Notice....

Due to time constraints that my training at FMTB school is going to inevitably place on me, I am going to be posting solely on my home page being the original IEN and not "Words to Live By" or "Barley and Hops". Once I get home and things settle a down and I have more time, I hope to continue my postings on these pages, but for now, please check my homepage to see the latest postings. Thank you for visiting my site, I assure you it is greatly appreciated. And please please please, I really want as much commentary as possible, so email me (chadmichaels78@gmail.com) or comment directly on the site. I will always respond. Thanks again and hope to hear from you soon.....

GPS....

So, all week last week while we were traveling I was using my GPS Navigator software on my Verizon Voyager cell phone. It worked great....while in town. However, I ran into one small little glitch, dependency. I got so used to just searching and navigating that I simply never looked back. So when we left Wilmington to head back to the airport just outside Jacksonville, I typed in the address and listened to the directions, never once cracking open the map to see where it was I was going. All probably would have been well, however, once I got out into the middle of nowhere, I saw what I did not want to see, ROAD CLOSED - BRIDGE WORK UP AHEAD. Wait a minute!!!! The GPS didn't mention anything about the road being closed!!! Where the hell am I anyway? O wait, it's okay, I'll just use the detour option and recalculate my route, geez no big deal. O, wait, it's not okay, I have no signal out here, ERROR, CANNOT RECALCULATE. Damn.

I pulled out the map and realized I probably could have given myself a better route after seeing where the GPS took me, but the reality is, had the bridge not been out, it wouldn't have been an issue. The bridge was out though and now I can't even look up my course because the GPS errored out. Looking at the map though, I triangulated a position based on prior roads/interstates I had taken. Our location was right in the middle of all the highways. You know what I mean, that area that shows nothing but the color based upon the elevation of that location. We were in an area of a light shade of yellowish gold. I think that means it's a low elevation, but other than that, I got nothing, fortunately, there was no emergency, I don't think that would suffice for a location had I needed to call 911. So, I did what any city slicker would do lost in the middle of the country, I stopped when I saw some old gentleman mowing his yard and explained how my GPS stopped working and how I had no idea where I was. I am not lying when I say I got the deer in headlights look when I explained my GPS predicament. I could have spoke chinese and probably gotten farther into the conversation. However, when I asked how to get to the airport, a switch must have flicked on, and he politely explained how a turn here and a turn there would get me to where I needed to go.

Lessons learned:
GPS is only as good as its user.
Dependency actually is a bad thing.
And lastly, all the technology in the world will never beat, (say with a deep southern twang) turn right at the next stop sign, look for a big rock on the side of the road about a mile or so, and turn right again. Go until you see the big dead oak tree and hang a left, and there you'll be.....

Some days are better than others....

I would like to contest that those six words in the title are simply the best words to live by if there are any. For the past week I have been with Lauren, and experiencing a new place, Wilmington, NC, and it was awesome. We spent the first few days in Raleigh, then Jacksonville (to save some money as this is where I live right now) and then, spontaneously, we went to Wilmington, for really what I figured would be a day, maybe two, as I figured we would hit the downtown area and then the beach and then just come back. But after spending four days there, I realized I wish I had more money and more time.

So anyways, some days are better than others. Some days, you cannot wait for them to be over, and then there are those few days where you pray to God that time will just slow if not completely stop. Ironically, I don't pray to God for much these days, so I suppose it would be foolish to ask Him for time to stop. Of course, that's silly to ask for anyways, but right now, it seems so possible. Why not? Time seems to fly by, but it just never seems to go as slow as we want, well, unless you're at work and you're ready to go. That's life in a nut shell though, I guess. It's why we should never take for granted the good times I suspect.

Well, Lauren flew out today, actually her flight is leaving momentarily. She is probably just now going through security. It's a small airport here and they don't have you go through security until your flight is boarding. I am just guessing, but she is probably standing there, bags in hand, thinking about this past week, and thinking some days, just some days, are better than others...At least, that is my presumption, I could just be really depressed. So raise your laptops, your bottled water, your Venti Mocha Cappuccino, or maybe just your fist in frustration, but here's to those days, you know, the ones that are better than others.....