A small update, some observations, an anniversary and other tidbits.

newdayAs you may all know by now from a previous post about my cousins battle with cancer, its with a heavy heart I have to report that Jess lost her long and arduous battle this past Friday.

I have been thinking about her and her story for a few days now. I was debating how to frame and relate such a story of courage and grace. The hardest part for me is the simplest. Its so cliche to say, “so and so unfortunately lost their battle with cancer.” Its a normal statement. Factually its a true statement. As many of you know me, I tend to shy away from the cliche and normal. To say my cousin lost her battle with cancer is as far as I am concerned a load of BS. Jess won her battle. I’ll tell you why.

For over seven years, from the time she was diagnosed this girl had a smile and such a positive attitude in her treatment to try and keep this disease at bay. Never a complaint. Never a bad word. Numerous surgeries, radiation, chemo treatments. After each surgery or round of treatment, this girl went back to work. Sick, feeling like crap, tired, she held her head up high, smiled and moved forward. She enjoyed life to the fullest and when faced with setbacks in her treatment, it was always a “Whats next? We move forward with positive attitude.”

I can’t tell you the amount of strength, dignity, grace and positive attitude this young lady displayed throughout this whole rotten situation.

Obviously and as most people will agree when you have a family member go through something like this you tend to think about your own mortality. You wonder what you would do. How you would react. I did. If I am honest with myself and you the reader, theres a chance I’d try and do the right thing by being positive and setting an example in my head-on treatment and fight against this insidious disease. Then theres the very possible reality that after reaching a certain point, I’d simply throw in the towel, take out every line of credit I could get my hands on, and call it a party of the century with my closest friends. Booze, hookers, drugs, bank robbery, and dynamiting the IRS. I mean really whats to lose at that point?  Ok, I wouldn’t hurt innocent people, but you get the picture.

Thats me, and how I would have handled things. My cousin Jess is a much bigger and better person that I’ll ever be. She proved and showed the rest of us, that even when we’re saddled with insurmountable odds and a losing proposition you can still live with great happiness, and dignity no matter what the obvious outcome. That is a lesson I’ll forever take with me.

Did the cancer finally get my cousin Jess? Technically, yes, but Jessica did NOT lose the battle. No way. She won. She won in such outstanding fashion that her lessons and memory will live forever with those that met and knew her. I’ll call that winning every single day.

Moving along….

This blog in its current incarnation is officially one year old. I think technically the anniversary occurred last month but as you see it now its one year old. Its about where I expected it to be and for that I am pleasantly surprised. I have been mulling some small changes and updates with layout and graphics to keep things fresh. Fundamentally things will continue as they are and we’ll see where the next year takes us. I have some ideas and experiments swirling around in my head so stay tuned.

July already. Complete years and weekends go by so fast. Yet one single Monday at work can take the life right out of us five times over. Further proof life just isn’t fair sometimes. I don’t care though. July 31st I am going to see Black Sabbath and that doesn’t suck.

Let ‘er rip tater chips.

Weekend, oh how I have missed you.

Its another beginning to another great weekend. It’s no greater then any other weekend other then the fact its the weekend and by definition all weekends are simply great. The only bad part is I’ll sit down, take a deep breath and relax for five minutes today, and then I’ll look at the clock and it will be 9:00pm Sunday night. Why does this happen? It seems whenever we slow down, and take it easy with the notion of not having to do anything or do things we enjoy doing, (not working) then time all of a sudden shifts into warp speed.

Of all the drugs and dope heads in the history of time making substances to alter our reality and lower our inhibitions, why hasn’t some genius or better yet why hasn’t some pharmaceutical company chemist made a simple drug that gives the user the impression of time slowing way down? I have never done LSD. Does this happen with that drug? Well that and the hallucinations of dogs talking to you telling you to kill prostitutes and John Lennon but I digress.

How great would it be to just pop a pill that slowed time way down? Not slow motion time where everyone is talking SSSSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWW, but just like it gives the user the impression that hours have passed by but when they look at the watch its only been five minutes. I know its easy to make this drug. The properties are in the air around emergency rooms, the DMV and driver licenses offices, waiting for a pot of water to boil when you watch it, dating ultra hot mormon women who are miraculously still virgins at 25+ years of age. (don’t ask me how I know) Yes so I know the elements for this miracle drug exist naturally in nature. We just need to find a way to bottle and pill it up and someone is going to be rich and the rest of us are going to be eternally happy. The drug companies have got be close to a breakthrough. After all the pills already exist to give people four hour boners. Now just give me month long weekends.

I would only make sure that the drug companies fix the boner viagra and the weekend time viagra to cancel each other out if both are taken at the same time. Frankly if I get month long weekends and compound that with four and six hour medically induced boners, Bob Barker from the Price is Right is going to have to come out of retirement to make commercials to spay and neuter people like me. That wont end well. The next thing you know, I got those whale wars bastards coming after me in the Steve Irwin boat. Since I’m on the weekend time viagra, I’ll be running away for hours and hours and never seeming to get away with a sign on my boner that says “Government research only”.

I think this is a bucket list moment. I just made a blog post about boners, Bob Barker, and Whale Wars tied together in a few simple paragraphs about how I envision great weekends. Classy yet informative. I am a natural at this.

So that is whats on my mind this morning. Yes I know. No need to state the obvious. Sometimes I am just not right. Like I’d ever put a sign on my boner about government research. Pfttt. 😉

I’ll close this hoping everyone has a good weekend. To the readers whom have shown interest in the custom end grain cutting boards, I haven’t forgotten. Watch the blog the next couple of days for the dedicated information and ordering page I am setting up.

Love and peace to each other and if it cant be remember one thing. No one can keep a secret of getting rid of a body forever. You do that job alone.