GLEEKED!!!

It has been nearly a year now since the Glee phenomena began. I remember watching the pilot episode of the hit television show and being totally sold right then and there. It took a lot of patience waiting the whole summer for the series to begin in the fall. So, yes, I was an original and Gleek; sold since day one.

Now I am even more excited...Glee is going GAGA!!! The new upcoming episode is tipping the hat to another new music phenomena; namely, Lady Gaga. I have loved most all of her music and even have found a liking for her bizarre stage antics and clothes. Most of the time, however, I just raise my eyebrow and ask myself during the dumbfounded silence I sink into after watching a new music video of hers, why I like her...I don't know why, I just do, despite the crazed oddity of her ways. She is a genuine artist, like Van Gogh, Mozart etc. who is misunderstood in her day (and perhaps always will) but who's music we just can't get enough of.

So...I have a week of hyper anticipation of Glee going Gaga...breath....breath...yes I think I can make it...............AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGG!!! so excited.

Eating Out

When I was little my family didn't have a whole lot of money to spend. Most of the money that my parents made was spent improving our home, paying for us kids, and the bills. We rarely went out to eat, and when we did it was both a treat and sort of an event. Even rarer did we eat at a full service sit down type place...generally when we went out to eat it was to McD's or some sort of fast food joint; and yes that was a treat! It was something other than home cooked food (which means...it wasn't always the best food for us but sure tasted good so it had to be unhealthy).

Fast forward about twenty years (give or take a few) to where I am now working in the food service industry. I don't work at the classiest of restaurants in town, nor do I work in the fast food establishments that have infiltrated every corner of America it seems. Where I work, I have long made the observation and thought it amazing that many people, even whole families, make it a weekly ritual to go out to eat at the one restaurant that I work at. I eat at a variety of restaurants, and I guess being brought up out in the country and traveling for our shopping needs to stores in many districts and towns in my area that we never exactly became tied to one location. We also have a great appreciation for variety in our diet so we never were all that tied to one restaurant for any extended period of time...and yet...I see the same faces over and over again every week. I have concluded that they must be rather boring people for it they have such a bland pallet to go to the same restaurant every week...they must lack in imagination and taste (not to mention that 9 times out of 10 they order the same menu items week after week...so much so that the people I work with and I often refer to them by their order...as we don't always know their names...if we want to talk about them).

Now I wonder...Do people eat at home anymore? The situation that I experienced as a kid I think is similar to the situation of most people out there when they were little. Where you mostly eat at home and occasionally you go out for a meal...or order take out, what have you. It seems that my childhood dining habits are not the same as a lot of kids' today. I have seen so many kids who take eating out for granted...they don't eat their food and are often very ill behaved...not to mention messy! Now I know kids are not the cleanest, however, nor do they have to be pigs and neither should parents think that just because we will clean up after them that they should leave their dining area with Cheerios, cheese and who knows what else all over the floor and chairs. HAVE SOME DIGNITY for heaven's sake!

Hmmm...that was a fun rant....!!! lol...oh! MARCH IS HERE!!! Guess what that means! YAY!!!

The Devil in the Details

Yesterday, I took the opportunity to go to confession. I thought that it would be good to start off the season of lent in good fashion with a clear conscience and a brighter, more loving, outlook.

Then I went to work...

Working in the services industry is a trial for anyones patience! I know that most people do not mean to intentionally annoying, or deliberatly try to make my day miserable, however at times it does seem to be that way. So on this particular day, fresh out of the confessional with the words of the priest echoing in my head "See Christ in all and look at yourself through their eyes," I took critical notice of some of the habits of customers and thought to myself, "I think I have done that on occasion."

The habit that annoys me the most, while on the working side of things, is the habit if patrons to not listen or pay attention to what is happening in the transaction of the person in front of them in line. I (the line server who makes their food) go through describing everything and (hopefully) patiently exlpaining the foods available and offering suggestions. I will then come up to the next person in line, who, if they weren't chatting with friends or family in line, wasn't paying attention at all...at any rate, they may or may not have the basic item of their order ready, so then I have to figure out what they want and then walk through the whole process with them and explain everything ad nauseum, despite having just done so. This is a great trial on my patience! My personal record for this sort of thing is four persons in a row! After than bunch I wanted to throw in the towel and walk out the door! However, I do understand that while I say the same things over and over and over again all day long, you the customer are probably hearing my speech for the first time in a long time, if not ever.

That being said, please, don't try our patience if you don't have too! I don't think the ordering of food is a private, confidential matter, so by all means if you don't know how things are ordered at a particular resturant, listen to the person going before you and get prepared!

And yes, this lent I think I need to work on the virtue of patience...ah...so sorely lacking in that one! Lord Grant me Patience...AND HURRY!!!

The Bubble goes Political

Yesterday President Obama delivered the State of the Union address. I have to say, I really like the President, and I like his ideals. I agree with him that the health care system in our nation could use change, that the tone in Washington should change, and that you should do what is best for the future of the Nation rather than what is good for your next election. The President has great and worthy ideals and I admire him for that (it is also really cute to see the love shared between him and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama). However, his policies and the route that he chooses to fix these problems facing America is where he and I differ.

One thing that I have grown tired of in all of the Presidents speeches is that he paints his ideals on a broad canvas, but never ever seems to lay out a detailed plan on how he wants his goals to be reached. The only specific item that the President said he would deal with in a specific way is to remove the restriction on gays in the military. He sayed that he would remove the "don't ask don't tell" rule. That was something concrete and easily recognized as a detailed plan (of course it doesn't take much to simply romove a restriction, no laws need to be written, budgets adjusted, etc.) however, all of his other demands of congress...We will pass a healthcare reform bill, extend tax cuts for middle class Americans, economic recovery package, increase renewable energy, reduce the deficit and repay our Nation's debt...these all sound great and wonderful, yet has the President ever laid out what he wants specifically in any of these bills? Where is the detailed "Congress, this is what I want, this what I want in it, this is how it will get done" in any of his speeches?

I think that is why most Americans are dissapointed with the President: Letting Congress run unfettered on it's own steam and making it's own policies. I didn't like President Bush's policy if signing basically anything that Congress sent to his desk. That was not the role he was to serve as President. He tried to not be a nay sayer, and so Congress was let run wild, and so Congress did...which brings us to the recession that we now face. President Obama has decided to give Congress his ultimate goal, but then lets them fill in all the details themselves, without much guidence as to his overall vision to accomplish his Utopian ideals. Where is the "change" and the "hope" that was promised?

In my own most humble opionion, what the Nation needs in Washington is a fearless leader. A leader who gives a task that must be accomplished, gives detailed reasons why said task must be accomplished, and then directs the steps that must be taken to fulfill that task; spell it out in detail and in plain English! We are tired of Utopian platitudes and sweeping oratory. We know what makes our Nation great. We the People are not as divided as you think we are (mostly because we are almost universally dissapointed and dissenchanted with our so called "Leaders") and we have faith and hope in the values that have made our country great and to which most of us still live our lives by. In this, our Nation doesn't need "change" what we want to see changed is for Washington to reflect our values and pass laws that respect our heritage and do not treat our Constitution as mere "guidelines" as Jack Sparrow would.

I have great hopes for our Nation, but hope requires sound and decisive action, not platitudes, soaring oratory resulting in empty promises and legislation that sounds like success, but leads us down the road to failure. We are all concerned for our future Mr. President, however, despite agreement on our common goals, we choose different paths to accomplish them. You cannot rush perfection so do not call us all "naysayers" rather see our dedication to working with you. If it is worth doing it is worth doing right, especially when it will effect us for years to come, so instead of trying to rush everything through, take your time and pass your bills in four years, not in less than one.

May God Bless Our Nation and Us All. Amen.

Approaching the Classics

Since leaving home and mingling with other people my age in college and the world in general, I have come to realize that I miss out on a lot of cultural references that my friends would make in general conversation. They would say the oddest things, and while they all knew what was going on, I was left in the dark...with my mind running in circles trying for figure out what European vs. African swallows had to do with anything we were talking about.

Over time, my friends would eventually catch on and ask with astonishment..."You've never seen (insert movie anywhere between 1970-2000)???" My response was almost always yes...and thus was launched my film legends education. I have been introduced to some great films that I love (Amadeus, Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, The Bourne films) and some that I could have gone without seeing (Aliens and Alien vs. Predator-thanks Sean, American History X-thanks Felix, Jurassic Park-freaked me out guys!). My education began in the common room of John Vianney (oh happy memories) at Ave. The scary movies I were often accompanied with many screams from me...usually because Sean decided to lunge at my side during particularly intense moments. Oh...the emotional scars!

I am still trying to catch up. I recently saw Donnie Darko for the first time, Liar Liar, Tomb Raider and the Indiana Jones films. Someday I will finish, but until then, I thought I would do a flash from the past movie review every now and then...maybe once a month. So this is fair warning about why I am giving movie reviews years after the movies came out and pretty much everybody has seen them already...but its fun for me. I love discussing movies, and hopefully I can get some feed-back.

P.S. Donnie Darko was pretty interesting...my mind is still trying to figure it out, but a part of me thinks that I am probably thinking about it too hard and that its just meant to be an acid trip or something...not sure...However, despite being weirder than all get out, I liked the film for the most part, it was interesting...however I would have to see it again in order flesh out a real review...

Modus Creativus

Not sure if that is actual Latin or Hogwarts Latin...but as I am not in the mood to actually look it up...there you go!

I have been in a most creative mood these past few days. Some of my many projects are nearing completion, some have been helped along, and one has just been started. I seem to have the inenviable plight of the artist who is forever starting new projects because the inspiration has ceased for the previous works...or I got bored with them...or the inspiration no where neared the outcome (overambition is my plague...either that or under acheivement) and so I gave up in frustration.

In today's news...Congratulations Senator Brown! I was so shocked! Massachutsets elect a Republican (and a conservative non-the-less)! Impossible was my initial response...but no! The world has been turned on its head I think...it is the only logical explanation!

Ah...well back to my projects...which shall remain un-named and un-numbered as I always make more of what I have started and then leave people to guess what happened to all that I was "going" to do...sigh...

Beauty in Motion

Since I first saw the world-wide sensation that is Riverdance, I have been enamored with Irish dance, both in its traditional form, and the modern interpretations of rich dance form. Jean Butler is a beauty and a master of Irish Dance. She glides across the floor as graceful as faerie born aloft upon nothing but the soft breezes drifting across the lakes and rivers of Ireland.

I found this lovely video while browsing Youtube.com the other day, and thought that I would post it so that you could enjoy this lovely piece. The video is entitled Blue and is performed and choreographed by Jean Butler. Music is Andy's Bar from the album Lemonade and Burns by Kila. Enjoy!

A Draught from the Pool of Friendship

Despite having some of the best friends in the world, it is possible to sometimes forget how much a person needs to share moments of their lives with their friends. Good friends are made, yet life invades and manages to split and divide us across the face of the planet on our varying paths of life. For a time, we walked side by side down the same glorious path mingled with laughter and tears, toils and bliss; the memories of which sustain our bonds of friendship through the trials of separation.

It has been far too long since our paths last converged, yet I am so overjoyed that they have at last managed to join up again, for a time however brief, at the wedding of my two dear friends, Sean McNally and Meghan Barylak in Cleveland this past weekend. My spirit is uplifted, and I feel a great challange to myself to work more diligently to cultivate the friendships that I have allowed to lapse after the Ave diaspora of 2006. With that said I am going to work at staying in better connection with my friends and hopefully, times are at last beginning to brighten and the dark days of my financial woes may be easing in the very near future...so hopefully I will be able to make some more visits, and more often.

I love all of you that I was able to share this past weekend with, wish more of your were there and that we had a longer, less busy time, to enjoy each other, however, I wouldn't trade this time for the world...Congratulations to Sean and Meghan...words fail to tell how happy I am for you both!

Unique as the Irish

I came across an interesting site today while I was browsing other things on the internet. I thought I would share it with whoever still reads this ole thing (I keep trying to get back into the habit of writing down things in here, but tis so difficult, despite being such an essentially simple thing to do). In Co. Cork, Ireland, a reforestation effort has been launched with a unique twist. Ireland is one of the least forested of all European countries, so to help with the costs of planting a bit of Ireland back to forest, a group of people in Ireland have launched a memorial program that honors a deceased loved one with a tree and a plaque planted in this forest of remembrance.

I think that it is something very interesting and unique, and sounds like a great thing to do, especially for us Irish-Americans, who would otherwise not leave any mark on the old country. If you want to check it out, I have provided a link...it's pretty cool and worth checking out!!!

Advent is Coming

Found this on Youtube.com today...and just wanted to post something for the sake of posting something, as I have not posted anything in FOREVER!

The beginning is a little boring, but once the song begins it is lovely. The Choir is from the University of Notre Dame.

OH dear...

Let's just say that I have writer's block...that or just a lack of things to say (which is so not me...so it must be a lack of things to type).

I Bind My Heart This Tide

While browsing on Youtube.com I came across this video...I found it very moving and inspiring and thought I would pass along this treasure to you. Love the sound of this all men's choral group!

So..When is St. Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick's Day, as most everybody knows, is March 17th. This year, however, that date is smack dab in the middle of Holy Week. Since Holy Week takes precidence over all other feast days in the Liturgical Calendar, St. Patrick's Day (as well as St. Joseph's Day) needed to be moved to a time outside of Holy Week. So this year, St. Patrick's day as been moved to March 14th, or the Friday before Holy Week. All the usual dispensations in heavily Irish dioceses have been removed as regards abstaining and fasting on Fridays during Lent.

Now...the question is, when will you be celebrating St. Patrick's Day this year? Most secular festivities honoring the beloved Saint's feast are going on as usual on March 17th, and the Church reiterates that only the liturgical observence of the feast has been moved. But that begs the question when will I be celebrating? I have more than half a mind to celebrate both days (why not?) but the remaining percent makes me think that I should observe March 14th in a prayful spirit of Thanksgiving in honor of the Saint that brought the light of Christ to my ancestors, and avoid the usual trappings and brohaha of the day, saving that for March 17th...so I don't know...I think it will some mixture of my better feelings and my love of a good craic!

Anyway...just so you are all aware of the effects of an early Easter, and food for thought! Oh and here is an aticle from the Ireland.com talking about the change of date.

Dia dhuit!

Qdoba

Hey everyone, after months of endless searching and countless applications....I finally have a JOB!!! I am very excited (if you can't tell already) to be working at Qdoba Mexican Grill. I just finished my first real day on the job (before I was just training...not that that wasn't work...just all the not so fun stuff). I would love to see a familiar face...so if any of you are ever around Knapp and the East Beltline (near Celebration! Cinema) in Grand Rapids, please come on over!

So what does "Qdoba" mean? Now don't go and get out those Spanish-English dictionaries! It is actually a made up word that means nothing but simple sounds Mexican! Sort of like the food there...its all inspired by traditional food South of the Border, but is created with the American palette in mind.

News one only hears out of Ireland...

I opened my Hotmail today and one of the news headlines read: "Irish cops bust beer thieves." The first thing that came to mind was "only out of Ireland" so I thought I would share some of the funnier parts...as well as a link to the Full Story.

"The Garda Siochana police force declined to specify how many kegs have been recovered following the Nov. 29 raid, when a lone man drove a truck into the brewery, hitched up a trailer loaded with 450 kegs and drove straight out through the security gate into rush-hour traffic. Guinness called it the biggest robbery in the 248-year history of the brewery."

-not very well planned...running into rush hour traffic (but then maybe they thought they were the Irish version of the Italian Job).

"The stolen trailer was loaded up with 180 kegs of Guinness stout, 180 kegs of brand Budweiser and 90 kegs of Danish brand Carlsberg."

-One wonders why they didn't just stick to taking the good beer?
-talk about a party...why didn't I get an invitation?

Ethan James Heffron

Esther holding her little brother Ethan for the first time (so cute!!!).Daddy and his little boy. My how tiny he is!
Family picture (Esther was a little upset over something).
Uncle Brendan holds Ethan...aww...so precious!
Rocking Baby Ethan while Jassica and James catch some rest.
Things are going great here at Andrews AFB. Thanksgiving dinner turned out wonderfully (I know...a bit of a pat on the back there...but I liked it). Esther loves the new baby and Ethan is such a good little boy...although he keeps his parents up more at night than his bigger sister did. Love you all see you back home soon!

Feast of All Souls

Lux Aeterna luceat eis Domine

cum Sanctis tuis in aeternum

quia pius es. Amen

May the Souls of the Faithful Departed

Through the mercy of God

Rest in Peace. Amen

The Legend of Jack of the Lantern

There once was a young man named Jack. He was a vagabond and a trickster, preferring to trick his way through life and stealing than earning and honest living.

One day, Jack was waiting at the crossroads in the hopes that some unwary travelers would come by asking for directions to the Inn (Jack often did this...offering to guide them through the Irish mists in exchange for some money...and would then lead them down the road into the bogs to their dooms). But this night, instead of a stranger coming down the road, the Devil himself met Jack at the crossroads.

"Jack!;" said the Devil, "I've been a'looking for you...seems your time is up and I've come to take you home for your eternal reward."

"Is that so?" Jack asked, considerably shaken but this revelation. "Well then I guess that I am ready to go...but before I do, could you grant me one last earthly request?"

The devil thought this over for a bit and then said "Well now Jack, seeing as I have enjoyed leading you astray for all these years...I guess one last bit of pleasure wouldn't do me harm. What would you like?"

"I would like that apple...there on the topmost branch of this here apple tree...only I cannot get it since I hurt my leg today;" replied Jack.

So up the tree the devil sprang to get the apple...and quick as a cat Jack carved a big cross on the trunk of the tree so that the Devil could not come back down.

"There now Devil," cried Jack, "Come and take away my spirit now!"
"Curse you!" shouted the Devil from the tree, "let me down and I promise I'll not take your spirit tonight or any night hereafter!"

So, with this promise, Jack cut down the tree and down the devil came with it, leaving Jack safe and alive. Yet, all living things must die, and Jack did eventually as well...only he was not allowed in heaven because of his wicked life...nor would the Devil allow him onto Hell...on account of his promise. So now Jack wonders the world with just a little lantern to guide him in the night...hoping to find some place to stay for the night. But he can't even find hospitality on earth...out of fear that he may be up to his old tricks, people carved out turnips and pumpkins with frightening faces to remind him of his evil deeds...thus keeping away Jack O'Lantern.

Happy New Year!...?

Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") is the ancient Celtic celebration of the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. Each year, according to Celtic Mythology, a new sun god (male) was born of the goddess of the earth each spring. During the year he grew old until he dies in the late autumn with the darkening of the year, but not before he has taken earth as his bride and left her with a new son god to be born in the spring. so the end of the year is also the beginning.

However, with the death of the sun god, the souls of the wicked creatures and the dead all run wild on this night. In order to confuse the spirits and keep them from harming the living, the Celtic people devised many "tricks" that are still used to this day (although not for the original intended purpose). Bonfires are still a traditional part of Halloween (Samhain) which were thought to chase away the evil spirits who would think that it was the sun god still living.

Another method of tricking the creatures, was to disguise yourself as one of them so that they would mistake you for one of their own and leave you be. Part of this was that many families would invite the spirits in for a feast, the food would distract them long enough for the living to done costumes...and lead the spirits from the house dancing their way out in the wilderness, away from the homes of the living. But for the timid spirits, just a scary face would do to frighten them away!

Happy Halloween!

Riverdance goes Bananas!

See? Even Monkeys know what good music is!