Tapout on CNBC - Ultimate Fighting, FromBloodsport to Big Time
Month: November 2008
Car Doors Say A Lot About A Marriage…
“When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.” – unknown
If you are in a relationship, here are some tips to staying in that relationship:
- Always put her first — before work, friends, even basketball. Act as if she’s the best thing that ever happened to you, because we all know she is.
- Keep no secrets. Pool your money. Allow nothing and no one to come between you.
- Pick your fights with care. Play fair. Show some class. Hurtful words can be forgiven, but they’re hard to forget.
- Fall in love again every day. Kiss her in taxis. Flirt with her at parties. Tell her she’s beautiful. Then tell her again.
- Never miss an anniversary or a birthday or a chance to make a memory. Memories may not seem important now, but one day they’ll be gold.
- Never give her a practical gift. If she really wants a Shop-Vac, let her pick it out herself.
- Go to church together, and pray every day for each other and your marriage.
- Pay your bills on time and make sure you each have a living will, a durable power of attorney and life insurance, lest, God forbid, you need them.
- Love her parents as your own, but don’t ask them for money. Never criticize her family or friends. On her birthday, send flowers to her mother with a note saying, “Thank you for giving birth to the love of my life.”
- Always listen to her heart. If you’re wrong, say you’re sorry; if you’re right, shut up.
- Don’t half-tie the knot; plan to stay married forever.
- Never go to bed mad; talk until you’re over it, or you forget why you were mad.
- Laugh together a lot. If you can laugh at yourselves, you’ll have plenty to laugh about.
- Never criticize, correct or interrupt her in public; try not to do it in private, either.
- Remember that people are the least lovable when they are most in need of love.
- Never fall for the myth of perfectionism; it’s a lie.
- When you don’t like each other, remember that you love each other; pray for the “good days” to return and they will.
- Tell the truth, only the truth, with great kindness.
- Kiss at least 10 seconds a day, all at once or spread out.
- Memorize all her favorite things and amaze her with how very well you know her.
- Examine your relationship as often as you change the oil in your car; keep steering it on a path you both want it to go.
- Be content with what you have materially, honest about where you are emotionally, and never stop growing spiritually.
- Never raise your voice unless you’re on fire. Whisper when you argue.
- Be both friends and lovers; in a blackout, light a candle, then make your own sparks.
- Finally, be an interesting person, lead your own life. But always save your best for each other. In the end, you will know you were better together than you ever could’ve been apart.
Ecola State Park in Oregon: Girl Nearly Falls Down Cliff
When my wife and I were first dating we went to Ecola State Park on the Oregon Coast. In fact it was there that I tripped over a dang log and smashed my new digital camera on a boulder. I was way too cool to have the camera around my neck and as my wife says “sometimes fashion hurts” which I tend to hear when she wears high heels.
No joke after finishing the hike were were going to watch the sunset over the ocean on a blanket when 5 deer came out of the woods. So imagine the sun setting over the ocean with 5 deer right in front of us with no camera! Sometimes I really think God has quite a sense of humor. Any way my point of writing all of this is I found a video tonight of a girl who nearly falls down the cliff at the park which makes you want to jump through your computer monitor and try and grab her. Seriously I bet you are going to go “ohhhhhhh” as soon as you see it. No worries though she is OK but it will scare you good so if you have kids be careful when asking them to backup when taking a picture when they are at the edge of a cliff! Here is one of the last pictures the camera took before I killed it.
Divorce
My wife and I have been discussing divorce and today started that process by me helping her move her things to an apartment. I have to tell you I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. On Friday it was decided that the divorce is now mutual. Although the past month has honestly been the most difficult time in my life I am learning a lot about myself and others. I’m not going to blog about this beyond this post because what is done is done and as I have said many times in the last month, you can’t unring a bell. I wish my wife lots of luck and happiness and if you also know her please do the same.
“Being divorced is like being hit by a Mack truck. If you live through it, you start looking very carefully to the right and to the left.” – Jean Kerr
Best LinkedIn Recommendation Ever
“One time I was like, no, Jon, we’ll never make that deadline, and then he roundhouse kicked the project in the face and we beat the deadline by 7 weeks. It was either Jon or Chuck Norris, I can’t remember.”
Hair, Eyes, Nose, Belly Button, & Toes (I Forgot His Ear)
Maru The Cat
What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?
Death is a pretty morbid subject but I am going to try and put a positive spin on it. Death is inevitable so almost everyone has likely had the the misfortune of losing someone close to them. I have been very fortunate to have not lost too many loved ones (knock on wood) but those I have lost definitely had an impact on me. For instance my grandfather passed away a few years ago who is one of the most gentle and kind people I have come to know. Seeing him in an open casket was nice in that I got to see him one last time but obviously difficult for the mind to consume. We often take those around us for granted but during funerals we are all reminded how fragile life is and how important it is to appreciate those around us.
At work we lost an executive who was deeply loved and appreciated a few months ago that I had met at a restaurant about a year prior to his passing. I remember hearing everyone talk about him the day everyone learned of his passing and how many people said they would miss him and how genuinely nice he was to others which leads me to the reason I am writing this post. I recently heard a quote which basically said those we will miss upon death are people who came into the world crying when everyone around them were smiling but when they leave the world they will be smiling when everyone around them is crying.
Scottsdale, AZ and Taliesin West
As I have discussed in previous posts, I was in Scottsdale last week for a conference which was fun. I really liked Scottsdale, especially in October because it was 85 degrees during the day and 70 at night. I am definitely someone who would rather be hot than cold so I always enjoy visiting Arizona when I can but the one time I went when it was 115 degrees and Gary made us talk with a Store Manager in a restaurant parking lot was a little intense (we’ll never let you live that one down Gary). Scottsdale has a ton of money, I was driving around and found a Ferrari/Maserati dealership which I had never seen before. On my way to my fancy smancy McDonalds lunch I was driving through a golf course community and saw a Ferrari go past me. I saw two Bentleys driving down the road and the final day I was there I went to Starbucks before going to the airport and a lady parked her Aston Martin literally in the middle of the road in front of the building. I also love all of the cactus all over the place and I guess they tend to grow pretty slow from what others were telling me. I lived in Reno, NV for three years which is considered high desert and I always thought it had its own sense of beauty.
The last night I was there they had the President’s Dinner at Taliesin West (photo above) which is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s homes and is where his foundation is located today. I had obviously heard of Frank Lloyd Wright but I didn’t really know anything about him prior to going to the event. We got a private tour of his residence and the tour guide was really nice as she let us take our wine in and literally sit on anything we wanted and make ourselves at home. The dinner that night was in his theater and I can’t verify what the guide told us but she said Wright was an innovator who never patented any of his works or ideas. She said he came up with the idea of surround sound via stone walls which were not 90 degrees and theater seating which was evident in the theater. I’m sure he came up with other innovations but those were just two things he was able to incorporate into his Taliesin West home. If you ever get the opportunity to visit I really found it interesting and I’m not usually into architecture.
Try to Make a Free Throw…
This is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while…
