12/31/2008

The Kalida at St. Henry basketball game was exciting last night. The story of the day has been with my cell phone. The charger port is misconstrued, and the prongs are all mashed together. My phone was dead. That drives me crazy, because now that I have a cell phone I have a hard time getting by without it. Luckily my Dad is an electronics guru. He took the charger apart and found where the positive and negative ports go, and now he recharge my battery without the charger. A genius he is, at least by my thinking. So for the time being the problem is solved! I'll talk to you next year. I was told by a friend that never gets old saying on new year's eve, but I think it does. Later...

12/30/2008

Today is a volunteer day at the hospital, but I am excited for much more than donating my time to help people. Later this afternoon I am going to meet up with some friends and go to the Kalida basketball team play at St. Henry. Even though Kalida is a neighboring town, I am rooting for the latter. I have been a Redskin fan since speaking at St. Henry high school in February of this year. Hopefully I will speak to Kalida sports programs too and many other places, but the friendships I have made with faculty at St. Henry will have a lasting memory. It should be a very competitive game as the two schools have only one loss between them.

12/29/2008

Wow...I cannot help but recall how much fun was had Saturday night after the basketball game. the game had a lackluster outcome for Bulldog faithful, but that is to be expected against Pandora. The are pretty good this year. I met up with an long time friend, Chris, at the Legion afterwords, and he had his girlfriend Edalia (I have no idea how to spell her name.) They had some karaoke there, and it was so much fun. I even had a chance to dance with Edalia. I do not care who it is with I just love dancing. I was intrigued buy her presence. She serves our country in the Navy and she was very interesting.
Tonight I am going to a basketball game, tomorrow I am going to a basketball game. I am excited!

12/29/2008

I sort of met this Tammy person on the telephone yesterday, and I am a little at odds with the whole situation there.

12/28/2008

I went with my friend Tony to BW3 in Lima today, and he was home visiting from Michigan. His brother Dan, who still lives nearby met us there. The wings establishment is only about three weeks old. It was good to check it out.

12/27/2008

I also just spoke with Ben, a former Columbus Grove Jr. High teacher, when I was in high school. He is now a teacher, assistant principal, and assistant basketball coach at Liberty Benton high school. We have a good time speaking with each other. I've maintained a good friendship with him, because he is one of the coolest people I know. We are both sports enthusiasts so that it always something fun to talk about.

12/27/2008

This morning Gerry called my cell phone. He is a guy who used to be real close with my Dad, because he too worked at Phillips in Ottawa. Since they closed shop he has been divorced and lives inn Lima. Gerry is a volunteer friend at the hospital with me. Currently he is in South Carolina with some lady he met. He's been down there all of December, and he is going down there permanently by the end of January.

12/26/2008

Christmas was a success. Now is the time to start thinking high school basketball. The Columbus Grove Boys basketball team has a game tomorrow evening against Pandora. That is a neighboring town rivalry that used to be dominated by the Bulldogs in virtually all sporting contests. Notice that I said used to be, because Pandora has kind of taken control of the Grove Bulldogs these past years. Their basketball team is probably the best varsity squad in the county if not all of Northwest Ohio. Grove is outmatched on paper, but that is why they do not play the games on paper. Anything is possible on any given night. That gives me reason to love competition especially basketball!

12/24/2008

Christmas Eve, wow December is just flying bye. This month just zips along, and it seems like just about last week the month commenced. I guess when you are having fun time races past. To clarify this a little the time have been busy. There has always been something to keep me busy lately. Although some down, quiet, and alone time is occasionally appreciated to think about things, I totally enjoy having a packed schedule. I always like to be doing something, and nearly everybody attributes that to Grandma and I constantly going places when I was like four years old or so. Mother went back to full time employment when I was about that old. Spending time doing things with Grandma Schroeder continued to her passing a couple of years ago. To talk about the occasional down times that could be nice I have this to say: it has already been done for a significant portion of my life. The ten years post my accident consisted of plenty lengthy time to think about stuff. Although closing the book on improvement or recovery will never be done (since there are always improvements possible), I have recovered enough to spend time enjoying life. Hopefully it is feasible to start speaking. And I know that it is feasible, but making it happen is the task at hand.

12/23/2008

Today: Hospital, volunteer: girls basketball game: BW3 with a friend! Gotta run...

12/22/2008

My web page is now updated with a link to download the mp3 file of my new intro and updated speaking info.

12/22/2008

This morning I lost a game of cards very badly to my dad, but it does not really matter what the score was. Like any game or sports contest the margin of victory is insignificant, and the only thing that is relevant is who won. Of course it is nicer, for bragging rights and/ or talking smack, to win by a lot, but it does not affect your winning percentage any different. Tonight I am having some family and friends over here to watch the Chicago and Green Bay Monday Night Football contest. It is the most storied matchup in the history of the National Football League (NFL.) This struggle can keep the playoff hopes alive for the Bears, but the scenario is dependent on Minnesota losing to the Giants and the Bears winning out. I am not a huge bears fan, in fact I would like to see the Vikings win the division, but everyone coming over tonight are huge Bears fans. Ironically I would like to see Matt Forte rip it up as a running back for Chicago. It is the last game in my fantasy football season, and I need 22.8 points from Mason Crosby and Matt Forte, combine, to win the points title. I made some poorer choices that helped contribute to my end of season demise, but hey that goes with the reason I love competition. Anything can happen!

12/21/2008

These next couple of weeks will be ht o miss each day for entries in this blog. It is the holiday season. Today the Cincinnati Bengals play their upstate rival in Cleveland. This Bengals vs. Browns has no more meaning other than bragging rights for die hard fans, as both teams have a slim number of victories. Cleveland won the first match up this year, and s being a Bengals fan, I hope they can even the series. My that game will be frigid cold as it is like ten degrees and windy here. I would not want to watch this game at the stadium, because the teams will likely play a boring struggle. GO BENGALS!!!

12/0/2008

Schroeder Christmas tonight.. gotta run...

12/19/2008

The boys basketball game scheduled for tonight and my presentation scheduled for this afternoon, at Patrick Henry, were both postponed due to the ice storm hat infected Northwest Ohio while we were sleeping last night. Even though I love speaking and watching basketball, the cancellation of those two events were only a small piece of events that occurred due to the storm. The power was off at our house for approximately 8 hours today. In fact some of my friends and relatives are still without power. Everything is powered up here now though, and my sisters family is here now. I do not see my sister, brother-in-law, and three nephews like every day. So I feel rather privileged to be graced by their prescience today. Tomorrow is the Schroeder Christmas party. That should be a real trip, or rather a riot of complexity. I look forward to seeing everybody!

12/18/2008

The girls game at Paulding was canceled for tonight, and that is rather disappointing to me. True that I love watching basketball, but there is another reason why I am rather disappointed with the cancellation and really the forecast in general. Supposedly we are supposed to experience some winter weather tonight that could lead to treacherous travel conditions. Even though I feel discomfort for all the people out there braving it and taking the chance of making it to their destinations despite the hazardous roadways, there is yet a more substantial reason for concern. If a school day for Patrick Henry does not exist tomorrow (Friday) then my intriguing speaking opportunity shall be rescheduled to a later date yet to be determined. I spoke with Gregg (their principal) today and he assured me that we would in fact reschedule this if there is no school. If it is a one or two hour delay we will still proceed with the presentation, since it is scheduled for the afternoon. I am glad that I have an assurance of still speaking if it needs to be at a later date, but I would much rather perform tomorrow. We will see. Forecasts are typically inflated compared to what really happens, and they are no more than educated guesses (hypothesises) by meteorologists. Keep your fingers crossed.

12/17/2008

I hope that the conditions are more favorable on Friday than they are today. It is rue that I meet in Ottawa with Jeff today, but that meeting will in all likelihood till occur even though the educational facilities are closed throughout the county. Schools will delay and cancel in the slightest bit of unseasonable weather. Today I will receive my elaborate introduction to be used for m speech. Friday it becomes active as part of my presentation. That is pending, of course, on whether or not school is in session on that day. I think it is supposed to be a bit warmer on Friday, which would lend itself to melting ice on roadways, and school will be in session!

12/16/2008

I put in about 8 hours at the hospital today. It was a good time, but I am tired. I have a lunch meeting tomorrow with Jim. I am really excited about my presentation this Friday. I am hoping the weather permits having school.

12/15/2008

We had a white elephant gift exchange at my Uncle Karl's place last night. It was a last minute notification and we were just supposed to bring something from our house. Even though there were no elegant nor elaborate gifts it was still great fun. Getting together or doing anything with the Schroeder family is always a blast, because there is always joking and laughter occurring. This Saturday is our Christmas party at the Vaughnsville community center. Yearly that includes our funny and zany talent/variety show. Most people who are not in our relation would think it is sort of weird and/or stupid, but that is because our family loves to laugh and poke fun at each other.

12/14/2008

We are going to a family gathering tonight at my Uncle Karl's house. Every so often we have family gatherings on Sundays. They are just regular Sundays, and we get together at graduations and holidays. Gathering on any haphazard Sunday sort of keeps alive the tradition started by my Grandma Schroeder. Everyone used to congregate at her house on Sunday evenings. That was so much fun, and that is the reason we are such a tight knit family.

12/14/2008

Even though Columbus Grove lost to Ottoville tonight in basketball, the night still had several Positive happenings occur. I'm tired so I'll just mention the biggest in brief: I met a very interesting friend who already knew some about me.

12/13/2008

I am up and at em early this morning. My friend CJ gave me a lead in Van Wert County for speaking next year. I'll work on that next week. It would be for the D.A.R.E. program. When I was in school we just had a Deputy come in and do a rather boring program. I guess times have changed.

12/12/2008

Today was a somewhat busy day, but tomorrow is going to be crazy busy. I go in to pick up someones volunteer hours starting at 5:30 A.M., and then I go to Findlay high school to speak to their grls basketball team. From there I go to the Columbus Grove boys basketball team's first game. Speaking of the Grove boys.... I gave them a little inspirational talk today. We'll see if they can catapult off of my words today!

12/11/2008

There is a girls game tonight which is home. It should be rather interesting. Dad cut my hair this morning, as I was due for a trim. I feel better since the haircut, and really that is all psychological. I am very tired today. A quality nights rest is becoming quite rare these days. Take last night as an example. I did not get enough sleep. Although I hit the sack early, I laid there awake most of the early morning. I think about everything too intently. That is usually the case, but there was not that much on my mind last night, and I guess I was just worried about not getting enough sleep. Oh well... a nap after lunch will work, I guess.

12/10/2008

Today my friend Jeff stopped over to get the theme music to mix with his voice at the studio, and the resulting introduction to my presentation is what the output will be. Originally he was going to stop back at my house later this afternoon, but we will be meeting probably for dinner on Friday instead. We will make the exchange at that point. The studio guy is going to make a finished product out of what was done today. I was really excited about getting the introduction done today, but waiting two more days will not kill me. Beside Jeff said they were going to edit his voice by adjusting the volume an adding echo to it at certain points. I am so happy with this getting done. I am also speaking to the Columbus Grove boys' and Findlay girls' basketball teams on Friday and Saturday afternoons, respectively. The thing is these groups will be smaller than I'm used to, but it does not mater whether you are talking to large groups, small groups, or individuals making a difference is rewarding. Now I will not be using the new introduction at these, but its inaugural use will be at Patrick Henry high school on December 19.

12/9/2008

I have a Christmas party at work today, which should be a blast. I am working on an intro for m speaking with Jeff. I am really excited about this! I also am getting excited about the opportunities that are presenting themselves. I confirmed a date for speaking to the Findlay girls basketball team last night, and I made further contacts for Toledo Central Catholic high school. I had a great conversation with their basketball coaches. They were impressed and I too with the possibility to impact lives at the high school. I had a longer conversation with the junior varsity coach and assistant. The assistant was awed with me and expressed that it took him many more years to know about and understand life as much as I do. I am particularly excited to maybe speak there, because that would be a big step towards speaking across the nation. It starts with around Ohio, and Toledo is a noteworthy city. The feedback and contacts I would get there would be greatly beneficial toward reaching my goal. Goals are essential when trying to tackle anything. Start with small and manageable objectives, and take things step by step to get to where you want to be. I like the motto one step at a time, because all too often things become a mess when more than one thing is attempted at the same time or you stretch for extremities.

12/8/2008

I finalized arrangements with Gregg at Patrick Henry today. Then I went and picked up my recommendation letter from Pandora Gilboa high school. I also put those on my website. Tomorrow Mr. Johnson will contact the Educational Service Centers from the surrounding counties with recommendation letters for me as a speaker. Tonight I am going to a basketball game at Findlay High School. I am sure I will make a few contacts.

12/7/2008

It was an unusual Sunday for me, and watching football this afternoon was not different. Monday is a holy day of obligation for the Catholic church, and I went to a holy day mass tonight. Church was packed full of people, which was awesome. Another different happening was that my aunt Joan came over after church to play card.

12/7/2008

Today is the anniversary of a famous day in history, and no I am not talking about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1956 is Larry Bird's birth date. He was the greatest ball player, in my opinion, to ever live!

12/6/2008

It was also a time to remember my fateful accident today. I try not to dwell on December 6 too much, because it is a very unpleasant memory for my parents. December 6, 1997 (11 years ago today) is the day of my accident. I nearly lost my life that day, but now I am making the best of it. I am really excited to share my motivational presentation, bettering the lives of others. I hope to do many presentations.

12/6/2008

It really is frigid, and the roads are not very good either. When I got back to the high school after the girls game I had to let mt windshield defrost so a little bit of visibility existed. The roads were a little bad but not treacherous. We are having relatives over for supper and to play cards afterwords. I made more contacts today, and next week I will hopefully finalize making some speaking engagements.

12/5/2008

It is a cold December day, and I was outside stacking a little wood today. That included dragging a little brush to a pile too. It was cold outside. When I had to remove gloves to talk on the telephone... wow I got cold quick. Tonight I am going to a movie with Christine. She is from Delphos, and she seems pretty nice. This is the first time doing anything with her, and we will see if a fun time is had by all.

12/4/2008

Well, I finished reading the responses from the students who saw my presentation this morning. I really impacted many people, and for that reason I am ecstatic. Of course it went well, but I can become a better, more dynamic, speaker, and that will take a little work. It is not some large mountain that need climbed, as it was to navigate walker free, because I think I have all the tools needed but need more practice. Like everything I do since the accident, it just takes more time to polish it up. I am not afraid to work, you can trust me on that one, and I believe most of my unsatisfactory feeling comes with not speaking regularly. Do not get me wrong, because my talk went well today. The problem is that I am very critical of evaluating myself. I strive for perfection, which I have done my whole life and will continue, and that has helped me stay fairly successful at what I do.

12/4/2008

I do not think there is any delays, and that means it is a go this morning!

12/3/2008

Well... I am writing this now, because I have many things to take care of before I go to speak tomorrow. I hope the weather is fabulous, because you know how schools can be. With a slight hint of slippery roads it is like boom two hour delay. I guess it is okay though, because it is that way since buses are responsible for youth lives and do not travel safely in slippery conditions. A two hour delay would postpone my talk to another day yet to be determined. I get a great feeling when I make a difference in the lives of others. I look forward to doing a knockout job.

12/3/2008

The volunteering, basketball game, and Knights of Columbus meeting kept me swamped yesterday. Tomorrow I have to get some final door prizes for my presentation at PGHS Thursday morning. I really would like to do a really good knockout performance. Many important contacts and friends will be in attendance. Later today I have to be in Findlay at the University for part two of two of my interaction with the Occupational therapy class. I need some rest. Good night!

12/1/2008

It indeed was a hectic day, but that is what I like. I was able to speak with Nate, the athletic director in Findlay, and Connie (the girls basketball coach) and hopefully I made a few speaking arrangements. It was a very tiresome day. I did get to eat dinner with CJ and Shelly. We had a chance to share speaking adventures with each other. Tomorrow is a busy day and I need rest... Later!

11/30/2008

The last day in November f 2008 turned out to be successful. I hope all of my days are successful, but this day turned out to be extra special. I watched football today, as I do most Sundays this time of year, but he exciting thing is that I made plans to chill with Christine on Friday of this week. It officially became a week consisting of a full schedule. Everyday in my planner is fully scheduled. Don't get me wrong I love it.
And my fantasy football team did great as well. Last week lost my lead but regained it this week.

11/29/2008

Keeping clock for the Columbus Grove girls basketball scrimmage as well worth my time to me, because it gave me a chance to see the team an initial time before the regular season commences next Tuesday. They are supposed to field a darn good team, but that was before our key big post player who recently broke a bone in her ankle. She informed me today that she may need surgery, and she will be out until at least January, maybe longer. I think we will still be good without her, but we just cannot reach our potential without her. We may never reach our best possible ability level anyway, as nothing is for certain, but I feel if the coach does a good job then we will be pretty good. I desperately wish I could light a fire under the team, but Chad emphatically said that he doesn't want me to talk to any of his players. Some concerned players were shouting instructions to their kids, and even that irritated Chad. Whatever. It is his team this year.

11/29/2008

I have a full plate of thing to do today and all of next week. I will keep this up to date whenever it s feasible to do so. Have a nice day!

11/28/2008

Delphos St. Johns had a convincing win this afternoon in the state football championship. It feels somewhat like a college football game since we were able to watch the game live on television (thanks to STO.) I am getting ready to go outside and gather hickory nuts. I did that for onl 40 minutes already this morning before the bitter cold chased me indoors. The weather appears to be much nicer as the sun is shining. Hopefully the brisk and cold wind has subsided.

11/28/2008

The Ohio High School football state championships are on Sports Time Ohio live starting with Delphos St. Johns pretty soon. Go Jays. I will talk later!

11/27/2008

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may everyone who will participate in Blah Friday's (tomorrow) shopping excursion survive and return back home safely. The day after Thanksgiving is maybe the largest shopper turn out day. The madness begins before the sun comes up, as many department stores open their doors early. One year I went with Mom to try to get some bargains. That is correct we got up before the sun did and went to the Lima Mall. You can realize the crazy stunts that are done just to get into a massive lineup outside store doors as close to the front as possible, and when the doors open it as pandemonium to get everything that you wanted to in the store before moving on to the next. The faces of shoppers are blank as everyone is in their on little world, trying to strategically plan where you head next. There are some goo deals to be had, but the supplies are typically limited. When the day is over you need to ask yourself if it was really all worth it. Sure you may end up saving yourself $10-$20, but going at a later time and date will save you headaches. I said that I went one year, and to be perfectly honest that was enough to satisfy me for a lifetime. The undertaking of that event made me feel that much less sophisticated. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and shopping the day after Thanksgiving is not worth the hassle to me!

11/26/2008

Hey,se what I mean about thing changing in an constantly in my busy life. No I'm not planning to go to either football game on Friday or Saturday, but I did make plans to go to TKO's with Brian Saturday night. More than likely Mike will join us. Odds are that I will get to see Ashley. That alone will make the whole trip a success. I told you how playing cards is a fairly regular thing for me to do. Well it turns out that we are going for a visit to my aunt and uncle's house this evening, and cards are on the agenda. They think cards are fun, as I said most of my relatives do, and we will converse as we play. Cards are a social event, and while my aunt is does not know how to play solo, we will probably play euchre or pinohcle. They are fun as well.

11/26/2008

As much as I would anticipate going to the Delphos St. John's state championship football game or a similar game of Liberty Benton, neither game is going to happen. Going or not could change in an instant though, because in today's technological age (with various means of communication- mainly the cell phone) plans are liable to change even at the last minute. At this time though the games will not be on my agenda of things to do. But playing cards is. Ironically cards are always near the top of my to do list. I will be sure to listen to the high school playoff events on the radio however, bot Friday and Saturday. College basketball has some good games on television tonight. Amateur basketball is my favorite thing to watch, and high school basketball season is ready to start. I love it.

11/25/2008

It was a very tiresome evening at the hospital. I lost my buddy at the gurst services desk for about a month. He went to visit his daughter and also some lady that he loves in South Carolina.

11/25/2008

I met a very interesting group of nursing students, who go to Rhodes State University here in Lima, at St. Rita's cafeteria during lunch. Hopefully I made seeveral contacts, and one person says they will try to get me in at Ada High School. I will keep my fingers crossed!

11/25/2008

It seems like the principal at Pandora high school could read my mind, because he called this morning to move the assembly from December 2 to December 4. It coincidese with my schedule even better!

11/25/2008

Well its very early morning on Tuesday, and I have so many different things running through my head right now that I cannot sleep. I am too excited. My schedule is so packed that I cannot help but focus on the stuff, and it is not like I am not liking a hectic schedule. In fact I even added to it a dinner with some friends on Monday evening. I touch base with Laura on Saturday, because I was scheduled to speak to her occupational therapy classes, at the University of Findlay, on December 1 at 1:00. I wanted to be certain with her, and it is a good thing I checked in, because she asked me to come in at 10:00 instead. That is totally fine with me, because I am glad to do it. I will just stay in Findlay then, because at 6:00 I scheduled a dinner meeting with friends at Cheddars. Then Tuesday Dec. 2 is an even more eventful day. I will be speaking to Pandora High School grades 11 and 12 at 9:30, and then going to an earlier shift of volunteering at St. Rita's Medical Center. The earlier shift is so I can go to the Columbus Grove Lady Bulldogs first game at 6:00. Then Wednesday the 3rd I am going back to UF. That's all next week. Today I've got to talk to Jim and Christy before volunteering. Friday I( may be going to a football game in Canton. And this Saturday I'll likely be attending a different football game in Masslin with my uncle and cousins. It is State Championship week for high school football. I love being busy! But I also love to sleep. I just have to put those thoughts on hold till morning.

11/24/2008

I feel competition is important and necessary in everyone's life. It not only deems a great importance in sports but practically any facet of life. Life can be better if you remain competitive in daily happenings. When it does not exist due to lack thereof an opponent, you can have a contest with yourself using past statistical data. You can try to better yourself or get more right answers than last time. The thing even more important is learning to set goals for yourself and working to achieve them. Any positive influence or coach's job is to get members of the team believing in a goal. If you as coach set a goal for your team it means nothing. A successful team leader does not set the goals for his team, but his or her task is to get the player to believe that it is something that they want to achieve themselves. It makes more sense striving to achieve a personal goal rather than trying reach a certain level that someone else wishes you to achieve. Competition generally has me thinking athletics, because sports dominate much of my thinking. However it can be parlayed to work in every topic. Being competitive and setting goals are essential tasks as far as I am concerned.

11/23/2008

It is official, Rob, Lisa, and the kids have officially left to head for home. The disappointing thing is that home to them is in Cincinnati. I wish that they lived significantly closer, but I have learned accept that My nephews moving closer will always be something to yearn but not actually happening. Their Dad, Rob, has a job down there, and there is not many jobs in his line of work around here. My sister is a Registered Nurse so she would have no trouble finding a job anywhere she goes. I'm not going to think much about Lisa and the boys moving closer, because I will only get upset about the whole thing. They will hopefully get a quality education in the city. I am sure I will see them a lot either way, it would just be so much easier and more frequent if the distance separating us would be smaller, but I will no longer focus on that subject.

11/23/2008

Yesterday was a very fulfilling day. I went to Frickers in the morning to get some breakfast. And I know what you are thinking already: Frickers does not serve breakfast food! That is the same thing I was thinking, and I was preparing myself for some hot and spicy breakfast consumption as I was driving to Findlay. I was thinking that a mild wrap would need to suffice for an early morning snack. But I had no prior knowledge of the breakfast food buffet they would have available. Eggs, toast, and potatoes were at the beginning of the line, and ham and sausage finished out the lineup. Oh yeah I cannot forget my personal favorite: biscuits with gravy over them. Frickers was having a special breakfast for OSU v. Michigan game day! Yummy The game turned out as advertise, a convincing Buckeye win. The first half though went back and forth though. The OSU defense played well though and they had a midway touchdown lead. The family gathering afterwards was refreshing, and getting to see the relation grow is phenomenal. I am going to first Mass this morning, and then coming home to my sister's family will make for an enlightening start to the week (Sunday.) She has all of her boys with her... even the big one (Rob- her husband:-). Take care.

11/22/2008

It is the Saturday before Thanksgiving and that means two things for sure. The main event clearly is the football game between The Ohio State University versus the University of Michigan football game. Being a huge Buckeye it means this is a day of massive festivities. It starts out with me going to Frickers to hang with Brian and his crew of Findlay friends. The people Brian hangs around have become my friends too, over time. I feel that even if Brian was not going to be there today that I would venture that way, because it has been done before when he was out of town on business. It is tradition, and we would not want to mess with that. Once a recurring event happens more than two consecutive years it becomes a tradition in my book. Oddly enough I am not drinking beer today (because of my blood pressure problems) and that is breaking tradition, and I am also not crashing at Brian's tonight which is a traditional event. That is because I am driving home. We'll see how doing things differently goes, and oh well traditions are made to be broken anyway. I am attending a Schroeder thanksgiving party at my uncle Wayne's house. I'm guessing that Ohio State wins against arch rival Michigan today by a score of 34-10, but anything is possible I guess. That is why they play the game.

11/21/2008

Last night a realization hit me like I was going full throttle and smack. I ran into a brick wall! I made a mental note of these conflicting happenings a time or two before last night, but during the meeting last night I really felt lost. I knew where I was and a mental break don was not occurring, but the eye opener happened after my Sir Knight friend shared a tidbit of information with all of us. He is a faculty member of Delphos St. Johns school, and he said there may be only a couple of Fourth Degree knights from Delphos attending or marching in Ottoville Knights of Columbus christening (of sorts) mass due to the Blue Jays football game at the concurrent time on Friday. It is confirmation in Ottoville. It slipped my mind. I normally would have enjoyed going to the game, but I am committed to marching with many other Sir Knights. I guess I will just hope the Blue Jays win, so I could maybe go watch them do battle for another state championship next Friday. I do love high school sports but enjoy participating in my church groups too, and it is odd that the two would overlap. I have to be ready to go and up town, by 5:30, because we are meeting at church to car pool towards Ottoville.

11/20/2008

It was a good time had by all at the Fourth Degree meeting. The attendees were no more than ten people, and it was rather interesting. Tomorrow evening we march at Ottoville parish. We is the Bishop Newman Assembly, and I think there will be 14 from St. Anthony Parish. Hopefully there will be a large turnout.

11/20/2008

There is a 4th degree K of C meeting that I'm going to this evening. Must get ready...

11/20/2008

Last night my uncles Wayne and Karl came over in the evening to play cards with Dad and I. When I say cards I, of course, mean solo. In fact I cannot think of a time in recent years when four or more guys got together, including me, to play cards when solo did not consume part of the time. I have played solo a few times with a mixture of men and women, also. However sometimes when females are involved we end up playing euchre, pinochle, or some other card game. Solo is not a gender game at all, but barring relatives, it is usually safe to say that when women are involved solo is not the name of the game. Anyway, back to the discussion of last evening. It has been a couple of months since they have been over together to play cards, and normally it is every couple of weeks. When we get together humor always comes into play. In fact, funny times, comments, and laughter are staples of the Schroeder side of my family. Laughing about stuff makes any situation bearable, and if you cannot joke around about or poke fun at yourself then times will be boring. we are not the conceited stuck up kind of people, because we can and often do poke fun at ourselves. I like to associate that characteristic or way of life as being lighthearted and easy going. If humor is used correctly it leads to comfortableness in any place or in any situation. As it goes I turned out to be the big winner last evening. That alone makes the evening even more enjoyable.

11/19/2008

I am extra happy today for some reason, and I do not concern myself with the mystery of why. That question seems rather insignificant. There is no reason to strain my mind in order to figure it out. I probably spend more time than most people in thought the way it is, and there is no reason that I should not be able to experience happy times without much thought. However thinking is important to me. Deep thinking is usually a commonality for me. I am caught in a paradigm. Everything needs to have a reason, but at the same time I feel tired and want to take a backseat to thoughts. I'll try relaxing that's all you can do anyway...try your best. I think about stuff way too much!

11/18/2008

Volunteering was exceptionally good today. I met many new friends and ate with Dawn. I did not see her in about a month I believe. Her and Doug are expecting a baby in February. That will be neat little happening I am sure. I volunteered as a greeter for the first couple of hours today, but then I moved back to the guest services desk (which is my main post.) I was honored to see Gary and Diane tonight. Although it is slightly sorrowful since his mother is deathly ill, but dying is not uncommon for those elderly people. Gary understands this, and he is just hope this does not turn into a long drawn out thing with lots of suffering. Maybe the best thing that happened to me was talking to Christy briefly right before before I left. I got to meet her friend Emily, too. They hopefully will be able to go listen to me speak at Pandora in a couple of weeks. After leaving the hospital, I went directly to a K of C meeting at my Church. As in most cases I played cards (solo) afterwords, and I turned out to be the big winner in our cluster of five guys. I only won slightly over a dollar, but it is a status thing about being the winner, at least to me it is. Win or lose solo is fun, because it is socially a grand thing to do.

11/18/2008

I woke up this morning about 6:30 against what I would have liked to do, and it was freezing in our house. I don't know why it is but after my blood pressure altercation (and hospital stay) I am almost always chilled. Maybe it i s the medication I am on for blood pressure, or maybe it is due to some faulty body temperature regulation. Either way it does not matter, because this morning I was extraordinarily cold. Immediately I got bundled up and went to tend the outdoor wood burning furnace.

11/17/2008

Here finally is a picture of all three of my nephews at once. The picture is from a month or two ago. Pictured on the far left is Andrew. He is in some pre preschool. He likes it. In the middle we have Nicholas, and he is about 7 months old now. On the far right, wearing two watches, is Grant, and he is in his terrible twos. He went through a phase of a couple weeks where he wore two watches all day and night everyday. The hilarios part of it is he has no knowlege as to what time it is or what happens aat certain times. His latest quirk is that he wants to wear a belt, that is too big for him around his waste. Grant is going to be mischievous I can tell it already.

11/17/2008

The weather we are having fascinates me. The fact that I know colder and worse weather is on the way makes this weather sort of amusing. It seems like mother nature is flirting with accumulating snow. Today we had a beautiful dusting of the white stuff, but then the sun soon appeared vanishing any visible snow. I usually like it when there is extreme winter conditions, but this ear it is a little different. I have a handful of talks lined up for the next couple of months. Everybody knows that schools frequently get delayed or canceled. That messes with speaking opportunities. In other years it seemed okay to me when the weather posed problems. Also weather plays havoc on high school athletic schedules. I am absolutely crazy about viewing high school basketball, and I often plan my schedule accordingly. That can become all disorderly when there is travel problems.

11/16/2008

I am really looking forward to speaking engagements forthcoming, and I anticipate making a difference in lives. Hopefully with upcoming presentations I will get some great contacts who will give recommendations to other schools. That, I have found is the best way to contact schools. Administration from places I have been talk to nearby administrators, and that eventually will lead to more changing of lives. I am patiently (it's tough for me as patience runs thin at times) waiting for Heather to send out recommendation letters from Columbus Bishop Hartley. I understand that she is very busy, but it has been a month since I spoke there. School administrators are in the latter of two pinnacle times for planning for presenters to come speak to high schools, and I do not want too miss this golden opportunity to impact lives. She does many important things for her school as the goddess of public relations, but I am begging her to please send the information. Will you pretty please send the letters?

11/16/2008

A bunch of 4th degree Knights of Columbus marched at 8:30 mass this morning, and we at breakfast in the church basement. It was a good time, and I have fourth degree function upcoming on Thursday and Friday evenings of this week. It was a good first day of the week and will continue all day and evening. I enjoy watching football, and being a Sunday this time of year means NFL football watching for me.

11/15/2008

Today was awesome, speaking to the Columbus Bishop Hartley varsity basketball team before their scrimmage over in Kalida this morning. Randy, their coach comes back to scrimmage his dad, Dick's team, sometime each season. I spoke, a good five minutes with the legendary coach (Dick) as well. Randy was a great ball player in his day (he looks like he is still in excellent shape-- he could likely outplay most high school players,) and he is doing a great job, from what I hear, coaching. He requested that I get his players in the right mindset toward basketball. I think I was successful in improving not only team morale but other facets of life, too. Hopefully the boys will be better suited toward facing the challenges of today's society. I only spoke for about 15 minutes or so, as the team arrived later than expected, and hopefully Randy thinks I did a good job. The team was very receptive, as that has never been a problem of mine. Everywhere I go to speak receive my audience is always very attentive and in tune with what I am saying.

11/14/2008

Staying home turned turned out to be pretty darn near perfect. As a sports crazed guy the night was like making the Dean's list in college, because although things could be slightly better (as you could receive a 100% instead of 95% in class) but they turned out to be acceptable. I guess every situation in life can be classified as acceptable when dealt with positively, so a better way to describe the situation is that it turned out great. See I have a stereo and television in my room. The TV was muted while we switched radio channels between two football games as my Dad joined me. At the same time we flipped between the Boston Celtics game and the Cincinnati vs. Louisville football game. So that is four games at one time, and if the Celtics won ( I think they did but failed to catch the ending) that means three of the four teams that I wanted to win did. Delphos St. Johns and Cincinnati won, but Ottawa lost ending their improbable playoff run.
Tomorrow (Saturday) morning I get to go to Kalida to speak to the Bishop Hartley boys varsity basketball team, because their coach (Randy) called me today and made the request. His Columbus team scrimmages his dad's team in Kalida every year. I'm excited!!!

11/14/2008

Tonight something so rare will likely happen that it is noteworthy for mentioning in this post. I WILL LIKELY STAY HOME ON A FRIDAY NIGHT. Usually my life is busy with different things to do, but tonight I will stay home and listen to the Ada Bulldogs vs. Delphos St. Johns Blue Jays playoff football contest. I should be a good one. I'll be rooting for the Jays even though Ada is in the Northwest Conference (the same one as my home town Columbus Grove team) and Grove plays them every year, because I have more contacts and friends in Delphos.

11/14/2008

Last night was great, and it included a great game, too. The Columbus Crew won their soccer match. I'm just kidding! No actually they did win, but that is not the game I was talking about. Soccer was on a side television in the sports bar, and I just caught a glimpse of it as I was watching the main event. Football is much more popular, and last night the division rivalry between the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Brett Favre and the Jets won in dramatic fashion, as the game went into overtime. I am sort of a Favre fan, but unfortunately Thomas Jones had a successful game also. I do not have a personal vendetta against or dislike him in any way, I actually think he is kind of cool, but the second place in points person in my fantasy league has Jones at running back. I am significantly ahead in points, but the second half of the season could be different. And I guess I am sort of greed, because I want to make my lead as large as possible.
The night seemed to go by smoothly though, because I saw Ashley. I have only been to TKO's on several different weekends, and ironically they have had three different managers. Ashley is now the manager. I inquired if this meant she would be they next one to quit (since the manager position of that place has such a great turnover rate,) but Ashley confirmed that she would be there for awhile. She is an admirable person, because she is always a joy to talk with. She is dedicated too, because she puts in power hours at TKO's as well as taking college courses a Owens. If Ashley stopped working there I would lose all interest of going there to hang out.

11/13/2008

Many good sitcoms on NBC tonight. Good because they are funny, and at time I find myself laughing. The Office is my favorite. There are many comical happenings in that show. Dwight gets my vote as the most hilarious character. Earl is also a blockbuster in my book. Randy makes the show, in my opinion. Randy is Earl's brother, but he is the way I would picture Lenny from the book, "Of Mice and Men." We studied that book in high school, but I cannot honestly say that I completed all the readings. I have a dislike for reading books, but usually classroom discussion of the books gave me a valid enough understanding to pass the evaluations. To my knowledge I only have read three novels in their full: Larry Bird's two autobiographies and "The Watson's go to Birmingham." The latter is a great story. I should include my autobiography, it is not yet complete, but I am writing, reading, and living it. It is not really good to be proud of not reading that much, it does not set a good example for students, but what is done is over. And I was not suffering in my academics in school, but I was just lucky enough to be able to deduce things logically through reasoning.
Tonight I'm going to Brian's, and hopefully I make it to TKO's to visit with Ashley. She is an awesome person. I am recording the NBC shows tonight.

11/12/2008

Wow... I think that the cold is here to stay. It is not an overbearing frigid cold, at least not yet, but it is cold enough to require a winter coat. The short sleeve or shorts day appear to be over for this winter. I like wearing shorts year round, at least indoors. I suppose that could still be done if I were to stay in the basement, but that is not feasible. We do have an outdoor wood burning furnace that circulates hot water into our basement, and with a blower hot air is spread throughout he house. I like burning wood even though it requires labor to cut down trees. On occasion, when the tree is too thick, we are forced to split the wood, and that soon becomes taxing since we do not own a wood splitter. Correction we do not own an electric or gas powered device to separate the wood. Instead we use a maul and wedges, and that takes some time. It is worth it though, because warmth from wood burning is the ultimate. It is very economical too, because less propane is needed to keep it warm. Whether it is due to my taking of blood pressure medication or some other reason is not known, but I am extraordinarily cold this year. I feel the need to wear long pants and sleeves all the time. In fact I will soon maneuver myself to the basement for a quick warm up!

11/11/2008

I met Johnathan and his mom for lunch today at the hospital. That was fun, interesting, and hopeful all wrapped into one meeting. You see, I used to be an athlete, and when we were in eighth grade at St. Anthony a great rivalry was held against Temple Christian school. John was their best player. Now he is their eighth grade coach and I might help him out this year.
After lunch was what made the day super exciting. Let me back up a little bit, and as you probably already know, if you know me, that I thrive on making presentations to high schools. I went to Patrick Henry's football game on Saturday at BGSU, which they won. The Patriots play again this Saturday at the same location, but I will not be attending this time as prior festivities are already scheduled. Oh well life is busy, but their game against Liberty Benton should be a good one. Back to the telephone conversation: he is going to allow me to come and speak to his students on Friday, December 19.

11/10/2008

I am home now! The shopping excursion was very successful, as I bought two pairs of jeans.
Grant cried when we left, and that is sort of interesting. That is all for tonight.

11/10/2008

It is Monday morning but not a usual one. It's not as if the air is foul smelling down here, but the deviant setting, much different than the norm, has me bright eyed so early in the morning. I usually do not get much more than five hours of sleep at any one period of time (as those who are affluent with this blog or me are well aware of) at home, an when I am in unusual surroundings that token amount of sleep seems to get cut short. Oh well, I am not tired... at least not yet! There is so much to be excited about. My nephews seem to ha matured significantly since I saw them last (around two weeks ago.) In fact we are taking the oldest one to pre school later this morning. I think taking in the school setting a few hours each day three times per week has helped him grow a bit. While Andrew is at school today, my Dad, sister, and I are going shopping. I think I would like to have at least one, maybe two, more pairs of jeans like the ones I am currently wearing. I am one who usually does not anticipate shopping, but I am indeed looking forward to it this time. I am also so proud of Andrew, because he is so proud to show me where his school is. Anxiously looking forward to the day when I can have my own kids (hopefully,) but that moment will come in His time. Right now I have my three nephews to enjoy.

11/9/2008

I am at my sister's place in Cincinnati for two days and overnight tonight. Therefore I will not be writing much until I get home late Monday night. This computer and surroundings are foreign to me.

11/9/2008

Patrick Henry be Winford (21-0), and Liberty Benton annihilated Archibold. Man the Craft kid is really something to watch. The Patriots and Eagles will square of next week at a site yet to be determined. After dropping Curt and his nephew off at their homes I went back to Brian's in Findlay. Prior to the second game today we ate at Frickers where I met several interesting people. The most interesting conversation was with an Ohio State Alumnus who was dressed in the University of Michigan attire! WHY??? I also met the Wayne Trace football coach at Frickers. I briefly went out in Findlay after getting beat in a few games of pool by Brian. I met a super col person named Jenny at Uncle Bucks, and she graduated from Ottawa Glandorf high school in 2002.

11/8/2008

Going to the Patrick Henry then Liberty Benton high school football ggames a Bowling Green today with Curt. We'll catch the first half of the OSU game first.

11/8/2008

I will be gone from from my home until Tuesday, and blog entries will likely be scarce.

11/7/2008

My parents are treating me to dinner tonight, and that is most likely because I am their favorite (and only:-) son. We will probably be home in time to listen o the two high school games that I am interested in.

11/7/2008

Things change so rapidly, as stated last night, in this technology crazed age. Let me explain a scenario for you that demonstrates my situation a little more in depth. Wednesday morning I awoke, and though nothing about this weekend. After I spoke to a group in Delphos I had made plans to go with people to the St. Johns football game scheduled for Friday night (today), in Kenton. Thursday those plans changed. Plans quickly changed yo me going down to Dayton to watch Lima Central Catholic lady T-birds play in state semifinal volleyball action, and then I would come back to catch the high school football playoff game between Ada and Pandora, at Bath. Talking about T-bird volleyball: even though I was rooting for St. Henry in last weekend's regional final contest. I still have friends at LCC. The Redskins lost their leader at the beginning of game one (due to injury), and they lost the match in five games. Taking nothing away from LCC though, because they have been very successful these last two seasons including a state championship last year. I am hoping they can repeat as state champions this year. Those plans went to the wayside. Then I was just going to go to Bath to watch the game.. Now I am just going to listen to the games on the radio, but I will only hear parts of both. Their start times are identical, and they are on different stations (obviously.) It will be tough flipping back and forth.

11/6/2008

My fantasy football players all performed well tonight except Edwards. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, because Heather was planning to mail out some recommendation letters to various schools and some pictures to me. No football games seem likely that I'll attend tomorrow, and things change always in the age of cell phones...

11/6/2008

WOW!!! I over did it hauling and stacking wood. My back is greatly sore and I exhausted myself. It was a good day to work out in our woods, because it was not too cold or hot. I started sometime this morning before 7:00, and the temperature was around 70 degrees (a lightweight jacket was worn.) I put the trailer away about 1:15, and I only stopped to eat. It was a little warmer after lunch (I discarded the jacket,) and the mercury registered in the low 70's. My back is sore, and maybe that is a tell tale sign that I am getting older. Nah! I'm still in my 20's, and am only knocking on the 30 year old door.
I think I am going to the Delphos St. Johns high school playoff football game in Kenton tomorrow. If I do, coupled with Saturdays planned events, it will make a full weekend of football. I am only anticipating basketball season though. I got my season ticket order form in the mail today! That only gets me more excited. I love basketball.

11/5/2008

Speaking today was an awesome experience. Todd, an athlete from Ft. Jennings (that I recalled playing against in eighth grade basketball), was there amongst many other quality contacts. One person actually graduated from The Ohio State University at the same time as I. She was probably one of the younger ones there. Michelle too was younger, and she went with Melessa and I across the street to pick out a T-shirt. I am planning to attend the Delphos St. Johns football game on Friday. I like watching sports, and Greg giving me a ride to the game would be appreciated. The people talked about so far were young, but most people in attendance were slightly more seasoned. In fact my greatest contact made was as old as my parents, and she is going to get back to me about possibly speaking to Van Wert schools. Speaking to high schools is something I am more comfortable doing. I just feel more at ease when high school aged people are my target audience. When feeling relaxed I feel my message is more clearly heard.

11/5/2008

I am going to Delphos Rotary club today to hopefully make some contacts. It should be an incredible time, and I have to get going...talk to you later...

11/4/2008

Right now it s looking extremely dismal for McCain and outlandishly awesome for Obama. I hope the newly elected Commander in Chief has great success pulling our country out of the economic funk that currently exists.
I have made plans for Saturday afternoon and evening with Curt, who lives in Cygnet. We are going to a couple of high school playoff contests.

11/4/2008

Today is election day, but going to vote is only a minor piece of my day. Don't get me wrong now, I have voted on every opportunity I've had since turning 18 years old. On occasion I go up town to stand in line to vote in the early morning, before voting actually begins. That is unnecessary, and this morning I will likely go up to vote just before I go to volunteer. When I get to the hospital I have to call Ashley and Curt. Both of those phone calls have me excited. Ashley is someone I have known for a little while now, and we are going to figure out a time we can hang out sometime. And odds are that my Ashley time will not be this Friday evening, because my second phone call will in all likelihood involve plans for that night. Curt spoke to me Sunday about quite possibly going to the High School football playoff game between Pandora and Ada. That game is scheduled to be played at Bath. I also will probably see Jim at some point. Then I volunteer but am lined up to leave early so I can make a Knights of Columbus meeting. Typically those meetings entail cards afterwards, but everybody may want get home early to see election results come in. True they will not change whether we watch them or not, nut it is always fun to see. The best thing about the elections happening today is that it will temporarily the political jargon on television and radio!

11/3/2008

Monday feels rather good, even though I am rather tired. I gathered hickory nuts for a while this morning with Dad. Every once in awhile you come across one with a worm hole in it. Still even cooler, yet more unusual, is a half gnawed away shell with the nut missing. Those come from red-jimmies or squirrels. Living in the country, as opposed to an urban dwelling, leads to much more of wildlife habitat evidence. I am sure there are dis advantages to living in a rural place, if you speak to the city dweller they would be easily noted, but I love living beside wooded area. Sometimes, really most of the time nature is appreciated.

11/3/2008

I cannot seem to fathom how lucky I am. A five letter word explains much. There is so much construction going on continuously in my life that it is occasionally difficult to tell which way to head. Sometimes things cause me to want to help, and it is most times rather, and I sort of take a backseat roll so as to not get in the way. Although most of my characteristics remain the same, that is one area that the accident has changed. The five letter word is FAITH, and that is what keeps me so emotionally balanced. Using my intellect, ingenuity, and story, coupled with my faith, is a good way to bring happiness to everyone.

11/2/2008

Today was an exciting Sunday. I watched some football today (what else would I do on Sunday in November:-) with my cousins, and then with Brian at BW's. The Cincinnati Bengals broke their losing streak with a win today over Jacksonville. The highest point in my day was stopping to see Ashley. She is an awesome person. I was a pleasure to see Sara and John as well. She is a friend from college whom I have not seen in a while.

11/2/2008

The election coverage, in the media networks, on the presidential contest has become heightened, and with the ballots being cast in merely two days it is only going to get worse. Frankly it is getting rather sickening. I am a big fan of sports, and I cannot watch a major game without being inundated with political jargon every commercial break. You know it is getting bad when the halftime agenda for Monday night football entails interviews with the two major presidential candidates. It is simply an unmistakeably grotesque. Lies, lies, and more lies galore; that is hat the campaigning consists of. Oh well after Tuesday the craziness will subside after the election. That only a possibility that could happen, and we might have candidates who are claiming fallacy in the end result. There may be recounts (even three counts:-)! It happened in the last election. A little bit of suspense in competition is to be expected, it is even appreciated (from someone who is a sports enthusiast), but the parties campaigns have taken it to another level. The strategy and work done to win an amateur sporting contest is admirable and laudable, but the constant lies said to get votes and the tearing apart he opposition is sad.

11/1/2008

It was a very exciting match today, and LCC won. St. Henry lost the first two games, and fell short of victory in the deciding game five. Good luck to LCC as they try to defend their state championship from last year. I felt bad for the Redskins as one of their best players went out with injury at the beginning of play. It was not too detrimental as she returned later but did not play. LCC has another great team this year.

11/1/2008

Possibly I am going to a tailgate party before the volleyball match today. It makes no difference on whether or not I go to the game, because I would not miss this for the world, and Frank is picking me up a ticket for $6 at at St. Henry school. At least I previously paid him for it after Wednesday's semifinal match. It's a battle between the St. Henry Redskins and LCC T-birds, I have ties to both schools, but I'll be pulling for the Redskins. I have a much better friendship with St. Henry faculty and administration. In reality I wish both teams could win, but the excellence of competition will not allow that. The hope is that both teams play well, and the dream is that the Redskins play extremely well. I am hesitant to call LCC an underdog, because I would say they are not, and they ran a perfect record to a state championship last season and have been perfect thus far this year. Their work and success is well respected. However, as in watching sports in general I end p cheering for the underdog. With that said... GO SKINS!!!

10/31/2008

It is Football Friday night, but it is not the usual Friday for high school foot ball. This is week 11, or many teams' second season, and the playoffs commence this week. It is rather disappointing that Columbus Grove's football team had a very lackluster season, because cheering as your team plays in the tournament, is rather fun, but at least there are several local teams in the playoffs. I may even make it to a game or two in the next few weeks. High school sports are awesome. I really need to get into coaching somewhere, because not having that direct feeling of competition is driving me nuts. Watching sports live helps, but I constantly find myself being strategical as to what I would do if I was the coach or player. I find myself often disputing what the coach does. I can't help it, competition runs through my veins.

10/31/2008

Heather sent me that recommendation letter today from Bishop Hartley high school, in Columbus. It is simply dazzling. Thanks to her.

10/31/2008

It is simply amazing how much last night felt like a Friday night I guess it is a prelude to basketball season, which is coming up here soon. Watching volleyball is really exciting once you get into it and fully understand what is going on behind the scene. I do not claim to know what the coaches were thinking or strategy last night for, either team, last night for either school, but like in basketball it sure is fun being a coach from the stands. Maybe that is just my sports, or competition, enthusiast mentality shining through. The schools that I watched were St. Henry versus Huron in the first game, and LCC played in the night cap but I did not stay for that one. As it turns out though LCC won the second match of the evening. I did not associate Huron as the place I went to in early September for the catholic retreat, but as discussing things with Frank afterwords, at Frickers, it dawned on me. Huron got out to a first game victory, but that success was short lived as St. Henry won the next three consecutive ones. However, I did get to meet several coaches and fans from both teams, and I do not want to sell short how it was wonderful meeting everyone. But the key contact hat I made was with Tony, their athletic director. I met Lynn afterward at Frickers, and I spoke to her at the University of Findlay prior to that in her occupational therapy course.

10/30/2008

The swift shifting of temperatures from cold to warm or warm to cold seems to be evident this time of year. I am well aware of both extremes as living in Northwest Ohio has been a staple throughout my whole life. I am 29 years of age, significantly younger yet older than some friends, but please do not think I have lived a sheltered life. Clearly I have not. Many vacations have been taken, and I've taken vacations, at different time with m family that have covered most of the United States. I have been blessed even with several opportunities to vacate this country Northward. I have no desire to go to our sour neighbor of Mexico. Needless to say, I have never been out of North America, and I have consistently had a home base in the Northwest part of The Buckeye state. This year displays the flux of temperatures more so than I ever recall. It is in the 20's on the Fahrenheit scale now, and I hear it is supposed to reach the 60's by today or tomorrow. Forecasts always are logically based hypotheses though so they can never be certain until they actually happen. Usually, though, they are relatively accurate. I have taken a Meteorology course in college (OSU), though and this rapid changeis rare. Call me weird if you choose, but I feel some unfamiliarity here. For instance, I do not know how to dress in this quickly changing weather.

10/29/2008

I feel relieved this evening, because I spoke with Heather (the Public Relations guru from Bishop Hartley-- who by the way could make a healthy income singing:-) this afternoon. I feel relieved as she said the pictures and letter would be on their way this week yet. I felt the least bit apprehensive about the mailing of that info since I was left out of any conversation about the letter in over a week, but now I feel more relaxed. Heather is a very busy person, and it took hearing that we are still on the same page to put me at ease. She introduced to a great website. Then our conversation flipped to karaoke, as she sang a little song to me. She quickly became defensive when comments were made about her little tune. But in all honesty she can sing much better than I, because could not carry a tune even before my accident. I pit anybody who listens when I sing:-).

10/29/2008

Today (Wednesday) I am going to get a hair cut. Where am I going to get it cut is a question that taxes many people's minds when its time to get a trim. There are at least three places I could get it done in Columbus Grove alone (or maybe two), and I could go to any nearby to accomplish the task. That is just considering the specialty shops. I virtually always get my hair done at the same place with the same barber. The best things come from home, I am almost certain you have heard that saying, and my Dad is my regular haircut person. That kind of limits my hair style to one look (unless I were to shave my head), but that is the style I prefer. It is very economical too, and while it would cost $10-$20 at a parlor my chops at home are free. Free fits in everyone' budget. I know many things you can get for free look tacky, but that is not a concern that I have. My Dad does haircuts, like he does everything else, perfect! At least that is how I feel about my Dad. I really look up to him, as most people look up to their parents. Dad is my role model, or idol, and I believe everything he says.

10/28/2008

I also met a very beautiful person named Jeannie. We met after eating a late lunch. I think she is from near Cleveland, and she was here on business. It was cool, because we both were thinking similarly. we met for a reason and I hope we can explore why a little more. Making contacts is critical in what I hope to do, that may be why, but I think our meeting may hold a more significant importance. But what do I know??? We'll see.

10/28/2008

I talked to a friend, Jessica, tonight at the hospital. I saw many different people tonight and I do not want them to think I am belittling them in any way. It's just the highlight of my evening was talking with Jessica. I also saw Abbey and Joe in the cafeteria. Joe is a fun guy to talk with even though we have many different outlooks. And I spoke with Christy briefly when she was on break I made plans tonight for Thursday and Sunday. I guess Sunday is up in the air, and I possibly planned for Saturday too but that is even more up in the air yet.

10/28//2008

It is Tuesday, and we know that means I get a chance to help certain people at the hospital and network at the same time. It really is a lot of fun to work with Gerry. At the same time having ample opportunity to meet and help new people is awesome. I would not trade my position for anything. I am also excited about getting all pumped up about watching the St. Henry lady Redskins volleyball team compete in regional semifinal action at Liberty Benton on Thursday at 6:00.

10/27/2008

It hailed today. If watching little ice balls bounce off the road does not make you think of winter I don't know what would. The forecast is calling for flurries tonight, but I would doubt it really will.

10/27/2008

Today is the last Monday of October, and that does not mean a whole lot except:
1) Next Tuesday is the day of the election of our new president. I pray that we make a good choice (even though there is not much to choose from.) It will be a crazy day from a media standpoint, as critiques are done as election results come in. There are bound to be people happy and those outraged with the results. It will without a likely, I think, come down to a recount in many states, because the election will be too close. Both candidates will claim they won. I would not be surprised if the one declared the winner is not for a few weeks.
2) Next Wednesday I give a brief presentation to the Delphos Rotary Club. I hope to make some contacts that will serve as gateways and give me a chance to present to more high schools. It brings great satisfaction to impact lives. I am talking with a Hartley student, who I ironically met about a half year before I gave a presentation in the Columbus school, about my speech, and she is saying what I hope occurred. She says that I made a huge difference in her life and she hopes I get to more schools this year. A boy, who is also a sophomore at Hartley, expressed similar responses.
There obviously is a lot more going on in November, but I will get more to them as they occur.

10/26/2008

I got home and to bed late last night, but I set my alarm clock for 7:30 this morning. And no I am not insane but wanted to attend early mass this morning, because the Knights of Columbus were serving a breakfast afterwords. Therefore I only got around four hours of sleep in last night. Man was I glad I went to the breakfast this morning! I sat at the end table with some Dickmans and Ellerbrocks. Ashley, from TKO sports bar in Findlay (who I just talked to this past Thursday), is the niece of the Dickmans! We had a great conversation at our table. Needless to say I was very tired most of the afternoon, and being Sunday I had to catch some must needed rest while watching football. I missed parts of the games, from slightly dozing off a couple of times, but it was relaxing. I will likely tire relatively early tonight, but I can always flip the world series game on as I fall asleep. As you can clearly see sports play a large role in my life. I am super excited about high school basketball season, which is just around the corner. In fact I just spoke with my friend Chad, who is the Varsity Girls Basketball coach, in his first head coaching season, at Columbus Grove high school this year. He was busy preparing practice schedules, and the Grove girls are likely to have a high quality team this year!

10/26/2008

The Buckeyes lost and Penn State won. End of story. Last night I had great fun in Findlay but also was disappointed with several reactions I received from several people that I met last night. I did not explain myself to some, and they went on assuming I was plastered drunk. Oh well, those are the perils I endure. That's the way I talk (always) just deal with it!. If I do I know you can!

10/25/2008

Today is the day Penn State plays THE Ohio State University in Columbus (which is somewhere Joe Paterno has never on in nine or ten tries,) and I am hoping that continual losing streak remains in tact. Originally I was going to maybe go to this game, but that was before Penn State became a notable title contender (now ranked number three in the nation with Ohio State ranked nine.) I still had every intention to get down there and maybe not even get a ticket and hang with newly established friends instead, but I am hoping we can make that work for the University of Michigan weekend instead. Michigan weekend is approximately three weeks into November. The fact that Joe Paterno has never won a game in Columbus, with more than several attempts is astonishing, given his legendary status for most wins by a college coach ever. Bobby Bowden is close though, and I cannot stand hm or his Florida State Seminole squad that continues to play a cake schedule year after year. Even though I would like to see Ohio State win (I am a Buckeye- OH...IO), if OSU is destined to not have a perfect ending to their season I would hope they take their loss this weekend. Losing to Penn State would be much easier to swallow than falling in defeat to Michigan. That is because I have so much respect for Joe Paterno as a person and wish him well, and I want to see him put Bowden in his place. Still, maybe it is a given since Ohio State is my Alma mater, GO BUCKEYES!

10/24/2008

Watching Grant mimic everything his older brother, Andrew, do is hilarious. Grant is like a mini Andrew in nearly every situation. It is kind of funny. Adults must be careful what they do or say though, because he mimics and repeats everything.
I am tired today since I was out and up late last night and early this morning. Sleeping is hard to get while knowing my nephews are here. Since they live in Cincinnati and I don't see them every day I feel it necessary to play with them.

10/24/2008

After going to Findlay tonight i became OfficeMax that we will not b going to the PSU at OSU game Saturday in Columbus. Instead I will be watching the game in Findlay with the guys. That leaves me feeling both good and bad. One one hand I will not get to hang with Heather from Bishop Hartley (or Jen), but that also means we may go to the Michigan finally (and Mike may g with Brian and I.) Maybe I'll meet up with Heather for that game? Who knows? James is going to be inFindlay Saturday, and it has been a while since I've seen him. I saw Ashley working at TKO's Sports Bar. She is awesome!

10/23/2008

My nephew Grant seems so determined to get his way. At times he may be labeled as stubborn, but he just likes things to be done his way. I can only hope that when he becomes more intelligent, older, and wiser that his perseverance stays constant. Memories from when I was two years old are nonexistent to me, except through a few pictures, but odds are that I was similar. Maintaining that stubborn like attitude will be critical towards Grant overcoming any obstacle hat stand in his way, overcoming any injury that may occur, or wing the big game. Everybody, in my opinion, should have that mentality to try at all costs. You cannot succeed if something is hard yet you do not even try. You may succeed I guess by luck, even the blind squirrel finds food (nut), but awaiting the improbable seems irresponsible. Those who say "I can" or "I can't" are usually right so you may as well try! If you fail yet tried your hardest... then I argue that you took the first step to success. Failure may be defined as the first step to success the next time. In sports losing is not only bad, but it can help you improve your game so you win your next game or match.

10/23/2008

Hauling some wood will be a part of this morning. This wood is not like getting most firewood, but it is significantly easy to do. You see my cousin Clint has to be out of his sold house by tomorrow (Friday), and he has some wood that has never been burned but is stacked along his shed. Clint will no longer have any use for it. Dad has to go to work today, but that is not until this afternoon. Therefore this morning Dad and I are going to go gather and transport it to our house. Lisa and the boys are going to take care of some errands today but will be back here this evening. Grant, the middle child, is so very cute. He talk now, and he takes after his uncle since he does a lot of it. His talk is much cuter than my dialect though. Grant talks like the little kid that he is. I think it is also magnificent to see his thought process.

10/22/2008

My Sister, Lisa, is coming home this afternoon, and my three nephews and Godsons, of course, will be with her. Andrew is in preschool, which I like to think is glorified baby sitting, a few partial days per week, and when he gets out early this afternoon they will head this way. I am anxious to see the rapid growth that they have done. Little kids seem to show their growth more so than do adults, and this will be a great time for me to bestow a positive influence. Rob will be doing some work on the house while the kids are not around, so he will not be making the trip this time.

10/22/2008

Work yesterday was slow, and I am not sure if volunteering should be considered work (but it is.) I guess I am volunteering at the same time certain employees do, and they do the same types of things as I do. Therefore volunteering can very well be classified as work. I met Abby again. Really it was the second time that I specifically talked to her, but ho is to judge when we officially met. She works in the cafe, and yesterday Abby was working in stir fry. That was the first time I tried stir fry at the hospital, and I must say it won't be the last. The stir fry was exceptional. After work I went to the Knights of Columbus meeting at my Church (St. Anthony's.) It was not a good night for cards, as I lost a couple of dollars, but it was fun. That is hard to believe that it was fun losing money, and it is more fun when you end up ahead, but as stated on an earlier post the winning or losing of money is not what makes playing solo so enjoyable for me. Cards is about the social aspect, and the people that you play with make or break the amount of fun had. I spoke with Dave last night, and we are possibly going on a trip to Columbus this weekend. He may be going with a group and I may go along. I am hoping to meet up with some Bishop Hartley employees.

10/21/2008

Today is a very busy day. As usual I volunteer at St. Rita's Medical Center today, but it starts getting hectic before that. Initially I must get my flu shot down in the volunteer office. It is not really necessary that I receive my flu vaccination today, as they are being offered at the hospital all week for volunteers, and I suppose I could choose another location on another day. However since I will go to St. Rita's today for volunteering anyway it seems logical to get my flu shot today. Some would argue that it would be more effective and last longer if I would wait a few weeks. But I feel better killing two birds with one stone (speaking hypothetically) is the best way to go. Rather than make an extra trip sometime, even though it would be local (it still takes gas), I may as well do it while I am already there. I then am scheduled to meet a friend, Jeff for lunch. He is a fun guy to be around. Then volunteering comes around. Helping others is something I take pride in, it gives you a sense of personal satisfaction, and so volunteering is mandatory by my standards. I then have a K of C meeting. Somewhere in the whole day I hope to get in touch with Jim.

10/20/2008

I just spoke with Heather, who is the public relations and marketing guru (I forget her official title) at Bishop Hartley high school, a bit ago. I am really really excited about everything she had to say. Hopefully she can do some marketing for me and get me into some high schools in the Columbus area. I do not want to be a burden to her though. She seemed all happy to do this for me, and I think she really wants to help me out. People like Heather are great friends to have. Apparently she hangs around Jen on occasion. Jen is another employee at Bishop Hartley that I met, and hopefully we'll all be able to see each other this weekend in Columbus to watch the game. If I can manage a way down to C-bus we'll definitely have blast.

10/20/2008

It's Monday morning, and the back of my right leg really hurts. It feels like my calf muscles are inflamed, and it hurt all day yesterday, too. Odds are efficient stretching was not done after exercising on the elliptical Saturday early evening. I went to Brian's place Saturday to watch football (starting with the Ohio State game.) After the Buckeyes dominated and before we went to BW's it was cold in the basement, and so I ran a bit on the elliptical to give me a warm up. The problem was that I'm not familiar at all with taking a leisurely stroll, and I have not been used to taking a gentle approach to working out. Therefore a furious 15 minute workout was done, because I did not want to work up a sweat (since we were going out) 30 minutes was not done. My frantic pace gave me a good energy burst, and I warmed up rather efficiently. Afterwards stretching was even done, but apparently I did not do a thorough job. Now is when the biggest consequence is felt. It does not really matter, ad I'll just have to work through it. I will do a workout on the exercise bike later today. I think that will not use my calf muscles very much. Riding bicycle usually works your hamstrings more, I think (and hop:-). I'll be sure to take it easy.

10/19/2008

Tonight I went to a family gathering over at my aunt's place near Gilboa. It was interesting, as it always is when our family gets gets together. That statement is true regardless of whether I am talking about immediate or extended family. Let me be totally honest here. I just like being around people, but when the association is with family there is usually humor involved. Judy told me she had talked with Nate, who is a Sophomore at Bishop Hartley high school in Columbus. She said he said that he thought I did a very good speech last Wednesday. He thought the humor parts were fun to see.

10/19/2008

I went out in Findlay Saturday night, and I had a blast. I was the designated driver, and the fact that I choose not to drink alcohol because of the effects it has on my blood pressure medication make it an easy choice. Alcohol is way overrated anyways, and fun is not defendant on alcohol consumption.
I met Dean's girlfriend, Lisa, tonight, and she seemed like a quality individual. It is astonishing that such a great person would fall for Dean (I am only kidding:-). Dean is great guy. The weird thing is though that Dean's only brother is married to a Lisa and that is my sister's name.
I'm excited that Ohio State actually looked like a powerhouse team this afternoon against the Michigan State Spartans. Next week is Penn State, and then we will see if the Buckeyes are really any good.

10/18/2008

The Redskins ended up losing to The Delphos St. Johns Blue Jays last night, but I had much fun at the game. Seeing friends galore from both schools was exciting. Greg was even there with his two boys Alex and Jeffrey. Greg works with the EMS crew, and he is the spouse of my friend Melissa. We talked to her via cell phone, but she was not brave enough to go out in the cold. That is scary! She is in her mid thirties and the weather was not bad at all, and I am inching closer to 30 (ever so slowly though I'll add) and do not want to feel like that when I am her age. Greg along with the rest of the squad won the 50/50. It got divided amongst eight people I believe, but they each took home over $200. An interesting couple, from Indiana, and their daughter were also met. I met a lot of people, both old and new friends, last night. After the game I went back to the Legion in Columbus Grove and sat with Tom's crew. That made me feel right at home. Columbus Grove won their third game of the year last night by a score of 28-0, and I was not even there to see it in person. I was very happy to go to Delphos though,and it was a nail biter. The final score was 21-19, and both teams scored three touchdowns. The difference maker turned out to be the extra points.

10/17/2008

Just a quick note, but it is a significant one. I hear that Columbus Grove and Bishop Hartley square off in battle on the football field next year. That is just a rumor I heard yesterday, and I'll be sure to check into it. If that happens I hope that I can attend, because it would be nice to reconnect with friends made earlier this week.

10/17/2008

Tonight I am going over to Delphos to see St. Henry battle St. Johns in high school football. I have quite a few friends from St. Henry and many affiliated with St. Johns high school, but I'll ultimately be cheering for St. Henry. I'll wear Redskins paraphernalia and stand on the visitors side of the field. GO SKINS!!! Hey it is all in good nature high school competition fun. Some would say that is bantering, but it is just rivalry. I wish well to both teams and hope to see a good game.

10/17/2008

Brian now has cable...again... so last evening we shot billiards in his basement while watching football and baseball by flipping back and forth. Even after we were done playing pool we stayed down there, because his big screen television upstairs is broken. It is beyond repair, but I do not think that a new one is all that necessary. His basement is set up real nice, and Brian's television down there is plenty big. If I were in Brian's shoes I would not replace the enormous screen television upstairs, but he is his own person (like everyone is his or her own) and he'll make his own decision. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I just stated my two cents. Frugal is a good word to describe me, but Brian seems to be more free with his money. I would not trade shoes with anybody, because I love my life (it is meant to be this way.) Besides the other person may have athletes feet, or some type of foot fungus, so I would wanna wear their shoes...LOL! We were watching the ALCS (baseball) alternately with college football, and I left when the game was in the seventh inning, and Boston was trailing 7-0. I was astonished to see that they came back to win 8-7. Boston still trailing 3-2 in the series, but who knows what may happen. Being a sports enthusiast makes even baseball (which can be slow moving at times) exciting.

10/16/2008

I know it is Thursday, but I just thought of something from Tuesday that I wanted to share. As I was volunteering at St. Rita's and was helping a random lady find her way around the hospital, and she told me it was nice that I did not let my disabilities stop me from helping others. She was talking down to me like I was mentally challenged. Every so often I get that. People that do not know me nor have ever held a conversation with me mistake my cognitive and physical abilities. It is accepted and something I do not get all bent out of shape about. I love my life and God let that unfortunate car accident happen a little less than 11 years ago, but He also gave me the determination to get through it all. My life is destined to be this way, and I love my life not wishing to switch life position with anyone. His ways are ALWAYS best. Normally I jump in and correct people like the lady Tuesday, but I was busy and let her go on thinking I was challenged. Focused on getting my message out there to different groups The front desk was swamped, busy was the scenario, and landing a speaking gig had already been tried moments earlier. Anyways I was saving my voice for Bishop Hartley on Wednesday. That just paints the picture of when I am in places where a mass array of new people (ones that do not know or have not met me) are.

10/15/2008

My time spent at Bishop Hartley today was rewarding, and besides being rewarded with the opportunity to impact lives through speaking I made new friends also. And contacts were made for future presentations as well. I finally got to meet Stefanie (the guidance counselor who initially contacted me in regards to speaking there.) She was awesome, and I hope we can make this a yearly happening. Meeting her was only the tip of the iceberg as far as meeting new people, old friends, and those who may be beneficial in my speaking adventures. I also met Heather, hopefully that can be a lasting friendship, and she is employed by the school. I'll also mention just one more school employee, even though there were many (but I do not want to forget one), and that would be Randy... also known as coach Randy. He is affiliated with the basketball program, and it is no surprise that I hope to help him in the future. Unfortunately other duties prevented him from making it to my speech. Finally I saw Jerry and Doug in the presentation room at one point or another. The former I met up in Huron in the beginning of September while the latter is the son of a principal of St. Henry high school. Oh and I must not forget to mention Holly and her boyfriend. She is helping me with my autobiography, and I am very happy and very appreciative that she took time out of her busy schedule to see what I do. All other people who were a part of my day but not mentioned here (you know who you are) thank you! My parents are awesome people, and a big thanks to them for their help and support.

10/15/2008

I went to bed early yesterday evening, both because I was tired from the hospital yesterday and I wanted to get a good night of rest before I go to speak in Columbus, but I should have known that sleep is not really a commonality when it comes to my world. And to make things worse I am really excited about today's events. Whenever I'm scheduled to speak in the next day, or do something big and exciting, my resting time is reduced from five hours to merely three or four hours, and last night was no different from that standpoint. I did not plan on writing much on here today, as explained yesterday, but what is a guy supposed to do! I laid in bed fully awake for nearly and hour, and the apprehension about not being rested enough to perform well only builds. So I figured I will just get up and type to possibly alleviate the feeling and hopefully get a few more hours of sleep. Matters are not helped, and sleep is not made easier, recollecting about the awesomeness of my friend Abbey, whom I met this weekend over near Indianapolis at my cousin's wedding. It bugs me to no end that I do not know how she spells her name. Even though she now lives in Chicago, I cannot get over how fascinating her demeanor was to me. I have never met someone who was so easy to talk to and had it all. I'm getting a bit sleepy again, and hopefully sleep will soon follow. If not no need to worry, because I've played this game a few times before (goodnight!! :-)

10/14/2008

Its Tuesday and I am at the medical center. After I agreed to help Chad , the new Columbus Grove girls basketball team's head coach, with some stats it threw a wrinkle in my volunteer schedule for a few weeks in December. I took the initiative to try getting my hours adjusted for those weeks. Mark will get back to me on the adjustment. I wanted to attempt switching early that way I will still be able to volunteer on those days. Volunteering at Saint Rita's hospital is something that I enjoy doing.
On another note I am speaking at Columbus Bishop Hartley , and due to the early departure time I will not have much of a chance to write on this tomorrow. The same lack of typing time will likely exist tonight also, as I make final preparations and hit the sack early. I need to be well rested so I can give an excellent presentation to these students.
I got refills on my blood pressure medication today. Having a Walgreen pharmacy right here, on the first floor of the hospital, is very convenient for me. Since I am here every Tuesday it saves a trip to town.

10/13/2008

I love hot food. I am talking about spices that are hot. However I am a wimp when it comes to extreme warm/hot liquids or foods. My mom on the other hand is accustomed to drinking near boiling water. I take after my dad on most things, but I like to get up and talk in front of many people. That trait I get from mom. Although even Mom does not like to talk in front of everybody always so I guess that is something I picked up on myself. Sorry about sidetracking here... back to spicy foods. Neither Mom nor Dad are very affluent with extremely spicy foods, and when salsa is used in any food around home it is always the mild variety. Like tonight we had fajitas with a mild zing to them. Although I would much rather have hot sauce, Mexican foods are still my favorite. When I make it to a restaurant on the weekend I prefer a hot sauce. When I am ordering food I always chicken out on going for the hottest sauce, but I usually go for 1 step down.

10/13/2008

I have a busy week starting tomorrow (Tuesday). Today is Monday though, and it is not typical beginning of the week at all. We decided to rent the rug doctor from up town to steam clean our carpet in various rooms in our home, including the basement.It usually gets done one day a year(1/365 is not a very good probability.) And the year we redid the living room and got new carpet we did not steam it. Dad always runs the machine, and I am a good person to help move furniture around. Every year since I have been around we have moved the couch, chairs, and end tables into the kitchen for a couple of days while the carpet dries. This year we left the sofa and love seat. I think this is third different sofa and chairs set that we have been through in my day, and I am not sure whether we change a lot or it's a sign that I am getting old. I think it must be the former, because I just met an intriguing woman this weekend and we are both in our 20's, and she did not seem old at all. I really do not feel old either, because I am not, but I have endured much these last ten years.

10/12/2008

WOW last night was exciting. Of course it was fun seeing many relatives, from my mom's side, that I do not come in contact with near as frequently as the Schroeder side of the family, and it was great o see my cousin Chad get married to Bethany. It seems like they are such a good match for each other. Even though Chad informed me long ago that I would know most most of the people at the wedding, and the reception would be filled with people that I am related to, it was quite the opposite. At the reception hall is where I met possibly the nicest, prettiest, and most interesting person that I ever did meet. Her name is Abbie (SP?-- could be Abbey, Abby, or something else?), and she is friend of Bethany. She was very nice, and she did not seem taken aback by my dialect at all (although I am, but I am also one who likes to be critical of myself, constantly seeking improvement.) I'll be honest with you, it was her physical beauty that first caught my eye, but after getting to know her a little bit it became clear that her beauty was much deeper than her appearance. She lives and works in Chicago, although her hometown is Indianapolis, and I am yet intrigued from meeting her. I also met her father, Ace, who was given my contact info, also, and I really hope to have contact with them later. However, since Chad told me I would not be meeting new people I did not have my business cards with me, but contact info was scribbled on a napkin for each. I enjoy every opportunity to meet new people, make friends, and network, but last night was simply awesome. I was shocked to see a friend, Stephanie, who is the daughter of my former coworker, Bob. She is apparently dating one of my cousin Chad's friends.