Rest

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Everything needs a break.”

-Toba Beta

It was a cruel hoax.

Sitting at my computer on Friday afternoon, talking with technical support, I simply was beside myself. There I was, having worked like a dog all week long to get a project out at the end of the week, only to find out that I had somehow, someway, forgotten to click on save inside the spreadsheet that contained my lighting calculations for the project. It was 4:45 and it was time to go home to my parents for the weekend to visit with them and get a much-needed haircut. Instead, I was staring the reality of having to work the weekend right in the face. I had promised to have the project out before I left the office. Reality was that technical support couldn’t undo accidentally clicking “No” when asked to save a file.

My head fell into my hands. My stomach sank. So much hard work. The lump in my throat swelled. So many late nights. For what?

My boss walked by my desk as he was heading out the door and had asked me what I was doing this weekend. I told him that I guessed I was coming in to the office. He knew I had been there all night long trying to get stuff out the door. He knew I was tired. He knew I didn’t want to come in.

“I’ll make this easy on you,” he said. “If I catch you in the office this weekend, you’re fired.”

Well, that did make it easier.

The fact of the matter is I went to bed on Friday night at 10:30 (after watching Ferris State beat Notre Dame, no less!!) like a little boy, woke up on Saturday morning at 7:30 like somebody twice my age, then took a nap for three and half hours on Saturday after my dodgeball game that we won. That’s 3 ½ hours!!

I fell asleep immediately on Saturday night and woke up early enough on Sunday to go to the gym. It was refreshing to lift weights after taking a week off because I couldn’t get to bed before midnight all week long for one reason or another.

Sometimes you just have to recharge, and my juice was gone after the last couple of weeks. Hopefully I’ll be topping the tank off after this weekend when I get back from my trip to Michigan. It’s time to catch up with and share life with my close friends again.

This is the tough part of the year, as I had mentioned in my last Gun’s Quote. Make sure you recharge. You’re not very useful to anybody when you’re drained.

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!

Count

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Do not count the days; make the days count.”

-Muhammad Ali

I really hate this time of year; I have to start by saying that.

First, I don’t like winter. Cold weather and I don’t get along. I’ve never really enjoyed the winter outdoor recreational activities, with the only exception of camping. Yeah, strange, but there is something tolerable about being out in the freezing cold when you are doing it with a bunch of your best friends.

It’s mostly just seasonal, though. Generally speaking, everybody is happy when they are putting their Christmas tree up or hanging lights on the house. Wrapping presents and staring at them underneath the tree in anticipation is exciting. Nobody enjoys taking the lights down, packing the ornaments and not having the fridge filled with wonderful leftovers anymore. (On the contrary, many people start their diets)

Then there’re taxes, which are just a burden and pain. There’s the fact that businesses in America don’t bother to take any holidays until May. Unless you work for the government or a bank, you work on President’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, and I’ve not heard of anybody taking Good Friday off for a while now.

This is the time of the year when the weather sucks, the taxes come due, the holidays are nowhere in sight and the gym is packed with people who packed on too many pounds over Christmas.

It’s times like these when it is so easy and tempting to bury my head in the sand and not do anything until spring.

I don’t feel like I’m the only one who has this problem. Our teens in my youth group consistently fall off this time of year. I think people at work are generally grumpier. People just don’t seem motivated. They know this is a dull and boring part of the year, and everybody just wants to get to an oasis in the desert of the winter.

Nobody stops living in January. Life does not stop. It doesn’t heed to our own motivational patterns. Right now, we have an opportunity to take what is usually a slow part of the year and turn it into something good. This is a time of year where one can introspectively decide that it is time to change and move on to something greater before the madness and chaos of the spring and summer hit. The danger is that often we don’t want to take that action. We want to be lazy. It’s cold outside. There’s “nothing” going on. There’s too much work and not enough time off, etc., etc.

I encourage you this week to think differently. Yes, we are past the first of the year. I’m not a fan of resolutions and that’s not what this is a about. This is about deciding what you are going to do to make all of your days – even the boring ones – count. What can you do to be better than you are today? How can you help yourself now? How can you help others? Are you willing to accept help yourself? What did you tell yourself you were going to change last year?

Well, guess what? It’s next year now. Time to act.

…and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!