Here Goes...

After reading this post please visit Joel and Sarah Rodriguez's Blog to read about their journey together and make any donations you can to The Rodriguez Foundation. No amount is too small and I'd appreciate it very much. No Foolin', hugs and everything.

One of us.

Those were the first words that came to mind upon confirming what I suspected  when I missed Simon and Russel's phone calls. To be honest, I ignored the calls, I didn't miss them, I knew why they were calling, I just knew, and I didn't want to leave my bubble of hope yet, I wasn't ready to stop praying and fighting for Joel and face the cold, unfair truth that waited for me on the other end of that phone call, I wasn't ready to be a big boy and face reality. It was one of us who had passed on, and possibly the strongest of us.

 My wife Yvette sent me a few texts an hour or two later and informed me of the news, I called Yvette and we dealt with my grief for a minute, because I had to call Simon back and help him get through this as best as I could via phone call and get back to Russ to go over  whatever plan he had for us getting out to Oklahoma. Then came the anger, followed by denial, followed by my mind screaming "NoNoNoNo-NO!" as if my inner tantrum would somehow reverse time and bring back one of my best friends to life for me to enjoy. To finally go visit him at  his new home out in Oklahoma as we always discussed but somehow never got around to, meet his little boy Milo and hug his wife Sarah all while celebrating their amazing new addition to an already outstanding life.

Joel and I frequently exchanged texts and some of those were over our two boys meeting up and becoming best buds because of how close they were in age, my son Ace, is only seven weeks older than Milo, and also my first (and currently, only) child. We planned on us four dudes taking a picture and commemorating how we both went through the voyage of becoming dads for the first time, in separate places and not in constant contact but, at the same time and each of us having the other one in their thoughts wishing them the best. We will never have the opportunity to have this picture taken, and that knowledge fills me with nothing but pain, hurt, and a  little shame for never having gone to visit Joel, Sarah and Milo, celebrate them, exchange knowing looks of "It's so awesome being a Dad right?!?!?"

Over the past few days you may have read how amazing Joel was and what an impact he had on everyone who met him, all of it and more, is nothing but truth. If you'll indulge me I would rather save my echoes of those same sentiments for my letter to Milo and instead would like to express what Joel's passing means to us as his 'boys from NYC', and the lessons we four, Simon, Pierre, Russel and G learned this past weekend.

Joel's faith and love of God was so powerful that in that moment of passing he sent out the call, and we four heeded. We sped off as fast as we could to go to where he wanted us, by Sarah (the love of his life) and Milo's side. That's the only way of describing what clicked in all of us that afternoon, there was a very powerful call sent out and we answered, in fact, through all the dominos and drinks and remembering of Joel we four enjoyed the night before his services, never once did the subject of -  "I wasn't sure I was going to make it out here." - come up, because frankly there was never any doubt, even though we four reside in three different corners of the country (California, Florida and New York) we were going to meet in the middle and we were all going to be there for Sarah and Milo.

Joel was such a good man and friend that he even got two of us to bury a long overdue hatchet that we were either too proud, busy or unwilling to deal with prior to this meet up. In light of why we were there we all knew it was just dumb, and had no place in our futures any longer.

It is my belief this was all Joel hard at work, planting the seeds for a fruitful future for his wife and son. Joel's hand sped us along, it helped us along, it ensured that we would be there regardless of what we were dealing with at that moment for his love and his son. His love for all of his friends ensured we would be strong for each other and his family. That same love and his example while alive, made two big babies shake hands and apologize to each other like men should. It was all him, telling us there is work to be done, people to care for and worry over that he won't be able to directly reach any longer, but he's going to try, and we're his vessels.

It's over.....this existence we are caught up in, that we call life, this rat race - is over.

Joel's passing and remembrance this past weekend revealed to me just how little we were actually living, we work and toil and worry about money and our financial futures just like everyone else, sure, but could any of us say that we were actually living? Compared to Joel, no we weren't, plain and simple, there is no argument in the world that can convince me other wise. Here is a man who ran and completed a marathon while suffering from 'some pain in the side' that turned out to be cancer. So no, I for one was not living, and neither were a couple of us.

There has been some conversation among the four of us on how best to honor Joel and his life. Pledges have been made and we all have been hard at work, planning the future, making arrangements to be more active and present in the lives of an amazing woman and her little man. While a few ideas have tossed around in my head, I think the best way for the four of us to honor Joel's life is to simply, live and run together.

Run this marathon we call life, and really LIVE, stop every so often to enjoy the fact that we are all here, together, to enjoy each other and not take a day for granted. Go forth and be not afraid.

So we will Joel, we four will run this marathon together and we will cheer and applaud your son's life at every mile(stone) as if you were here to the best of our ability, but just as you ran with a pain in your side we will run with a pain in our hearts and we will be missing you.

You were our anchor, keeping us steady and grounded when we needed it, now you are our compass, guiding us to the places you want us to take your son, and the lighthouse ensuring we do not get lost on our way there. As I said before, Joel, we four are your vessels, and we proudly carry your family where ever it is they want to go, and we carry a little bit of you in our hearts and souls for ever…..



                                                       
                                               J orge

                                                        sim O n

                                                           pi E rre

                                                      russe L
                         

Save a Bundle buying a Bundle for Charity, it's good Karma.

    Yes, I know, I know, there is only one title that matters in the gaming universe at the moment, and you are all very right for playing it. But while you're waiting for your copy to finish downloading or waiting  in a lobby for your bud to join you in  Zerging the crap outta some fools in multiplayer, might I steal a moment of your time to inform you of a great deal in gaming happening this very moment on the inter webs? I'll wait. Yes? Good!  Here goes.

      It's called the Humble Bundle and it's a phenomenal deal (I just used the word Phenomenal here people - one does not simply throw around "Phenomenal") that benefits multiple charities in one purchase. You can purchase 5 DRM -Free Cross Platform (Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Android) games made by independent, relatively unknown and some not-so "unknown" developers. Here's the kicker: you pay whatever you want! The Humble Bundle benefits the "Child's Play" organization, which aims to brighten up the day for children world wide that in hospitals trying to get better and might need a bit of fun to raise their spirits. It also helps the "Electronics Frontier Foundation" which has been focused on defending digital rights since it's founding back in 1990. Thirdly, the Bundle helps independent developers remain independent of big studios, and to continue affecting the gaming landscape the best they can.


     How it works: you look at games, you say "Whuuuu? Take my money!" and you don't see daylight for about five days.

    Ok, maybe not that easily , but it's damn near that easy.  You go to their site ( clicky for linkage) you peruse the bundle and pay what you want, think the games are only ok but still want to give to charity? Fine, just pay $1.00 US no problemo, enjoy! However, at the moment, if you beat the average price people are paying for the bundle (as of this writing it was a humble $6.82), you'll get an EXTRA FIVE games! These games are no slouches either, you have well known games and even some award winners, I had to jump on this deal solely for the opportunity to play this game right here , "Sword and Sworcery," a critically acclaimed game that at first glance seems  too artsy to be a fun game, but from what I've read is just full of fun. Like brimming over with fun levels of fun. One more time, just for fun..we're talking FUN here kids! Oh and for you collectors or music aficionados out there all soundtracks to the extra five games are included with your purchase…sold yet? No? ...wait for it…. if you pay more than one buck for the bundle you'll also recieve all the Steam Code Keys for the games you purchased so you can enjoy the games via your Steam account as well. You'll get access to all the achievements and be able to play with any Steam Buddies you may know or make some new ones , on the titles that offer multiplayer, of course.

    Once you decide to pay for the Bundle, you then:

    1. Decide how much you want to pay in USD.

    2. Decide how you would like your purchasing contribution distributed amongst the charities , developers, and folks running the Humble Bundle site via sliders.

    3. Enter the email account you wish to have your redeemable code sent to. With the option to be notified of future Humble Bundles going live.

    4. Check a box for a Gift Code in the event you want to gift the Bundle to a friend who is low on funds you think would enjoy the games, that's double karma points right there.

     5.Lastly you choose your payment method, you can pay via your Amazon Payments Account, Paypal Account, Google Wallet account or with any major Credit Card.

So there it is, a damn good deal in a ever shrinking "honest deal" world, I was going to get into the whole "$60 for a four hour game or $x amount for days and weeks of gaming?" argument, but decided to save your eyeballs from another giant wall of text. Besides, that's a no brainer right? Game on and enjoy, folks!

Bonus pic because we all deserve more Boromir in our lives.

                                       

   

Brain, Y U No.....Imaginate?

Recently, a few opportunities have come up that will allow me to pursue a career I've been striving to get started for ages. The opportunity to write my thoughts down on various topics and have people read them. In other words , becoming a Blogger. One project in particular is coalescing pretty speedily and I am "Excite!"  The problem however is that my brain is drawing a complete blank as to what to write about. Normally my brain has a real problem with the "Shut the fuck up" concept, as it is always thinking and firing off random thoughts (Steve Buscemi, in nothing but a diaper, leering at you from behind a column in the NYC Subway system. See?) that range from the super creepy to the "holy crap my brain is awesome" varieties. This week however I have been in a particularly heavy mood and can't come up with anything light and entertaining, informative? maybe, discussion sparking? definitely, but witty and charming (yeah I said it, Charming) that's proving to be a tough problem for me at the moment. Well, I'd better get this article started, it's not going to write itself! If worse comes to worse I can always post LOLDog pics.

Sandy, you jerk.

It's November the 1st and a few days ago, the worst natural disaster to ever hit the eastern seaboard of the U.S. rampaged it's way through the coastal cities like nobody's business in the form of hurricane Sandy.

Some inland states were affected as well, I'll be candid here and confess I do not know the extent of the damage for I'm a New Yorker and my first priority is keeping abreast of local news.

Sandy, was responsible for approximately 111 homes in the Breezy Point section of Queens burning down. More accurately, her waves and rains prevented firefighters from putting out 4 houses that were ablaze and had to stand and watch as the fire spread to just about the entirety of Breezy Point.

Some other neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs also felt Sandy's effects but were not nearly as devastated. At this point in the recovery efforts you got off lucky if all you lost was power.

You know, when I started to write this post I swore I had something sage or poignant to write down, something that would cement my belief that I am capable of thinking outside of myself and my menial needs to explain the goings on around me in a more 'meta-physical, it's all connected brah!' Than the usual "The things in front of my face are the most important because that's where my nose ends" method so many of us in the world's fastest paced city are forced to operate, but ; I've got nothing, nada...the best I can do is be thankful, grateful that my family was untouched by the calamities that others were forced to suffer through, eternally grateful.

This event drove home the point that I am just a man, trying my best to protect his family, to do right by my fellow human beings and in the end, am quite insignificant in the grand scheme that Mother Nature refuses to let us in on.

My thoughts are with those who have suffered losing power, water, cars, homes and, in the worst cases..loved ones.

My heart is full of gratitude.

This is horrible, that's it.

What's in a Name? Why be King when you're an Ace?

  After the initial wave of joy and jubilation at finding out we were expecting a baby had washed over us, my wife and I got down to the brass tacks of expectant parenting...topics like Hospitals, Pediatricians, Childcare all came up and were addressed.Amongst all the "I want/don't want" conversations we had with one another, one thing came up -  a question we admittedly had no answer for :

                                           "What are we going to name the baby?"

  A confused Shawn and Gus face is appropriate here, because honestly we had no idea.
The only thing my wife and I had agreed on previously was that he'd have an English Language name, a name that would enable our son to define his own life; not have his life experiences be defined by his name.

  We wanted something off the beaten path but not so outlandish that the name translates to "My parents hate me."

  Cut to the Christmas Holiday season of 2011. This Holiday was especially dear to us for obvious reasons, the pregnancy was progressing nicely and the baby was doing really well as was Mommy.
Relatives and friends we hadn't seen and/or heard from in years came from all over the country came to see my wife and specifically - her Baby Bump. This was great for my wife who has always been a big Family person, and relishes any function or reason to hang out with he family.

  During the festivities it was pointed out to us that the baby had already done something we couldn't, he had united our families for the first time in a long time. No amount of invitations or dropped hints had brought family to our doorstep the way our baby had.

  We decided to go with that, his uniting our family, as the basis for his name.

  Firing up the ol' web browser and typing in "Unity, Unifier, Uniter" to it. resulted in a few names and while perusing the list, my eyes paused on "Ace"......there it was, our minds were made up. DONE.
WIN.

  Cue the months of "Are you sure?", "I don't like that.", "That's a big nam ego live up to, you're setting him up for failure." and even "He's going to be a gangster and have a gambling problem." that we had to endure. We also learned and had to come to terms with this simple fact -

  Everyone wants to believe they are a unique force in the world, one that thinks beyond the parameters of the norm, until it's time to prove it, at which point they recede into the comfortable confines of being just like everyone else.


  Did we have our doubts about his name? Sure we did, we weren't oblivious to the fact that his name would be different than most, that was the whole point, we wanted his generation of our families to have a different experience than we did. We stuck to our guns and if you ask us we made the right choice, for us.

   He's an amazing baby and if we raise a decent human being, then I think we've all Aced it.

With great joy I present....

World meet Ace, Ace meet World.

Here he is, my raison d'être, my heart, my purpose.

Ace Christopher

At the time of this writing, he's six weeks old.

By God's Grace, he's happy and healthy, ten little fingers and ten little toes. He's stubborn just like his Mother and is temperamental just like his Father. Pray for us.

Also, his nickname is "The Commish" he hands out orders and, we follow them. The End.

In the future, expect a good portion of my posts to revolve around him and my experiences raising him, or more like - his raising me - more on that subject on a future  blog entry.

For now, "ooh and ah" at how cute he is.

Was that last sentence vain and full of conceit? Yes, yes it was but I'm his pop, cut me some slack.

If Ace had the ability to speak I'm sure he'd say something along the lines of

"Hi World!! :)" "Do my bidding!!" >=]

But with a smile, so, you'd do it euphorically enveloped in his charm. Soak that up for a bit while I think on my next post.

G

Just turned 39, might become a journalist, blame my son.

This past Thursday I turned 39.

 Let's get this out of the way; YES, this is my las year in my thirties and, YES, next year I'll be turning forty - Insert obligatory "OMFG I'LL TURN FORTY YEARS OLD NEXT YEAR!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!! KILL ME NOW!" here - there,... moving on.

The odd thing about my turning 39 is, it doesn't bother me at all, not even a lil' bit. No, as a matter of fact it caused me to reflect, rejoice and, ask "Ok well, now what?" almost as if my life were on the verge of beginning this year and not; as popular opinion would have me believe, on it's way downhill to a close.

The world is my oyster, and it's up to me to crack it open.

There, that sentence right there the all around feeling I've had this past week. This is primarily because of two major factors in my life recently :

1. My Son was born.

2. On his arrival my wife and I decided I would take a Leave of Absence from work to take care of/raise him once my wife goes back to work from maternity leave.


Soon after the decision was made and some logistics were hammered out, something dawned on me.....other than raising my son, ( make no mistake, I fully understand  that this endeavor in and of itself is a full-time job ) I'd actually have some time, a few hour-long chunks, here and there to do with as I wish.

So? What do I do with this time?

The gears in my brain started turning, excited by the possibilities laying ahead of me , and before too long all my gear turning produced one thought, clear, concise and fullfilling -


                                                               WRITE .




It's always been a dream of mine to become a writer and or journalist. For some reason or another my life's twists and turns have led me away from that journalistic goal. This year however, I plan on actively pursuing  a career in journalism to some extent, I don't expect to win any pulitzers or anything, but just being in that business and filling this gap (giggidy) with actual written work would sate me. For now.


Now I won't be posting about my pursuit in the Journalistic Field exclusively, as I know it will be slow going at first, there are a few holes in my writing, grammar and punctuation that need to be filled with greater writing knowledge before I approach any one company with samples of my work.

Truth is, anything worth your while, will most likely take a while to progress with a number of long lulls  in between the high points.

Also, awesome things don't just happen to me everyday kids ( I know I know, unpossible) those double rainbows however?  All me.  You're Welcome.

Let's crack this oyster together and see if we can't find ourselves a pearl hmmm?