The World According to Thad

Headline "You Are Poor"

2008-10-15T02:41:00.000-07:00

Poor means a lot of things. By definition poor is an adjective that relates to a state of poverty, low quality, or pity. In my neighborhood I am average. I guess you could say I am living the American Dream. I have a mortgage, wife, kids, two cars, a dog, and 4 cats. I would hardly classify myself as poor. In today's economic turmoil I would still not classify myself as poor. I have a job that pays the bills and it allows me time to spend with my family and go to school online. I would hardly consider myself poor.

We think of ourselves as poor when we don't live like a hollywood actor does or own a multi-million dollar corporation. If you have no job, no cloths, no place to lay your head, no way to buy food then you are considered to be poor. It sucks that we as Americans are paying higher gas prices, higher food cost, and higher cost on everyday living. But I am not poor. Thank you.

Wide Awake Again

2008-06-30T01:38:00.001-07:00

I woke up at 3am after going to be at 10:30p. I think I have insomnia. That is all.

2008-06-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I took up my hand at growing vegetables during the spring/summer months as a project to see what kind of results I could get out of a little sweat and dirt stain hands. There were a few years I grew multiple peppers, and tomatoes. I never felt like the yield was exactly anything to write home about.

So one year has gone by at our home and I was getting the itch again to start my quest to prove I could actually grow something and keep it alive. I put some time and effort into trying to figure out when to plant, what to plant, how to prepare the soil, and all the normal things one would do in preparation for growing season. Alas, spring came and I went to the farmers market and bought about $10 worth of plants. Believe it or not for about $10 I had more than I knew what to do with. Off I went and by May 15th I had it all in the ground and was so excited. Well, I was excited until two weeks later everything died. Ugh, what happened? Honestly, I have no idea. We had some really hot nights and days during a period that was crucial to growth of the plants. It certainly was a combination of trial and error. After being tormented by my emotions I tried a new route. I started seeds sowed directly into the ground. I sowed corn, carrots, cantaloupe, and honey dew. The fruit seeds came from Food Lion bought fruits in which I harvested the seeds. The carrot and corn seeds were organic seeds I bought at Lowe's. So far everything I planted from seed seems to be happy and growing slowly.

I am not expecting the crop of the century from these seeds I planted, I do hope that I will better understand the gardening process and proper care/preparation it takes for the seasons to come. In a time where organic is in I really want to produce a garden from my home during the spring-fall seasons. Yup, I am gonna try potatoes, lettuce, carrots(I planted during the wrong time for carrots), pumpkins and more for the fall. I can't wait. Down below you will find pictures of my beloved garden and compost pile(which I talk about on a daily basis) and I hope you enjoy. P.S. It's okay to laugh at the size of my plants because it is mid June and they should be a little taller, but won't it be a story to tell if they all produce their fruits.

garden pics

A Day in the Life of Thad

2008-06-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

I used to get angry when I felt used by people. Over the years I found myself caught in the middle of strange situations that always lend themselves to strange circumstances and outcomes. Here is an interesting tale that happened just this week.

Just this past week I met two complete strangers on the set of Talk It Out Live who were guest on the show. They were two pastors from a forming church in Winston Salem. They felt they had found the new idea and concept for starting a new an and improved form of religious experience. Upon learning that I played guitar they asked me to help them put together a band for their launch service this past Sunday.

After one service I found myself in a peculiar situation. In my heart I felt I was walking a fine line of what I felt was right and what I felt was false fed. Let me expand on the false fed idea. When I was ask to play for this church I was offered a set amount to organize a band to play for a two week period. Generally churches who pay their musicians are very large very well organized congregations not a 3 man operation. I will say that the idea of getting paid to play once a week on Sunday morning was enticing. I thought to myself, "why not" maybe this would be a chance to make some extra cash before the baby comes. Note to self, never trust anyone you don't know.

One day after the first service I received an email from one of the pastors which concerned me. I could tell by the message that I had gotten into something that would potentially come to an abrupt halt at a moments notice. I moved forward and hoped the next week service would work out better. Things were going well until this past Wednesday the rubber hit the road.

After selecting the songs, arranging music, and organizing a practice of my hand picked musicians we got together this past Wednesday night to jam. One of my invited guest happened to be a part of this particular church and showed up shortly after we had started practice. Judging by the look on this dude's face I could tell he carried a weight very heavy on his shoulders. When we had paused to take a break he asked me if he could speak to me outside. So I accompanied him and we began to chat. Apparently a song or two I had chosen didn't met the expectation of what this person may or may have not had in mind for a Sunday morning service. The interesting fact here is that I was given the green light to play whatever songs I felt appropriate at my discretion and that the previous weeks songs for service were great. After a few moments of debate on what vision this church had and what "it"(music) looked like I found myself at a place where my perception of what I was doing was being totally challenged. A statement made in by this person probably said without any knowledge of what it meant led me to simply turn my head and say "enough". So I walked away told 3 very tired hard working musicians we would not be playing this Sunday or any other Sunday for this church. So in an instant, easy come became easy go.

My reason for posting this story is simple. Everyone has ideas on the different ways to spread the gospel. Some of us choose roads less traveled and others find away to twist and turn a book so old that its true meaning is being missed out by many. At the end of the day what matters is where is your heart is, and what makes you happy? I found peace along time ago without playing praise and worship or guitar and it wasn't the next big thing in the religious realm. It was a simple change of heart and everything else fell into place without any smoke and mirrors.

I had to change my heart, my way of thinking, and that was it. To hell with all the other stuff. Love is what we need. Peace

Obama 2008

2008-05-29T03:42:00.000-07:00

Since I woke up at 4:50a this morning I decided to check the mornings news. Congratulations to Mr. Obama on clinching the democratic nomination. I also came across a great resource for finding the better gas prices in your area.

Lets face it our gas prices are stupid. How do you feel about this? I think I know the answer to the question I just asked. I am going to have to ride a skateboard to work if this keeps up.

May 17th 2008

2008-05-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

This morning I awoke to sunshine and a cool breeze blowing through the open windows. It is nice to wake up and not have a real set plan for my day. Now that Beth is pregnant I have to do a few extra chores around the house and other than those chores my day should be care free. Today is the first day in weeks that I could grind myself some coffee for one of my favorite morning rituals, making a french press. I make it a little longer process than it probably should be. Its all in the art of making the coffee. Go figure, I work for a coffee company and actually enjoy making it for myself at home. I don't know what the day will bring, but I will look forward to a day of tranquility.

Shout Out to My Wife

2008-03-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Over the last few weeks my life has maintained a constent sense of change. As each day goes by my concious reminds me to hold dear to me the things that help me stay at peace with the universe when everything around me seems dark and draining. My family has really gone out on a limb to be there and support me through a situation that has been going on for a while. I am fortunate to have a wife who is full of humor to keep me smiling when I am feeling down or over worked.

Early this morning as I woke up I started thinking about how much my wife and I have accomplish over the last 9 years. Yes, I do sit back and ponder my existance on a regular basis. Anyway, Bethie and I have overcome some pretty tough odds over the years. When we spoke the vows of "for better or worse" little did we realize we would revisit those vows over and over again amongnst great challenges throughout our marriage. I honestly feel with Beth's humorous nature, and my genuine belief in forgiveness we have certainly beat the odds of couples who are pregnant before marriage. This morning I feel like our marriage may not perfect, but we have definitely come along way over the years. Bethie, you rock.

More..

2008-01-31T05:16:00.000-08:00

More violence in Kenya. Here is a link to a Washington Post article I found this morning. Kenyan's face a tough road ahead of them. Get online, blog about and add links to your pages and spread the word. Human rights are being violated all over Africa and around the world as we sit comfortably in the warmth of our houses. The least we can do is spread the word and not let those who are giving their lives for what believe the recognition they deserve.

State of the Union

2008-01-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

Like many Americans I found myself watching the Presidents State of the Union address last night. I was impressed on the speech that was prepared for him and all the big terms he used but probably doesn't understand. I watched as the Republican party cheer him on as if he was a god. I laughed several times as I watched the camera turn to Hilary and Barack as they looked like they wanted to strangle President Bush.

Over all I was not very impressed with the content of the State of the Union by President Bush. I felt it was a failed effort on his part as he has waited to long to talk about the real issues that plague our country each and every day. I am not very hip on allowing our government to ease drop on our phones and feel like the "No Child Left Behind" bill really is a big joke. I will agree continuing to raise our income tax is not the way to create more money for our government. I think all sides would agree that we need to take a better look at programs that spend more money rather than help the American people. Instead of offering tax breaks we really should go to a flat tax for income levels of all types. Its not far that a person living in poverty and living hand to mouth should be expected to even pay tax when most rich people are living off the fruit of the poor mans labor. Money equals power in politics and it is so hard to think that any politician is on our side. Lets face it though, social security is a joke. I would rather have that money to go directly into a personal account instead the fed's pockets.

We need some serious change in our country and the only way to create change is to vote for the right person to do the job. I can assure I will not vote a straight ticket this year. I will make an informative decision based on fact rather than what everyone else is doing. I would advise you to do the same. And that is The World According to Thad.

I Am Just a Jerk

2008-01-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

Despite how I am portrayed on this site I am a really descent person. I feel as some may believe me to not be understanding, caring, or empathetic. If I didn't care about people I would not share my next thoughts on some of the things going on in the world

Searching the headlines on Google this morning I came across some articles on the growing crisis in Kenya. Kenya with its magical landscape and known coffee origins its in absolute turmoil. I came across an incredible site that tells so much about the country and what is going on. There is also a site built for bloggers and webby's who live in Kenya to upload images, identify were conflict is taking place, and a general site to get the word out about what is really going on in Kenya from those who see it everyday. I will add a few links to my page and to my website incase you want more information about what is going on there. I would suggest to hold off on donations to any government agency claiming to deal with Kenya due to corruption surrounded by the Kenya government. I am not saying that to sound cruel, but the truth is much of the countries turmoil has to do with corruption in their current government. I would suggest to read and maybe contact Amnesty International for ways to help spread information and possible ways to contribute. Keep blogging Kenya, we are reading and spreading the word.

Peace.

They called it a Winter Storm

2008-01-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

Its cold, wet, and gray outside today. I think most people living up north during the winter call this a normal day. In the south, we call it a winter storm. I have to laugh as I type those words because it truly was just a mere dusting of a snowy mixture yesterday. The day before the wintery mix came down on us the shelves of the stores were ravaged by shoppers in a effort not to return back out the next day. One of my friends called me late Wednesday night asking if she could get a gallon of milk from my store(Starbucks baby) because the grocery stores were completely out of milk. When I say completely out I mean everything such as: whole milk, 2% milk, 1% milk, soy milk, nonfat milk, half and half, heavy cream etc. Now who the hell needs half and half(I do realize people need half and half for their coffee) for their cereal or heavy cream?! What have we come to world? We are so unprepared for lifes little adventures. Its true is it not? We work so damn hard and have so little time to keep our pantries stocked with everyday items. And just think about it, another winter storm is on the way for Saturday. More to come on this subject next time.

Oh Jesse

2008-01-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

Last night I had the joy (more like there was nothing else on TV) of coming across a documentary on Jesse Helms. So, I decided to watch the program. After viewing the program I was not very amused by our former NC senator and his conservative mindset. Most of us who grew up in North Carolina and who are my age range can probably remember his name and the fact he was a hardcore conservative. The only memories of Jesse I have were the ones left in my mind by the conversations with my grandparents.

My grandmother would have hit me with a belt if she heard what I am about to say about Jesse. He was a racist, arrogant, and down right southern bred red neck who stayed in office entirely to long. Anyone my parents or grandparents age would remember him as vice president and commentator of WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC before becoming senator in 1973. Over the years he made himself very clear that he was a white man who supported segregation and on several occasions called Martin Luther King Jr. a "communist". I didn't mention the fact that his racist baptist minister friend Jerry Falwell was one of his biggest advocates. I hate to tell all the Liberty students that their former President and Pastor of Liberty University was a racist son of a bitch(students probably already knew the fact Jerry was racist). I hope Jerry had fun explaining to God why he couldn't "love one another". I am completely appalled that a pronounced Christian minister would ever ally themselves with someone like Jesse Helms. Thank you Jesus for Catholics and Presbyterians to balance the status quo. Once upon a time before I really knew what the term conservative really meant I used to call myself one. Thank God I don't consider myself a conservative anymore.

Times have changed since the days of Jesse Helms. You can still see his influence today with our current senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr. Unfortunately, with two republican senators in office and a democratic governor in office in NC I don't see how anyone's political agenda's get met. I guess its good to have both parties(or more non labeled parties). There are still reminders of the old south everywhere you go. Some southerners forgot the civil war was over in 1865 so why the hell are we still talking about it today. One day I hope we can say goodbye to the unpleasant memories of the old south and move forward to a more productive way of thinking and that is The World According to Thad.

Happy F#$$%% New Year

2008-01-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's to all of you. I have not blogged in a very long time. I honestly have been so busy getting through an extremely busy 3 months of work. Starbucks is still going well for me. I hope the new year will be challenges in the work place to help grow the store and my position with the company. Beth is taking the semester off from HPU. She has landed a subsitute teacher position at a pre school close to home. She is now waiting patiently(not really) to hear from the HPU School of Education on her acceptance into their program. Christian is growing like a weed and is shaping up to be a very handsome young boy. He has enjoyed being out of school the past two weeks and has to go back this coming Thursday.

I honestly haven't made to many new years resolutions. I feel healthy, I feel loved, and I have surrounded myself with positive energy and I really feel blessed. One of the highlights of our year was buying our home. The mortgage payment sucks, but we love the house. Everyday I wake up and just look around the house I am amazed that it belongs to us. We have cool neighbors and it is so quiet at night.

So to sum it all up, bring on 2008. Peace

Thoughts on San Francisco

2007-11-11T05:24:00.000-08:00

I really hated reading about the disaster out in the San Francisco bay. I hope people will pay attention and take the time to think about what we could do to help raise awareness on the environmental impact this will have on the San Francisco bay. 58,000 gallons of fuel is insane amount of fuel to be spilt into the ocean.

This event should help us take a look at how human error has completely devistated our environment. I think to myself sometimes if we could just slow down, listen, and concentrate we could avoid so many mistakes that we make each day. As we have seen with this current oil spill, our human mistakes come at a very high price economically, financially, and emotionally. So what is my point, take a lesson in Zen philosophy and take time out to enjoy the here and now. Listen, pay attention, and support saving our environment.

Exposure

2007-11-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

Recently my song "Peace" was featured on a podcast called Ikthuscast. I was so excited. Click here to listen.

Ace Mechanic (Not)

2007-10-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Beth called me earlier today complaining her car wasn't sounding right. In the past, those phone calls have led themselves to major car repair. I figured I would investigate the problem and hoped I would be able to fix the issue. From past experience with the same issue she was telling me about I figured the car needed spark plugs. So I went to the auto parts store and purchased the spark plugs. If you have ever changed a spark plug on a vehicle, you understand how fragile the spark plug wires can be when taking them off. So not even a few minutes into taking the wires off, I messed one of them up. I also had the added pressure of my wife standing over me watching my every move. It was as if she was my boss peering over my shoulder and watching every move I made.

I finally got each spark plug changed out then it was back to the auto parts store to get new wires. Between plugs and wires it was about a $50 total. When I got home I replaced the wires and now it was time to start the car. The car cranked and sounded pretty bad. At this point, much frustration had already set in. " What have I done?" I thought to myself. Beth was still standing there waiting patiently to see my results. I went back and checked to make sure the wires were tight. Everything was fine I thought so I went and cranked the car again. Nothing. The car wouldn't even turn over. I thought, "What the hell?" I gathered my tools, walk in the house and hung my head in defeat.

I reached out for help. I posted a question on a Mazda forum site and this morning had a visual diagram of the right firing pattern. I love the internet. So the big question is, "Can I fix it"? I honestly don't know the answer to the question yet. I somehow have managed to hurt my lower back while working on the car. I hope to share the results soon.

My thoughts on Network Journalism

2007-10-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

The press(media) are a fine group(sarcasm) of people. They live their lives digging up emotional trash and most of the time it doesn't seem like journalism at all. Fox news for example has come under fire for being the "conservative" network. While historically CNN, CBS, and NBC have come under fire by conservatives of being to "liberal". I love watching the news. I want to be informed and I want to know what the weather will be like for the day. I find myself leaning more and more to the Internet for the daily and national news these days. I would much rather read a news story on the Internet than have to sit and listen to the lousy reporters on TV. There are a few exceptions of good quality news anchors. I honestly love to watch the local NBC station for my morning dose of news. The news anchors incorporate humor and a sense of being themselves while on the air. Three of my most favorite local anchors are Rich Brenner, Neil Mcneill, and Sandra Hughs.

My biggest complaint is with the national news. In an effort to grow their hold in the market share of entertainment, real journalism is hard to come by. I understand how important it is to get information while interviewing( I have to interview potential employees at work) asking the right questions is very important. On the flip side to that thought, asking the wrong questions can be almost intrusive. One thing that burns me up the most about field reporters is when they ask someone who has just lost someone close to them, "So how do you feel right now". How the hell do you think they feel?! Asking a question of that magnitude is going across the lines and more like a on air psychological exam rather than reporting the news. I don't mean to sound hateful, but shouldn't we as the audience understand that if someone just lost their house to a fire or their son/daughter was killed in Iraq they need a little time to heal emotionally.

We always don't get the real facts either. In the case with Dan Rather reporting on President Bush's military experience, he made a false accusation and he lost his job. Now if it had been against any other man other than the President of the United States, such a big production may not have been made about the story. Now I have always liked Dan Rather, however the story on GW miltary record was not his best work( and please understand I am not a GW fan). He came from a generation of broadcast journalist that now are slowly disappearing. As a boy I grew up watching Dan, Walter, Peter, Tom, Andrea, Barbara, Bob, and so many other wonderful news anchors/news reporters. Their generation made nightly news what it is today. I hope that network news will really do a better job of reporting the facts, stop trying to use the shock value(like Fox News Network), and learn how to teach journalist to report the news in a way that doesn't show favoritism to one side or the other. If they can't, their is a whole group of up and coming podcasters that could do the job for them. After all there are three sides to a story: the truth, the lies, and everything in between.

Two Different Ideas

2007-10-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

Conservative

resistant to change
opposed to liberal reforms
cautious: avoiding excess; "a conservative estimate"
button-down: unimaginatively conventional; "a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business"- Newsweek
a person who has conservative ideas or opinions
bourgeois: conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class; "a bourgeois mentality"

sourcewordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Liberal

broad: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant ...
having political or social views favoring reform and progress
tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
big: given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather"
a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets
free: not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem"

sourcewordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I am a person who enjoys information. Being informed helps us to make better decisions about everything we do. The definitions I found on conservative and liberal may or may not be correct by Oxford Dictionary standards, but I hope you get the idea. For to long we have walked around thinking conservative works for me and liberal works for you. Each idea holds components we should look at and incorporate into our lives. Each idea has its extremist and each has its downfall. With political elections for our nation's Presidency a year away we should all be doing our homework. Change is inevitable. How will we make change occur? Most of us hope in our minds that voting for the right person to take the Oval Office is one way to contribute to change. Be outspoken on subjects you hold in high regard and not wavering on your beliefs. Decide for yourself what is the right side to be on. And never let anyone else make the decisions for you.

Today is Special

2007-10-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

In a drought stricken county the site of rain is almost impossible to conceive. I honestly do not remember the last rainfall we had but this is absolutely breathe taking. I shot some video with my Isight of the event. The audio cuts out a little here and there but you get the point. I do apologize about looking so rough I had just finished doing my chores for the day and hadn't had time to make myself look presentable.

Happy Birthday Son

2007-10-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

A Quiet Night

2007-10-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

While you were gone I maintained all the things I normally do
I even made it a point to take extra special care of those little things you hold dear
While you were gone there were times I felt lonely
There were actually times I enjoyed a little peace and quiet
Knowing that you'll be home soon is something to look forward to
Hopefully at some point you missed me too.

Routine

2007-10-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

Each day is such an adventure in the life of Thad. One day I could be working in the yard, the next working on a website. Then some days later I could be working my full time job then helping out around the house. Maintaining a routine is important to me. Sometimes routine needs to be broken. I really struggle with non routine days. I have a need to always be doing some to raise money for the family or helping a family member with something. Some people would just call this everyday life.

Do you ever have days when you wish you were an inventor, engineer, or innovative thinker? If you said no I would say you are lying. I sometimes wish I had the ability to move mountains with my brain waves. Dude, you have to admit that would be sweet. Anyway, a break from the routine is important. Things sometimes go wrong. We have to accept change in our everyday life. So what are you going to do today for change? I haven't exactly figured it out yet. I still have a few day light hours to go.

Just Thought You Should Know

2007-09-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Recent Article

2007-09-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

Just moments ago I read an interesting article on Starbucks. The article was published by Food Inc. and appeared on MSN's home page. I found the article amusing. Actually, after working for Starbucks for three years I found the article a little misleading.

Starbucks serves customers of all age. Our customer base consist of children, teenagers, young adults and so on. We offer a wide range of products for all ages. When it comes to children, we don't say "Hey kid get over here and drink this Frappuccino." We offer milk, hot chocolate, and apple juice for children that come in an 8-oz. cup. Usually, a parent is to blame for the poor decision made to purchase a caffeinated beverage vs. a non caffeinated beverage for their child in our store. Barista's (a term used to describe people in the coffee business) understand what products have caffeine and which product have no caffeine. We also have available nutritional facts about the drinks and pastries we carry. We always offer alternatives for those watching calories, have milk allergies, and who cannot consume caffeinated drinks for medical reasons. Go to any retailer that carries similar products as Starbucks and tell me is there any difference?

Clearly, parents are responsible for making sure their child make a healthy choice. Starbucks constantly reviews their products and how the products affect the market they are sold in. Simply put, if you want to make sure your child is eating healthy and drinking beverages that are healthy then teach them at home. Because if you are not teaching your teaching your children healthy habits at home, then shut up.

Reality of Mountain Biking

2007-08-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

I road my first real mountain bike trail this week and I wrecked. The accident happened it a matter of split seconds. I was riding the Owl's Roost trail in Greensboro last week when the wreck occured. I went out biking with my friend Gerald, his 2 sons, and my nephew John. I was traveling down the trail and came to a big drop off in the trail. Gerald son was behind me on the trail and was following a little to close to me. As I started down the slope I hit the brakes and Bam!!...I suddenly found myself heading toward the ground. Gerald's son was to close as we went down the slope and he didn't realize I was slowing down. So when I braked he ran right into me. I received a few scratches and bruises, but got right up and kept on riding. In all, it was a great day of riding. I can't wait to go out again soon. Hopefully next time I'll stay on my bike 100% of the time.

Oh Look at the Pretty Red Ant

2007-08-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was enjoying spending time with my family at a birthday party. Christian, Luke( my nephew), and I were outside when a beautiful ant came walking across the drive way. Amazed, I decided to get a closer look at this ant.

I guess in the wild beauty can be deceiving, Bravely, I picked up the ant. It decided to crawl up my arm and sting me in the back of the neck. Ouch, now that wasn't very nice of that female Red Velvet Ant. After coming home and doing my research it turns out that it really isn't an ant at all. It is more like a wasp. It also bears the nickname "cow killer" because of its powerful sting. I'll tell you that thing was no joke. It felt like someone hit me in the back of the neck with a baseball bat. Man, what was I thinking. Next time, I'll leave stuff I don't know about alone.

Hot

2007-08-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

In my younger years I would stay outside and play in the extreme heat all day long. In my older years I have fallen in love with the air conditioner and find little reason to venture out into the heat. The extreme heat has halted mowing grass in the mid-afternoons. I have to add ice to the dog's bowl or it reaches an almost semi-boiled temparature. Chrisitan stays inside. Beth definitely doesn't go outside. These are the dog days of summer. I need some ice cream.

Greenway

2007-07-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

Today I took my first bike ride on the Greenway Trail. I started at the Piedmont Enviormental Center and road close to 2 miles just before reaching Gibson Park. I probably only road about 4 miles, but it felt like 20. I am doing my best to get myself into shape before October. Tomorrow I am going to ride with some friends in the Greensboro area. Now, it is time for rest. Peace.

Video Blog With Me and my Son

2007-07-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

"Its Like Riding a Bicycle"

2007-07-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, let face it. I am not Lance Armstrong. I have never claimed to be a superstar cyclist who survived several types of cancer to win the Tour de France. I am 30 something, work all the time, and severely out of shape. Not to mention I haven't ridin a bike in 13 years or more. Whom ever came up with the phrase "Its Like Riding a Bicycle" probably didn't realize that bicycles today are a hell of a lot different now than they were when the phrase was made up.

Gone are the days of a simple cruiser or banana seat with the chopper handles. Most of the cruiser bikes now have gears. Mountain bikes have shocks, disc or hydraulic brakes, rear suspension, 24-27 speeds, and numerous other things. Road bikes have so many advances its hard to even know were to start. Bicycles like so many other industries and realing digging into science and technology today.

What is my point? I don't really have one. I did get out and ride my new GT Avalanche 2.0 this evening. It is a sweet ride. I love it. I have to build my endurance up. I have to be able to ride 50 miles at one time. "Why?," you ask.

In early October I will be taking a bike ride across North Carolina(mountains to sea). This an amazing opportunity to see North Carolina in a different way. It will be difficult, sometimes unbearable, painful, and joyous. So I have a lot to do in a few months.
The most important thing is how ride a bicycle again.

Just Keep Playing

2007-06-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

When you can't find time to practice your musical insturment you can easily slide into a musical slump. Take this advice from someone who really knows. Take the time to dedicate at least 30 minutes out of your day to practice something. Practice your favorite song, look up some tab and learn a new song, or even try to write a new song. Keep playing. Be a legend in your own mind and someone else's.

Resources for Beginner Guitarist

2007-06-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

If you are looking for a couple of guitar resources to aid you with playing then I have a few helpful suggestions. There are many free online resources to help you in your journey.
Here are a few to get your started.

Guitar Player Magazine
www.freeguitarvideos.com
Guitar Noise

I will post more in the future.

Jive Part II( A Conversation with Beth)

2007-06-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Bed told me dis mo'nin' she wuz 'haided t'rap t'a teacha' dis mo'nin' about placin' Christian in ha' class room de next farm year. Ah be baaad... We already gots' spoke t'de principal about placin' Christian into some class room dat would fit his needs. ah' guess ah' made ha' mad when ah' jimmey'd my moud and gave ha' my unbiased point uh view. She looked at me and said, Who side you is on? ah' said..., actually ah' fo'gots whut ah' said. What ah' should gots' said wuz Baby ah' am always on yo' side. What it is, Mama! So'ry baby. Slap mah fro!

Oh No

2007-05-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

1955 - A scheduled dance to be headlined by Fats Domino was canceled by police in Bridgeport, Connecticut because "rock and roll dances might be featured."

Still Soaking It All In

2007-03-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Beth and I are continuing to enjoy our new residence. The mornings are so quiet I have to get up and walk around the house to make some noise. We are cozy. We still have a lot of unpacking to do, but who is in a rush? Not me. My little guy is a having some difficulties at school. He has been distracted by the happenings around him in his class room. He has a system that his former resource teacher and Beth came up with to code his behavior. The system works like a stop light with the addition of a orange color. Green is good, yellow is his first warning, orange means he is not listening, and red is the final straw. With this system we have been able to monitor his behavior on a day to day basis. Lately, he has been on red at least 3 times a week. We are racking our brains on what to do.

With the spring approaching the fever for warm weather has bitten me in the butt. This time of the year I more or less talk about all the outdoor activities I would love to do. I am going camping in April and it looks like Christian and I may get to go on a father/son trip at the end of April. I like to go fishing in the spring. I don't get to go out on the boat as much with my father-in-law as would like too, so I mostly fish off the bank at Oak Hollow. Honestly, since I have fished there I have caught only tiny little fish off the bank. Anyway, that is all from The World According to Thad.

Taking it all In

2007-03-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

After being in the same house for over 8 years, I finally realized that a change has done me good.
When I wake up in the morning I feel like rolling right out of bed and finding some task that needs to be taken care of. The old house goes up for auction on the 14th. It was listed in the paper yesterday. I finally have gotten over all the shock of getting the foreclosure papers before the landlord did. Of course, he already knew what was going long before the physical papers were served. The old East Dayton house is a long gone memory of the past. Each day when I walk into the living room I soak up the sunshine as it shines through the window. Our house (Beth, Christian, and myself) is a great place.

Update

2007-02-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

I spoke to my father the other day. We had a heart to heart. He finally fest up to having extreme financial difficulty. Even after our conversation, the only thing I am led to believe is he used the money I sent him for rent to pay other bills. It really doesn't make sense to me to stop paying your mortgage to pay credit card bills. The hardest thing I have ever told him was I wasn't going to send him rent if he was going to spend on something else. His response to me was, "well you can just get out then." Hello Pop, we already have established that idea. Besides I have already done my legal homework and know that he cannot with an eviction notice tell me to leave. So sorry man, I am staying as long as the law will allow.

I did as a good deed send him information via email on how to save himself from foreclosure. Thank God for Google and its powerful search engines that can find information. I love the information super highway.

We are still looking for houses. We are not desperate. We are trying to stay focused. We have already started collecting boxes and disguising alternative plans if worst comes to worst. I am trying to find a near by storage unit to put items in so we can keep the ball rolling. Please keep us in your praya's. Beth you rock. I just wanted to tell you that.

John Lennon and Working out

2007-01-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

One thing that has been on my mind lately is fitness. I can't help but to look at myself and think I need to tone up a bit. I use to be really fit. I played soccer all the time. That was about 13 or more years ago. With my exercise consisting of the one arm beer curl, or the one finger push up on the TV remote, I figured lets get busy. So this morning I actually got on the internet to aid my new passion to get fit. I found a couple of helpful resources. One I found was on doing an ab workout. People think I am so skinny, but they haven't seen the flab around my ab area. So I did this ab workout and was like, "that didn't hurt". Holy crap, now my abs are burning. So rock on ab workouts, more to come.

I bought my first ever John Lennon cd last week. It is an album put out by Starbucks called Remember. It is part of their Opus Collection spotlighting major contributors to modern music. Beth thinks I am crazy because I really don't care for John Lennon. I honestly never cared for his attitude toward Christians and his view of being larger than Jesus Christ. As I listened to the cd over and over again at work the music really started to grow on me. Now, I don't think I am going to run out and buy a bunch of Beatles or other John Lennon cds. So don't ask me if I like the Beatles or John Lennon, because I will probably give you a distorted answer.

2 0 0 7

2007-01-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is a brand new look for 2007. Hello everyone. This is so exciting. Every time I change my template I get excited. I know what you are thinking, this guy is so boring. I just wanted to say I love the new Blogger. I have been waiting for them to get through the beta testing and it is now easier than ever to make a cool layout.

I guess you have noticed a lot of RSS tags on the right of my page. That is because I want everyone to listen and subscribe to the Local. Especially all my peep's. So do not delay and subscribe already.

It is easier now than it has ever been for musicians to bypass the big record companies and get their music heard on the internet. It has opened so many doors for myself and others, I often wonder how we did without the internet for so many years. I l0ve technology. Anyhow, a belated Happy New Year to all of you. Peace

Winter Camping

2006-11-29T06:16:00.000-08:00

The reward of camping is simply having the opportunity to go outdoors and view Creation. Many people think of winter camping as uncomfortable and a little crazy. Not me. I think about no bugs, no snakes, and hopefully no man eating wildlife. There is nothing more rewarding than after a long days hike, coming back to cook steaks of the fire. For five years my friends and I have made the trip to the Southwest part of the state to camp in the Pisgah National Forest. I leave in a few days for trip number 4 to Panthertown Valley and I am so excited. I hope to bring back stories of adventure and laughter.

Recording!

2006-09-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you want to listen to my very first audio podcast go to my website and click on The Local. Tell what you think.

Ramble Like a lunatic

2006-09-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

As the gas prices continue to go down, I can't begin to imagine the pats on the back the oil industry is giving itself. I remember back after Hurricane Katrina last year how everyone said how the price of gasoline would rise to higher price. I paid no mind to the hype until it slowly began to get out of control. And of course the war in Iraq and everything else was supposedly to blame. The people in Saudi Arabia blame the U.S. government for its import tax being so high, and the government blames the oil companies. No matter who or what is to blame, no one can still give a good reason other than it is someone else's fault.

I really get disgusted with all of it. Here is my thought on the whole deal. Up until now, gasoline engines have been what we have used in our vehicles to get from point A to point B. As a consumer, will use whatever is marketed to us. Gasoline providers are not going to role over and let energy saving cars take over the future. There is far to deep a pockets in the oil industry. No matter how we look at it, our environment is in already facing uncontrollable changes because of quest to use this natural resource of the earth to fuel our lives. Maybe riding a bike or purchasing an electric scooter is not a bad idea to get around town. Or is public transportation an even better an idea to help slow the environmental crisis that we face today. No matter how we look at it, people need to face the facts. What will we do to make sure this earth is here for our children and their children. Will we continue to recycle, will we drive hybrids, will we tell the congress to piss off because they need a month long vacation when our country needs them? Man I could go on for hours.

Good Times

2006-08-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Today was spent unpacking at the new store in K'ville. The store is really cool. I have opened three restaurants over the years and this is my first store opening with Starbucks. I met some of the new staff and we had several partners from other locations helping set up. My new role will prove to be challenging. A few people tried to test the waters today and were surprised when I had to say "No that won't work" to a couple of different things. I know I will have those types of situations to deal with as time goes on and I am ready to take the challenge. Tonight its off to help Jason with his church's' praise and worship group. So long for now.

Me Against The Machines

2006-08-11T09:19:00.001-07:00

One week ago I chose to surf the world of limewire searching for some computer programs while using my wife''s computer. Listen I will tell you the truth I believe in PTP, however what happened next was not so funny. I decided to download a copy of Norton 2006 Anti-virus Software thinking "Yeah a new anti-virus program". What a big mistake. I ultimately downloaded one of the most obnoxious spamming software you can download. The Rundll worm. And I will tell you, it absolutely sucked. So dear friends, if you use limewire, be careful. You are asking for corrupted files and virus' when you use their site. Thanks to my friend Larry for cleaning up Beth's computer. You rock bro.

Also this week I got into a fight with my computer. I was recording some tracks for the Peace project and decided to clean up the files from unwanted songs. Well, (long pause) lets just say I deleted about 90% of my work because I wasn't on the same file wavelength as my computer was. The computer even asked me "Are you sure you want to delete the file Peace.cpr" at a whooping 51.5MB, I thought to myself hell yeah that is space baby. Duh, In a minute the whole project was gone. And I am very sad. So I did have finished copies of two songs, edited and ready to burn. So all is not lost. I just cannot go back an edit any more of the tracks. So I decided to not stop, however go into a different direction. The EP was to get me going and I handed out a few copies to my family. I have about 5 more songs I have lyrics written for and the ideas for the music are still in my brain for those songs. So I am going to start working on those songs in an effort not to go cold with recording.

Beth and Christian have been out of town this week. Beth doesn't know it yet, but I have bagged up all her old tupperware and bought one of those newer space saver tupperware holders that goes into the cabinets. I hate tupperware. However I did compromise by finding something to replace what I was throwing away. Don't worry sweetie I haven't officially thrown out the old stuff yet. Its waiting in a garbage bag for your approval to throw out. I also rearranged some of the cabinets to make the kitchen a little more friendly. I think she will be impressed with my organizing abilities. The honey do list was self written this week. I took the time to really do some things that have been bugging the tar out of me. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets home.

This is Not a Drill, I Repeat

2006-07-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last night my sleep was interrupted by the sounds of fire trucks racing down my street. What caught my attention was the fact I could see flashing lights outside my window and hear the sounds of the two way radio. Could I be dreaming? My heart started racing as I noticed I could see the back of one fire truck and the front of another between the window and the corner of the mini blinds. I got up as fast as I could and went for my keys to unlock the front door not knowing what was going on. All I could think about is what kind of escape root I needed to get my family out alive. I rip the door wide open and there were atleast seven trucks lined down the street and I had no idea what was going on. Here sat a fire engine in front of my house, lights flashing, poring down rain, fierce lightening, I started screaming at the fire truck. "HEY, HEY, IS IT HERE, HEY HEY IS MY HOUSE ON FIRE". With no reply I screamed for Beth not knowing if I needed to rescue them or what the hell was going on. As the fire fighters unmounted their trucks I noticed my neighbor screaming for help. I watched in awe as six men armed with flashlights and full gear went and inspected her house. A bit of relief came over me as I finally understood what was happening. The only thing I could even think happened was her house was struck by lightening. I am not sure at this point what really happened. I had a hard time getting back to sleep as the fierce lightening continued for another two hours. I may have gotten a couple of hours of sleep before I had to get up at 4:30am to go to work. I am thankful my neighbors are okay and that their house is fine. It was a experience I will never forget.

Hey Everyone Life is What We See in Our Heads

2006-07-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Lately life has been a little stressful. I have been waiting since May to hear anything on my promotion and now I feel it may be September before I know anything. So I am waiting and waiting. I had a very restless night of sleep last night. Our cat Elle is in heat and so she spent the whole night chasing Nina like she could comfort her needs. Then about 4am someone was jamming out to there rap music at full volume. So I tossed and turned and slept as much as I could.

I am feeling inspired by the nature shows this morning. We live in such a beautiful place far away from the cries of war. I have stayed glued to the headlines waiting for the Israelies to go into Lebanon. Honestly it is amazing to live and read the headlines as tomorrows history is written.

So as I try not to stress over lack of money I have decided to leave all of you with a glimspe of what keeps me going when I get down. I look forward to the day when I can hike in a park that looks like my dreams.

Update

2006-07-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today I called my sister in PA to check on her situation. Her and her family had been evacuated earlier this week due to flooding in her neighborhood. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army had set up right up the street from their house serving food and handing out refreshments. Today they were cleaning up the house. They were fortunate that the basement was the only part of the house that was flooded. It was anticicpated that the water level could get as high as the first floor. The city brought out large trash bins for the whole neighborhood to fill up and was hauling them off as fast as they were filling the trash bins up. Kudo's to the township for acting so quickly to get things going. Your continued prayers would be wonderful.

Flooding in PA

2006-06-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

This past week my sister's home was flooded in Pottstown, PA. Her and her family were voluntarily evaucated from their homes on Wednesday morning as the Schuylkill River rose over its banks and spilled into their neighborhood. They were able to find a hotel to stay in temporarily until the flood waters go down. It has been a heartbreaking experience for the whole family. My mother is on vacation visiting my sister, I don't think it will be a visit she forgets. This morning I was viewing photo's of the region where she lives and I was amazed how much of an area was affected by the massive rainfall. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware all had major flooding. I would be great if you would keep them in your meditative thoughts. I have found pictures of the flooding in the city where my sister lives and wanted to share them will you.

2006-06-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

HTML+JSP+XML+PSP=One Big Headache

2006-06-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Today has been very uneventful. I started my day early with hopes of finishing my website and was not able to accomplish that goal. I have certain elements that are not done yet and it is frustrating when you don't understand all the lingo. I am working with a development book with pretty pictures and illustrations. The only thing missing is the core of what to do. Computer language is fun to learn and hard to master. You heard it here first.

She

2006-06-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

Like clock work, each day she gets up to do the same thing each day. She wakes up, takes a shower, readys herself before she wakes her son. She hurries him up to get ready for school then gets his lunch ready as he sits down to eat his breakfast. Her day is not done yet as she gets him to school and gets him started on his first project of the day. After that is back home to study her own school work while doing odd chores around the house. It is never an easy with always something planned, always something to do. She is a wondeful person. I have been watching her for a while now. I have beeen studying the detail of her day, what makes her laugh, what makes her smile, what not to say to her after a long day. She doesn't get a pay check for all her hard work, only the hope that all her hard work will pay off in the end. She is not quick to rely on others as they have only let her down on mutiple occasions. She still dreams of a big house with a basement, and room enough to strecth out for a while. I hope that she understands that her day is coming soon. The day all her dreams come true. She is my best friend. She is my wife.

Audio Blog 2

2006-05-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is my second audio blog post. If I sound a little corny, I apologize. I am trying to get used to doing an audio podcast so that down the road I can bring you all a cool look at local musicians in High Point.

Testing

2006-05-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

The Day After

2006-04-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

It is the day after. It is the day after my 32nd birthday. As far as becoming older, I'm only getting better looking with age. And I look forward to the years to come. I had a light day. I did not have to work at Starbuck's. I went and bought some drapes for the living room after trying for the first time to install a mini blind. The mini blind lost out due to its failure to be installed correctly. Beth took me out to eat at the China King. I felt like a king being chauffeured around town by my wife. She worked extra hard on her school work to make sure she could spend some time with me. That was really nice of her. I have been a little under the weather lately with allergies due to the pollen. So my health was not 100% but my spirit was. Thank you to Christian and Beth for a wonderful time.

86 and Counting

2006-03-27T04:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I visited my grandfather who is going to be 86 in two days. I cannot imagine what it is like being on earth that long. He is a very quiet man. He sticks to a routine. He has drank regular coffee and ate eggs and bacon his whole life and he is healthier than most people my age. He does have a weak heart. About twenty years ago he had a quadruple bypass surgery after suffering a heartattack. His health was strong until last November when he suffered another heartattack. It has slowed him down a bit, but not to much. He mowed his own yard up till last summer. This year will be the first time I can ever remember him having someone mow the yard for him. In 1942 he sailed around the Pacific after joining the Navy. Luckily his ship never went to any of the great sea battles that took place in WWII. He had orders to go once, however after going through the Panama Canal the ship turned back. He has lived the last 4 years without my grandmother who past away in May 2002. He does have a great fan club who comes and visits him on a regular basis. So Happy Birthday 86th to Mr T.R. Hedrick, my grandfather, and friend.

Quickie

2006-03-17T04:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Saint Patty's Day. If your not green your obscene. Beth and I did our taxes. Hooray. We don't have to owe. Thank God for the EIC. It saved our butts. This year me working for my self helped out a great deal with itemizing. I was able to recoup some of my expenses for the year. God is so good. Whenever I feel stressed I just pray it out and He takes care of the rest. Prayer is a good therapy. It keeps me going.

God is so Good

2006-03-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

Six years ago if you told me I would be giving guitar lessons I would have laughed at you. The reason I would have laughed was because I just never gave it a second thought. However with the interesting change of events that have taken place over the last year I was forced to try some different things. So lets think about this for a moment. One, I know how to play the guitar very well. Two, I have the extra time to kill. Three, I definitely could use the money. Bada boom, bada bang, and presto Brass Door Productions is in business. Hot damn. I am very excited this morning because I just received a phone call last night for a possible third student. Heck yeah. I got a referral from one of Beth's friends whose son I am teaching.

To understand the occasional agony I put myself threw, I'll tell you about my sleepless night last night. I woke around 4am with my mind racing with thoughts of indecision about my job situation and bills, life, family, and all that kind of stuff. I spent about two hours talking myself through(not literally talking to myself) convincing myself I would be okay and that I have a great deal of purpose in my life. I have been up and down in my emotions pounding my head against the payment looking for a clear direction I should be headed in. I think about how in the hell will I pay for Christians college, what age I want to retire by, how can Beth and I ever afford to buy a house, and were will be in 5 years from now. That is a lot to think about in a two to three hour period. I started feeling better and got up around 9pm. I looked out the window and new things would be okay. I am desperately praying for patience and peace. I think you could say I have anxiety of what tomorrow will bring. I have had an overwhelming support for everyone. Its hard to admit your barely making it to your friends and family. Its even heavier when you blame yourself for the happenings of your life. I sure as hell can't blame anyone else. I mean I could, but that doesn't solve the problem. I thought of a sermon I watched Joyce Meyers preach on TV a while back. She plainly said if your in a financial crunch, a bad situation, or whatever, dig your way out of it. She simply said, "Do something about it". So that is exactly what I am doing.

The name and idea of Brass Door Productions came from a name my father in law came up with in a blog he wrote about if he had won the lottery. I took the name from an idea of a restaurant he had fictiously made up that I would own if he had won the lottery and was able to get me going. The restaurant was The Brass Door. So thanks Red. The name is awesome. Even though its not a restaurant I hope the Brass Door will be a place were kids and adults can come to learn how to play the guitar and all kinds of stuff dealing with being a musician or in a band. That is my heart. And honestly I have not shared that with anyone. So that was a paragraph full of heavy thoughts.

The World According to Thad

Ramblings

2006-02-28T06:02:00.000-08:00

I started working at Capel two weeks ago working part time. I honestly would have never guessed I would end up working in a show room in downtown High Point. It gives me a break from the hectic days at Starbucks and a different atmosphere. The job at Starbucks is great. Each day I am there I learn more and more in my pursuit of being a AM. Lately I have been on emotional highs and lows. The car problems really took a toll on Beth and I. It really made me think of things I need to do to make sure I don't have to borrow money all the time to support my own family. So I have had several sleepless nights of praying for God's direction in my work(career). I know I have said so many times how I want to work and be my own boss. It seems the more I think of that the better the idea sounds. With 2 full years of college under my belt going back for a specific trade or degree is very likely. On the other hand it would be difficult for me to work two jobs, play in a band, and be a husband and dad all at the same time while taking classes at a university. So each morning when I get up I try to focus on what do I need to accomplish today for a better tomorrow and better future. Thanks to all of you for your help the last six months of my life. You know who you are.

I started giving another guitar lesson two weeks ago. The child I am teaching just happens to be the son of one of Beth's high school friends. So she has been able to reunite with someone she used to hang out with all the time. Cool huh. My other student is doing really good. I have taught her a great deal of guitar in the last couple of months. So if you know someone interested in learning let me know. Any how thats all for now, and that is The World According to Thad.

Backyard Mechanic

2006-02-13T04:41:00.000-08:00

I really do not like cars at this time. I especially do not like Beth's car right now. I think that car makers have a good laugh when the realize that the backyard mechanic can get to one half of the engine and not the back. However I am not laughing. All I did this weekend was work on cars, and work at Starbucks. My hands have nicks and scratches all over them this morning. So usually when Beth is complaining about her car, it means that I am out busting my knuckles againt the different parts of the engine. I can't wait until she has a car that she really likes. Hopefully then she wouldn't complain about it anymore. Or will she?

The official site o Thad

2006-01-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I just wanted to tell you that my website is up and running. I added some songs I have been working on. I hope you like them. Beth says my website is dark. I promise that was no on purpose. I had a really fun time designing the site and making the music for my upcoming cd. I still have atleast two more songs I want to record before the cd comes out. So listen, enjoy and go visit www.thadhelderman.com

For better or worse

2006-01-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

Well the first blog on The World According to Thad in weeks and I feel in the dumps. I watched the Carolina Panther's get the snot beat out of them and really felt horrible for the guys. I salute all of them for their incredible season. For two years they have battled with injuries and sickness and dealt with the passing of Sam Mills. That is a lot to put up with in one year. Ricky if you do retire, thanks for the wonderful memories. To the running backs Stephen, Deshaun, Nick, hope you all recover soon. Well that is all for tonight. John Fox thanks for leading the team to another great season. Peace out.

Flickr

2006-01-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Christmas 2005

2005-12-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

With a crack of the wipe, and a turn of the cheek, Santa flew up the chimney. And Christmas day dawned. I think the actual arrival time of Santa was between the hours or 3am and 6am. I was awakened by a excited little seven year old boy at 7:30am in the morning. Jumping up and down exclaiming it was Christmas morning. Yeah, no coffee, no food I struggled to open my eyes and struggled harder to smile. Then my stocking was handed to me and it was like I was seven years old again myself. The joy I had longed for all season hit me like a ton of bricks and I watched in awe as my son opened gift after gift. His face was lit up like the lights on the Christmas tree. Even though Beth and I didn't exchange to many gifts we couldn't help thinking we are fortunate to have each other and a wonderful family.

Hey Ya'll

2005-12-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

Ah.....Christmas time again. Starbucks has been one big mad house of peppermint mocha's and gift card sales. The most I sold was to a woman who bought 9 $20 gift cards. Wow you do the math. Starbucks rocks. I got a promotion two weeks ago. I am now a shift supervisor. A small raise and a little extra responsibility. I have come home exhausted from being full speed from the time I walk into the door until the time I leave. Which is great because time moves forward very quickly.

I told everyone I was working on a website. And I have been. I have a temporary page with some unedited music. I say unedited because they are mostly what you call scratch tracks. Please check out the website at www.thadhelderman.com. I have been working a little bit at a time spreading my time between designing the rest of the site and working on my cd. I have still been battling hearing my voice with the music. My vocal patterns tend to change a great deal. So I will say the tracks you hear are not the final vocal tracks. Just ideas.

Christian is so excited about Christmas. It makes me look forward to Christmas morning and watching his face light up. It makes me think of the year I got my first Transformer. I got the Optomis Prime. I did not get one of those chency plastic ones. It was the real thing. It was diecasted and it was the shizzle. If anyone is thinking of any last minute gift ideas, all I want for Christmas is a new Xbox 360, Xbox 360, Xbox 360. And a little private time with my wife. HeHe. And that is The World According to Thad.

I am Back

2005-12-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

Well what could I possibly tell you that you haven't heard from a friend or loved one lately. Things are busy and about to get a bit more hectic. Congratulations to my wife Beth for her acceptance to HPU. She has worked extremely hard to get in for this semester starting on her birthday of all days. Christian is doing really well at school. I am working a good bit and received a small promotion to a shift supervisor at Starbucks. It will give me a couple more hours a week and a small raise. Still working in and out of Winston for Maxx. Jason and I have been enjoying working out of Greensboro the last couple of weeks. It has been a needed change of scenery for us both. I went camping the weekend of Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. We camped in the Pisgah National Forest around the Barnett Bridge Trail. Heard some coyote's and a few deer during the dark hours. It was a good bonding time for the band. This morning it is cold and rainy as most of you have already figured out. It would be cool to see some snowflakes, I guess they are saying we could see some later today. So I hope things are well in your world. Take care. Peace

I Should Be Taking Out the Trash

2005-11-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

I shoud be totting the garbage out right now, however it can wait a minute or two. I spent the last couple of evenings working on my first ever website. Yes I said website. The web address will be www.thadhelderman.com. Please wait a few days before you visit. I am working on a temporary homepage. It should be informative. I also have aquired another domain name for my family. My hope is to build a website for my entire family so they can view the contents and enjoy stories and pictures of one another. Yes the websites are being created by Brass Door Productions. Thats me if you didn't read any of my previous blogs. Still need to design some business cards. I made one design it look really funny. So thats whats shakin. Also I have recorded three songs for my first solo cd coming out sometime in 2oo6. Once I get comfortable with the vocals I will surprise all of you will some samples of the music. So "Dirka, dirka, shirpa, shirpa, ali muhammed" (from the movie Team America). And that is The World According to Thad.

Its Already November..Gaush!!

2005-11-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

After days of being on my own, the crew came home without to many bumps or bruises. It was very quiet for a week. My time was spread between work, playing, and trying to get some sleep. I did miss my family while they were gone. I am so happy to wake up once again and see the little smile my son sports around with when I get up. Not much more to tell. Thanksgiving is approaching so fast. That means its time for me to start gearing up for my winter camping trip. Will be going to the mountains once again. I look forward to that very much. Which means Christmas is right around the corner. Yiks. And that is The World According to Thad.

Attention All Family

2005-11-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Please go to the following link www.myspace.com/thebandtravel and you can view our video Father

We follow God not by logic but by faith

2005-10-14T05:33:00.000-07:00

I saw this posted on a devotional sight today. And I thought, "Wow that is very straight forward no nonsense doctrine." So I just thought i would share it with you.

A Passage from Psalm 39

2005-10-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

"And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool. I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

This was taken from a devotional at The Upper Room a site I found about a year ago searching for something totally different. I have spent much time at this site and find that it is a wonderful resource for me. There is a prayer request forum that I have used so many times. For me, being I don't have a home church, I feel it provides me we truthful teachings in a way I can understand. You can always go back and reread a devotional from the day before if you miss that devotional. You could even get it via email. So my point is this, no matter where you get it from(as long as you trust the source) find somewhere to get your Bible teaching. And that is The World According to Thad

A Short

2005-10-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to keep up with the everyday blogging craze and have found myself just not able to communicate much lately. Each day is filled with activities that keep me from sitting down at the computer. Beth and I had a chance to catched up last night. We actually sat down and ate dinner together. Most of the time was spent on talking about new ideas and goals. It was great. I hope all of you out there whoever actually read this are doing great. Take care

Credit Reports...the real debt reminder

2005-10-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

Reviewing your credit report is the wonderful grim reminder of how your past will eventually catch up to you. What I hate seeing are the reminders of what I have gone through the last 7 to 10 years of my life. 30 days late, collections, charge offs, and now who do you call when in need, God. So simple to make that call, right! The phone lines are always open. I would like to kick the guys butt from Castle Marketing who has lied as we payed off our debt to them in full and they said we did not. I would like to met him face to face to tell him what a dirt bag he was for ripping off two young newly weds with a new born with some bull shit photo crap. And everything else was legit. So its off to work somemore to correct all the mistakes of the past. And so many young kids are so eager to grow up fast. And that is The World According to Thad.

Its Already the 29th

2005-09-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems I cannot keep up with the everyday responsibilities of parenthood and being a husband. I guess this is what real anxiety feels like. Since April undergoing massive job changes and just keeping my head above water have started to take a toll mentally. Every morning I get up it is the same thing. Rush all day, work, work, work, get home, go back to work again, and fit in sleep, checking up on family, and trying to keep my sanity. I will say I am feeling more confident about my decision to work at the music studio. I have also been beefing up my skills here at home working with my home studio. I have spent numerous hours on learning the right way to record and a lot of time figuring out how to make things work. Many of you have seen my banner. Please take it seriously because Brass Door Production will be a reality in the future. For any negative feedback please keep your comments to yourself. Obviously the biggest hurdle is getting equipment and financing. I am in the process of writing a proposal to talk to the bank about a business loan. It may sound crazy however it is something I want and will do. So a covering a prayer would be welcomed. And any donation to the cause would be welcome to. And that is The World According to Thad.

Still on the Mind

2005-09-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to clarify a few things to everyone. When I write in my blog its like writing what comes off the top of my head. Sometimes its not so great, sometimes I still may not get it right. However that is why this blog is called The World According to Thad. All of you who know me understand that I am unique in personality. I mean I generally will take a different approach to everything. I look at all sides then make my "own" opinion. Sometimes I am very wrong, sometimes I don't know what I am talking about. One thing I am not wrong about is the fact our country was completely unprepared for a natural disaster.

The way the government handled the Louisiana disaster was horrible. Listen I understand that it is not easy to run the country, there is so much you have to take care of it is not even funny.

All of our elected officials should get a paddling for their poor organization skills. Who do most politicians represent, sometimes I wonder if they know. I hope all of us will keep our eyes open from now on. Aware of the dangers of what happens when we think we are prepared for whatever may come in the event of a natural disaster, fire, tornado, whatever you get the point.

I feel like I have been able to make some peace with the Louisiana tragedy. We have come together as a production team at Maxx Production and come up with a way we can help contribute and help those in need. All you have to do is click on the "Oh my Louisiana" link and you will see what we are doing to contribute. Trying to continue to spread the gift of giving and help to those in need. The site is not fully complete yet so check it often for updates. So peace out and take care. And that is The World According to Thad.

AMI

2005-09-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the joy of visiting AMI. For those of you wondering what that stands for it is American Media International. They are the big boys when it comes to duplicating or replicating(thats the big term I guess) in the the media business. Other than having our art work laughed at, it was a great trip. The sales lady gave us a tour of the facility. They actually make the cd on spot. Who knew! Right? And the actual audio or video(they replicate dvd also)is stamped into the cd, then a layer of some sort of apoxy is squeezed out of top of it then drys under a uv light. Brillant!! It is totally different from burning a cd at home. Then after the audio is stamped onto the cd then it goes to add the silk screen to the top of the cd. Think of a 6 color printing except for cds. I tried to find a picture of press however I didn't see anything like the one I saw there. Anyway, the process takes less than a couple of seconds to put together. It was a great time.

My Day

2005-09-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Someone bring my yard some water because it does thirst for water. I did get out and cut the grass and trim the hedges today. I first thought it would be a waste of time being there were only a few spots than grass was even growing in the front, I just couldn't stand the thought of looking at the straggler clumps of grass among the sunbaked grass. Found another banana spider in the bushes today. They are also called garden spiders. I had to remove him from the premise.

Then it was off to Starbucks to converse with a young couple that I met at Starbucks. We have had many short conversations about God, today's church, denominations over the last couple of weeks and finally had a chance to sit down and share our beliefs with one another for about 3 hours. What a wonderful time we had. All of you know I believe in Christ. I am open and honest about that part of my life. It was nice to share faith in a very small setting outside on the patio of Starbucks. We talked about the church of today and how the gospel according to different denominations has really destroyed people's passion of going to church or even turned them 180 degrees in the wrong direction. It was really cool. I was disappointed about the Panther's getting beat. Better luck next week guys. Anyhow take care I am out.

Upset

2005-09-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

I am completely ashamed the federal government and their evacuation process in New Orleans. I am equally upset at the thugs and punks who are making it almost impossible to get aid to people. The fact they are shooting at national guardsman and shooting at helicopters is stupid. What the hell! If I tried to rescue you and you shot at me then I would kick your butt. I am very fired up right now. Hey George W. What the hell are you doing? Absolutely nothing. You are pathetic! Show some remorse and get all those high paid idiots to do their job and restore order. This is the US baby. Ring out your oil soaked socks and get down to business.

And the oil companies have us by the back of the neck. Wake up everyone it is time to get down to business and make a change. I can make a difference. So can you. I am tired of sitting on the sidelines and just saying okay. It is time for action. For those of us who live in NC here is your congressional chairs phone numbers and address.

Richard Burr

217 Russel Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

(2002)224-3154

Elizabeth Dole

555Dirkon Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

(202)224-6342

Do something wonderful today, make a difference.

It Could Happen to You

2005-08-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

I was reminded today of a story of my early years that was a learning experience never forgotten. At the age of 20 I left home for independence and to find my path of life. I moved in with a guy I knew from Friday's an had to learn how to take care of myself. Other than doing laundry I generally didn't go home much. One thing my dad told me was to stay out of debt and to be smart with my money. That didn't last very long. I was independent and knew what I was doing. Uh..What an idiot. Not even a week or two after I had moved out I was headed to work and wrecked and totaled my '79 Toyota corolla. Urg. So I had no choice but to venture out wet behind the ears and purchase the maroon 1992 Chevy Cavalier. For those wondering the year this took place was 1994. Anyway, to my parents dislike I was able to purchase the car on my own with no cosigner because my parents pretty much told me there was no way in hell they would cosign for me. I was independent you know, I had all the answers. Months went on and I enjoyed my independence. Then the real world came crashing down on me when the worst thing could happen to a newly independent 20 year old, identity theft.

Much to my unknowing my roommate had secretly been going through my personal information while I was away from the apartment. This first red flag came when a cell phone bill came in my name and I didn't own a cell phone. I approached him about it and he said it was merely a mistake he made when entering names of references. What the hell? Okay, so me being young and ignorant I went along with it. The second red flag was when I received a phone call from a leasing agency asking me questions about my newly purchased kayak. Okay, hang on a minute. I knew I didn't own a kayak, however my roommate was driving around with one on his car. Holy fiddle sticks. I could not believe it. This guy who was supposed to be my roommate tried to screw me royally. I got back all my info, he went to jail, and I learned a huge lesson. Protect your stuff. Because if you don't, you could be next.

Anniversary and House Guest

2005-08-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

As most of you know Beth and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary this past Sunday. It was a wonderul day besides being a little grouchy from waking up to early. Beth was nice enough to put our anthemn up on her blog on a song that says it all. Dear sweetie thank you for all the misery we share with one another. I love you to pieces.

We have a new house guest outside on our frontporch. It is better known as the banana spider. I took a picture to share with all of you. Warning, it is not for the fant at heart. It scared the hell out of me when I first saw it. So now we just live it alone and try not to bother the spider. My only concern it the spider having babies and that is when I would have to break out the spray. Anyway, take care to all of you and enjoy the picture of this giant spider.

The One That Got Away

2005-08-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon I met Daryl for a afternoon and evening of fishing. We got together around 2pm and got things together and away we went. We were greeted by a very quick, strong thunderstorm. We found shelter on the Penny Road bridge. After that we set out to a point we had fished a couple of weeks before and I caught a small white bass.

Then we spent the next couple of hours searching for the right spot. We had no results. It wasn't until around 6:30pm Daryl caught a 1pd largemouth bass. About 7pm we tried a more shaded area and struck gold or I should say Daryl did. He realed in a 2.2pd largemouth bass with using a lure he had purchased earlier in the week. And let me tell you, that was the biggest bass I had ever seen in person. Then not even 30min. later he landed a whopper that he reeled in all the way to the boat and got of the hook. Now folks I am not lying when I tell you the head on this thing was freakin huge. It had to have been atleast over 5pds. That is a big fish folks. We had a great time with a few "hang ups". It was a great of fishing.

Guys Night Out

2005-08-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

An extrodinary evening it was the past Friday evening. Christian and I set up Camp Helderman in the back yard. The weather was dry and hot. And the mood just right for our first ever camping adventure. We built a pretty good fire. No one called and complained so I think we kept the fire as low key as you can on a city block surrounded by houses. We cooked hot dogs and smores and retired the evening with a couple of books and two rounds of Uno. Christian fell asleep very quickly around 10pm. I tossed and turned for a couple of hours trying to weed out all the noises of loud radios and a great deal of noise from the Main Street cruisers. About 2:30pm Christian woke up and started looking around. I could tell he was not comfortable due to the lack of breeze and the heat. So we decided to come in and spend the rest of the night in the house. It was a great time. I know Beth put up a few pictures I put some up myself. We had a great time and hope to do it again soon.

Tuesday 8-16-05

2005-08-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

I thought I was doing so great as a plumber but found I must have not done something right. I successfully installed a new faucet on Saturday and found out Sunday that it was leaking like a mofo. I called my brother in law Tim several times attempting to fix the problem but found it may take a little more elbow grease to get it done. At work in WS right now taking my lunch break. So thats all for now.

Night Time

2005-08-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Things are well. Another night at Starbucks has come and gone. Not much happening here. Just working and trying not to make Beth pull her hair out. I caught my first fish using crank bait last Sunday with Red. I caught a white bass. I wast pretty excited. Cant wait to go again. We are enjoying the new funiture we received from Bran. He rocks. I am taking Christian camping next week and I am excited. It will be his first time so I hope he does okay. Anyway, thats whats going on here take care.

Short

2005-08-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Such a dramatic week I dont know where to end or begin. Lots of crazy things happening. I thought those of you who may be interested in the next generation of blogging may want to check out new way of blogging by Steve. Its really cool. I really do not have much else to ponder or write about this evening so good night to all and take care.

The Eagle has Landed

2005-07-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

I have been quiet lately. I haven't had much to say about my world. Beth would say I have said to much at times and then at times I don't speak when I need to. I have some great news. I have been working very hard. Between Starbucks and Maxx Productions I have stayed busy. Still catching up on past due bills but its coming along. I am really in to working on the computer these days. I am learning how to do html, photoshop editing, fireworks, and soon I hope to learn how to use dreamweaver to design websites. It is different from working with my hands all the time. I actually have to use my brains, ugh. So it is cool that after watching Beth all doing her stuff that the two of us may make a dynamic duo some day down the road. I have lost a lot of sleep trying to understand what in this world I am supposed to do for a living. I finally have seen how computers are essential to our world. To get to there other stuff, I will soon have the capability to have my own infinite track music studio here at home. Along with DVD creation and CD duplication. God has blessed me with a dear friend who has helped guide me(cause sometimes I feel like a blind mouse and a stubborn mule)Jason. At times we want to slit each others throats but lately he has shown me I can work on my own and has practically enabled me to be self employed. The tax thing does scare me a little , I did make a good decision last year to start have a tax preparer do my taxes. So that will be a must. So soon I will be for hire my peep's. I will be able to create DVD's , record music, and make websites. Hot Damn. And that is The World According to Thad.

Father's Day

2005-06-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

I want to dedicate this post to all the cool kids who were at the Hook on Saturday night to here the band play. Thank you for your hospitality and we enjoyed it.

Happy Father's Day to all who are dads. I enjoyed a lounging day with my wife, son, and my in laws.

It was a solemn day having sad thoughts of little white kitty. When I was younger I always had emotional attachments to the little critters that ran around the house. Now that I am older it gets worse. I have become very fond of cats, dogs, fish, birds, you name it. I guess it is because you realize the miracle of life and understand it a bit more. It is hard to tell your son when even a little fishy dies and goes to the porcelain heaven. So to Beth and Linda who have grieved over little white kitty I am truly sorry for the sad thoughts and feelings you are experiencing. Again Happy Father's Day to all the dads out their. Peace

Another Day

2005-06-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Greetings to my father in law Daryl and his brother Terry. I hope both of you have a great day. Well things are holding up here. The job search continues. I interviewed 2 times last week and heard back from only one. I heard from one place this morning that told me they had found someone else with more experience to work for them. I have an interview this afternoon at 1:30pm. It is a inside sales position the has a base salary plus commission. I am still waiting for the phone to ring off the hook with people eager to hire me. Its a good thing I am not holding my breath or otherwise I would be dead. So that is what is going on hear. I know my blogging lately is more like me complaining and I do apologize. This is an outlet for me to keep my sanity.

Update

2005-06-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Well yesterdays interview went very well. I spent a hour atleast talking and being shown around the company where I would work and that sort of thing. I think they want me to work there. They were shocked that I would consider the huge pay cut and the horrible heat of the warehouse I would work in. I think of it as a means to an end. I have been playing phone tag this morning with the lady I interviewed with. I was going to try and catch up with her again today about interview #2 and then I received a phone call from another place looking to interview me. Hell yeah. I would like to work for this company. There business profile is a restaurants equipment sales company. How ironic. I want to send a shout out to my in laws for their contribution to groceries and Beth's last Discovercard payment. Beth we finally got that debt off our back. Hallelujah. You know just so all of you know we have been received an out pouring of love from all of our family. My dad has been really understanding and not kicked us out even though we are two months behind on rent. My mom has helped with getting my cdl renewed and just keeping us afloat. Thanks to all of you for your help. It has been wonderful.

I am listening to Mindy Smith right now as I am typing this and I feel I could just start crying. She is mellow and so is my mood right now. It's funny the song playing right now one of the lines is "I am raggedy ann falling apart at the seems". Holy crap the hits you right in the heart sometimes. Just keep swimming. My new motto. I can't thank everyone enough for the out pouring of love you have shown.

Strike 3

2005-06-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Well it is difficult when getting up and striking out on your first three phone calls about jobs on a Monday morning. Good news is that three of my other resumes did get into the hands of people who are still looking into them. It would be nice to be like 1 out 500 applicants to get a job. If I had to take an educated guess that number is probably not a joke. I had to enter the worst job market I could have. Would someone slap me please. Ouch that hurt Nina. I will not give up hope for hope is what keeps us going. I called A & R staffing this morning and sent them my resume to get some more help. Between Monster, CareerBuilder, and a staffing agency certainly and end to these job hunt will be soon. Did I mention Starbuck's has help out a bunch. I am finally getting the hang of things. So I will just keep swimming.

Happy Birthday's to You and You

2005-06-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

HAppy Birthday to my dear sister Jenni. I do miss her so much today on the day she was born on June 4 1973. Also Happy Birthday to my mother in law Linda. We keep her year of birth a secret( cause I don't want her to beat me up). Jenni I miss you very much and hope your doing okay. Just pretend that I baked you this cake and you can make a wish and blow out the candles. Love to both of you. Good day.

Finally

2005-05-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well its Sunday morning and I am leaving for the big Roanoke show this morning. I do have a good sense of accomplishment as we completed our first CD titled "You are Here" that we are debuting in Roanoke. We are also unveiling 2 new t-shirts that we will be available to all very soon. We updated the website a little bit. We have a directory page with audio that starts with the new logo we are using. So check it out and look for more new things to come in the future. Take care.

Just keep Swimming

2005-05-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

This morning when I woke up I felt like I was watching Groundhogs day. Each day I get up I rush to the computer to check for emails about job postings and to see if anyone has viewed my resume. I do know it has been looked at by several people. I feel like my hope is dwindling. I am so bored at times I could peel the paint of the walls. I did do some yard work this morning that didn't take up to much time. No work the last couple of days out of Winston. It really sucks right now. I do look forward to going to Starbuck's tonight just to get out of the house. I was invited to go play golf for a couple of hours and may take the person up on the offer. I know that staying at home is not for me. I hate it. I love Beth to death, I just do know how she stays here day after day. I am determined to get through this crap. If anyone hears of anything let me know.

The Blues

2005-05-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am a little aggravated today. I feel awful. I lost my voice at my grandfather's yesterday and discovered I had a small case of poison ivy. The first time I had it was last October. I never had it in 30 years until last October. No calls today for interviews. I am starting to get impatient. I don't get it. I have a great background, I guess that's not how it works anymore. The job with Shwann's would not be good. To far to drive and not enough money to make it worth while. We haven't paid rent for June yet and with never knowing if CH is going to call it makes things difficult. So that's what's going here. Take care.

It takes Two

2005-05-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

I don't usually blog out of anger or sorrow, usually just to be informative and objective. Today is a little different. I am at the end of the rope I believe. This morning as most of you know Christian had to go back to the ER due to falling off the bed and reopening a wound that was still healing from stitches two weeks ago. The look in his eyes when he fell told me all I needed to know. He knew as well as I did that he had hurt himself in the same place as before. As he began to cry my heart sank as I picked up to inspect what had just happened and sure enough the same wound was reopened. Beth came running in in horror and knew as well as I did we were headed back to the ER. For a moment at the sight of blood I got sick and had to go the bathroom for a few minutes. After I composed myself, brushed my teeth, we were on the way.

We got into a room very quick. Nana arrived to comfort all of us. We chatted for a bit and then the PA arrived. He seemed a little anxious and I became a little concerned especially when he mentioned breaking out the papoose. All was going well until he seemed a little shaky starting the stitches so at that point I had to leave the room. I know how my brain gets and I was afraid that my emotions could possibly get in the way of what the PA was trying to do. So I walked down to a waiting area and as I walked away I could hear my son screaming at the top of his lungs. Minutes later I saw the PA back at the nurses station so I walked back to the room where Beth looked pale and Christian was still crying. Beth stepped out quickly to get some water due to her having an overwhelming feeling come over her body. She told me later the nurse had her sit down due to her looking a little nauseated. I was really mad at that point because we both felt the doctor had not numbed the wound properly and caused Christian a great deal of pain he didn't need to go through.

I have been fighting off tears all morning not believing that this could happen twice in two weeks. Anyway our baby is recovering and trying to keep him settled down is another issue.
He is up playing now. I find myself keeping close watch of him making sure he won't do something else to go to the ER. So please pray for him. And anyone wanting to contribute to the Christian Daryl hospital payback fund let me know. We could use the help. Anyway take care.

Job

2005-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know I had a job interview today. It went well I am not sure if it is right for me or vise-versa. Take care

In a blink of an Eye..

2005-05-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

I have struggled lately to keep up with my blogging. I have been going none stop for about two weeks. I hope to be used to the busy schedule in the next couple of weeks. I am planning on going fishing in the morning and looking forward to that a great deal. So that is what is going on and I hope all is well with everyone. Later

May 6th

2005-05-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

The band jammed in K'ville on Friday. We had a lot of difficulty this time. Jason was sick and could barely sing. John was dealing with stomach issues. Everyone was tired and a little grouchy at times. The monitor mix(stage mix) was absolutely horrible. I took some pictures with Beth's camera. So enjoy them and take care.

A Day To Remember

2005-04-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

An early day it was on April the 27th 2005. I awoke about 7am and the Happy Birthday's were given by my lovely wife and son. Only a few minutes later I was greeted on the telephone with the traditional birthday song sung by one Andrew Dagger. What a treat that was. I had agreed to go work with Jason on the day preceding the 27th so I met up with him about 10am and headed to Winston.

After getting to Winston Salem he and CH had been waiting on a package for days that was needed to continue with the recording process they have been working on for weeks. However the shipment was never sent and time was of the essence. After a few phone calls and discussion Jason and I jumped into Jason's van and headed to Raleigh to pick up the program he needed to continue the recording project. And off we went. We stopped and had lunch in K'ville at Bojangles and got back onto the road about 12:45pm.

We had a great time and chatted about family, friends, and work. As we got into Durham we laughed and joked and everything was going great until a "clank, clank, clank, bang, and boom"
No smoke, no fire, just silence. We cruised to the side of the road and jumped out of the van.
Instantly upon opening the hood of the van Jason discovered that the serpintine belt had broke.

Damn. That is about all we could say. The good note about this was we were only about 50 yards away from the Southpoint Mall exit so we decided to take a walk. The funny part about this is Jason had a cell phone that reached only in town in the Greensboro area, and I didn't have one at all. Mistake NUMERO UNO. Well we figured we could just go and find some calling cards and everything would be okay. Nope it wasn't that easy. We actually had to go deep into the Southpoint Mall to find a cell phone dealer due to the lack of phone cards and panic. We found a Cingular dealer and begged for help. Well they were happy to help. At the mere cost of $250 for a prepaid phone with only $25.00 of air time at $.25 cents a minute. Wow. We were fortunate that we had plenty of money due to CH. So with a quick activation and WHO HAH we were back in action. Off we walk to the van and to get some help. By this time we had called wives and Emily was on her way to rescue us.

The time was 3:30 when arrived back at the van. About 4:30pm Emily arrived and rescued us from despair. Well we knew we had a mission to complete. So off to Guitar Center to complete the transaction of purchasing the WaveLab Platinum Bundle Pack for CH. So finally about 5pm we arrived. Mistake NUMERO DOS.

If you thought the story couldn't get any better you haven't read anything yet. We go up to the Pro Audio counter and they said no one called about a Platinum Bundle Pack. Infact they didn't even have one in stock. AH HELL'S BELLS. What is this world coming too. " We had called and we talked to some guy named Jason and he said he had one in stock and he was holding it." "Well sir there is no one by that name here and we do not have that product in stock". Okay now panic and stress set in. Thank God for the salesman who helped us. He found one in Texas and was able to FedEx it out the same afternoon for it to arrive this morning by 10:30am. Well its 11:20am now and FedEx hasn't got here yet. "Blah, blah, blah, not so nice Christian words, aggravation and stressed".

So I finally got home last night about 9:30pm. I had to cancel dinner at Carraba's with my wife and my mom and stepdad. So instead of eating some kick butt italian food I had to settle for Papa John's. Hallelujah, I did get to see my mom, I didn't have to cook, and I finally got a cellphone after saying how unimportant they are.

Today has been so different. Not only did the package not show up yet, the shipping clerk at the Guitar Center in Texas shipped me the wrong package and sent the Platinum Bundle to someone else. There goes $1600 right down the crapper. You know what I have got to do today, hang out with my son Christian. He is the best. We kept him home today due to restless night of sleep. So Beth, Christian, and myself had a picnic lunch, and then it was a game of kickball after lunch. So anything that happened yesterday is nothing but a memory in time. Today has been great. So thank you to all who made it special, and I look forward to seeing you all soon. Take care.

Conversations with Tony

2005-04-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I had to go to a training seminar for Starbucks at Goldengate Shopping Center. It was about a 6 hour training session. I had heard that Tony Wood, a family friend worked their however I didn't know I would actually get to see him.

Tony is a family friend whose house we met at on Friday nights for small group church meetings back in the mid 80's. I grew up with his kids and both my sisters are good friends with his daughters. About 3 years ago he was diagnosed with cancer. All those years he was struggling with the nasty disease I would keep up on his health report via my sister Angela. They both attend the same church. When I started talking to him I didn't want to remind him of the hell he went through for the last two to three years. However as the conversation went on he talked a little about how horrible it was going through radiation treatments. As we talked I was just amazed at how much he embraced what happened to him and had accepted he may get to meet his maker sooner than anticipated. He shared how his kids were just horrified about their father being gone. Last March 2004 he was told by his doctor's he was cancer free. He still goes back for checkups every three months. He said that would continue for the next couple of years.

On the way home the one thing that stuck out to me was the bracelet he had on. You know the yellow LiveStrong bracelet for the cancer foundation Lance Armstrong started. His organization helps fund research to find cures for cancer. I wear one myself that is a yellow bracelet. Not for looks, not because it is the in thing, because it means something more. Last year I lost my grand father to cancer. My wife lost her sister to cancer. My father in law bought the bracelets because he knew it was a great cause. Not only did he loss his daughter years ago, he also lost a good friend not to long after my grand father died. We all have a common bond. Either we lost someone close to us from cancer, or in Tony's case battled with it in his own body. So if you are concerned about cancer, be aware of the risk and get involved. And the next time you see someone with a yellow bracelet, find out what it means to them. Take care.

I Did It

2005-04-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't think until I walked out of the DMV this morning that I would ever renew my cdl license. I had until 4-26 next Tuesday to get it renewed. I did it at the last possible time 5 days before it expired. Hallelujah I passed the hazmat exam and am able to drive a commercial vehicle once more. I was very afraid I would fail. I studied for two days and missed only 3 questions on the exam. I almost didn't get the eye chart. I had one more chance to read it the right way. I seriously need to get a new prescription. My ability to see small letters has gotten pretty bad. I left you all with a beautiful picture of my new license CDL Class B w/ hazmat. And that is The World According to Thad.