Posts

Showing posts from 2014

This LIfe...

Image
I ts the greatest tragedy ever written.  Its the ride of a lifetime its a series of highs and lows. Its an emotional wave higher than any tsunami, its bigger than any Katrina.  Its the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  Its the mediocrity of it all. We stumble we fall, we brush ourselves off and get up again.  We smile in the face of tragedy and join hands with our brothers to get strong again.  Never alone should this journey be fought, band of brothers and sisters unite.  We are stronger in numbers than we are on our own. Its our solitary journey that matters and as we fill our heads with the nonsense that flows, its our discretion that leads us to the path of our own ultimate wisdom.  Don't let the silly masses throw ideas your way, seek your truth and spend time alone.  It is the greatest gift you will ever know. We google stuff for lack of experience, but its the experience that google really wants.  It wants to be human and understand patterns but it never wi

Chad update for 2014

Image
I sit here in my 43rd year.  I have done alot, but haven't left that indelible of a mark.  I am surviving, not thriving.  I am introspective and respective.  I am trained but not tamed.  I am coming up on yet another change in my life.  Uncle, Don and Aunt Christina are moving to Eugene in January.  I am happy for them, yet sad as a part of my heritage will be a state away. I have been blessed to be a part of their lives for the past 3 years. I am thinking this will be a tough transition having them leave as I have been so connected with them. It will be strange not sleeping in my bed. I have always said the only constant we can count on is change. We are given a finite amount of time on the planet. It doesn't matter what you do, just be. How much stuff you have won't matter at the end of your years. Make sure to fully embrace the beauty of each day. There are zero guarantees in life. Death is beautiful and just as amazing as life. I don't believe in the afterlif

A Sad Farewell To A Great Friend

Image
I remember it as if it were yesterday. I took a job back on the road because I loved the freedom and the money it brought. It allowed me to go do a job for a week, no matter how stressful, how demanding, how tiring and a week later, I would be done. I got hired on with a company out of Chicago and my first assignment was the Biltmore in Arizona. I was nervous and excited. I knew no one on the roster aside from the girl that got me the job. Arriving at the hotel, I quickly got acquainted with the team. We had lunch and went off into our respective groups. Our mission was to help deliver a successful and unforgettable meeting. There was one gent who was very nice named Tom. He had the kindest eyes and the biggest smile. He never had a bad word to say and was always positive. We spent the first day assembling welcome packets together and Tom just had a sense of humor that wouldn't quit. I can remember telling a snarky joke and his laughter made me instantaneously feel better. He

Movie Review: Odd Thomas

Image
This movie was nothing like I expected.  I should have known that the movie was based on a book by Dean Koontz.  Needless to say, I passed this one over several times but it kept showing up on my list. In netflix it was given a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the character development and the characters themselves.  Yelchin does a great job with the dramatic performance.  And who doesn't love Addison Timlin, who play's odd's girlfriend.  She is adorable, quirky and a great side kick who truly loves Odd. Many will say the acting was too scripted or too fake, but for that reason, I liked it.  The flow moved along nicely and the pace kept my attention.  It is a little graphic so parents if your gonna show your kids, there is some violence, but no nudity (although I personally feel nudity would be better than violence but that is just my preference). The ending may or may not come as a shocker to you.  I wiped away (quite) a few tears.  You will definitely see as

A tribute to my dad

Image
There are days when I just miss someone so much.  I wish I could pick up the phone and call them.  Or go have coffee with them and watch a movie.  Get some good home cooked food, comfort food.  I miss them both...on different occasions.  Sometimes I miss em together, and other times, I miss them separately. I look at them and think, man they had their shit together.  They were doing it right.  Even if it is dysfunctional, they had it right.  I mean who is society to judge these days. We are just as dysfunctional with technology.  The iphone or android end up taking care of our kids.  I watched today as two parents did'nt even talk to one another, just handed off their phones to their kids to play while eating because it becomes to hard to take care of kids while they are eating.  How the hell did our parents do it? Anyhow, my tangent needs to be redirected.  I miss him, my father.  There is so much I want to know about him.  I want to go back and meet the 18 year old him

I'm leaving 42 and joining 43

Image
I wrote this a few weeks ago and posted on medium to some success ( 4 readers woo hoo...more than 1 is a miracle).  Enjoy and let me know what you think. l’m leaving 42 and joining 43 3 quick lessons So I turn 43 in (gulp) less than a week. Friday to be exact. August 1st. 43 years ago, bless my mothers soul, she and my father, enjoying a sunday on the beach in La Jolla, decided that it was time. My father was “damn right its time,” as he cracked open a beer. My mom said, “no its time to have this child”. My dad, as dramatic as he was, gathered all the crap he had hauled down to blacks beach, and with mom in tow, rushed to Scripps in La Jolla where I was born at 4ish in the afternoon. So what have I learned up to this point? The list is rather endless so I will try to be concise so bear with me. These are 3 keys that really stand out. 1. Life truly is how you view it You can try and be the wealthiest guy in the world and amass large fortunes, but in my humbled expe

Dichotomy of life

Image
Disclaimer: I may have posted this in the past and if I did, please forgive me :-) You can not be in this world and not be of it.  There are a select few that try to say they are above it all but in truth, they too are just trying to find their way.  The reality in our life is that we seek enlightenment without all the hardship. We must realize there is hardship and trials in this life. There is a fine balance between being grounded and airy. Some of us want to live the airy life transcending the things of this world, but in reality, we are born into and of this world. There are others who are so grounded that they become overwhelmed with the problems of this life, or even get so wrapped up in all the things of this life, they cant see the spiritual side of things. Challenges are seen as things that will never end and that situations will continue regardless of what the individual does or thinks much like "it has always been this way" The greatest obstacle in this l

What you put in, you get out

Image
We all want stuff in an instant.  We want a better job now, we want our relationships to be better now, we want more money now, however if you really want something, you have to work for it.  I don't know about you but, I don't want an easy life because I would get bored way too quickly What you put into your life is exactly what you will get out.  If you put negative people, negative experiences and negative thoughts, you will get exactly that. Experiences are key.  Get out there and experience.  You limit the possibilities when you stay stagnant. Movement is key.  Give in to to try new things and you will soon realize how amazing your life can be.  Make sure you surround yourself with the best people, experiences and thoughts that you can.  When you devalue yourself, you will devalue those around you.  Make sure that you keep yourself as the driving force in your life.  Don't lose the value of you! Work on things that matter, avoid the things that don't.  Some things

Misconnected

Image
So I was minding my own business this week, or so I thought. I was scouring my facebook and g+ feeds, wondering why my phone wasn't blowing up as much as it should. I was sad because I was watching other peoples awesome lives and realizing that I didn't do anything of substance on this day.  I was doing the things I thought I was supposed to do kinda going through the motions, however, I realized something was off.  I wasn't able to put my finger on it until yesterday.  Thanks to a great friend, Mr  Shawn Antonio , I came home last night and realized just what it was. Maybe you have seen this video, maybe you haven't.  If you haven't, here you go, its five minutes of your life.  I have also added some thoughts below. We have become too addicted to our phones.  We spend about 60-80% of our day on the computer, phones or tablets building another world so that we don't have to face the one around us. We live vicariously through our friends facebook wall so w

A new favorite Website/App-Lettrs

Image
As you all know, I am a tech junkie.  Yes I am overly connected and love meeting new people, making connections, talking tech, texting, tweeting, g+ ing, facebooking, blogging, pinteresting and "blowing grams" as my lovely Rands  likes to say.  Its my addiction and I admit it.  Nothing beats face to face or phone conversations in my book.  In todays world it seems we have less and less "personable time".  Well there is a new website called lettrs .  Its not really new its been around for a while, however they just released the iphone app recently.  I was told that we should have an android app sometime in the near future. ( Android app is up) Why do I love this site?  For me its about delivery.  We get texts, g+ mentions, hangouts, tweets, and facebook messages and much more.  Sometimes they are random, often times informative, but most of all, not very personable.  Well lettrs adds personality to each letter written.  You can choose from different styles

Why I gave up the drink (and other recreationals)

Image
As some or many of you may know, I gave up alcohol about 3 months ago, including social drinking, after work cocktails and the occasional glass of wine at home.  The first question that everyone asks me is "Was there a problem?"  I think we all have problems to some degree with alcohol, but in my case no.  No acute problems that I was aware of.  To me it was more about the chronic, or long lasting effects that assisted my decision to give it up.  I choose to be present and aware, not aloof and/or ignorant Im not gonna lie, much of my decision to quit was about overall health.  You see I don't like waking up anymore feeling like shit.  I don't like loading substances into my body, that yes at the time seem like a great idea, but then when you wake up 4 days later in Vegas with a destroyed hotel room and a headache that could take out king kong, you begin to realize that, you have a problem.  Im not saying I have ever had a hangover moment, although it was clos

Trusting yourself

Image
So it has become glaringly obvious that I needed to do this post. With each passing day over the two weeks I have heard numerous stories about good friends being let go from work and "not knowing whats next".  I shared with them, "if we knew what was next, we wouldn't be living now would we".  The biggest idea I have heard from people is that they don't know what is  next, or who they are without their work.  I always challenge them to see the beauty in change. This quote by Marianne Williamson resonated so loudly this morning as I woke up to find another friend out of work, depressed and confused.   “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothi

Deleting Facebook Off My Phone

Image
My cute little buddy.. So as many of you know I am a tech and social media junkie. I need to be going to TSMA meetings (Technology & Social Media Anonymous).  I have been and still am a huge proponent of Social media and technology when it works.  When it technology doesn't then it becomes another paper weight, and when social media, especially on my phone, is quirky, slow, or unresponsive, well then I delete you off my phone. I am talking about Facebook, specifically for android.  I love their messenger application and in many cases, I use it as an alternate to texting, Facebook messenger or hangouts.  I am not a fan of the Facebook app and haven't been, specifically on Android for many years.  Why?  Its quirky and there are too many updates.  Seems like every day there is an update to fix stability or "performance" updates and in my humbled opinion, the app is moderate at best. The specific item I am talking about is having to like something twice. A f

The day that I knew was coming

Image
It happens to all of us.  We know a certain day will happen but we continually put it off.  We say in our head, "it won't happen", or "its a long way off".  Well the day came this week and although I am surprised, it was a great soft set down for me.  The event I am talking about is my dentist, Dr. Jeffrey Greenberg , decided to retire and turn his practice over. It was funny because I had a small idea that this was going to be the year when I drove down for my last appointment.  I had that sneaking suspicion in my heart that he was going to tell me this year, I just wasnt' sure when.  Thats part of what being an empath is.  I was blessed to have an amazing visit with the Dr and my dental hygenist, Priscilla earlier this year. I got the call on Thursday and didn't recognize the number.  I let it go to voicemail.  I listened to the message and it was awesome.  Dr Greenberg said  that he wanted me to hear it first before social media and other out

Keep the door open

Image
So yesterday I decided to come back to LA as I needed to sign a card for a very good friend Erik.  He just finished his last treatment of chemo therapy and it is his birthday soon.  In the process of coming back I decided to go to a Starbucks in Malibu I just wasn't sure which one. I ended up at the one on 30765 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265 and I am very thankful I did.  After ordering  my vanilla roibos tea, I sat down and started working on my blog (I am coming back to blogger after 3 years of being on WordPress)  After getting everything converted and set up, a very nice man said, "You plug is about to fall out of the socket".  I thanked him and then plugged in my  protector and started talking to an extremely nice guy by the name of Nelson.  He had kind eyes and a  very pleasant demeanor about him and was very talkative. He shared with me his passion for art, music and writing off the bat.  We began sharing ideas of life and our passions of

Happy New Year-2014

Image
New Year, New Life, New Day! So its 2014 and I don't know about you, but its been a crazy 2013 for me.  I have been doing alot of inward searching this last year as you all know.  I haven't felt super inspired to write but I got inspired tonight.  I don't think its a coincidence, but more like a reminder.   Yesterday I was writing or transcribing a piece from Mark Nepo.  I have found his Book of Awakening to be a fascinating guide book for me and has really helped me through some of the toughest times in my life.  My focus for this blog is going to be appreciation/gratefulness and never giving up.  In writing yesterday, I realized that the book was talking about (for this particular day), the preciousness of the human condition.  Im paraphrasing but I think you will get the idea. There is a Buddhist idea that says we should be very aware of our condition (being human) on the earth, and that we have a really amazing view of life and that we have this amazing vessel that allo