Hump
It's Wednesday. There's transition in the air. The birds can tell, and their singing is at once a story of things past and an announcement of things to come. Self-promotion through story-telling. Like Twitter I guess. I didn't realize I was making that connection until just now. I've been in a philosophical mood. Perhaps a bit too much Ben Folds on my Pandora station; perhaps it's the spring in the air and the tastiness of the tuna sandwich I just made for myself that was somehow way too symbolic in that it reinforced my notions of self-confidence and respect for my abilities to survive and to perform under pressure; I've never had a lunch mean that much to me.
So as I contemplated the significance of my creation, this sandwich, I thought about change. I thought about those times in your life when you just take a step back and reflect on where you've been. Why this happened during a tuna sandwich, I'm not sure; but there have been a series of events that have led up to this now that I think about it. McNabb leaving the Eagles, maybe. Oh, and my brother Steve's wedding. We all just got back from the Dominican Republic where he and Tara got married in a completely awesome beach ceremony; just a terrific event and beautiful expression of love and family and sharing life. And I got to be Best Man, which is something I've always wondered if I'd get the chance to do someday. I don't know the statistics, but I'd like to think that every dude gets to do that at least once in their lives- be the best man and be there for some other guy as he makes what is probably one of the best things you can ever make in this world: a promise. And all the other stuff is pretty cool too- I won't tell you any stories about crazy bachelor parties or anything, because frankly, we got all of that out of systems a long time ago-- but we did, I think, have the chance to appreciate the significance of a bunch of things that have happened to us in our lives; for brothers, we're pretty close I'd say, but there's always plenty of opportunities to bring the people closest to you even closer.
I've thought a lot about that kind of stuff since I got back from Iraq. I don't say that to be dramatic; obviously if I can 'have a moment' with a tuna sandwich my threshold for self-reflection must not be that low. However, I do think it's important to address my Iraq experience in this context. Getting back to my theme of change and transition, there are a couple of recent milestones that I've hit since I made the change from that, very different, lifestyle and experience. Most of you know I'm in grad school (again...) and I just wrapped up my (second...) MA thesis paper yesterday. Which is all well and good- certainly not a Pulitzer winner- or whatever, other, award one might get... (I'm thinking of what the right analogy would be. Coming up empty. Anyway...) But anyway, the point was that its a milestone. Done. Moving on. And, for those of you who've known me for a while- you've probably heard me joke that before I went to Iraq, I "worked out like my life depended on it." And when I got there, I "ate like there was no tomorrow." Yeah, I developed some bad habits. Most of them involving Lucky Charms. Needless to say, I knew there was a problem when some of my Iraqi friends (never subtle...) asked me, "Did you... eat you? Where is our friend Dan? Maybe you are just standing in front of him." Yeah. So anyway, the 'learning moment' I'm offering here is that I'm finally out there running 10+ miles again and wearing that Banana Republic suit I bought for myself to attend the second Bush inauguration in 2005. (That's another story in transitions...)
So enough chirping about the past... what's coming up next? Steve and I are fired up about another year of The Bisbee Project. As well as our scholarship program, we're adding a new event to the line-up this summer. We've been doing a lot of thinking about our own experiences trying to live a life of service, and how our military background played into that. We're planning on hosting an event that will highlight the contributions of a bunch of other veterans we know who have moved back into civilian life and come up with really creative and important ways to give back to their communities. In business, in service groups, in the arts, in media and in public office. Really solid folks who are making a difference. I'll be posting more about it soon. In fact, I'll be posting more about a lot of things. Just a little out of practice.
So as I contemplated the significance of my creation, this sandwich, I thought about change. I thought about those times in your life when you just take a step back and reflect on where you've been. Why this happened during a tuna sandwich, I'm not sure; but there have been a series of events that have led up to this now that I think about it. McNabb leaving the Eagles, maybe. Oh, and my brother Steve's wedding. We all just got back from the Dominican Republic where he and Tara got married in a completely awesome beach ceremony; just a terrific event and beautiful expression of love and family and sharing life. And I got to be Best Man, which is something I've always wondered if I'd get the chance to do someday. I don't know the statistics, but I'd like to think that every dude gets to do that at least once in their lives- be the best man and be there for some other guy as he makes what is probably one of the best things you can ever make in this world: a promise. And all the other stuff is pretty cool too- I won't tell you any stories about crazy bachelor parties or anything, because frankly, we got all of that out of systems a long time ago-- but we did, I think, have the chance to appreciate the significance of a bunch of things that have happened to us in our lives; for brothers, we're pretty close I'd say, but there's always plenty of opportunities to bring the people closest to you even closer.
I've thought a lot about that kind of stuff since I got back from Iraq. I don't say that to be dramatic; obviously if I can 'have a moment' with a tuna sandwich my threshold for self-reflection must not be that low. However, I do think it's important to address my Iraq experience in this context. Getting back to my theme of change and transition, there are a couple of recent milestones that I've hit since I made the change from that, very different, lifestyle and experience. Most of you know I'm in grad school (again...) and I just wrapped up my (second...) MA thesis paper yesterday. Which is all well and good- certainly not a Pulitzer winner- or whatever, other, award one might get... (I'm thinking of what the right analogy would be. Coming up empty. Anyway...) But anyway, the point was that its a milestone. Done. Moving on. And, for those of you who've known me for a while- you've probably heard me joke that before I went to Iraq, I "worked out like my life depended on it." And when I got there, I "ate like there was no tomorrow." Yeah, I developed some bad habits. Most of them involving Lucky Charms. Needless to say, I knew there was a problem when some of my Iraqi friends (never subtle...) asked me, "Did you... eat you? Where is our friend Dan? Maybe you are just standing in front of him." Yeah. So anyway, the 'learning moment' I'm offering here is that I'm finally out there running 10+ miles again and wearing that Banana Republic suit I bought for myself to attend the second Bush inauguration in 2005. (That's another story in transitions...)
So enough chirping about the past... what's coming up next? Steve and I are fired up about another year of The Bisbee Project. As well as our scholarship program, we're adding a new event to the line-up this summer. We've been doing a lot of thinking about our own experiences trying to live a life of service, and how our military background played into that. We're planning on hosting an event that will highlight the contributions of a bunch of other veterans we know who have moved back into civilian life and come up with really creative and important ways to give back to their communities. In business, in service groups, in the arts, in media and in public office. Really solid folks who are making a difference. I'll be posting more about it soon. In fact, I'll be posting more about a lot of things. Just a little out of practice.
