I don't know why my brother died on November 9, 2009. I don't know if it was "just his time." Or, if there was negligence in his treatment at the hospital. I don't know if it was related to breaking his leg or if it had to do with the reason he passed out the morning of the day he died. I don't know if it was because he was grossly overweight or if he wasn't managing his health very well. I just don't know why he died, but it has, among other things, reminded me of my own mortality.
I miss Jeff very much. If there's anyone out there in Blogland who would miss me if I died, anywhere near as much as I miss Jeff, then I want to do what I can to delay my death as much as possible.
I have a few medical problems. Diabetes is the most critical. So, you'd imagine I'd be very careful with my diet and my weight, right? Well, you'd be wrong. I've treated it like it was a hangnail.
So, beginning tomorrow, January 1, 2010, I resolve to faithfully take my medication, as directed.
I also resolve to eat the foods that I know I should eat.
And, avoid the foods I know I shouldn't eat.
I know I'll fail some days. I'll backslide once in awhile. But, for 2010, I want to manage my Diabetes.
Watch for further New Year's Resolutions in days to come.
I know it's pretty common for people to make, and then immediately (or shortly thereafter) break, New Year's Resolutions. It's a fact. I've done it myself. Why, then, do I feel so compelled to make them each year?
There is something for me about looking at the fresh, clean slate of a New Year and hoping to make it a great year; a year of positive change; maybe even the best year yet. I know I have many flaws and I always hope that the coming year will be the year I make changes to repair those flaws.
So, here I sit, nearing the end of 2009 and thinking about 2010. What kind of year will it be? I've lost family members the last two years. Will there be other family deaths in 2010? Will I control my appetite enough to lose some weight and, thereby, make it possible to reduce the amount of medication I take each day? Will I be able to get back to my ideal weight? Or, will I be able to grow 6" or 7" in height, so my current weight is ideal for my height?
Will I be able to spend more time in spiritual development, as well as in my doctrinal knowledge? What about all the things I learned in public schools and during my time at BYU...I've forgotten more than I remember. Do I need to brush up on History, Geography, Political Science, Math, and many of the other subjects I've not used much over the subsequent years?
Will I have as many aches and pains in 2010 as I've had in 2009? Is there anything I can do to reduce them? If it involves getting better sleep, exercise and eating right, will I be able to do those things?
Suffice it, at this time, to say, that I'm working on my list of 2010 New Year's Resolutions and I'll let you know what they are when I finalize them.
Christmas Day is this Friday. I can't believe it's here. This has been such a busy year. Work has been difficult. We've had to terminate some employees. We've had to work under severe financial constraints. Karen and I have been busy at church. I have 76 High Priests who I "lead" as the High Priest Group Leader. Kids and grandkids keep us hopping. Life is simply busy and complicated...and anything but simple.
I know I'm not alone. I know your lives are as busy and complicated and hectic as mine. This can't be what it's all about, can it?
No, I know it's not.
Thank goodness for the Christmas Season to help keep us grounded in what's important.
Please, slow down a bit, check out this video, and remember the reason we celebrate this time of year.
We woke up on Sunday to a little bit of snow on the ground. Not much. Maybe an inch. It piddled a little during the day, but didn't add anything to the accumulation. Today, Monday, there's a little more snow, maybe 4 inches, and we're told that we'll get about a foot today and tomorrow.
I went outside and cranked up the snow blower. It didn't want to start. I had to curse twice, then it finally started.
I've cleaned off the sidewalk out front so the Provo High School kids can walk by without having to trudge through the snow.
I pretty much don't like cold weather (and I hate hot weather), but if it's going to be cold, I'd rather have some snow. So, now we're getting it.
Karen doesn't ask much of me while I'm working in my home office, while she's at work. Just keep the fire going in the wood-burning stove, so the cats will be warm. That's all she asks. She says, "You don't have to clean the house or take out the trash or vacuum or wash the dishes or the clothes...just keep the fire going for the cats."
Can I really be turning 63 today?Where did my life go? It seems like just yesterday that I was standing on the steps in San Diego, with Linda and Jeff.
Yes, that's Linda, looking like she wants to kill someone. Stay out of her way!! (Double click on the photo to get the full effect of her wrath.) Jeff is looking dapper in his sports coat and bow tie. And, of course, that's me in my Little Rascals' Alfalfa stage.
I found that photo and started looking at a bunch of other photos. It was kind of fun to see my life through photos. Here are some highlights:
A happier Linda, with baby Bobby -
Cub Scout Bobby, at about 8 years old, not quite grown into my ears yet - Paperboy Bobby - winner of the big contest, about age 12 -
My Senior Picture, age 17 -
Washing my brand new 1968 VW Kaefer (Beetle) in the snow in Sandhausen, Germany. About age 22 - Graduated from BYU and working at my photo lab, circa 1975, which would make be about 29 years old -
In one of my yo-yo, up-and-down, roller coaster phases...at a down time in my weight cycle. Around 1978, or so. Somewhere about 32 or 33 and about 160 lbs. -
And, just the other day at the new In-N-Out Burger in Orem, UT, age 62 and about 250 lbs. - It's been a good life, so far. I'm going to try to stick around a little bit longer.
The State Run Media is still trying to be quiet about it, but the facts are out: Global Warming, Global Cooling, and Climate Change are truly, as I've been saying all along, A BIG HOAX.
Despite Al Gore's Oscar and his Nobel Peace Prize, he's an opportunist who is now a mega-millionaire due to his participation in this hoax.
Scientists who have sat quietly on the sideline, trying not to be labeled as Climate Change Deniers, have slowly and carefully started to speak out against the Climate Change Hoax.
Here are just a few articles to give you a little background:
The emails that were released, not by a hacker, but by a Global Warmist who suddenly got a conscience and couldn't continue to support the hoax: http://www.eastangliaemails.com/index.php
I must be a little bit ahead of our times...I've distrusted scientists for a long time. Most of them are in it for the money! For others, it's their religion.
It's been a busy couple of weeks, starting with Monday, November 9th. That's when I started getting calls about Jeff breaking his leg. Later, it was calls about Jeff not doing well. Then the call that informed me that he had passed away. I'm still not sure I've accepted it. As I've told just about everyone I've talked to, my Mother's death, although still a shock, was somewhat expected, given her age and declining health. Jeff, on the other hand, was so unexpected that I'm still having trouble accepting it. I've started to send him emails two or three times in the last 10 days and then I remember.
I will truly miss our relationship. We laughed a lot!
That Monday was followed by a rushed trip to Dallas, where Karen and I were able to spend some time with Michele and my Dad. Linda and Bobby. Paula and her kids, Rick and his wife, PFC Nikki. Kelly and her boyfriend, Matt. And, David. David's girlfriend came by the house, but he rushed her off before I got a chance to meet her. He's either ashamed of her or of me. Which do you think it is?
The funeral was Saturday and I thought it went very well.
We flew home from Dallas and got home late Saturday night. I slept for a couple of hours, then got up to fly to Cincinnati on Sunday morning.
I've been in Cincy all week, attending meetings. I just got back to Provo yesterday - Thursday.
Today is Friday and I don't want to do anything but lay around (or is that lie around?) and rest, but I've got so much to do that I've been up and at it since 5:00 AM.
I'm glad to be home and plan on enjoying some restful time. I'm taking Monday through Wednesday off and then have Thursday (Thanksgiving) and Friday off work, so this will be a pretty lazy week. That's what I need.
I told Karen if she'll let me have a lazy week next week, I'll giver her what she loves the very most...I'll leave her alone all week.
This one is a two-parter. The first part is regarding receiving guidance from the Spirit. It's clear and easy to understand.
The second part has to do with pornography. I fear for those who struggle with pornography. Elder Scott explains exactly why. Old, fat Bob, joker extraordinaire, takes pornography deadly seriously. I've seen too many men lose their family through addiction to this scourge.
You know I'm not a prude. I enjoy a photo or the actual physical presence of a beautiful women, clothed or unclothed. I'm not talking about that kind of thing. I'm talking about the filth that is so abundant on the Internet and readily available to anyone who wants it. Help your husband and your sons by not making it easy for them to play with this deadly infection. There is no reason for them to be locked away in their room or office while on their computer. If they're behind locked doors, they're doing something that might well ruin their lives.
Just a second while I get off my soapbox...
There you go, now I've got both feet back on the ground.
I hope you enjoy these two talks/articles as much as I do.
I'm not complaining and I certainly don't want to see a change in the weather, but it's absolutely gorgeous in Utah. We've enjoyed 70+ degree days throughout the fall.
It's not quite 9:00 AM as I write this and it's already 65 degrees. There's a "20% chance of rain" on Sunday, but we haven't had any winterish weather yet this year. No sleet. No snow, except in the mountains. No hail. Just nice weather.
If this is global warming, I vote it continues for awhile.
Yesterday we had our several pumpkins carved and spread creatively around the front porch and yard. We had a basket of full-sized candy bars ready to hand out.
It got dark. We waited patiently. And at the end of the night, when we tallied up all our visitors, we counted 2 girls in one group...period.
One knock on the door. Two girls that we didn't know.
I worked with my company's Field Service Director this week. He's my immediate supervisor. I also worked with my colleague, the guy who does in the eastern US what I do in the western US. We've instituted a program that brings both of them to my part of the country one quarter and the Director and me to his part of the country during the next quarter. We visited Los Angeles, CA this week. In about 3 months, we'll meet either in Washington D.C. or Atlanta, GA, the two cities that I said I'd like to visit.
I learned some things and had some things refreshed in my memory as I worked this week. Here are just a few of those things:
I was reminded that it's very important to me that I'm the best at what I do. I felt like I was holding my breath all week as we toured the stores in the L.A. Market and the other two gentlemen audited and analyzed our store sets and the overall work that we do. We chose L.A. because there's a substantial inner city area that the others wanted to see. They wanted to compare my inner city stores with those in the large cities in the east. I'm proud to say that we compared very favorably to the stores in the east. In fact, it was apparent from the comments that our inner city stores look much better than those in the eastern cities.
I learned that I'm very comfortable with criticism, when it's warranted, but not very patient with it when it's petty. When the Director pointed out areas where we (in the west) excel and the eastern Region Manager's stores come up short, the eastern Region Manager became petty and picky with his criticism. I told him he was being petty and that if he mainly critiqued those areas where there was some real deficiencies that we could correct, it would provide me with some areas and ideas for improving our work. He had very few areas that he could seriously question after that, but when he did, I took his criticism with grace and aplomb.
I learned that even though I'm getting older, I still want to learn.There were a number of things discussed amongst the three of us, about which I know nothing. These weren't all work-related topics. For example, when I was younger, even though I wasn't a fan of professional football, I knew enough about it that I could carry on an intelligent conversation. When these two guys started talking about the NFL, I was lost. I made a quiet vow that I want to continue to learn and gain intelligence. I'm not dead quite yet. This vow relates to work, general knowledge, and church topics.
Well, that's about all. Three main things: (1) I'm still competitive. (2) I can take criticism when it's justified, but I can't when it's not. (3) I still have a desire to learn.
Don't anyone tell President Obama what comes after a trillion.
I know. I said I wouldn't make political comments here anymore, but I'm about to explode if he comes up with more debt for our country. Besides, I'm already paying enough in taxes. I wish he'd just leave us alone and let the free market system fix the economy.
I think I just mowed our lawn for the last time in 2009. The sprinkler system is turned off. The nights are getting cold. We've had a couple of light freezes.
Winter is here.
Well, 60 degrees during the day and in the 30s at night.
Got a pen and next year's calendar handy? Mark September 3rd and 4th, 2010 on your calendar. That's a Friday and Saturday. We'll be having a Phil & Enid Martin Family Reunion in Provo, UT. September 4, 2010 is also Phil Martin's 85th Birthday, so we'll be celebrating that, as well.
We've tried to give you as much notice as possible, so you can save up some money and make plans to attend.
There will be more, tons more, information to come, but this is just your first notification.
If you have a relative that doesn't check out blogs or even emails, etc., please print this out and send it to them via US Mail.
Well, here it is Monday morning and I still feel horrible. I have to work today, however, because Monday is a big Office Day for me. Then tomorrow I'm taking a short trip to Pocatello and Idaho Falls, ID, followed by Logan, UT on Thursday. I'll be back home Thursday afternoon.
I did something yesterday that I haven't done forever. I stayed in bed all day. Not only that, I slept all but a few minutes of the time I was in bed. I got up to go to the potty and to check my email, a couple of times, but other than that, I was in bed, asleep.
On Wednesday afternoon in the Temple, I felt a tickle in my throat. By the end of the session, I had a full-fledged sore throat. By the time we got home, I felt horrible.
I checked my temperature and found that I had a fever. So I got right into bed and went right to sleep.
Yesterday, Thursday, I slept through the day, then through the night last night. This morning, I got up, made my bed, fixed some breakfast, and came up to my office. I participated in a Safety Conference Call and wrote this blog. I pretended like I was completely healed. However, I still feel like crap.
I didn't go to the hospital and push around a drip thingy, but I wanted to go there so I could wear a robe that showed my bottom.
Or, better yet, I wanted to go to the vet and have them put me to sleep. You know, the llloooooonngg sleep. The Pink Shot Sleep.
Oh well, I'll get back in bed and see if I can sleep all day today.
We will be having a Phil/Enid Martin Family Reunion in 2010. This is just a heads-up.
Jeff Martin is in charge of this one and he'll put someone in charge of publicity, but I just wanted everyone to start planning for this event.
Here's what we know:
The reunion will take place the weekend of Labor Day 2010. That's the weekend of September 3rd. Dad's birthday is September 4th, so this will be a doubly meaningful event.
There will be food and fun.
Here are some of the things we don't know:
Where this soiree will take place. (Maybe Dallas, or Utah, or Arizona, or Las Vegas. Christy votes for St. Charles, MO!)
Which came first? The chicken or the egg.
So, mark your calendar and start watching for further information.
Where did the weekend go? It seems like I just got back from Houston and Dallas and now I'm getting ready to go to the airport to go to San Diego and Los Angeles.
My weekends seem to shoot by. What little bit of Friday I have left by the time I get back from traveling for work, is spent mowing the lawn, feeding the birds, and doing other chores, then grocery shopping when Karen gets home.
We go on a date on Friday night, then before I know it, it's Saturday.
Saturday is a special day, it's the day we try to get everything else done that didn't get done on Friday or the rest of the week. It's also over all to quickly.
Sunday is a full day of work. I go to my first meeting at 9:30 AM and finish up around 3:30 PM. At that time, I help Karen get our Sunday Family Dinner prepared. We eat at 5:00 PM and visit with our kids for awhile.
Some friends come over for dessert, we go to bed, and then it's time to go to work on Monday morning.
I want to check with the government to see if, besides Daylight Savings Time, they've done something to mess with our weekends. I know Saturday and Sunday are much shorter than the other days of the week.
Karen and I took off with some friends for a fun Saturday afternoon roadtrip. We made it as far as the Sandy area, where we saw a shopping center. We stopped there and bought something at all three stores we visited.
We bought some stuff at the Quilt Shop. We bought something at the Great Harvest Bread Company. And, we bought something at some home decor store.
Then we took off for South Towne Mall, where we could do some real shopping. We wandered around there for about an hour, buying stuff all along the way, and then decided we were hungry.
So, we went to Carino's Italian Grill. The food was great. The ambiance was great. The server was a dork. He almost ruined it for us. Almost.
Then, we went to Target for some more shopping.
We were in the mood for some dessert, so we went to Maggie Moo's for an ice cream treat.
By this time, we were beat, so we headed for home.
It was at this point that Karen remembered that we didn't have any potatoes for scalloped potatoes, so we stopped at Wal-Mart and got some, along with some other things she just had to have...yep, more shopping.
Then, we finally went home, unloaded the car and now I'm here in my office writing this blog.
As I said, what a great afternoon. Any time I can spend that much time with my sweatheart, it's a great time.
One of the hardest habits to change as I get older is that of assuming I can lift anything, move anything, do anything that I used to when I was younger.
Over the last couple of months, I've actually had to work. Physically work. I've worked with reps and managers doing fastener resets in Lowe's stores. The process takes about 8 - 10 hours per day and is quite physical. There's lifting of boxes and drawers that can weigh up to 40 pounds. There's standing up, squating down, and repeating that 1000 times during the day. Naturally, I try to hold my own and even try to compete with the younger people I work with.
So, after two months of this, my shoulders are throbbing. I went to the doctor who said I have tendinitis in both shoulders, so he's sent me to Physical Therapy.
I've gone twice. I have six more times to go. On the days I don't go, I do numerous exercises that the PT has recommended I do.
Now my shoulders hurt even worse, but he said they'll feel better soon.
