two things in life (outside of family and friends – which would make it four . . .) really depress me.
#1 – house problems.
this one is rough, because i don’t know how to fix many things at my house. it’s getting better – big ez has been helping – but still, having a messed up water line or an electrical problem give me fits. i get annoyed at life in general in both of those circumstances.

#2 – car trouble.
i know even less about cars than i do about houses (thanks to the big ez). so when something goes wrong with my car, i have to bring it in to have someone else figure it out. if you’re like me, this situation sucks. even if you trust your mechanic – which i do – its still a terrible situation.

obviously, in the grand scheme of things, these are small potatoes. but they are still a part of life that has to be lived.

it’s crazy how often i take things for granted . . . how about you?

today is one of the most exciting days of my whole year. i’m not sure how to describe the feeling i get when i can watch great college basketball games all day. all i can tell you is that i love it. i get tingles before the first set of games.
i know, i’m kind of lame.

i finished a great book last night.
it was different . . . but great – it’s called the ‘time traveler’s wife’.

there was one spot in particular that really made me think. i’m about to give away a portion of the ending (kind of), so if you want to be completely surprised, stop reading right NOW!

the lead character knew the day and time of his death and was saying his goodbyes. the main character wasn’t sick in any way. he had some problems, but he wasn’t just hanging on or anything. he was healthy by all accounts. i realized what a blessing it would be to be able to say goodbye in the best of times instead of the worst of times.

i also realized how important it is to live each day as fully as possible.

it’s life and it’s great.

it’s not worth just slouching through life and slogging it out. i need to live it up. tell my wife and kids and family that i love them. to be positive and live with integrity. to no worry about appearances, but to stand up for what i believe in.

life is just too short to compromise all the time.
so i’m just going to live it the way i think i’m supposed to.

the other day our car broke down.
i realized a few things very, very quickly:

#1 – community is important.
we had two people stop to help us on I-40 and half a dozen more texted or called to make sure we were okay. all of these people saw our car . . . not us. isn’t it crazy how we can be associated with something?
#2 – i know nothing about cars.
i didn’t grow up working on cars, i don’t plan to ever learn anything past how to change my own oil and how to fill up the gas tank.
#3 – i love my family.
i certainly didn’t like being stranded (even if it was only momentarily) on the side of a busy road. i like it even less when my family is with me. i want the safe at all times. now, i realize that i can’t keep everyone safe – that i have to trust them to make good decisions – but it’s hard. here, i am mostly speaking about my children, not my wife. i love her a lot, but i already trust her decisions!

here’s where the rubber meets the road . . .
it would have been easy to get down when smoke billowed out from under our hood. or when the temperature gauge continued to rise. or when we were stopped on the shoulder. or when we were getting honked at because we were going 55 in the right lane (not advisable).

but we didn’t. our friends got there too quickly. we forgot all about our car for hours. we just basked in the warm glow of friendships and community.
it was a great day.

i am sitting at angela’s cafe con leche right now.

i have a love/hate relationship with places like this.  I absolutely love to be here.  I love the atmosphere, I love the music, I love the food – it’s a great place to love.

at the same time, i hate it because it reminds me of what gallup could be.  i sit in here and think about what gallup could become with a little bit more dedication to customer service and having really good food.  not settling for a little less – but going the extra mile.

if you haven’t been down here recently, come on down and join me.  i’ll even buy you a hot tea (i gave up coffee for lent).

you’ll know me because i’ll be the one with my laptop out and a table full of papers.  see you soon!

last night i was supremely frustrated with gallupians.

on a side note: i never meant for ‘my rambles’ to become a rant – but i feel like it has. trust me, i’m working on it.

anyway, last night my family had a wonderful dinner with a group of youngish gallupians. it was a blast. i love getting to know new people and hear their stories, hear what they like and dislike about gallup, everything. i just like it all. after the dinner i heard some troubling news.

i heard that less than a quarter of gallupians on the southside voted in the city council election. i haven’t heard a number from the northside election, but my guess is that it is similar.

seriously? i can’t tell you how often i hear people bitching and moaning about this city. what we don’t have, what we can’t offer, all the shortcomings of businesses and anything else negative . . . it’s bullshit. when are we going to take ownership of this town? when is this thing really going to turn around? what is it going to take? this is/was a pivotal election. and we may have blown it.

it sucks. it’s depressing.

but with that, let me move on.

i love gallup. i wasn’t born here. i love gallup. i work here. i love gallup. i want to help change things. i love gallup. i want to take the beautiful things of gallup and showcase them. i love gallup. i believe in this place. i love gallup.

okay, that bit there is super-lame. i just don’t know how to get my point across. i guess i’m just trying to say, that even when i feel like people are giving up on gallup (and i do it, too), i still love this place.

anyway, i’m just rambling.

this past week we’ve had my sister and her family in town. i hope that gallup has put on a good face for them – i think that it has . . .

it’s amazing how many visitors gallup has every day!

as community members, it’s our duty to help those visitors out as they make their way through town.

it was great to have them at our house the past few nights. tana has been able to play with her cousins (that she rarely sees) sami and hope.

it’s awesome to see them play and communicate.

unfortunately, a bunch of people have gotten sick in the past 24 hours. what a crappy way to end the trip! we’ve also had bad weather – cold and windy . . . well, too bad.

we did have a great time, though. we’ve played games and caught up on stuff, we hit some downtown gallup staples and woke up early – really early.

anyway, i could go on and on about many of these things, but i’m not feeling that great myself, so i’ll have to talk with you later.

i’ve always loved live music.  the band has to be pretty terrible for me not to appreciate what they are doing on stage.  it takes so much courage to stand up there and sing or play guitar or whatever, that i try to give them the benefit of the doubt.  i went to an eric hutchinson show last night – and he was amazing.  there are some performers that do more than just sing and play, they perform for the crowd, they interact, it’s awesome.

people just want to be a part of something.

anyway, i was thinking back to all the concerts or coffee house type shows that i’ve been to over the years, and rarely do i not buy at least one item.  usually i’ll buy an EP or something, but if the show is awesome, i’ll try to spend a bit more money.  these bands are living the dream and i would love to be a small part of that – if they aren’t making money, they aren’t able to tour – especially in this age of music sharing.

i feel the same way about community.  if people aren’t making money – the small business owners, that is -  they won’t be doing it too long which is sad.

anyway, i don’t want to go there today.

i just want to say that you should check out eric hutchinson.  you should check him out live if you’re able, but if not – at least pick up one of his albums.  you can get them on his website.

erichutchinson.com

nate.

today i have to go to a chamber of commerce retreat. my hope is that we get some things accomplished – at least a plan.
the tough thing with any volunteer organization is that the people serving are volunteers, and therefore have full-time jobs already.

people complain a lot about what the chamber is or is not doing, which is fine if those same people are making an effort to get things done on their own.

so often people (i will say, especially in gallup) are waiting for a handout or for someone else to put in the work or to brainstorm an idea. it’s time for people in town to stop complaining about what people aren’t doing and for them to start doing on their own.

gallup is only going to grow if people help it grow. it won’t just happen. when you shop at a local store for yarn or for a pair of tennis shoes it really does make a difference in some businesses bottom line. when a small business is doing well, that small business owner is able to invest more money back into the community.

it’s really simple.

yes, it takes more time for the person doing the shopping, and it might be a couple of bucks more, but it’s worth it. the shopper realizes that there is a face behind the business, that there is a family behind the face and so on. relationships are built. it’s a win-win.

i hate to sound cliche, but we are truly all in this together. if we try to grow gallup, gallup will grow. others will join with you and work alongside you.
let’s get the job done together.

i’ll get off of my high horse, once you’re able to find your own high horse to get on.

i’m feeling much better while running. in the beginning (like anything) getting started takes some doing. then you’ll invariably hit a road block (blisters, acheyness, etc) that you have to overcome and then you can start to get a rhythm.
hopefully, i’m to that point.
last two runs:
15:38
14:53