Milkshakes

Published at January 9, 2010 in Fun and Humor. 4 Comments

Alright folks, let’s talk about milkshakes today. I know, random, right? Well, not completely.

You see, my gorgeous wife Brooklynne has been quoting the magnificent film “There Will Be Blood” all morning. Her favorite line this morning has been “I drink your milkshake. I drink it up!” This made me start thinking about milkshakes, & I’m gonna tell you something people, I like milkshakes. Oh! I do. I do. As I started thinking about milkshakes, I realized I haven’t had one in a while. This makes me very sad because I like milkshakes, which I did already say before. A properly made milkshake is one of the best things in all of Christendom.

“But Sam, what constitutes a properly made milkshake?”

Well, I’ll tell you what constitutes a properly made milkshake.

“Good. Because that’s what I asked you to tell me.”

Ok now, imaginary guy who I’ve created to give a sense of dialogue & playful banter to my post, we can do without your imaginary sarcasm.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your insightful & poignant post about friggin’ milkshakes.”

Hey now! That’s out of line. You know I’ve been a little insecure lately about my blogging. You didn’t have to take it there.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. See Sam, that was an honest & real statement you just made. Thank you for sharing that. There there.”

*sniff* It’s just that I feel so much pressure to write deep & thoughtful posts like I used to. *sniff*

“And where is that pressure coming from Sam?”

I know, I know. It’s coming from myself.

“I’ll tell you what buddy. Why don’t we continue this later?”

*sniff* Buh, buh, but why?

“Well because I’m sure this has gotten very very weird for the people reading this. I mean you started talking & then brought me into it for some laughs, which was a great move, by the way,”

Thanks.

“and then you got real touchy about an obviously playful & harmless comment that I made. Now its gotten really serious & you started the whole thing talking about milkshakes for crying out loud. Not to mention you’re the one typing all this. These people know I don’t really exist & yet you’re having a pretty in depth conversation with me. Do you see why its probably gotten very odd for your readers out there?”

*sniff* *chuckle* *deep breath* Yeah, I guess you’re right. I should probably just tell what makes a proper milkshake, ask them to tell me what their idea of a perfect milkshake is, & then just get outta here. 

“Good call.”

 

A proper milkshake has dutch chocolate ice cream, 2% milk, & a whole lotta malt.

Charlie

Published at December 19, 2009 in Personal Update, Holidays and Humor. 0 Comments

I met the greatest guy yesterday on the train. His name was Charlie & he was about 85 years old. He approached me because he needed some help getting his things on the train. We were both a few minutes early & so we had a few moments to talk before the train came. Now, the first thing you should know about Charlie is that he talked very loudly. Think of someone shouting & then turn it down .0036 notches. That’s about what Charlie’s default volume was. Another thing you should know is that Charlie was compelled to tell everyone person that passed within earshot “Merry Christmas!” He was such a joyful guy. I asked him why he was out today with a bag full of treats & a bouquet of flowers. “I’m going to see a nun,” he said. I told him, no offense, but it might take a little more than candy & flowers to win the lady in this particular case. He thought that was really funny & had a good laugh about it. It just so happened Charlie ended up on the same train as me on our return trip as well. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone as excited to see another person as Charlie got when I shook his hand & said, “hey Charlie!” He stood right up & gave me a big hug & laughed really loudly. He was way, way too happy to see a guy he had only met that morning. But you know me, I soaked it in with relish. He asked me if I could help him off the train when we got to the station which I was more than happy to do. On the train ride in I was able to sit & talk with Charlie for a while. He was just such a breath of fresh air & an amazing embodiment of the Christmas spirit. I was thankful for Charlie yesterday & I hope that we meet again someday. He gave me a fresh dose of Christmas cheer to make it down the stretch until Christmas. Thanks Charlie! Merry Christmas everybody!

The Future

Published at November 27, 2009 in Personal Update, Church, Marriage, Being a Man, Family, Holidays and Spirituality. 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking & praying a great deal about it lately.  For the first time, it’s been so hard to see.  I’ve always known the next step, but that’s been easy. It’s only ever affected me.  Now I am part of a “we,” & “we” have to make a decision based on what’s the best thing for us.  Brooklynne is done with graduate school in May, & it is time to start figuring out where to go from there.  It’s easy to say that we should make this decision based on the most important things for us. Where can we find a community of believers to plug into that we can “jive” with?  Where can we begin putting down roots to build a family?  These & other things are our top priorities, but when we try to lay out possibilities to meet those questions, they are endless.  It’s hard to narrow down from endless possibilities.  I hate to make a life decision based on career opportunities, but what else is there to do when that is the only variable that can be known?  I hate being in places like this, where the questions are far more numerous than the answers.  Any advice from those further along the path of life is very welcome right now. 

 

On a side note, Thanksgiving has been wonderful.  I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to have amazing in-laws that I truly feel like family around.  It has been a very welcomed break from all the pressures of Boston.  I am so thankful for a job that I love going to every single day.  I can’t wait to get back to see my little buddy.  I am unbelievably blessed to have such an amazing, beautiful, & gifted wife.  I love being here to spend time with her while she doesn’t have 20 thousand things on her schedule.  So anyway, please let me know if you have any wisdom to impart upon our decision making process for the future.

Full Circle

Published at November 22, 2009 in Personal Update, Being a Man and Spirituality. 2 Comments

Something really remarkable has transpired this weekend. I received a Facebook message from someone with a subject line that read “A long overdue apology.” The subject line is intriguing enough, but try to think of it from my perspective on top of that. Due to my uncanny ability to offend people, in any given situation, I am almost always the one who needs to apologize. I haven’t been on the receiving end of an apology for quite some time. That made this message even more intriguing for me specifically. 

         I must give a little bit of a back-story for this to make sense. If you’ve been following me since my days on Xanga, a blogging host, then you may remember this incident. For those who haven’t, I would like to say that the BigSam82 that you know from this site is a very different man than the one who used to post on Xanga. When I began posting on Xanga, I was in a very angry & disenchanted place spiritually. I would post things for the specific purpose of making people angry & to stir the pot. Not good things. I regret that & I want to apologize to anyone who was hurt by anything that I said on that site. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. My pot-stirring, judgmental, & arrogant attitude (& also my weight) was then used as ammunition for someone who created a fake Xanga where they posted hurtful things. At that time I had tracking software installed on my blog, which I used to identify the culprit as a guy named Brent. I then made a post on my blog calling him out publicly. You can view that post & the ensuing storm of comments here. I never admitted it at the time, but the things that were said on that site hurt me a little. To sum it all up, I was being a jerk & lashing out on my site, I didn’t like it when someone did the same thing to me, & I exposed it on my site hoping to embarrass the guilty party in retaliation. 

         Back to the present. The message on Facebook was from, none other than, Brent. The same Brent that I had called out in my post almost 4 years ago. I had honestly forgotten about the whole ordeal until I got this message. It was a small thing that happened 4 years ago, & it wasn’t like it was the first time that I had been called out for being overweight or a jerk. However, in his message Brent wrote me a heartfelt apology admitting his hand in the whole thing & asked for my forgiveness. I really couldn’t believe it. Of course, I forgave him with no qualms & asked for forgiveness in return for my part in the whole ordeal.

         I post all of this to say that it is now time for this all to come full circle. 4 years ago I made a post calling Brent out as a coward that was attempting to hide behind the anonymity of the web. Now I want to make a post calling Brent out for being a man of courage & integrity. It takes bravery to step up & apologize for anything right away, but it takes some serious stones to apologize for something that small 4 years in the past. If we would all be so courageous & humble, I think we’d be very surprised at the healing & growth that can take place as a result. I have been very inspired by Brent’s actions, & I want to make it a point to have that kind of courageous humility in the future. Thank you, Brent & God bless you.

Random Things

Published at November 16, 2009 in Personal Update, Church, Fun, Holidays, Spirituality, Music and Humor. 3 Comments

Just wanted to cover a few tidbits of randomness today.

1. It’s time to get back into the habit of posting more often. I’m afraid that the allure of twitter to sum up my thoughts in 140 characters or less just isn’t the same as really having a place to put more important subject matter.

2. At the same time, I don’t feel the burning need to write about hot theological topics as much as I used to. It’s not that I don’t feel passionately about them anymore so much as it is that I feel like it’s just white noise now. It probably was then, too, but I was too arrogant to see that; A. there is nothing new under the sun, & B. I didn’t have it all figured out at age 24 anymore than anyone else ever has it all figured out. So, I may write about theological & spiritual topics from time to time because they are very important to me, but I’ll try my best to make it relevant & not just white noise.

3. I love my job so much!

4. I miss being home during college football season more than any other time.

5. If you are playing Christmas music already, you need to stop it. It isn’t Thanksgiving yet. Public Law 179 category 7 clearly states that;

“Christmas, or holiday, music shall not be played, listened to, bought or sold, be it privately or in the public arena, until such time as Thanksgiving Day of the year in question has reached 12:00 noon CST. At such time, Christmas, or holiday, music may be played, listened to, bought and sold until, but no later than 12:00 noon CST on New Year’s Day of the ensuing year. Anyone accused, tried, & convicted of doing anything other than what is previously stated shall be swiftly & firmly kicked & punched repeatedly & without prejudice by Samuel L. Peters in one of the following areas of his/her own choosing; 1. The shins. 2. The groin (or “balls” as it were) 3. The face, esophagus, and/or clavicle 4. The pancreas or 5. The shoulder blade.”

6. Thank you. That is all.