Mon, Jun 23 2008 by Vanessa.

Tonight, I stepped out of the living room for a moment and when I returned my husband said,

“Honey, you need to sit down and watch this segment on TV.”

So I did and I just about fell out of my seat.  There’s a man named Ian Usher in Australia, auctioning off his life!!!!!  It’s true, the auction has about 5 days left.  There is actually another person, on this very planet, who has worked incredibly hard to build a life that is to be dismantled piece by piece.  Actually, his disassembly will take place in one single event whereas we’ve chosen a long, drawn-out demise but nonetheless, he’s doing it.  He’s up and walking away.  Check out his site www.aLife4Sale.com

I can’t wait for the day when we get to “walk” away.   Hopefully our paths will cross with Mr. Usher.  We can compare and contrast our methodologies and hopefully provide courage for others who want to do the same!  Good luck to you Ian.  Only fabulous adventures will you have from this day on!

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Fri, Jun 20 2008 by Vanessa.

Ok, so if you’re not an IT person this post is probably boring.  Even if you are an IT person, you’ll probably think it boring.  I just have to rant and rave a little bit because I’m not the biggest fan of Microsoft.  I have been ready, for quite a bit of time now, to switch back to Apple.  My very first computer, in the 5th grade, was an Apple II GS.  It was that fantastic contraption where the floppy drive (literally … remember the big, truly floppy disks?) and speakers were all built into the keyboard.  The whole keyboard/floppy drive/speaker contraption had a handle for easy carrying.  Did the designers actually think that many people would be walking down the street, casually toting their keyboard/floppy drive/speaker contraption?  I see the argument for modularity … after all you can always borrow a monitor, right?  But come on now …. who’s really going to transport their keyboard/floppy drive/speaker contraption on a regular basis.  I digress…..

So, I’m ready to once again become an Apple supporter.  I’d love to get a Mac, especially an oh-so-thin Macbook Air!!!  So, I thought a great reason to justify the purchase of a Macbook Air would be to develop applications for the IPhone.  All excited and proud for thinking of such a great idea, I joined the IDeveloper program just to be told ….

“Thank you for applying to the iPhone Developer Program. We have many more requests than we can serve during this initial beta period, so we must limit the Program at this time. We plan to expand it during the beta period, and we will contact you regarding your enrollment status at the appropriate time. We appreciate your patience.”

In the meantime, I keep getting emails telling me to download the new SDK … keep developing IPhone applications … have faith that one day,  I might … just might … receive the infamous developer certificate that will allow me to actually sell my creations.  It feels like my real-life version of hoping and praying for a Golden Ticket if I buy enough Wonka bars.  So alas, here I sit and wait for my precious developers certificate.  Sorry Apple, it’s all feeling a little too Big Brother”ish” … a little too Microsoft for me.  Although my dear friend, Mr. Jobs, I can guarantee that you’ll sell another Macbook the same day I receive my certificate.  Coincidence?  I think not.

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Tue, Jun 17 2008 by Vanessa.

Well, yesterday was the big three-oh (30th birthday). I don’t think there’s anymore denying that I’m an adult. I’m all grown up and it’s not nearly as fun as I thought being an adult would be. Although, I should modify that sentence slightly. Section 1 was not as much fun as I thought it would be. Section 2 is going to be a blast!

So, in order to get in the Section-2-birthday-party frame of mind, I decided to really concentrate on what a birthday party should be like for someone in Section 2. It had to be much more child-like and it had to incorporate something new and maybe even a little scary. So I started off the day by watching an episode of Friends - The One Where They All Turned 30 - appropriate for the biggest Friends fan, right? After that it was off to Sunrise Pottery where John and I learned to throw pots. I guess that’s what it’s called. Either way, we sat right down, got the potter’s wheel spinning and made some rather lovely creations, if I do say so myself. Although this was incredibly fun, I was admittedly a little scared of the wheel. This, I figured, was the sign that I was branching out by trying something so new it was a little scary. Not haunted-house scary but I-might-screw-up-and-throw-clay-across-the-room scary!

Making pottery can really work up an appetite and so we came home, got the AC fixed (which is a fantastic birthday present when you live in San Antonio and your birthday is during the summer months) and then went out for sushi. My mom also sent me a huge bouquet of balloons with a stuffed animal and roses and my mother-in-law sent a fantastic box with individually wrapped gifts inside! It was quite a fantastic day. A lot can happen in 30 years. I’m just thrilled to know the next 30 are going to be even better than the last!

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Sat, Jun 14 2008 by Vanessa.

It sounds like a cliche. It feels like a cliche. I actually feel like one of those overly do-gooders who has found the way and the light and knows how to live their life all because they saw that pink pebble, on the beach, shaped like the virgin Mary. My pink pebble, on the beach, shaped like the Virgin Mary was actually a lady on Oprah. The lady’s name …. Louise Hay. Some know Louise as an inspirational speaker. Others know Louise as a spunky old woman who knows no limits. I know Louise as the woman who, with one single sentence, took my anger away and replaced it with forgiveness.

Several posts ago I wrote of an old friend who turned out to be a backstabbing creep. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the fact that I now understand that my overly-brilliant husband and I have something that we’re intended to do that is so much bigger and more powerful than the business he helped build over the last three years. We’re the type of people that stick things out though. If we start something, we finish it … no matter what. That’s what pained us (especially my husband) so much when we began thinking about leaving his company. There’s no way that he would have left unless our “friend” completely turned on him … which is what happened. But back to Oprah….

So, Oprah had a guest on that spoke about the way she celebrated when her husband was fired from his job. Initially, she was frightened as most people would be. How will the bills get paid? What if he can’t find another job? She caught herself, took a deep breath and decided to celebrate. She knew her husband was not exactly happy with that old job. He deserved better and she knew it. That’s when Louise spoke up and said “Well don’t you see. Your husband wasn’t about to leave his job so the Universe had to take it away from him in order to FORCE him to do something bigger.” Those weren’t her exact words but you get it. Anyway, that sentiment slapped me upside the head like a 70 mile per hour baseball pitch. The Universe used the only thing it could to get us away from that soul-sucking business we were so attached to. Our “friend.” When our “friend” turned his back on my husband time and time again, repeating the mantra “F*^& you” (again paraphrasing) at every turn, the last strand of loyalty my husband had to anything associated with that business dissolved into the ether. Only then was he able to stand up and pronounce what a waste of time that business had become.

If you’ve ever watched “My Name is Earl” there was an episode where Randy made a very uncanny revelation. Earl was feeling bad about punching someone and Randy said “But Earl, Karma doesn’t have fists.” So much paraphrasing in this post. What Randy meant was that Karma wanted to punch that person and had to use Earl to do it. Same thing here, I believe. The Universe had to use our friend in a less that human capacity to get our attention. That doesn’t make his actions right or fair or justified … but it helped us get our scoot on! Upon making this realization, all my anger, resentment and feeling of being “forced” to make the decision to move on dissolved. I no longer loathe either of the two remaining partners. Can’t say I’ll ever speak to them again either … but I’ve separated myself from my anger. Good luck remaining partners. I hope you do make the millions you claim to be capable of!  I really, truly do!

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Mon, Jun 09 2008 by Vanessa.

So I received a phone call from my mom yesterday that started out with her saying “You’re never going to believe THIS story.  You’re going to think I’m exaggerating.”  To which I thought, on no … what now?!?!?!?!  Come to find out, my mom was driving to the video store to return a couple movies when all of a sudden her whole car shook and a big BOOM came out of nowhere.  She managed to “muscle” the car (her words, not mine) into a parking space near the video store frightened that her three foster children were fried in the backseat.  Luckily, no children were fried in the creation of this story but when she turned the car off it kept running.  All the while the window wipers were still going like crazy … obviously due to the rain storm that helped induce the electrocution of my mother’s Altima’s “brain” … again, her words.  The surge of electrical power somehow removed and/or dissolved the rubber pieces on the wipers so as those crazy wipers kept wiping the window they also scratched up the windshield which, by the way, has two burn spots on it and still the car won’t shut down.  I haven’t viewed the damage with my own eyeballs but I’m hoping pictures are on the way.  A kind man helped disconnect the battery so as to force the car to shut down but in the process locked my mom’s keys and garage door opener in the car.  Remember, the electrical system isn’t working and the doors were apparently in a locked state so when the door accidentally shut the keys were locked in.

Somehow, my mom was able to find some very lovely lady who was willing to help my mom get all three developmentally disabled foster children back to her house.  This in itself is sadly a major feat.  It’s so sad that in this day an age, no one wants to help a single woman caring for 3 developmentally disabled children who are not her own.  Mom sacrifices everyday for these children (have I mentioned, they’re not HER biological children) and yet only one lady (of all the people who were there) was willing to help get 4 people, whose car had just been struck by lightning, home.   Thank you kind lady!  May the Universe bestow all kinds of great things on you … like a winning jackpot lottery ticket!!!!  Or maybe just some free groceries or gas.  It’s probably good to be realistic when asking the Universe for rewards! 

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