R’s blog

Words to Inspire You!

Ξ July 31st, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Barack Obama, Politics, Videos |

I have been wanting to share these videos for over a week now. Some of you may have already seen them, but if you haven’t, give them a look. They’ll get you thinking.

This is the video of Carnegie Mellon University’s Professor Randy Pausch’s last lecture on achieving your childhood dreams. The lecture is inspirational and thought provoking. Pausch died Friday, July 25, 2008 of pancreatic cancer.

And here is Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin to about 200,000 people. One of his best speeches ever.

A lot to catch up on!

Ξ July 31st, 2008 | → 4 Comments | ∇ Uncategorized |

When I started blogging again, I declared I am going to post almost every single day. But I haven’t posted this entire week. I was either out, or busy with guests or just busy or sick. So, I am going to make up for all the missed days and post them all today. There’s a lot to catch up on.

Gerald’s a hero!

Ξ July 25th, 2008 | → 8 Comments | ∇ Friends |

I knew Gerald was a lot of things - considerate enough to drive me anywhere I needed whenever I asked him to and sometimes even when I didn’t; kind enough to listen to me cry every time my world as I knew it crashed; anal enough about his car to want to file an insurance claim over a pimple-sized scratch (I had to stare really hard to be able to see it) on his rear back door and dangerous enough to, well, that story better be left untold…

And now, Gerald, one of my closest friends ever, is a beacon of hope to all those who get their credit cards stolen.

Tuesday began as an ordinary day for Gerald. He was sitting in his home away from home, a local Wendy’s restaurant, visiting with his girlfriend, who works there. During her break, they were seated in a comparatively private part of the dining room, but from where he could get a clear view of the drive-through window. He noticed that one car took a really long time to order. After the driver was done ordering, the manager burst out of the kitchen with a pen and paper. He noticed the driver looking at him threateningly so he went back to the kitchen. Gerald took the car’s make, model and license plate number and asked the manager what was wrong. The manager said the driver bought $80 worth of food on a stolen credit card. Gerald gave him the info. The manager called the police, who told him that the car’s make and license plate number didn’t match.

Luckily for the good guys, the car got into an accident about an hour later. The police arrested the driver and the passenger,and the credit card owner is going to get back his money. The manager filed a police report, and the thieves are going to jail.

Of course, the manager did good here, too, and he was as much a hero as Gerald, but it was Gerald who wrote down the car’s info. And Gerald, always modest, had this to say, “I’ve been treated with respect at that Wendy’s for years, so it came naturally. It’s almost like my second home. I am just defending my domain.”

But there’s one thing I don’t understand. How dumb can the thieves get? If you have a stolen credit card, why spend $80 at Wendy’s? Is the food really that good? And I would assume you’d spend money on the card really fast and discard it, not use it after it might be reported stolen. But I guess, if they were that bright, they wouldn’t be petty thieves.

This little blog of mine

Ξ July 23rd, 2008 | → 4 Comments | ∇ Blogging |

After years of starting and abandoning blogs in private, I am ready to step out of the blogging closet. Or rather keep one foot out. While I no longer will vent to the dark hole of cyberspace and I am quite happy, in fact eager, to share this space with friends, I am still not comfortable with mentioning my name or any other personally identifiable information anywhere on the site. I guard my privacy tightly.

I am excited about In Love with Blue Skies. J’s going to join me in blogging, and I hope he gets around to it soon. This site is a work in progress. There are still things I need to work on but I decided I can’t keep off posting for that.

For now, I am just happy to be sharing my blog with friends and family. Hope you guys like it too.