Mommy's House

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“I'm the second most powerful person in my Mommy's House.”
-Derek Ridge

An introduction is in order.

My good friend Derek Ridge and I met each other in Clark Hall during my first year at Ferris. Derek has a nack to say things that, well, just make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Always fun, always soft-spoken, I have yet to meet another person who can say something in the middle of a conversation that would make everyone stop talking, look at him, and wonder how in the world a person could come up with something like that.

This week is a prime example.

So congratulations, Derek! You finally made the Gun's Quotes.

...oh, and by the way, everybody have a Safe, and Happy New Year!

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!

Dona Nobis Pacem

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Dona nobis pacem.”
-From “Agnus Dei”

It is a simple phrase with a simple message, yet its appropriateness for this week is clear.

Translated from Latin, the phrase means, "Grant us peace."

This week, Christmas week, I hope that everyone who reads this, and all of your friends, family, and loved ones, can experience true peace.

Regardless of your race, your religion, your socio-economic status, any other demographic, your travel plans, or your chaos that you are dealing with in your life, I pray that God may grant you the Peace that only He can give.

For the non-Christians in the group, may peace grant you the much-needed rest you need to carry on. May you also never forget how much simply being alone and being in a quiet place can help you gain perspective and refresh your soul. Don't let the hustle and bustle of life wear you down, especially this week. Give yourself some peace this week. Recharge your batteries.

For the Christians in the group, our big day is this week, isn't it? However, don't let the shopping, the meal-preparation, and your cross-country travel plans screen out the fact that when Jesus came into the world, all was calm. All was quiet. God intended it that way. Know that Jesus is coming to save you, and may your heart be at peace with that knowledge.

Have a very Merry Christmas.

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!

Non Bastardi Carborundum

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Non Bastardi Carborundum”
-Gregg Koteskey

I realized from the very instance that I clicked "Create Group" when I originally created this Gun's Quote group that there would be times that I could walk on thin ice for the things I would say, especially if my stories involved other people. Even if I maxed out privacy settings, somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody could pretty easily take the things I have written and pass them along to the people that I reference, which could make my life much more difficult.

This is one of those weeks where I could walk on some pretty thin ice. Therefore, please accept my apologies now for using extraordinarily generic language, refuse to name names, and otherwise leave out all the details. That being said:

This week sucked.

We've all had them. No matter what happens, things just don't go our way. It could be a plethora of things. It could be something that somebody said. Maybe something broke. Maybe your plans just got screwed up for whatever reason. Maybe you forgot something and let somebody down, and they made sure you knew about it. The details really aren't that important. What's important is that the week sucked. Period.

For me, none of the suckage was derived because of a "thing." The car still works. The computer is running smoothly. I have heat, electricity, and the internet. Even if something did break, it could be fixed, probably. No, my suckage is derived from people. You can't fix people. You can't change people. You can't undo words or actions; you just have to deal with people.

That being said, I got down. What's worse is that we are in the middle of the Christmas season. Things are supposed to be happy and joyful. Instead, I was upset. So that made me upset to be upset. Bah!

I was flipping through Gun's Quotes this week to see what I would throw out there for all the world to see. I wanted to do a funny quote, but couldn't post it considering how I felt. No, I found a quote from my good friend Gregg Koteskey who reminded me that when somebody kicks you in the gut and you roll on the ground grimacing, that the only thing you can do is get up, brush yourself off, and move on.

It's a new week. There will be new people, new days, and new things. How it will go will be dependent upon how well I move on from last week, and how well I can put it behind me. The only thing I, or anybody, can do is to get up.

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!

Thoughtful, Committed Citizens

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead

College students are scatter-brained, unorganized, apathetic individuals who, generally, don't give a darn about anybody or anything other than themselves. I can say this because I used to be one, and it drove me mad at how hard it was to get people behind any kind of cause or issues whatsoever. I had the privilege of being a leader on my campus, and I got to know the other leaders on campus very easily because there were so few of us. When campus would hold a major event involving student leadership, the same people would show up to those events every single time. It wasn't because we were power-hungry snobs trying to keep decision making inside of some elitist group, nor was it because we enjoyed being the center of attention. Trust me. We BEGGED people to help, volunteer, and lead. We needed numbers to convince our administration to do anything, and frankly, getting the numbers was the hardest part of getting change to happen.

That's why when I learned about the recent shenanigans the students of my Alma Matar are pulling off right now, I dropped my jaw in disbelief.

Ferris State University is a hockey school. Its students have created hockey chants. They are vulgar, mostly inappropriate, and would be considered offensive to families with young children. For that reason, the University recently chose to ban them, and actively throws people out who violate the new policy.

This year the University decided to throw out a student who used a chant that in years' past was allowed. For the first time, the students revolted.

The next hockey game, somehow, someway, the students that showed up to the game talked to each other and came up with the plan to sit in the bleachers and remain absolutely silent. They did. Nobody said a thing for the entire 1st period. I couldn't believe this. NOBODY on my campus has ever been able to convince ANYBODY on my campus to do ANYTHING uniformly, at least not with regard to changing University Policy.

Of course in the intermission between 1st and 2nd period, the rest of the audience asked the students what they were doing. Fox Sports was broadcasting, and they interviewed students asking why they quit cheering. The students, on live TV, explained they were protesting University policy. Talk about your bad PR. To make matters worse, the ACLU has been notified. (Apparently courts have ruled in past legal cases that rules banning vulgar speech at sporting events are unconstitutional.)

Apparently change is happening. The game after that, despite several VERY vulgar chants being thrown out, no student was. Hmmm…

Those of you who know me know that I choose to use non-vulgar language. You would then correctly surmise that I wouldn't support this group of students trying to "re-legalize" the vulgar chants. However, my opinion doesn't matter. Why?

Because right or wrong, decent or indecent, those people who care enough to surround a cause and commit to advancing it are the ones who rule the world.

Everyone else is at their mercy.

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!

Nine-to-Five

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Remember that nothing great was ever achieved by people working only nine to five.”
-LLIC 2003

A week or two back, I went to my first "Midwest Regional Meeting" with my company. There, we talked about new software that my company developed to help us engineers do our jobs easier/faster/better than the competition.

I was not expecting to have nearly all of the group sessions being led by the guys I work with.

You see, in addition to working with our clients, the guys in my office in Kansas City have also been developing software, using Excel, to make many of the calculations we use daily easier, and more robust. During the meeting, they explained to many of my co-workers around the Midwest how they worked, and how they would make life easier.

I won't bore you with what the tools were. Trust me, though, as an engineer, these things are amazing, and as someone who is very computer-competent, I have to tell you I had no idea Excel would do so many cool things. What my co-workers in Kansas City have developed for my company is very, very cool.

It is also very, very time-consuming.

Many times I come home from work after 5pm. Why? Well, for one, I have nobody to come home to, so I might as well make the most of my time, and two, sometimes things just need to get done. Even if I show up at home after 6pm, though, I'm not the last one out of the office. No, I'm usually the 4th-to-the last. (Or more!)

The accomplishments of my co-workers, and their advancing themselves and the company I work for beyond expectations is simply an accomplishment that cannot be held within the confines of an 8-to-5 job. To really advance, to really excel, and to really make a difference, one has to be willing to give more time, effort, and energy than what is expected of him.

After all, how can one exceed expectations unless you work more/harder/longer than you are expected to?

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!