Greg's E.O.L.

Glad I stuck it out

2011-07-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

So about two weeks ago I was thinking about withdrawing from my Stats Class since I had been sick for so much of the first of the quarter. I decided to stick it out though because if I withdrew then or this coming Tuesday (the last day to withdraw) it would show up exactly the same and I still wouldn’t have gotten any money back. After the last three quizzes though I now have my grade up to an 84% - and could be up to an A by the Midterm on Monday. I really didn’t think it would be that quick of a turn around. I’m still struggling catching up and it’s taking me longer to think about things since I don’t have the base that those first three weeks talked about – but it’s coming around. And I’m sure glad I stuck it out.

Small Rants

2011-06-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

End of quarter - I'm really excited for the quarter to be over. Like most times I'm ending something though I think about what I should have done. I wish that I would have done my Extra Credit sooner for my business law class. I just did it today (End of quarter is tomorrow). It was only required that we spend 1 hr at court - I spent 90 min and still feel like I didn't really see much. (Mainly because the court I was waiting on didn't start on time). What I did see though was pretty cool and I would have like to been able to stay to see the outcome of the case - but since I also had a test in that class I had to go.

Motorcycle class - I took a motorcycle class over the weekend and it was amazing. A great instructor - Paul from Puget Sound Safety taught the class. It was a maintenance class and it went over a ton of basics. The best part besides the humor was that if you brought your bike - which most of us did - he went over where the parts were located on our individual bike. That was very helpful. I came home and was able to tighten the suspension on my bike and probably on Wednesday I'm going to do an oil change on it. can't wait.

Garage Selling - Poor Sonya had a garage sell this weekend and didn't make very much money. I thought it was good for the boys though who each had some of there stuff out there to sell to see that we can't just keep everything and that instead of throwing it away we can sell it to others. I have to stop by the dollar store though because we did have to bribe them with new shinny police badges.

Overtime - it's a love/hate here. I love the money and love that I feel I'm helping out. But when your trying to go to school (and live 45 min away - by choice) its a time crunch even to do 3 hrs which has been required almost weekly for the last few weeks. But like I said - come pay day I love it. At least I have a job - and a good one at that.

Mariners - I am loving this. The past 3 weeks or so has been absolutely amazing and I really hope that they can keep it up.

Well that's it - I didn't feel that I had anything long enough for a detailed post - so these are just some rants.

Isaac's First Fishing Trip

2011-05-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I took Isaac fishing for the first time yesterday. A little background - he turned four in March and got a Spiderman fishing pole for his birthday from me - mainly because if I didn't hurry up and get it for him his Papa(Sonya's Dad) would have. Isaac has been practicing with his pole in the back yard for almost three months and was ready to go. He's been looking forward to this trip for quite some time, and so have I.

So this weekend we were in Walla Walla, WA and they have a park that has a Juvenile Pond Jefferson Pond for 15 and under to fish at. It's only a mile away from the grandparents house so that was our first stop. We arrived and were the only ones there. We got all our gear on - I put my vest on so that when he caught something I could easily get to it and help him. Isaac had on his Fishing Hat, his Cowboy boots and his Spiderman life vest that we bought to go with his fishing pole. We bought the life vest because if theres one thing my boys are good at it's lack of balance - walking becomes an issue if they get distracted... I didn't need him falling in the pond/river and not being able to get to him in time. Anyway, we got the plastic fish off his line that he had been practicing with - I explained the details and let him pick out his first hook. He threw it in a few times and it went about 5 feet - then he started remembering what he had practiced and I realized we'd have to go to the bigger side of the pond. (theres a little island in the middle so one side is kind of small.) We went to the other side and spent about the next 15 min or so just casting - he did so well and had quite a bit of fun. He did fall in what looked to be a snake hole once right on the bank and got his boot all wet - but he didn't complain and we kept going. After about thirty min of being there though he got distracted and couldn't take it anymore because at this pond they also have a really cool park and he wanted to go play. So not wanting him to have a bad experience his first time out we went and played in the park. Then went across the street to McDonald's and had a quick breakfast.

Then the important question came and it changed my whole day - I asked if he wanted to go back to Nanna's house or if he wanted to try and fish again. He wanted to fish - I was so excited, but I wanted to fish too. So we took a little trip to Mcdowll road(I think that's the name) They have a bridge there and we parked and went right under the bridge- it was really a fast river there so we went down stream a little bit and found a rock beach that was perfect for a little boy. I did have to carry him over the water a little but that was kind of cool too. He only snagged a few times but did really well. He was casting about half way into the river. It was moving too quick and we didn't have any success there but he was having fun. We stayed there for an hour or so and then got back in the car. He had so much fun.

About half way back though was when I realized that I made a little mistake and that he still has a lot to learn. I asked him if he liked it - he started to smile and then said, "But dad... we didn't catch anything..." and that's when the tears came. Now I'll admit that my boy is a little dramatic and emotional - I'll blame that on his mother - but this I really felt bad for. I thought really fast - I couldn't let his whole day be ruined because he didn't catch anything. I've been fishing a couple dozen times - I still have yet to catch anything more than "trash fish" as my father in law calls them. But anyway for Isaac this was a big deal - so I did what any responsible dad would do...

Thank you DQ for saving what ended up being a great day. I love being a dad and seeing Isaac out there enjoying something like that with me was really special.

Just One More

2011-05-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Love this time of year – the sun starts shining well into the evening, there are a few days here and there that don’t have any rain, and the bike comes out of the garage. What I also love is every bikers enthusiasm for this time of year. It’s like a bear that hibernates all winter is finally coming out of its cave and ready to roar – oh man I love to hear the roar of the pipes. Something that also has caught my eye is the fact that bikes start going up for sale like crazy. I was looking at craigslist and I went through almost 2 pages of bike gear posting in just the last 24 hours – during the winter there may only be a couple pages for the last week. It’s incredible to see all the bikes and knowing that these are going to be going to new homes and out with me on the road this summer. It also makes me understand more fully the line I heard last year when someone asked how many bikes should a person have – the answer was, just one more. I won’t be buying a new bike this year that’s for sure – but I love looking and maybe someday I can get my first, “Just one more.”

Keep the shinny side up and enjoy the ride – I know I am.

Who Owns the Fish?

2011-05-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

We had a riddle to solve in my Computer Information System for Extra Credit. I solved it by putting all the options on paper and then photographed each step. I then put the instructions and the pictures in a power point. My teacher was impressed. (My teachers didn't have the sport - it had smokes in place of it - but I found this version online) So, Who owns the Fish?

There are five houses in a row and in five different colors. In each house lives a different person from a different country. Each person drinks a certain drink, plays a certain sport, and keeps a certain pet. No two people drink the same drink, play the same sport, or keep the same pet. One of these people owns a pet fish, but who? Here are the facts:

•The Brit lives in a red house
•The Swede keeps dogs
•The Dane drinks tea
•The green house is on the left of the white house
•The owner of the green house drinks coffee
•The person who plays polo keeps birds
•The owner of the yellow house plays hockey
•The person who lives in the house in the middle of the others drinks milk
•The Norwegian lives in the first house
•The person who plays baseball lives next to the person who keeps cats
•The person who keeps horses lives next to the one who plays hockey
•The person who plays billiards drinks beer
•The German plays soccer
•The Norwegian lives next to the blue house
•The person who plays baseball lives next to somebody who drinks water

So, who owns the fish?

Royality

2011-04-29T08:39:00.001-07:00

Sonya and I watched the Royal Wedding today of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I really only got interested in it about 3 days ago when they started posting who all was going to be there and about the procession that was going to take place. I really like History - especially when I get a chance to see something that is rare. Seeing a marriage of two people that could be the King and Queen someday seemed like a big enough deal to lose a little sleep over.

I was not disappointed at all. I loved watching the crowds react to all the cars driving to the Abby and the roar when they got out. The wedding itself was wonderful. I loved hearing the "sermons" that were given - it surprised me to hear so much that I understood - it made their religion not seem as different from my own as I know there is. A lot of beliefs concerning marriage are dead on with how I feel.

I thought it funny when they said the Richer or Poorer part - you could see the princess giggle - I don't think poorer is in her future and she knows it.

Watching the ride back to the palace was the most touching for me - both William and Kate were smiling so big and just seemed to be thrilled for this to be "over." The kiss on the balcony was sweet - at least the second time around. I respect William for not liking the PDA so much. He is a royal and as much as it might have been cute to see them really kiss - it would have opened him up and that's not something dignitaries should do.

I really enjoyed it - I for one and grateful that we do not have a King and a Queen - but seeing how another country operates with one was a great experience. One I won't soon forget - now if I could only find time today for a nap.

Accomplishments

2011-04-21T12:37:00.001-07:00

It should probably go without saying, that the more we accomplish the better we feel. That however is something I was reminded of this week. Last quarter going to school I had some success in the class room and that really fed off it's self. It only related to school though. This quarter has been the same. I feel like I'm doing well in school but it's not really positively impacting my life in other ways.

This past weekend though I had a great experience. I found a Rainbow Play system on Craigslist and was able to get a great deal on it. Of course the catch was that I had to disassemble it at it's current residence and then reassemble it for my boys at our house. It was a lot of work since I was pretty much on my own. About 15 hours total of carefully tearing it down and then rebuilding it. When I was done though I had a finished product that I was extremely happy with. I had something that I could look at and watch the boys play on and it made me feel that I had done good work.

It also transferred to another area of my life - or at least the idea did. In my job quality is very important but so is quantity - the faster you can finish a task the more people you can help - so it's a balance. I haven't always been the fastest at my job. This week though I've thought a lot about seeing a result and being happy with it. I have counted how many items I'm able to do during my shift and really tried to make a great effort to improve this week and I have.

This feeling of Accomplishment at home and at work has made me feel even better about school - although it's also reinforced that there has to be balance. I need to make sure that I am trying hard in all aspects of my life and sometimes back off of one to focus on another.

I know I'm a lucky man and have a great life - this week, I'm even feeling like I do.

Great Week of School

2011-04-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Life in general is going well. School though is going surprisingly well though. I am taking a business Law class and a Computer Information System's class; neither of which I know a ton about. I do know a little from work, but not the in depth stuff. So far though I'm doing awesome in my classes. Now it may be that the basic stuff I know is what would be covered in the first few chapters - but it sure sets me up nice for the rest of the quarter. What I've really been thinking a lot about though is how hard a time I have relating to my teachers this quarter. Last quarter wasn't too bad. I didn't have to read to much into what teachers meant or said. This quarter though so much of what they say seems off topic and beating around the bush. My business law class for example rarely gives a concrete answer to a question. Part of that I think is the topic - because there is obviously two sides to every argument - but once something has been decided the precedent is there and that's what he should go on as fact right? This is long and boring enough - I just hadn't written in a while and wanted to rant a little - so I did.

Isaac's Birthday

2011-03-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

So my son turned 4 this past week. I'm so impressed with him. Everything that he's able to do and the things that he enjoys. A lot of them of course are influenced by his mother and I. Daddy (and Papa) love to fish. He's been wanting a fishing pole for a while. I figured 4 was old enough for him to break his first one - so I went out and bought one.

I had given it to him on Saturday but we didn't use it till it his birthday. He really wanted to go out and luckily I only had one class that day so I took him out and showed him the ropes - in the back yard.

What I was really amazed with though is who well he got it. True - it was in the back yard with a plastic fish. But he could cast it out most of the time... probably better than I did my first time and I was much older when I learned.

He now can't wait to go fishing for real. So we're going to be going in April when fishing season opens. I think it'll be a blast. Hopefully he'll have more success - I still haven't caught anything that I could really eat - unless you count catching I do at Safeway on the way home from fishing.

Congrats on being 4 buddy. I love you.

Winding Down - too fast

2011-03-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Doesn't "Winding Down" give the impression that things are going slow. It makes me feel that I should be relaxing. In reality though even though the quarter is winding down - I have to kick it into high gear. In my college Success class we have 1/3 of the points left in the quarter even though theres only two weeks. My English class we have our final paper due next Tuesday and then have to present it as well after that - it's worth 20% of our grade. All this while Overtime was just asked for at work again. Oh yeah - I'm trying to get over a cold - Issac turns four in a week - we just lost almost a week at school to snow days - and I'm planning a surprise for Sonya.
Wow, I just want to crawl under a rock and let it all go by.

I've done that before - that is the old me. The new me though I'm hoping will persevere and push through this. Make a plan and stick to it. If I do that - in two weeks time I should be very proud of what I accomplished. This is make or break time. Time to prove that I am a new person and not a quitter anymore.

But if I hear one more person say that this quarter is "Winding Down"...

Katies Law

2011-02-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

Below is the final product. It got in the top two in the class - we don't vote on an overall winner but I got some good remarks and got to read it in front of the class... Only thing left is to write my representive.

Thanks again for those that commented.

Greg Buchanan
English Composition 101
Prof. Terry Heath
February 14, 2011
Katie’s Law
Katie Sepich was a 22 year old Grad Student who was brutally raped and murdered outside her home in August of 2003. During the struggle for her life Katie was able to scratch the killer enough for a DNA sample to be taken; because of this her parents and law enforcement were hopeful that they’d eventually be able to find Katie’s killer. What her parents learned though is at the time DNA testing was only done on convicted felons. So although Katie’s killer ended up with a felony arrest just 3 months after the murder, her parents spent over three years not knowing who her killer was and if he’d ever be caught. Because of their experience, Katie’s parents have worked tirelessly to pass Katie’s Law which would require that DNA be taken from any suspect that is arrested for a felony. Katie’s Law is now coming before Washington State law makers. We must pass Katie’s Law to allow the DNA sampling of those arrested for felonies.
Our current state law is similar to almost every state before Katie’s Law; we require the DNA sampling of those convicted of felonies. In five years since Katie’s parents, Dave and Jayann Sepich, helped pass this law in New Mexico it has been passed in 23 States Nationwide. This is the second time this law has come before our Legislature. It has more support this time around but it still needs a lot of help to get it on the books as law. Just this month Katie’s Mom, Jayann, came to Olympia and made a plea before the legislators telling them, “What we can do is solve crimes, save lives and absolve the innocent” (Mikkelsen). If this law is passed “Every adult lawfully arrested for or charged with the commission of any criminal offense constituting a violent offense or a sex offense” would be required to give a DNA sample at the time of their arrest (Washington State).
DNA sampling has many benefits, and one of those is to solve cold cases. If DNA is recovered from a crime scene police are able to test the sample and run its findings over a nationwide data base called CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System. If there is a match, police and prosecutors have a better chance at a conviction for crimes the individual committed. In the case of Katie’s killer, he committed a crime just three months after killing her. Had this law been in effect at the time her parents would have known immediately who the killer was. They would not have had to wait three years for him to be convicted of the other crime.
On the flip side, DNA can also be used to rule out guilt. If a person has been arrested for a crime and DNA is taken at the time of that arrest it can absolve him or her from the crime when it’s ran against the DNA at the scene. If a person is found innocent of the crime, according to the House and Senate Bill, their record can be expunged and their sample removed (Washington State).
DNA prevents bias when policing. It is common for people’s history and bias to effect their way of thinking. Police, although very good at their job, are sometimes influenced by this bias. When DNA is used it doesn’t see color or background. It only looks at the information that was left behind. Furthermore, the information sent to CODIS is a numeric file. There is no link to personal information or criminal background (Sepich). This will help to prevent a bias of any kind from occurring.
The most important point that the Sepich’s make is that DNA can potentially save lives and reduce further crimes. If DNA is taken from a crime scene such a murder and then a person is arrested later DNA can make that match quickly. This would take that murderer off the street and not allow them to commit any other crimes. Without this law they would continue to be out among us until they were actually convicted of a crime. The City of Chicago did a study in 2005. They took a close look at eight convicted felons and determined that if this law was in effect it would have prevented 60 crimes including 22 murders and 30 rapes (Sepich).
Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are arguing against the passage of this law. They say that it goes against our constitutional right of innocent until proven guilty. The ACLU said, “DNA is more than a fingerprint. DNA contains your entire code; DNA is you: This is your entire genetic information that they are seizing from people, many of whom are presumably innocent” (Reichback). They say that this is a search and should require a warrant. A search warrant would only be granted in a particular case to match with that single crime. Although unpopular the defense lawyers argue that it is, “Incompatible with Washington’s constitutional provisions” (Mikkelsen). Both groups have threatened that if passed they will bring their issue before the court. The argument has worked before and they are hoping it will work again.
It is important that we let our legislators know that we don’t want the Defense Lawyers to win again. We want to protect ourselves and the memories of those like Katie Sepich. This law is about timing. It moves DNA testing from a conviction to being arrested and charged with a serious crime. By taking samples then we will solve cold cases sooner and potentially save lives; all while protecting those accused by minimizing racial bias and absolving the innocent if the DNA does not match. The Sepich’s have set up a website, www.katieslaw.org that can help you know who to contact and what to say. I urge you to contact your local representative and let them know that you support this law. Do not let Katie’s murder be in vain.

Works Cited
Mikkelsen, Drew. “Murder victim’s mother wants DNA samples taken during arrests.” King5.com. Belo Corp, 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 2 Feb. 2011
Reichback, Matthew. “Katie’s Law expansion has bipartisan support but faces court challenges.” Newmexicoindependent.com. The American Independent News Network, 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
Sepich, Dave and Jayann. DNA Saves. Sepich, Dave and Jayann. 2009. Web. 11 February 2011.
Washington State. Legislature. House Bill 1369 and Senate Bill 5240. Access Washington, 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.

Freedom (Jan 19th, 2011)

2011-01-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Ah, finally a nice day. The sun was out and the pavement was mostly dry. It wasn’t freezing so it was a perfect day for ride. I got the bike out and warmed it up for a while – it’s been over a month since I rode last so it took it a little while but not too bad. I got all geared up and off I went. It was a short ride since it was cold and I had to be at work soon, but freeing none the less. It felt so good just to not be confined to my car. To feel that after all the snow, ice, wind and rain that I could live again on my bike. It was a great feeling.
It also made me think about how else I’ve freed myself over the past year. In building the house we’ve freed ourselves of apartment life. Our kids are able to run and play for the most part without worrying about how loud they get. We are paying into our retirement by not paying rent to someone else but a mortgage for our house. Also it’s given us a chance to work at improving upon something. There are always tasks to do around the house. For me it’s so much easier to do those since the house is ours than it was when we were in an apartment and I wasn’t invested in what happened to it.
The second way is that by starting school I can feel myself freeing up opportunities in the future. It hasn’t really done anything yet except make me feel the smartest I ever have. That’s a good feeling and important in my being successful this time around.
Freedom is an amazing feeling – looking back though it’s amazing to me that those feelings of freedom have come and are coming with a lot of work attached. Just as this country has done we must work for our freedom. We can’t get to where we want to be by lying down on the job so to speak. We can’t truly be free if we aren’t willing to sacrifice and work for it.
I want to be free.

Short Term Goal (Assignment)

2011-01-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

We were assigned a letter in class to write about short term goals that the instructor had us come up with. Intially I thought it mine was going to be just showing up for all my classes. But that's kind of my problem at work right now is I feel sometimes like I just show up. I wanted to strech my self - so below is my letter.

Dear Greg,
I’ve been thinking about my goals and I’ve decided I intend to turn in every assignment on time for my three classes this quarter.
By March 15, 2011
The reasons I want to accomplish this goal are
- I believe that was what has held me back in the past. I believe that I am smart enough to do well in college but it has been the lack of effort that has prohibited me from succeeding.
- I need to get an A or B in every class in order to be fully reimbursed by State Farm, my employer. Missing or late assignments will hurt my chances at getting those grades.
- I am motivated by success. In the past when I would miss even one assignment I would become discouraged. I didn’t want to go back and I’d start missing classes and even more assignment. Success will feed off itself with me.
- By turning in every assignment and making a big deal about it I’m able to talk to family and coworkers about what I’m doing on almost a daily basis. Because I’m sharing my successes with them it’s making me more accountable because their beginning to just ask me how it’s going. That accountability is a huge difference from the times before. This is the first time going to school that I had people to be accountable too. That seems to help so far.

Staying on top of it

2011-01-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

I am feeling so good right now. I had a paper due today for English. It was only two pages – but it was based on 62 pages of reading. I got it done last night and felt really good about it. Then today during lunch I finished up two more assignments that are due tomorrow. I don’t technically have to study tonight – but I have to start preparing and planning for my first essay. The draft is due on Friday. I’m really excited about it.
I’m mostly excited that I feel that I’m staying ahead of the game. I don’t feel that there are even minor things that are falling behind yet. I know it’s only one week into it but I’ve got to start somewhere.
Sonya has been so great about taking care of things. She really has been amazing and so helpful already. I even had her read an essay to me last night so that we were spending time together and then we talked about it a little. I haven’t felt that I’ve neglected my family and that’s mainly because of her. She has stayed positive and it looks like she’s actually getting more positive as the time goes on instead of getting frustrated. (Frustrated at the boys is a different story)
I’m really starting to feel that I can really do this. I was worried for quite a bit last week. Scared of what I got myself into – but I’m starting to become a believer in myself – and isn’t that a main point of college?

Perception

2011-01-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

I’ve been working on a blog the past couple days that will be for later – but it has to do with perception. I’ll save the majority of my comments for that – but today was a great exercise in getting to know someone. After running from my weight training class to my College Success class I found an open seat next to a girl who also happened to be in my weight training class – I figured if anyone could understand why I wasn’t smelling like a peach it would be her… I did wonder when the guy sitting on the other side of me moved down one seat – oh well.
Anyway the point is that we did the whole get to know you thing where you talk to your neighbor and find out a little about them and then present them to the class. Her name is Gwen – the first thing I noticed though was I turned to her and saw what I thought was a CTR ring – and sure enough it was. Instantly my fear – and yes I’m still afraid of girls – but it was gone. We had a great conversation and got to know each other. I was able to open up and explain about my mission easier and I felt like she understood when I talked about how importantly my family was to me.
Why is it that once you have one thing in common that everything else is so much easier to talk about?
Finding that one thing though can sometimes prove to be difficult, especially for me. I always fear I’m going to say the wrong things or upset somebody. And I really hate to be called out on something that I don’t know everything about; which to me feels like most things. It’s something that I’ll have to work on – and if this first week is any indication – this will be a great time in my life to do it. I’ve done so many things outside of my shell the past 4 days – nothing major for most, but I’m feeling very confident and am really starting to feel that this time will be different.

Starting to Set In

2011-01-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

Sonya told me this morning when I got home about an experience with Isaac this morning. I guess she was already up and Isaac came out of his room – he saw her and turned around and started walking to our room. She tried to tell Isaac that I wasn’t there, but that I was at school. He kept on walking. When he got to the bed he looked up on it and saw that I really wasn’t there. He looked at Sonya and she told him that I’d be back right after class (only one class today) He started bawling – “I want him home now!”
As much as I love hearing these stories – especially right after he gets done yelling at me – sometimes I agree with Sonya that he might be Bi-polar – but it still makes me feel bad that he has to go through this.
I hate being gone from my family. I really am one of those that would love it very much if Sonya would work full time and I’d be home with the boys full time. I just like that kind of busy. I know the song, “Mr. Mom.” And as much respect as I do have for parents, usually mothers that do the stay at home thing – I also think they have very little to complain about. I think they have the best job in the world.
I feel bad for the boys who just had to go through a year of me being gone a lot to build the house. Now they have the house and I’m gone again to go to school. This time, for a lot more than one year. We’ll see how it goes. I’m really excited and I have to be honest – I think Sonya is amazing. She seems to be even more supportive of this than she was with the house. She has been cleaning and making sure I have the things I need. All this while she’s coming down with a cold too.
It’s also starting to set in for me too. I am quickly realizing that this process is going to take a long time. I want to be very successful at it. At the same time, I can’t let it consume my life. I need to make sure that I take time for my family. Today after getting out of class – I came home and almost immediately set on the floor with the kids and played with the cars. I want them to enjoy the times they have with their dad. Doesn’t mean there won’t be discipline when they deserve it but I hope that their memories will be happy. It seems to me that they are getting to an age or will soon be that they will start to be able to remember things and I want those to be good.
I also hope that I’m setting a good example. Isaac and Gary both have their “Backpacks” for school too. They love to pretend that and I hope that by me going they will be even more motivated to continue and know that college will be expected of them.

Beginning down the Road

2011-01-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

I’ve now had at least one of all my classes. I am feeling pretty good about it. The Professors are very straight forward from what I can tell. It’ll be more work than I’ve ever done but not more than I’ll be doing in coming quarters. I have 62 pages for English to read before Monday – at first I thought that sounded like a lot – but I’m already on page 15 so I’m doing well.
I think I will enjoy my Weight Training class the most – and hopefully I’ll get a lot out of it. My College Success has helped in one way already – I can spell Success now. Small achievements are the best I say because it takes those to make something big happen.
I’m really excited about my English class and really worried at the same time. I am worried that I may be in over my head. I’ve never considered that a strong point and so I fear that I’ll have to either put in a lot of work to get good grades – or I’ll get too frustrated and give up. I can’t do that this time. I shouldn’t have done it in the past but I did and now I am where I am.
I am pretty tired though. I don’t feel that I’m staying up way to late – it’s just that I have to be up by about 6am to get ready and be sure to make it to school on time. Since I don’t get off work till 9 it make for a late night considering when I get up. I do think the weight training class will help though to get me more energy. At least that’s the theory.
For now though and I do mean right now – I’m going to bow my head for a little nap. I’ve been enjoying doing that during lunch the past couple days. Maybe I’ll have to blog about that tomorrow.

New Journey

2011-01-02T23:44:00.001-08:00

So tomorrow morning I start on a new journey. One I've started before and without much success. I'm hoping that this time is different - well - I'm hoping that the outcome is different. I know that almost every thing else is different. I'm married now, with two young boys. I have a great job now (one that is paying for me to go to school - how often does that happen now a days?) I've had success in other area's of my life - mainly us building and buying our first house. I just feel different. But in a lot of ways I feel so much the same.
I still don't love to work - I do it because I have to. I still love to stay up way to late a play video games. I of course still don't like to get up early to do anything - much less go to school. And I still find the task of completing a college degree to be very daunting.
So what will happen? Will my new differences make me so much better a student? Or will my old and bad habits get in the way of college success again?
I don't really think there is an answer for this - and although I think all of these things will play into my success or failure - I think they can fit in either category. I think my success will be based on me learning and developing certain talents I haven't developed yet. I think college for me will be about learning how to manage my time better. Learning how to get the most out of my time while I'm doing a certain task and compartmentalizing.
I'm excited, I'm nervous, and I'm scared. of what? I'm not really sure. It's a journey that I've never seen through and never gotten very far on. I know I just have to take it one day at a time and one class at a time. When I'm done, and if... yes if, I get that piece of paper in my hand that says I completed my college degree, I'll probably be excited, nervous and scared - of a new journey that I won't know much about.
Such is life - now it's off to bed, gotta rest up they say. That's not something that I've ever been very good at - but I guess now's as good as any to try new things.

Purpose

2010-06-02T01:23:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog a year ago I had this grand idea that it would be groundbreaking, thought provoking ideas... it's turned into something that I just haven't made time for... kind of reminds me of a lot of things in my life right about now.
It's not that I'm not doing anything - life has been very busy for me and my family. We're building a house and nearing the end even. For the past 9 months I've put in an average of 25-30 hours a week out there on top of working my full time job. It's been tiring and stressful - but so rewarding at the same time.
The boys are as busy as ever - they are constantly running and yelling and fighting. They love me so much and just want to play and jump on me. It makes coming home a joy and a curse - but mainly a joy. There never seems to be any rest though.
And I've been told not to expect any sympathy from Sonya - because she gets the pleasure of being around that mad house 24-7. I don't blame her, I don't know how she does it.
Needless to say there hasn't been much time to "Evaluate Life."
As the saying goes, "They'll be plenty of time for sleep when I'm dead." I think that's the way life should be - go go go till you can't go anymore. People that say they are "too busy" can usually add one more thing - as long as they want to do it.
My message right now, is to enjoy life. Live life. And "Sleep when your dead."

House Building

2010-01-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

We're building a house in Graham, WA. It's been a lot of fun so far. When I say that "we're building it" I mean just that. We are required to put in 35 hours a week into the construction of the house. This is on top of our full time jobs. It's been a challange to get that many hours in. But we're doing it and so far are still a happy family.
The program is through Northwest Housing development. They are a non profit orginazation that is helping us through this. They supply a Supervisor who teaches us what we should be doing and helps us order supplys. Our co-op currently consists of 10 families. We build each house at aprox the same time. We are putting the floors down now. It's nice to be getting done with the concrete part - we still have slabs to pour but we're getting to work out of the dirt and that's nice.
We're trying to finish by the end of June to get the Tax Credit for new home buyers. If anyone has any desire to help we can use it any week - it's strictly volunteer- but it is a lot of fun. If you want to help - please email me - GBIRONMAN@COMCAST.NET

Gary's side

2009-10-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

Gary is our youngest and he is quickly learning all the ways of his big brother. This past weekend I got to stay at home with both boys while Sonya took her parents and worked at the property. It was nice to get to hang out with them. Especially with Gary. I do so much with Isaac and because he can talk and understand more it's much easier. But Gary is such a thrill to be around. This picture was taken a few weeks ago at his Grandparents house and is a great indication of how he makes us all laugh. I had to find a way to get it on my blog. Thanks Gary for bringing a wonderful demension into our home.

Does the world owe you?

2009-06-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

I want to know why some people think the world or strangers owe them something. I was up playing Mafia Wars - I know it's past 3am - and since Sonya and the boys are asleep I am out on the second floor of the lobby at the hotel we're staying at. A woman walks in and wants to try and get a room for $30. Of course all she has is cash and a sob story. When the guy behind the counter tells her the lowest they can go is $49.99 - she starts in on her story and her tears. Somehow hoping that he will be able to change their policy. I've never seen a more patient man. He has been incredible for the past 30 min. He tried to help her online find something, he dialed numbers to try and get her Credit Card info. He called another hotel in area.
I know this story and forgive me for sounding so cold but after working Night Audit for so many years I have been in his shoes and this is not the front desk person's issue. He is just trying to do his job. She appears to expect him to somehow take care of her.
My reason for writing this blog though is not against her, well I guess part of it is. But it's more a question of do I sometimes act the same way? Do I walk around expecting things of people. I know that sometimes I feel that way about my parents. I feel that I expect things of them that maybe I shouldn't. I know that they like watching my boys but do I ask them to do it too much. Do they really feel that they can say no. Do I at work ask people to cover my phones and then take advantage of it by taking too long a break? Do I take advantage of my wife or expect her to do more than her share around the house?
I'm sure I could go on, but it is late.
My question is do all of us do this to some extent? If you sometimes feel the same please post a comment, please let me know I'm not entirely alone in this. Or if you'd rather, let me know how you really feel.

As a total side note and to show what a heartless person I can be I had to laugh when the lady was talking to the front desk clerk and saying she didn't know how to log into credit card info online. She said, "I'm not just with the 90's."

Day Two of the Buchanan Family Reunion.

2009-06-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day at the reunion. I didn't participate in all the activities and so since it's my blog I'm just going to have down what I did.
We slept in till past 9am. How often do we get our two kids to sleep in past 7? Like never - so this was great, even though it made us miss breakfast.
We got there to watch the end of The Price is Right. They even had a Plinko board - I love that game.
We then had a class while the kids did their own activity. Our class was based on the book, "The Five Love Languages." Sonya and I have read that book as a couple before but it was great to have a class about it as a family and learn from other couples. As I mentioned yesterday a lot of our family have kids the same or close to the same age as our kids so It was meaningful to us to hear others our same age and situation having issues and working through them.
I played in the Ping-Pong tournament. I won my first two matches and then got smoked by the eventual champ Mark.
The evening program got moved into the garage since a storm was coming. It was a great time and in typical Buchanan Family Tradition - it was more of a testimony meeting than anything. These meetings are always so good because you can feel the spirit and the love in the room. Tonight Britt asked us to tell What it meant to be a Buchanan?
It means a lot to me to be a Buchanan. I was not born a Buchanan but I am one. I am so proud to have that name and to be passing that on to my children. I love that when we come that we feel that we never left. We haven't been here for three years and yet as soon as we got there people came up to us and were happy to see us. It felt great. I love being a Buchanan and I love the family that means I'm a part of.
Tomorrow is the last day. It'll be sad to have it over just because it'll probably be a couple years before we make it back again. But it was well worth the trip.

Day One of the Family Reunion

2009-06-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

Sonya, I and the boys are in Utah this weekend for our family reunion. We just had the first day of it - well it started at about 5 or so.
Before the reunion we were able to go to the Salt Lake Temple. It was the first time we had been there together. (I had gone once 8 years ago before my mission.) Once that was done we went down to Provo and saw one of Sonyas friends from her youth. When we got back we decided to take Isaac and Gary on TRAX. It's Utahs train system around Salt Lake. It's a pretty fast train. The boys especailly Isaac loved it. He kept talking to those people around us. and he wanted to sit all by himself. He loves his independence.
The family reunion though was the high light and the reason we're here. It was great to see the family that we don't see very much. What I love is that even though I'm adopted - they don't act that way. Even though we didn't grow up around any of them or even come to visit once a year, they treat us as though were, well... Family. It's fun to watch the boys play with so many kids that are his same age. I over heard that just out of the people that will be here this weekend there will be 21 kids under the age of 8.
We did have to leave early tonight because Isaac decided that he had enough and dumped water all over mommy. Poor mommy.
It was a long day for all of us. Tomorrow will be even longer - but at least we're done traveling in the car for one day. (Saturday it's back to Walla Walla - so I hope the boys enjoy it while it lasts.)

2009-06-21T02:13:00.000-07:00

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

So I wanted to post a blog about my favorite baseball team, the Seattle Mariners. From what I've watched of the M's so far this season they are preforming up to our expectations and even better than some thought they would do. They are now up to .500 at 34 and 34. Their wins have been dramatic and the losses forgettable enough. They've made so many great memories this year that it's almost become possible to forget about the debacle that was last year.

When the Mariners signed Ken Griffey Jr to a contract in the off season I didn't know if it would be a great year but I knew I would go to see him and take my son with me. We went to the second home game of the year which just happened to be when Griffey Jr hit his first home run back at Safeco field, it was a treat to see.

He hasn't been the Griffey of old, but every blog I read before the season started said that even if he was just a shell of his old self it would be good for the team. That has been so true. He's brought back fun to the club house. He's getting on base even when he doesn't get a hit. He's brought fans, such as myself even before the team started winning.

I and my family will continue to watch and we'll be there long after these players have left, but it's not often you get to see one of the all-time greats come back to a team that you love. It's almost like we are reliving the past. Griffey Jr will someday be inducted into the Hall of Fame and when he is I'll be able to turn to my sons and let them know how great this comeback has been and how they were there to see it.

Go Griffey, Go M's your making us proud to be Mariner fans again.

Fathers Day

2009-06-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

I know that this is the time and day of year to be posting such comments, but anyone who knows me will know that I believe that Fathers are incredibly important in obviously our children's lives but also in the lives of all of us as a community.

There are and can be a lot of influences in a persons life growing up, Mothers, other family members and Teachers being at the very top in my opinion.

Nothing can shape a child or community more than active fathers. We spend so much money on reforming adults once they do bad things. We have programs in prisons that sound good but are really just trowing money in the wrong direction. We need to be using that money on programs that will get people when changes will have a greater impact, a child. There are great programs out there such as Big Brothers/Sisters that do such great work, but nothing can compare to our own flesh and blood. Fathers that are around need to work as hard a possible for their families but also those that never forget who their working for. President Obama recently said, "We need to step out of our own heads and tune in. We need to turn off the television and start talking with our kids, and listening to them, and understanding what's going on in their lives."

My little boys are the center of my world. Since the birth of our first son I had worked two jobs to try and support them and allow my wife to stay at home with them. I really felt that I was doing exactly what I should be doing for them. Earlier this year though my wife gratefully pointed out my shortsightedness in this assumption. I was missing out on spending enough time with them. The time I had spent was quality but it wasn't enough. I quit my second job and although that means that we don't eat out as much or buy as many things as we had, I am spending so much time with my boys now and it's really paying off. We're getting to go to the park, birthday parties, wedding receptions and next week we're headed to our family reunion for the first time all of us together.

There are many great examples of Fathers doing exactly what they should be doing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has recently put out this YouTube Video.

In mine own life the man that I call my Father has shown me a great example of how to be a father. By his own admission he made a lot of mistakes in raising his own boys and my sister and I who he adopted when I was 15. I think he taught me a lot though about a couple very important things. One was that My Mother was the most important person in his life and I for one better treat her that way. The other was the value of work and having a job. He taught me that there were no free rides. When I dropped out of high school and didn't get a job and thought that I was just going to live off my parents he let me know that wasn't going to be the case. He kicked me out and I learned very quickly how to manage my money and work for what I needed.

Now I have my own boys to teach. I love them more than anything else in the world except their mother of course. I remember as each of them were born thinking how lucky I was to have been given such a gift and such a charge to teach these children of our Father in Heaven. How much he must love us to let us participate in this great responsibility.

FIRST REAL POST

2009-06-20T01:12:00.000-07:00

To explain - I intended to remove the two previous posts from yesterday. It was Sonya teaching me how to Blog. I've never done this before but I've always loved the way she keeps our family blog, Team Buchanan.

I want my blog to be all about me and it will be. What anyone who follows it will realize is that I am all about my family. My wife and my two boys are my entire world. Everything I do is for them. I have worked two jobs since my first son was born. I really didn't mind but it took a toll on my relationship with my family, the ones I thought I was doing it for. I quit that about 2-3 months ago now (except for this weekend-but this is different, I'll explain later).

With that job quit we had made all these plans for a great summer. Then we found a great way to ruin all of that. We started looking into buying a house - but the only things that we could find in our price range was not something we wanted to live in. I remembered about a program called Northwest Housing Development. It's a sweat equity program where you and a co-op build each others homes. Bottom line is we applied and got approved. We start building next month in Graham, WA. We are really excited but it will be a lot of work for about a year. We are required to put in 35 hours between the two of us. Most of that will fall on me since we need to have someone to watch the kids. My mom and Kelly have volunteered to help with that as well which will be really nice.

OK I got off on a side note but that's what we're doing right now.

I'm married to the lovely Sonya Rae Buchanan. We've been married almost 5 years now. We met online at LDSMingle.com. We got engaged in my Primary Class I was teaching at the time. We've had our ups and downs but I read a great quote the other day that sums up my feelings on marriage,

"Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that he automatically deserves great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes that he automatically deserves success in Marriage." -Sydney J Harris

As I said before we have two boys, the first is Isaac, or Ace as we wanted to call him. He's our number one - our first - our Ace! He's now two and although like most two year olds who can't make up their minds if they are happy, sad, frustrated, mad, tired or hungry; he's a great child to have in our home. He's so loving to all of us - Gary's pushing down aside of course. He loves everything boy. He loves watching any sport with his daddy. He loves cars and airplanes and firetrucks. He loves the movie CARS (As do I, I cry at the end every time I watch it which is about once a week, he's closer to every day poor Sonya)

Gary is our second child and he has been such a blessing to have. Such a relief in that he still takes 3 naps or more most days. He just loves to be held, blessing and curse of course for a Mother who's trying to get things done during the day. He just took his first steps about a week ago. He's learning quickly from his big brother how to act and everything to do. His smile is just infectious. A Godsend for sure.

That's me, that's my family and that's my first real post. You'll soon notice if haven't already I'm often long winded. What a great forum for that huh? I think so. Hope all of you enjoy it.

I am the Title Man

2009-06-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

That's Isaac with a basket ball in his hands. I don't know why he's wearing a skirt but I'm sure his mother can explain.

Test Post

2009-06-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

So I want to learn how to do a blog. I want to make a link to something cool like NWHD - teach me woman.
That's how you do that man!
Now I want to post a video, is it the same dillio?
no
OK then show me how.

ok so that's cool crashes that I want to watch right now.