Random Thoughts #15 - the "spoiler" edition

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving, all! I'm feeling a little better this week after a lot of rest, especially today, and I have a few random thoughts to share, so enjoy:

 -  As most of you know, my friend Roger Byrd passed on last week. Although still grieving, I think that most of us who knew him should be thankful that he was in our lives. I saw a couple of signs this week that gave me the impression (I think the Lord sent them) that he's doing OK in heaven. Rest in peace, my brother.

 -  Like I said in my last blog, I've been getting in touch with people I haven't seen in a long time. I'm thankful that they've been in my life and I'm hopeful that I've worthy enough to be considered for thankfulness in their lives as well.

 -  Why did I title this the "spoiler" edition instead of some Thanksgiving related one? Well, it has to do with something that has been going on here in Columbus the past few weeks that I think is important to address. The city has been hunting down a serial rapist that has hit several areas over the past month and at least seven have been linked to this one person. Hand in hand with getting in touch with old friends and keeping up with current ones, I've been keeping vigilance and watching out for the local ones at this time as well. Nobody knows who this rapist is or how or if he cases his victims, so I've been acting on it a bit more as of late. Suggestion: if some guy who you don't know and seems creepy or strange in some way tries getting close to one of your female friends, don't be afraid to play "spoiler" and pretend to be your friend's "boyfriend" or "cousin" or something along those lines, especially if your particular female friend does not want this person around. Ladies, if you feel creeped out by some stranger checking you out, grab one of us males to be a "spoiler" to help you out...I really don't mind doing the role and I'm sure the other guys won't either. Hey, the person may turn out to be okay, but I had to play spoiler last night for one of my female friends who had some wannabe casanova hovering around her half the night. Until this rapist guy is caught, don't take chances especially if you are worried about your safety. I don't want any of my friends hurt.

 -  The Christmas programming on TV is now in full swing. It was pretty much regulated to two channels until today, but get ready for the onslaught if you're a regular TV watcher like myself.

 -  I haven't done this in a while, but check out my church when you get the chance, Crossroads World Christian Center at http://www.crossroadswcc.org. We're gonna have a TV show soon too, so stay tuned.

 -  The Browns lost Brady Quinn for the season and I think we blew our season with the loss to Houston last week. There's always hope and I still stick with my Browns through good and bad (no fair weather fan here), but it looks as though we're gonna have to look forward to next season.

 -  OSU beat the Wolverines for the fifth year in a row. We blew them out pretty bad and, like I said, I can only feel sorry for Michigan because they're stuck with a John Cooper-like coach in Rich Rodriguez. I have a couple of friends who are Michigan fans and they have not especially been too vocal this year as they had been in years past, and for some reason I miss it a bit....only a bit, though.

 -  Song on repeat: "I'll Be Over You" by Toto...no particular reason and no memory I'm dealing with in particular that relates to it, I just like the song.

 -  For those of you thinking about going shopping tomorrow...Beware of Black Friday!!!! BoooooOOOOOOooooooo!!!! You will be haunted by low prices that you could not get to in time and items that run out RIGHT before you get there. Beware! BEEEWAAARE!!!!!!!

That's it for the random thoughts today. Join me next time as I start singing some of the worst Christmas carols in the history of man. Sing along with me now...Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg....Until next time, have a happy Thanksgiving, take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #14 - the "Michigan don’t matter" edition

I'm not feeling that witty right now, so i'm just gonna get to my thoughts:

 -  Before I say anything here, Myspace changed things up so that now I can have my blog and comments only read by my friends here. Anything I post here now will not be blasted all over Myspace anymore (at least by me) thanks to the new format setup, so I can be a bit more loose here. Just be respectful in that if I post something here that is only meant for here, it doesn't end up all over Myspace because someone else doesn't respect the boundaries I put up. Just sayin'.

 -  Earlier today I had to attend the funeral of and say goodbye to one of my best friends Roger Byrd. He had a long illness and he passed away on Tuesday. He went way too soon. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Heather and his children. Please send your prayers to them as well.

 -  It has been one of the toughest weeks of my life because of this. I've been running the gamut of emotions over his passing. Roger and I were a part of a great group of friends here in Columbus that even though we may not be together all the time like back in the day, the bottom line is we're family. My fellow "brothers and sisters" are also having a hard time with this and all we can do now and in the future is to just be there for each other and be supportive when we can.

 -  One of the things I've been doing this week which I haven't done for some time is get in touch with a lot of people I haven't seen or heard from. I mostly reached out to those who may have known Roger (some of them did, thankfully). I've been lax in keeping up with my "family" and with a lot of my old friends and feeling guilty I hadn't done more because I've been so wrapped up in trying to survive here in Columbus. I even reconnected with someone here on Myspace that I haven't seen in over 10 years (DRSKETCH in my "new friends" listing) and trying to reconnect him with the rest of the family. I'm happy to hear they're doing alright and some better than that. Though it will be a challenge, I hope to do a better job in keeping up with them from now on.

 -  This week I would normally be talking about my thoughts on the OSU/Michigan rivalry and maybe even talk some smack, but with Michigan's record in the toilet and the events over the past week, I'm just not into it this year. One particular note though...I feel bad for Michigan because they have Rich Rodriguez as their coach....trust me, he's the equivalent of John Cooper at OSU...and I never thought I'd feel sorry for Michigan about anything. Go figure.

I'm just gonna go ahead and end this because I'm still dealin' right now. My prayer for Roger in heaven is that he doesn't embarrass the Lord too much when he beats him at Tekken for the 30 millionth time and keeps doing it. That's it, folks. I mean it especially now when I say take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #13 - the "so soon after the last one?" edition

I know it's only been a few days since my last set of random thoughts but I've had a lot of them in that short time. I guess that's the curse of being too intelligent and opinionated at the same time...or is it too opinionated and intelligent ...or too opinionated to be intelligent....or too intelligent to be opinionated....see what I mean? It's a curse. Anyway, onto my new set of random thoughts:

 -  Even though I've been back here for a while now, it's hard to believe that it was ten years ago this week that I was forced to leave Columbus and move back to Tallmadge. As many of you know, I had a lot of problems around that time. I lost a job that wasn't doing anything for my mental health in the first place. I gained 50 pounds in a year's time in an attempt to cope with stuff (for those of you who ask, that's when I got the gut). A few people preyed on me, not in a stalking way but more like using me then tossing me to the curb. My finances were in shambles. I didn't know who I really was, where I was going, or what I was going to do about it. I was truly lost. It was visually evident that I was in the middle of a breakdown. I ended up losing touch with a lot of people because of it and to this day there are still some that have trouble looking at me because of that breakdown. It was not a good time. I am happy to say that the good Lord was looking out for me even though I wasn't that aware of it at the time. I got the help I needed and got back down here. I found answers to questions I had held for ages even though many around me claimed I wouldn't (shows what they knew!). I got back in touch with many I had thought I could not...thank God for Myspace and persistance. I can say that even with some similarities with situations from back in the day, things are definitely different today.

 -  Speaking of the Lord, don't forget about my church, Crossroads World Christian Center (http://www.crossroadswcc.org). If you need a road to Him, this is a good starting point and a great journey companion.

 -  On a topic somewhat related to the first blurb, I want to address something that I'm not actually dealing with right now but I want to head it off beforehand, not just for me but others. I had been accused by a select few of seeing people as...how do I say it...only seeing them for how they were back in the day and not how they are now. It's not a recent charge but there may be something coming up where I will have to deal with these select few again. If any of them are reading this (which I doubt, but just in case), I'm one of the last people to talk about anyone being the same as back then, especially with the big changes throughout my life. It baffles me why this select few would say I would do that. Now I do know that some things stay the same in certain areas, people have the same reaction as back then, and deal with similar circumstances...that's just a part of life. For me personally I think the reaction had to do with my breakdown, but in a couple of recent instances I've witnessed the same treatment and accusation was thrown out at others I know. I'm getting the feeling now that it wasn't necessarily about me but about these select few trying some sort of "preventative defense" in order to protect something I honestly believe doesn't need protecting. Something else to consider...if people react the same way unconsciously to someone or something as they did back in the day, it's not always a bad thing unless that someone wants it to be...wanting it to be takes a conscious effort itself.

 -  Had a decent time at the club last night. Got to see an old friend I hadn't seen in a while who I hope to keep up with more often plus my eyes weren't killing me as much as they had been the two weekends before.

 -  Word of the day: "something" (what, you were expecting something exotic?)

 -  The offer on the political stuff I made in the last blog is and will be open for anybody who wants in. Like I said, I don't want to do this alone anymore.

 -  It's hard to believe that it's less than three weeks until Thanksgiving and two months until Christmas. We just had Halloween, for crying out loud. Time is surely flying now.

 -  The battery in my cell phone went bad, so I will not have cell phone access nor access to my voicemail until Thursday at the earliest. I even had to tell my father "Happy Birthday" a couple days early because of this. If you want to contact me, find me here on Myspace or contact me by email in the meantime. I'll get my cell back soon enough.

 -  Boy, I've been pretty opinionated recently, haven't I?

 -  It looks like the Browns have their quarterback....now they just need better coaching or at least better decision-making. On the Buckeye front, OSU looked pretty good yesterday...who know Tressel had a killer instinct?

 -  Song on repeat: "A Milli" by Lil' Wayne. It might make for good entrance music if I get the right graphics for video...might have to work on that.

That's all for now. FYI, if any of you notices I seem a bit down or sad in the near future don't be surprised...there is something I'm dealing with, but because it doesn't involve me directly I'm not at liberty to discuss or even divulge it. It does affect me personally but please don't ask...I'm not gonna talk about it. All I'm gonna say is show the ones you care about how much they matter. Join me next time when I may have another random thought or two. Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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Random Thoughts #12 - the "Yes We Can" edition

I'm feeling rather opinionated right now, so witness as I unleash another set of random thoughts on the world. Enjoy.

 -  A miracle has happen. A generation removed from the civil rights movement (got that from a newspaper article), Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. President Obama...it sounds right and it is right. Now the real work begins.

 -  I know I've talked about dropping out of participating in this particular election cycle, but I want to revisit it one last time. I have stated that I wasn't feeling particularly useful when I did participate in the presidential cycle. Note that it was a feeling...whether I actually made a difference big or small, I'm not sure. Unlike past cycles where I may have felt I was more involved that I actually was, I decided this time to take a step back and look at what I was really doing and accomplishing. From what I could tell, even though my hopes about this election were realized, I did not and could not participate as much as I potentially could have. A lot of changes happened between the last political cycle I was involved in (2006) and this one. One, I became a Christian, which was big for me. It changed how I saw certain people in the political world (and confirmed others) and I am still reconciling my religious and political views. Two, like in past election cycles it seemed that many of my friends did not want to be involved outside of simple voting. I guess I naively believed that with some of the rhetoric being said by some of them and with many of us affected strongly by decisions made by those we elect, they would want to be more involved than they were. Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of them (and a lot of you) had other things to deal with. I just thought there would be more than just lip service especially from those who could have given more but decided not to. That may offend some of you, but as many of us know, facts are facts and we cannot hide from them if they are this obvious. I learned that the hard way (and suffered at times because of it). Three, in regard to the "other things" statement, I also had other things to deal with such as my work situation, potential conflicts of time with my other activities, and more recently my sinuses going haywire at inopportune times. I hate having these conflicts, but such is life.

 -  You may think after all that I may be disillusioned about participating in politics and civic stuff. Far from it...I want to do more. I have had some amazing experiences because of my involvement. Tabling and meeting potential voters and fellow Columbus citizens. Meeting and talking to people like Paul Newman and Jerry Springer. Seeing and being a part of huge crowds who want the same things we do. Shaking hands with President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Jay-Z and Diddy (I'll talk about these two in the next blurb). Being a part of the bigger picture...I want even more of that. However, one thing has dawned on me about all this...I don't want to do this stuff alone anymore. I've done a lot of this stuff on my own and got a lot out of it, but especially for those of you I talked about in the last blurb, I want you all to be a part of these things and participate in them too. In other words, I'm calling you out! I am offering all of you the chances and opportunities that were afforded me. I don't want to make this seem like I'm not looking at this realistically. Seizing these opportunities will take work, sacrifice, and determination. Shoot, I worked a phone bank telling voters where they needed to go vote, and phone stuff is definitely not my strongest suit. There may be some disappointment if things don't go exactly right. We may have to adjust on the fly. We may have to deal with the cynicism of others and ourselves. There will be challenges. It will take planning when necessary. However, I can tell you from personal experience that unless we seize these opportunities and actually try to do these things, lip service means nothing. Talk is nothing. Barack Obama just proved that with support and hard work, "Yes We Can" do amazing things. I want you all along with me. For those of you with families, it is especially important to bring them in too. I believe your children and other family members should have the opportunity to learn how we seize these opportunities so that they can do it themselves when the time comes. I'm not sure if it is worth "formalizing" this, but it might not hurt if we ever get to that point. I don't want to leave you behind when these opportunities come up. I know it may seem easier to stay out of things, not do anything, and hope that everything turns out alright. As a result, I've seen many of you (and myself) frustrated, angry, and upset when things don't go the way you want when we don't get involved first. In a civic and political world, I've learned that if you're not involved, then things will happen despite you and you will not have the right to bitch and complain (pardon my French) when it does because you didn't do a darn thing about it beforehand. I don't want that for myself or any of you. So far I've got one person on board, now as Uncle Sam would say, I want you!

 -  The last blurb/epiphany came about from something that happened Monday night. After I got out of a work meeting, I decided to go to an Obama event happening at the King Arts Complex on Mt. Vernon Ave. Diddy, Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige were scheduled to be there and I decided to go early in an effort to get in front. That paid off because I was right next to the stage when the event opened up. I called my mother excited about getting that close and texted my friends that I was there in the hope that they might want to show up. It was last minute so they couldn't make it. I got to see Kevin Lyles, Mary J., Diddy, and Jay-Z who brought his wife Beyonce Knowles with him. I got to shake hands with Diddy and Jay-Z after it was over and that was a thrill. Most of the time I was thinking my friends were missing out on this, but I had a great time nonetheless despite my haywire sinuses.

 -  I'm finally starting to feel a little better today. I am relaxing as I blog.

 -  Chant with me now...Yes We Can...Yes We Can...Yes We Can...

 -  I'm just in awe about Obama winning, and it's obvious I'm not the only one. Just watch MSNBC or Oprah or read a newspaper to see this.

 -  John McCain made a great concession speech, pledging to work with our new president. I hope he follows through.

 -  The Browns play tomorrow night (Thursday) against Denver and Brady Quinn starts at QB for Cleveland. I hope this goes well. If you don't get NFL Network, you can watch with me and the Westerville Browns Backers at GameWorks in Easton.

 -  Don't forget to check out my church Crossroads World Christian Center at www.crossroadswcc.org.

Before I go, I just want to invite you to come to the O.C. in Gahanna this weekend (on Hamilton Rd. between Morse Rd. and Dublin-Granville Rd.) and have some fun. No real reason I'm asking this...I just want to invite you all to have some fun this weekend and we do have something to celebrate...a new president. Before I go, I want to thank all of you who voted yesterday and did your civic duty. Don't forget my offer as well. Like I said, I don't want to do this alone anymore. Just remember that selling political stuff on QVC does not qualify as civic duty...at least as far as I know. Take care and God Bless.

DJ

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