It has been an interesting an eventful year for me personally in 2007. Life changing event after life changing event have left their mark on my very being.
I would say the most significant event that kicked off last year was my wedding. Hands down one of the greatest days of my life…yeah, yeah everyone says that about their wedding. But this, this was different my wife and I did it our way. We had a medieval themed wedding along with a Hand Fasting ceremony performed by a wonderful and beautiful "Wiccan" Priestess and a wonderful and eloquent "Wiccan" Priest. As an Anthropologist I have great admirations and respect for the Ancient Religions. I do not have affliction for the Ancient Religions I only expound my dislike for the Modern Religions. In any case it was a beautiful and meaningful day. Even the office party that was taking place on the other side of the room during our first dance couldn't blemish the overall beauty of the day. It was great to see my family embrace our wish to go against the family traditions and even go so far as to participate in the ceremony itself. On the other hand there was of course one person who shall remain unnamed that tried to steal the spotlight by wearing a white veil because my wife did not. Some people just don't know when to back off and let the spotlight off them for 2 minutes. All in all a great moment in time, the only regret that I have is that my mother in-law was both too sick to come as well as a bit alienated by other parties involved. There is more I could have and should have done to prevent that from happening as my wife is not confrontational enough to stand up for things sometimes.
Moving on…… There were some great times such as:
- Ozzfest 2007 with Matt, Nicole, and my brother of true metal Ben.
- Riding w/ the 4 horsemen (Jim, Jack, Jose, and Johnny) with Mike and Mitch
- Going with my cousin Tommy to his first metal show Sonata Arctica—talk about a great f'n show and an even better introduction to true power metal.
- My honeymoon in Disney, always a great time…Expedition Everest is f'n amazing
- My brother graduating from MMA and getting a kick ass job….I don't think I could be more proud of anyone in my lifetime. To all hard work, individuality, and dedication truly pays off; don't let anyone influence your dreams and aspirations.
- Finally getting my ass out of retail management. Note to anyone don't settle for any job even if it pays well. Trust me I took a huge pay cut to get out of retail and I have never been happier in my professional life. I left a job for a Career and there is nothing that can replace knowing that one has a career rather than just another job.
Now to the dark side of 2007: My mother in-law passed away from diabetes at age 43…let me say that again 43. Talk about a heart wrenching and hard time for all of her friends and family. Personally this was the closet person to pass away in my life and at age 27 I can't believe it took that long. Death is part of life but knowing that doesn't always make it easy. My wife was hit hard obviously but she continues to honor her mother. She decided to cook the meal her mother always cooked for xmas eve and have her Father and Brothers come over and join her. I am proud of her for her strength.
Following that my grandfather passed away less than a month later. This is a man who was there for me when no one else was. Those of you, who truly know me, understand that I am a very strong person and I do not let my emotions show but on the day of his funeral I cried. Not at the wake, not at the mass, but at the burial. My grandfather was on the USS Sante Fe during WWII, the most active cruiser in the Pacific. It was the ship that went in first to save the crew of the USS Franklin…..Talk about big f'n balls. Well to show their gratitude two current members of the US Navy were present and that was touching on its own. However what made me break down and cry was when they played Taps on the trumpet and folded the American Flag..
Hopefully 2008 will start off as great as '07 but finish on a much better note….Although with the elections coming up I don't know what to think. All I know is I am voting democrat all the way for they are the most likely to keep Religious Dogma very far away from our Nationalism and that is the most important issue in my eyes.
-------Throw em back if you got 'em and Hit That -----
