After my Birthday

Well I turned 38 on July 20th and celebrated another year of living on this planet under the star we call the sun. I thank the Lord for his blessings and that I can follow Him for another complete orbit around that yellow star in the sky.

Me at the gym at WF apts.

(that's a really clean mirror, right?)

This month I have seen some really cool views of nature will outside during the morning, afternoon, and night. I remember seeing the full moon last night while playing tennis. I like to watch the dark clouds form during the hot day and turn into thunderstorms. While biking last week I recall that I just finished a ride before a rain storm with thunder and lightning arrived.

Photo of a lake from a bike trail in Raleigh

So, how would I rate last year on a scale of 1 to 10? I guess it would be a 7, not to bad, but there was some muddy water along the way, like in that photo above. Have I ever seen the rain, yes in more ways than one. Without going into any details I am going to move on and move up to a better life this time around. Like that commercial on the radio, Mr. opportunity is knocking and ready to tackle what lies ahead. I thank my Mom and Dad, sister, and Aunt for the nice birthday cards they sent last week. They were on display on my coffee table for about a week and now are filed away for safe keeping. I was reading a profile of my former district manager on LinkedIn today and realized that we are the same age. He is now a store manager for an auto parts shop, but I am in the electronics and computer industry. However, one of my co-workers is very interested in car parts and is upgrading an old chevy camaro. My car, with the Fast-tek car sign still on display, is running well although I didn't put that many miles on it this year:

I have parked my car in strategic places at retail shopping centers and parks so that people can walk by and see the car sign, and call the phone number to get there computers repaired or upgraded. Today I was at the Walmart on Kildaire Farm Rd. and last week I parked it at Crossroads and also at a business in RTP. I purchased a lamp shade to replace the damaged one on my den light while at the Walmart today. I also shop at Kmart, Target, and Lowes very frequently. But the color of the day and the products is what I like to look at; to add some art and design, like Extreme makeover home edition to help make the world a more peaceful place. For, tomorrow is July 27th and it could be the secret day of the rapture the many are forecasting: and like a 727 jet I might be rocketed out to circle the sun in a whole new way. For now, I take it one day at a time as the days turn to years and I grow closer to 40 and we all work to finish the race and get that prize that is only available to the believer in the wonderful colors of the sometime future "New Jerusalem".   

  

After Independence Day

Photo of the team RadioShack car before the Tour De France.

Rain drops on a car windshield that reflect the US Flag in the background.

These are some cool web photos that I found online. I was watching some of the TDF on TV this morning. The bike riders are in the second stage of the race, and Lance is in fourth place for team RadioShack. In the second photo, look how the flag is reflected in the water droplets on the car windshield. On Saturday, which was July 3rd, I watched the fireworks in Garner with a single's social group. We were sitting close to the rocket launch site, and could see them take off into the dark evening sky around 9:45pm. There was a malfunction on one rocket that seemed to explode near the ground. I walked back to my car to drive out of the grass church parking lot while the fireworks ended. On July 4th I watched the Wimbledon tennis finals and the first stage of the TDF on TV. Later on in the day I attended a BBQ cookout with another single's group from church. Now it is Monday morning and I have to go to work soon. It is sunny and hot outside and has not rained here in over a week. I purchased two plants at a Kmart garden shop last weekend and placed them beside my den window. They will need to be watered about two times a week and get sunlight most of the day. There is just over two weeks left until my 38th birthday. Don't really have any plans yet, but I remember last year some friends came over for cake and to watch a movie. I hope that everyone has a blessed week and here are some more pictures:

Reeds and water Lilly's at Harris Lake Park DGC.

Jen at Chubby's Tacos in Raleigh.

Having a Bud and water at a bar watching the World Cup soccer match.

My Weekly Adventures

When I am not selling electronics or repairing computers I am enjoying my time on the go. With God at the wheel as my pilot I navigate the waters of opportunity and set sail on new adventures. Fresh on my mind is yesterday, which was Monday. In the morning the weather forecast for a hot, sunny day in the upper 90's. I wanted to go for a bike ride and also stop by and use a mail coupon at a local bike shop. I left in the morning around 10am with my mountain bike on the road gear car carrier rack. The trails I chose this time were easy, with not too many climbs or miles to ride. I rode for about 1.5 hours and took some pictures with my phone camera while riding the trails. There was a lake in the middle of the park and some kids were swimming. It was not to hot, and there was a breeze that cooled me off as I stood in the shade of a tree at the end of the ride. My next stop was the bike shop were I bought some comfort grips and a red, cooling material type of shirt. I had a good sandwich at Subway for lunch and then went to Advanced Auto to buy some oil for my car. I hope that BP will find a way to stop the oil leak in the Gulf soon. Next, I played a round of disc golf because the course was close to where I had lunch. On hole #16 I lost a frisbee in the woods, but got help from other golfers and found it. There was a guy flying a yellow radio controlled (rc) airplane around at the park when I was leaving. The day before on Sunday, a friend and I played disc golf at a new course in the area. However, it started to thunder and we had to leave for shelter in our cars after hole #16. Another activity this week was Thursday night tennis with the PTL. It was two sets of doubles and we almost won them, losing in the tiebreaker each set. I broke strings on one racquet and am down to one left, and have not had the other two racquets re-strung yet, because it is expensive. Those are a few of the adventures I had while on the go this week.