As I write this post, I am sitting on my parent’s couch in Pekin finishing the very last of my Illinois Christmas vacation. I realize that my blogging as diminished in the last several months, normally I would be sitting here apologizing for that indiscretion.

Instead, I like to think that I replaced the blogging time with living time. Whether that takes the form of spending quality time with Eve and Tasha, doing additional side projects for fun/profit, working out, or taking part in Church activities I like to think that the additional time doing has been beneficial.

Next year we are going to get back to some goals and find some balance. It will be good for all of us.

As those of you on Facebook may be (painfully) aware, I have been participating in Movember charity activities this year.

Any of you that know me even a little would agree that I can, in no way, be described as swarthy, hairy, or grizzly.  In fact, my facial hair growing prowess can be more accurately described as pre-pubescent, hilarious, and weak.  So why would I join in on a charity that focuses on an area that I am admittedly weak?

Simple.  Cancer is a bitch, and my inability to grow a mustache/beard/goatee gets noticed.  It starts a conversation, and during this conversation people get informed about the Movember charity and it’s efforts to raise money for men’s health related charities.  I had several friends (on our Movember Team) that had participated in previous years and their stories compelled me to take part as well.

I have had several male friends and family members that have been affected by cancer, and I wanted to do something about it.

I am proud of my lame-stash.  At the time of this writing, it has raised $85 of my Movember Team’s total $145.  This may not sound like a lot of money, but Movember Teams around the world are all doing the same (or better) and right now the total raised globally from the 845, 371 registered mustaches is $78,605,363.  One would hope that this much money makes a difference in some way.

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions:

• You look like a Civil War General.

  Well, this is more of a comment than a question, but ok… yes.  I have been compared frequently to Wyatt Earp, a Civil War General, and a wide variety of other dubious and fine gentlemen.  Thanks for noticing.

• Why’s it so patchy?  Why’s it red/white/brown/multicolored?

  I am no geneticist, however I am going to vote for a ton of recessive genes on the coloration and a lack of experience on the patchiness.  My grandpa on my Mom’s side had red facial hair when he would let it grow in, and my other grandpa had dark hair.  The white is because my soul patch region seems to suck for some undisclosed reason… it’s got length but no color.

• Why did you shave off the goatee?  Now you look like a molester!

  Hey, thanks for that.  The reason that I shaved off the goatee is because it is the rules of engagement for the charity.   Rule 4 clearly states: There is to be no joining of the handlebars to your chin. (That’s considered a goatee)  Those of you that enjoy backhanded compliments have noticed that my goatee was folically challenged in the handlebars area.  Those few stray hairs I shaved it to achieve my take on the Tony Stark look (which I happened to like a lot), but I’m not in this to cite technicality… it’s Movember, so I needed to have as close to a proper mustache as I could muster at the end.

•  Are you going to keep it?

  Sadly, no.  I would be more inclined to make a case for keeping it if the goatee were still intact, but I look utterly ridiculous this way.   Besides, I had a very serious agreement with Tasha (who hates facial hair) that I could participate for the charity and it had to be over at the end of the month and I intend to keep good on that promise.  Next year, however, I may negotiate a donation bounty to keep my mustache around longer.

Tonight was the first post-Nationals workout at the Arvada dojo.  We started out the class alternating around through the 15 basic Shotokan kata, and then Sensei Tarrant said that he wanted to do some of the more “showy” advanced katas that were featured at the Nationals competition.

We spent the remainder of the night doing Sochin, Gojyushiho Dai, and Unsu.

At the end of class he told us to pick one of those three to do on our own, so I picked Unsu and he did it along with me.  It felt pretty badass to do this kata 1-1 with him, even if I did terribly at it.  When class was finished, Paul B and I decided it was time to work on kumite some more so we asked Sensei Tarrant to officiate a tournament style match between the two of us.

Paul opened up with a half-point punch that he slipped under my guard.  I got him next with a low lunge punch as he came in for an attack, half-point.  I finished up the match with a front kick as he came in to attack before he could get to me, for another half-point.  Sensei Tarrant told us to do one more exchange, and I took that half-point as well with a reverse punch.

It was really fun and I hope we get to do more of this.  Sensei Tarrant took the time to tell us how each technique looked to him, power/timing/distance and what we could do to improve on it.  He even gave us some tips from his own playbook for our own personal use!  More soon, hopefully it won’t be a month between updates again!

Before the Foo Fighters concert, I was sitting around musing about how weird it was to be out at a concert while Tasha watched Eve.  I have the greatest wife in the world to allow me to do such crazy things as going to a rock show on a Sunday night, leaving her to diapers and feedings and whatever other fun things that the baby is able to muster up in my absence.  I figured this is the type of thing that I should be blogging about, then I had to tack on some dreaded words: IF I WERE STILL BLOGGING.

So I decided after the show, no matter how tired and deaf I was (am!) I would write something for the blog tonight.

The opening acts for the Foo Fighters show were Mariachi El Bronx and Cage the Elephant.  Mariachi El Bronx was so far off the chart for things I wouldn’t ever listen do that we didn’t even elect to go into the venue during their set.  I imagine there exists a slim reality where I could have walked through the entrance to the venue, been teleported into a strange parallel universe where mariachi music was hardcore and cool, so I won’t immediately say there’s no chance of me ever liking it… but it’s mathematically unlikely.

Several of my indie music friends should recognize Cage the Elephant, since they are a rather popular band.  I can tell you this: their sound guy hates everyone.  Their drummer and guitarists were quite capable, but the lead singer’s volume was way too high for the rest of the band and his vocal track borderlines on coked-out howler monkey so it wasn’t working for me.  It’s a shame too… I really wanted to have a good experience listening to them, so I could tell my other indie music friends how good they are… but it wasn’t working for me tonight.

Exhausted of lackluster music, I was relieved when the Foo Fighters came on.  Within their first three songs, they had the crowd engaged and were rocking it out.  They played “Learn to Fly” early and then promised that they weren’t one of those crappy bands that plays an hour and forty five minutes and is done, so we might want to call in sick to work tomorrow.  They finished their encore at 11:47 pm, having played almost two hours and forty-five minutes.  Dave Grohl doesn’t phone it in either… they were rocking it out the whole time.

The part that impressed me most was how the band engaged the crowd.  Dave Grohl took the time to call out individuals that he noticed enjoying themselves, happy birthday wishes to people with signs… he even implored all of the teenaged kids in the crowd to go buy guitars so there can actually be bands that use real guitars in the future instead of computer equipment.  There was so much good music to be had that it’s not even worth rattling off the list of songs… if you heard it on the radio and it was by them, they probably played it.  They also played tracks off of their new album, which seems to be very good.

Dave pointed out that one song “These Days” is his absolute favorite song he’s ever written.  He wrote it “in like a minute” and was playing the chords and working out the lyrics and realized that he was writing the song he’d been trying to write for 20 years.  It was a cool song, very introspective.  It’s worth a listen.

Suffice it to say, the Foo’s made up for the lackluster opening acts in a huge way.  If they come out here again, I’m not missing it.

I am about to cover a topic that I don’t often write about, speak about, or share with others: my Catholic Faith.  If you are not interested in such things or don’t have anything constructive to add, you might want to just pass this blog post by and wait for my next update.  Consider yourself warned.

Since we moved to Colorado, Tasha and I spent nearly two and a half years looking for a Church that could replace St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Pekin as our parish home.  Neither Tasha or I were particularly observant up to this point, however we tried a few of the Catholic Churches in the area and none of them felt right until we found St. Mark Catholic Church.  I found it rejuvenating to go back to Mass, have Reconciliation (particular thanks to Father Jim at St. Joseph’s for giving us a head start on that topic), and in general just get comfortable participating in the faith again.

When we found out we were having Eve, it became more viscerally important to both Tasha and I to become comfortable with the Church’s teachings because we were going to have a child to worry about.  This urged us further into our analysis and participation in Church practices and activities (mainly, we began giving more) and looking for different ways to learn more.

I have never been what you would consider an “active person” in my Church… I would go to Mass and that was about it (and for quite a long while, not even that.)  Last year I told myself to just go, listen, and not think about things too hard and you’ll find out the right thing to do.  For me, the right thing to do took the shape of a program called “That Man Is You!” – a 26 week long men’s fellowship designed to strengthen Catholic men in their exploration of the Church’s teachings on how to become a better leader, father, and husband.  A man named Tom provided a short talk about the program at Church one day, and I just got the feeling that it was the right thing for me to look into.  He was looking for volunteers to help plan the program, so I volunteered.  It turns out that it has been primarily him and I organizing things, with the help of a few others, so we had a lot to do.

One Sunday last month, I was helping to promote the program by handing out flyers at the Church.  Since I had to arrive early and stay late to help answer questions, I had about an hour between Masses.  Most of the time I would get some food from the nearby Sonic and then head back to the Church.  I spent the spare minutes milling around the lobby, waiting for people to arrive and reading some of the flyers they have freely available.  One of the flyers had a portrait of a young priest and it was entitled “The Life and Legacy of Father Michael J. McGivney“.  The contents outlined the short life of Father McGivney and told of the reasons that he founded the Knights of Columbus.

The Knights of Columbus… I remembered those guys from St. Joseph’s Church in Pekin.  All I could recall was that our local DARE officer was a knight and they would sometimes come to Church in their regalia.  I don’t even remember WHY they would come to Church, but that was the memory that came back to me.  I didn’t think too much of it beyond that, then I put the flyer back in it’s place.

Fast forward a few more weeks.  I was back at the Church to help sign people up for our “That Man Is You!” program.  Once again, I was at Church early waiting for people to arrive.  Across the foyer, a man showed up wearing a Knights of Columbus vest.  He told me he was there to help set up the gifts and greet people.  Since there wasn’t anyone arriving at the Church yet, we introduced ourselves.  His vest was full of pins and badges, however the one that caught my eye was a big green button that said “Ask me about K of C!”

So I did.

He explained the intent of the organization, how they were firmly rooted in Catholic teachings and care first and foremost about families.  They do charity and social events, including the fish fry’s and pancake breakfasts that I vaguely remember mentions of from my youth.  I asked about time commitments, and he said that the only thing required to stay an active member was to attend monthly meetings and you could be involved in as much or as little charity work as you desire.  That sounded good to me, so he left me with a bunch of information.

After discussing it with Tasha and reading all I could about their organization, I have decided to join their ranks.  Last Wednesday, I was initiated and took my First Degree.  On Saturday, I take my Second and Third Degrees and become a full member.  I have already attended a meeting and gotten to know several of the men in our Council and their families, and I am excited at the prospect of learning and doing more.  The big thing I am looking forward to participating in is their charitable programs.  It feels good to help others, and this gives me a structure and some motivation to get off my butt and do more good for people, and the world needs more of that.

Now, I fully expect that many of my friends (and even my family) won’t really understand this.  In short, my response to questions / ridicule / skepticism is this: participating in this way is really working for me right now.  It makes me feel like a better person, like I am making a difference and helping people out while strengthening my relationship with Tasha and our family.  Yes, I can do that in a myriad of other ways, but this is the means I am choosing for now.  Much of my motivation is coming from Eve… I don’t want her to grow up and only see Daddy sitting on his butt in front of the computer, video game, or TV.  I would much prefer her learn how to help people and how to do good by my example.

Oh, and the other common question: no, I won’t be dressing up in the regalia.  I have to be a member for at least a year before I can take the Fourth Degree.  All in good time.

Wow, what a drought here… so lets talk about some karate!  The last few workouts have been pockmarked amid work and Church activities, but it has been some good training nonetheless.  The last few workouts have focused on sweeping.  Sensei Tarrant has worked with us on various approaches to the sweep including the fading outside the opponent’s stance by stepping to the 45 degree angle and then working on both inside and outside sweeping.

Last workout I had the distinct pleasure of clashing shins with a guy that fights similarly to Mike McCabe… needless to say he’s tough and strong in his motions.  Today I have a fairly large bruise on my shin and a rattled hip joint, but it is tolerable and good pain.

In other karate related news, I am going to help out with the Nationals competition which is taking place here in Denver in November.  I have never attended a Nationals-level karate event before, so I am curious to observe and perhaps train towards competing next year.  Sensei Tarrant is our regional Nationals coach, so I certainly have the tools at my disposal.  More on this as it develops!

We spent the weekend socializing with some of our gamer friends, including my friend Ed Healy.  He came to town to run one of his Gamerati Tour event stops and asked if he could stay with us for a few days.  He was a great houseguest and is a lot of fun to have around, so I hope it’s not the last time he stays here with us while criss-crossing the country.

While Ed was venturing out to Colorado Springs, I got the last bit of French Polishing done on Dad’s ukulele.  After a nervewracking process of removing the masking tape that covered the location where the bridge would be, I installed both the bridge and the nut.  Today I fixed up the peghead to accommodate the ukulele tuners that I am going to install.  All that’s left is to install the tuners, apply the label, and give it one final polish before stringing it up and hearing how it sounds!

Oh, one other fun thing… last Friday was the start of the “That Man Is You!” program at the Church.  I helped organize getting this thing started, and it was really encouraging to see 20 men show up at 5:45 am on a Friday morning to watch the DVD series and have a discussion about the topic.  The first session was about leadership in our society today and the morality of the people that our society considers leaders.  Let’s just say it was a pretty stark portrait painted by the speaker.  We get to find out more next week, so stay tuned for more.

That’s about all I have to say at the moment.  I am confident that this is going to be a good, full week (which I hope will include more blogging!)

Those of you that have been keeping up with me on social media may understand that while I have been relatively silent on the blogging front I have actually been quite busy.  Between work on my Dad’ ukulele project (almost done with the finishing!), the demands of parenting, and my day job are adding up to not much free time to plunk away at the keyboard.

Things at the office have been carrying on to a crescendo in recent months, with responsibilities mounting and actual empowerment waning.  I’m struggling to find a perspective where I actually feel valued right now.  Instead of moping (beyond the obvious exception on Friday afternoon) I have taken to educating myself in such a way to ensure that I don’t end up “motivating” people in this same way.  I’ve been reading up on how to inspire people in the same fashion that Winston Churchill did, and various leadership blogs.  My current situation may be less-than-ideal, however I will win the day with patience and self-improvement.

All of that unpleasantness aside, I am finding ways to relax.  My in-laws visited and my father-in-law and I had a nice bonding experience while cleaning my garage.  He had some great ideas about getting more utility and space out of my workshop set-up, and I’m happy to say that we got a lot accomplished.  He says that next year he’ll come back and help me wire more outlets and shop lights out there so I can get even more use out of it.

That’s all for now, hopefully it won’t be weeks between updates from here on out.

Wow, it seems that my personal blogging has taken a back seat to actually doing things!  Since the last time I blogged:

• Had two great karate classes, each taught by a different sandan in our organization.
• Had a whirlwind summit at work, which was very intense but productive.  I was essentially the only engineering person there to represent our team, with some support from a few others during that time.  Felt pretty awesome, but stressful.
• Had a great concert experience at Red Rocks, where we met Train and had second row seats to a concert that opened with Gavin DeGraw, then Maroon 5, then Train.  REALLY fun, more on this later.
• Watched my buddy Paul Ballew take a cross-rank exam for his Shodan in Shotokan.  He did a great job, and will find out the results soon.

Now that we’re all caught up, hopefully I can get back to blogging.  I want to do a full post for our Train concert experience soon.  Aside from that, you’ll get my usual ramblings… but for now I’m heading to bed!

I’ve had a strange variety of songs stuck in my head this week.  Since I have no other clever blog topics today that I feel like writing about, I will enumerate these songs so they might get lodged in your head instead of mine.

• “Life By The Drop” by Stevie Ray Vaughan (learning how to play this one too!)
• “Blame It On Me” by Barenaked Ladies (my anthem upon leaving work today)
• “Yellow” by Coldplay (I got Spotify this week, they were advertised on their main page and it got me remembering this song.)
• “You Are A Tourist” by Death Cab for Cutie (been shopping for a Fender Coronado II like Ben Gibbard plays in the music video, always makes me listen to this song.)

That’s all I’ve got tonight, maybe I’ll get inspired after karate tomorrow night to post something more meaningful.  But then again, maybe not.