08May 2013 by CJ

There’s a time and place for being funny

Life & Living
Growing up I learned that there’s a time and place for everything. As an insecure adolescent, I tried to be “funny” all the time in order to gain acceptance and attention from my peers. But this continual attempt at trying to ease my insecurities, sometimes blurred the lines between when being “funny” was appropriate, and when it wasn’t. I’m happy to say that as an adult, I’ve grown out of the need to be “funny” for acceptance. While I still consider myself a fairly humorous individual, I understand the importance of always remembering there’s a time and place to be funny. But sadly I still see grown adults who can offer nothing more than a “funny” comment or reference in any situation – almost as though they’re incapable of carrying…
Read More
07May 2013 by CJ

There’s nothing wrong with laughing at yourself

Life & Living
Today was one of those mornings when I found myself in a bit of a quandary. I just hopped out of the shower when it dawned on me – I don’t have any deodorant left! Paranoid about the possibility of being “unfresh” in the workplace, and with no time to run to the store, I had to improvise. You may remember a deodorant commercial from years ago stating “strong enough for a man, but made for a woman”. Well I certainly put that to the test today. Beyond smelling like a “girl”, I have to admit that my wife’s deodorant did a pretty damn good job. I guess it was more than just some slick marketing jargon after all – this stuff really does work on a man! Driving to…
Read More
06May 2013 by CJ

Grandparents – they hold a special place in our hearts

Love & Relationships, Youth
My wife and I made a regular habit of visiting my grandparents on a weekly basis. Sometimes it was just for cake and coffee, others grandma would go all out preparing a feast, which could easily feed an army. We all had such a good time eating, playing games, talking about our lives and recanting cherished tales from yesterday. It became something we looked forward to from one week to another. But while our regular visits remained unchanged, my grandparent’s health began to deteriorate. My grandfather would battle Alzheimer’s disease for several years before his death. It was heart wrenching to watch his decline, though I’m happy to say that both my wife and I were by his side when he took his last breath. As for my grandmother, she’s…
Read More
06May 2013 by CJ

You only fail if you haven’t learned anything

Life & Living
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Henry Ford It’s easy to look through the history of one’s life and categorize certain events or experiences as being failures. I hate that word. By definition the word failure speaks of a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing. Okay, there are parts of my life I wish I would’ve handled differently, but to say that I was “unsuccessful” or that my life was somehow “disappointing” because of it just seems a little harsh. I believe the only reason something should be classified as a failure is if you haven’t learned anything from it. If you’ve gone through a string of relationships or friendships and still can’t love someone unconditionally; if you’ve bounced from job to job but…
Read More
02May 2013 by CJ

What rewards does convenience provide?

Life & Living
The former CEO of Chrysler Corporation, Lee Iacocca, wrote what I consider a must read for anyone walking the planet today who’s fed up with politics running rampant in every facet of life. The book is entitled, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? In one chapter titled, “Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?” Iacocca states, “Sometimes I wonder if we’d be better off with less success. Maybe our minds are getting a little warped. We have five hundred TV channels, plus the Internet. Too much TV, too much Internet, too many e-mails. I’m not knocking computers, but as the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out. Do you ever stop and think about how you’re actually benefiting from this brave new computer world?” While the above paragraph…
Read More