. it's the emotional burden driving me more than pity so before you or anyone else tells me to shut my trap, let me remind you that i realize I AM BLESSED. greater than 50% of north america (if not the universe) have it worse than a middle aged white man in the US. nevertheless, i am no less protected from the effects of this market than anyone else. there may be yet another chapter being written here, prior to a time where i believe the one that preceded it was completely documented.

you will recall that my story revolved around a passion i have for assisting those who find themselves in financial ruins, regardless of the reason for their demise. bottom line, i have a heart to help but unfortunately its becoming clear that my own resources have been the main reason for keeping this vision from inevitably sinking. well, i can no longer nurse this desire because it is beginning to reek havoc on my own personal finances. kind of interesting how our heart doesn't always lead us to the most rational decisions, yet i'm still an advocate of listening to it far closer than one should pay attention to their head. forgive me for not laughing at the irony here. after all, it makes for a good headline in the tabloids - "financial manager buried in debt," or something of the like. that caption wouldn't be true, thankfully, but if i'm not careful it certainly could become a reality.

it's a really challenging dichotomy. i love to be resourceful and help those in need, to better manage and turn the corner towards significant life change. at the same time, it takes money to do this and lately i have very little. those who know me are likely aware that i've been taking this to my Heavenly Father daily, sometimes on multiple occasions over the course of the day. i trust He will provide insight concerning next steps and whether or not this door will close, or what the next door might look like if He's trying to communicate that walking through it would be a better idea. we'll see but if you're a praying person, it would be great for you to life this up to Him as well because time is becoming a greater factor here. as with all things, patience and wisdom are two virtues i could stand have a little more of to see my way through this time.

ok, so that's the "sky is falling" commercial, which has been sponsored this afternoon by our friends at Miller Lite, in accordance with their new "venting" technology.

on the "sun will rise" news front, i could not be more in love with my little buddy, BJ. this was easily the best father's day to date, even though i pulled up lame due to a small bout with the rocky ground and home plate at our softball game. yeah, it's interesting how logic falls by the wayside when you have one half dozen of your teammates screaming "get down" as if they were attempting to incite a riot. i understand "duck and cover" and "drop and roll" but their version of telling me to get under the catcher's tag was more reminiscent of staging a coo. needless to say, their efforts worked and i abandoned commen sense, to later find myself sporting a rather large display of road rash, or a strawberry (as we used to say).
anyway, i was thankfully able to navigate through the day well enough to keep good company, or so i was told. BJ and i played all his favorite games and i must say i'm becoming quite fond of the tackle game, otherwise known as knee football. BJ gave me the handicap and i played from the couch so the height difference wasn't nearly to my advantage. probably a more even contest that way but he always seems to have the competitive edge. yeah, my boy loves to win, and win he does.
we capped the day by breaking in the new mini hockey net i got him for his 3rd birthday a few months back. that was also a real hit, literally and figuratively. we had to shut this one down a little early though because BJ paid close attention to the red wings' road to lord stanley this season (GO RED WINGS!) and applied a few bone crushing hip flexors, knocking me down for the count. ah, the joy of raising a boy!

i'm also finding it very exciting that coldplay releases their new CD tomorrow, long after they entered the studio last year. they brought along mr. brian wilson from beach boys fame to produce some/all of the tracks so it should be interesting. either way, i'm jazzed to have some new tunes to spin from these brits.
there's been quite a few bands i follow that have released new music lately. yes, i know, it does very little to solve the budget crisis so i should tell you that i strategically traded in some old and underutilized music to satiate my appetite for the new.
included in this list of recent finds is death cab for cutie's latest "narrow stairs" and the third self-titled weezer album. and finally, i'm the happy owner of the second volume in sarah mclachlan's "b-sides and rarities" series. these three items have been in regular rotation since their acquisition.

before my disappearing act that will likely last longer than either one of us like, please allow me to extend my recommendation for the 2nd installment of narnia on the silver screen. prince caspian is another brilliant adaptation of the c.s. lewis classics. once again, to miss it would be rather unfortunate.

we now return to our regularly scheduled program...