Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I had such a great time today with my family.  I'm thankful for my friends that are still with me from the get go and the ones that have joined me for this crazy ride called life. Thanks for everyone that made it out today.  We all live different lives from the ones we lead 3, 4, or more years ago.  And just because our road in life aren't side by side each day, doesn't mean that the roads don't intersect every now and then.  I hope you all took the time to sit back and enjoy the family and friends that you are thankful for.  As I have.  

Be Thankful Everyday...Not Just Today...

Don't just be thankful, thank others for what they do to make you thankful.

Be Thankful for...

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire, 

If you did, what would there be to look forward to? 

Be thankful when you don't know something, 

For it gives you the opportunity to learn. 

Be thankful for the difficult times, 

During those times you grow.

Memorial Day Prayer

Prayer for those who have risked their lives for our Freedom and I felt the need to share it. Here's a prayer to share with you from Alden Solovy's fine page, To Bend Light.

To the Soldier, To the Veteran

These things I do not know:
The sound of a bullet.
The power of a blast.
The blood of a comrade.
The depth of your wound.
The terror at midnight.
The dread at dawn.
Your fear or your pain.

These things I know:

The sound of your honor.
The power of your courage.
The blood of your wound.
The depth of your strength.
The terror that binds you.
The dread that remains.
Your dignity and your valor.

For these things we pray:

The sound of your laughter.
The power of your voice.
The blood of your yearning.
The depth of your healing.
The joy that frees you.
The hope that remains.
Your wholeness and your love.

- by Alden Solovy at ToBendLight

Please everyone have a safe and fun Memorial Day Weekend. God Bless!

A Message For Those Dependent For A Valentine

So here you are.  Your alone on Valentine's Day with nothing better to do then feel like a super lame EMO kid who is one bad rock song away from slitting their wrists.  Well, my advice to you?  Grow the Hell up.  Sorry I couldn't really keep that back but I have to be honest with you.  I've come across so many people who feel "Dependent" on hoping or wishing for a Valentine's sweetie to sweep them off their feet and make them feel like a little angel or expect them to buy this super expensive gift or whatnot.  Seriously, just look at this situation your putting yourself through.  Setting expectations for someone who probably doesn't even know you or know you exist.  Now I know what your thinking, "Damn, Saúl is being a jerk right now, he must really hate Valentine's Day."  What I would say to you is that your assumption couldn't be far from accurate about my view on Valentine's Day.  I literary enjoy that day completely.  Being the attractive and superb bachelor that I am, it's so sad when I come across females that I might be interested in at this time of year, and they "break down" when they are single during this time of the year. They feel like their world is gonna end or that it's more like "Single Awareness Day" then anything else.  Truth be told, your life is what you make of it.  If you are currently mad at me while reading this post then you maybe one of the many who feel that they "Need" to be with someone so that they can be happy.  Spend the day with your family if it bothers you that much.  Hang out with friends if you feel the need to be around people other then your family.  Again, my apologies if I've offended you but the reality is you need to take a step back and appreciate yourself for who YOU ARE before you can make the next step of receiving that appreciation from someone else.  The equivalent is that one girl in your group of friends that need to have the most attention or material possessions just to feel better about themselves, aka Gold Diggers.  And in case you are wondering, I do have an awesome day planned for Valentine's thanks for asking.  In the meantime in between time, keep your eyes here for new posts.  

Keep it Funky, Keep it Fresh, and I'll catch you on the Flipside.

~S~

My Send Off for 2010 - The End of a Challenging Year...

Video Link: HERE

I wanted to take a moment to address my thoughts on the year 2010.  I was a very hard year for me.  As most probably don't know, I have gone through a lot of life changes that challenged me in a way that I wouldn't have imagined.  Some great, well love people have left us and friends have been hurt.  I finally can say that I will officially be able to move on from all the negative people in my life.  Some former friends, some more then friends.  I have endured something I never thought I could move past from and the proof has arrived right before my eyes.  I am willing to take more changes and learn more.  Open myself up and work to become a better friend, brother, son, uncle, and god-father in the year to come.  This moment of reflection comes to me as a sign that no matter how hurt you can become, no matter how left out to dry your life has been, or even how bad your situation has become, as a person we can only learn from our mistakes and efforts and move forward with it.  There are a lot of people in my life I had to give up on, that I wish I never did. But I realized something about that, it was never me who gave up on them, it was them, they gave up on me, or us. However the situation looks, I strive to work at making it better, but you can never help someone who wishes not to be helped.  So I leave you all with this message...

"Don't worry about what resolutions you need to make for next year. Celebrate the accomplishments you made in this one. Celebrate the memories you've made and the people in your life. And also celebrate that you have a chance to do it again..."

I've got an amazing and very challenging year ahead of me as I assume you all do.  Let praise and be thankful for another shot at meeting new people and share great memories!  I dedicate this song to 2010!

Black Friday 2009: People as a Collective are Stupid and They Don't Realize how to be a smart shopper. (Random thoughts from someone behind the counter.)

Nice video huh?  This was taken form a Wal-Mart Employee who is clearly making a great point.  PEOPLE ARE STUPID.  You throw something like 40" HDTV that normally costs $1,000 and cut it by $200, and people are willing to punch kick and throw like we are all primates throwing our feces at each other for walking in on our stake to claim.  Now I'm clearly a fan of saving a dollar or two, in fact I have attended a Black Friday door buster special before, and from that experience needed to be reminded how things run on the other side of the fence.  That means behind the sales counter, now for professional reasons I will not mention the location, name of business, and people involved, but for those of you who know me, that should be easy to figure out.  Anyways, our business was offering a really affordable special for electronic equipment and in this special we ran it for a limited time, to be close to exact, it was for 3 days.  This was to be very competitive for business selling similar equipment during Black Friday.  We sent out mailers across the country and also advertised on TV and also during Thanksgiving from our website.  So now that the picture is painted here are some of the grips that have caused me to write this post.  Please feel free to be offended if you are one of the following;

• The-Know-It-All:  The Shopper that knows everything and makes the purchase interaction easy, this is exactly what every Black Friday Shopper needs to be.  Read about the deals, call ahead of time if you can, and do RESEARCH!  (We definitely can help but at the same time it works when we work with shoppers that know how to shop, make sense?  This makes it easier for you and the person who is helping you.  Not only will be maximize your time, but also be productive as well.) 
• The-I-Think-I-Know-It-All:  This Shopper knows all the info about the deals and specials but at the same time, needs and seeks confirmation from you and when you make your attempt to help them understand they reply back with "I knew that already." (Really?  If you knew that you needed to have a commitment to get a discount, then why are you asking me for the 4th time what the length of the commitment is and why you need to sign it?  You my fellow human, are STUPID.)
• The-Under-estimator:   This shopper thinks things will work out in favor of their daily agenda, and then get hit with the reality that stores actually get busy on Black Friday.  They call everyone under the sun to complain because they thought they had their life under control.   (Looks like you'll have to put off picking up the dry cleaning today and call your spouse to pick the kids up from grandma's.  Either that or you'll miss out on this deal.  Stores get busy my friend, please remember that next time you try to breed so that your offspring may remember that, um actually on second thought, don't breed, you'll do the human race better that way.)
• The-Whiner:   Upset with the reality that they have to wait in line and try complaining, hoping it will make them move forward in the line faster.  When in reality, it just makes things worse, you either get other people to join in or they end up starting an argument with other shoppers or even the employees.  (Listen to me clearly please, you are not the only person in the world and there is such a thing as call before hand or do your shopping research before hand.  Better yet, maybe you should of had your spouse help you out with the shopping errands to you could prepare to embrace any possible lines that may form at your list of stores.  Now stick your head in the over and go to sleep!)
• The-Business-Consultant:  This shopper is the one that may get your stress levels pumping, but to be honest with this, everyone acts like this at sometime in their life, the only difference is that they feel free speaking their mind at a time where it doesn't matter or it's too late to even care or address the issue. "I wish you people had more on staff to help everyone faster, that's what you guys need to do here, you guys should just hire someone to help answer my questions while I wait." Answer back, "Well we have the whole store staff here today, working right now."  Shopper reply's back, "Well I don't care you guys need to do this, I feel like my time is wasted!"  Answer back, "Sorry to hear that sir, but unfortunately we don't have that luxury of more staff here, you can come back another day if you like."  Shopper consults back "No, if I did then I'll miss the deal, I don't want to do that."  Answer back, "Well, then it looks like you need to wait till we get to you then."  (Oh My Lord!  What a complete jack-off!  Really?  Are you serious?  We need to hire more people just because your waiting in line?  How about you call before hand or actually know how to shop or be a savvy shopper and show up early like the first 40 people before you.  And I just remembered your face, I like that fact that you act in front of strangers that you have good business acumen, when in reality, your the same guy that pumps my gas for me after I get out of a long day of making money.  If all you idiots knew this was gonna be a good bargain, then why the hell you treat it like a normal shopping errand?  You my fellow human, need to gouge out your eyes because you don't deserve to see the light of the next day!) 

So in conclusion my fellow peeps, please do your research and ask questions about hours of operation, time-lines for deals, requirements (if any) to qualify, and also understand you are not the ONLY person in the world who will be going to the same place, around the same time, for the same thing, ESPECIALLY ON BLACK FRIDAY!!! 

This Epic Fail has been brought to you by the letter F and the number 1.  Till next time my peeps, have a great time fighting for your life to get that extra $10 off the new Elmo Doll.  

Happy Valentines' Day To Those Who Dream with a Broken Heart

YouTube Video Link HERE

This Blog post goes out to those of us in this world that are coming out of a bad break-up or a divorce they didn't want to happen. There are so many human emotions that can come across when something like this happens. It get the same feelings like when someone important to you has passed away. Your in disbelief, then regret, then denial, then fear, alone with mourning. Just know that there is always light at then end of this Heart Broken Tunnel. And for those of you out there that are happy with their spouse or Boyfriend/Girlfriend please make sure you tell them your their world, and never take them for granted. Give them an extra hug or sweet smile, appreciate them for who they are, and for being/putting up with you. Life is too short to be stubborn for your whole life. Just make them feel wanted and appreciated. And for my Broken Hearted ones out there, keep the faith and treat yourself this Valentines day, you deserve it. You can't start over and pick the pieces back up if you don't love yourself for who you are in the first place. God Bless everyone and enjoy the video. The hardest thing to do is to let go and begin again, weather it's with the same loved one, or a new interest, just know that it will pass, time will heal you, and you will become a more stronger person for it, I know. Happy Valentines' Day to the Broken Hearted, the Truly in Love, The Old Couple, The Newly Weds, and to all who spent their time reading my post.

Black Wednesday Birthday Party Aftermath

Oh yes my friends, it's was completely and utterly an awesome time on Black Wednesday and a great time was had by all in my group. For starters the Birthday Party went great and everything that I planned for was held up to my word. I couldn't be more happy with how the staff over at Filthy Libertine set everything up. To top it all off the D.J.'s were right on key with the music and the bartenders were also on their A game. I was at the club earlier then normal to make sure everything was set-up right with my friend Terrell, and once things were accounted for, we started to get our Holiday consumption of Alcohol on a hefty jump start. The rest of my guys met up later on in the night to complete the awesome time of kicking back and relaxing, enjoying life and also the music as well. Just like pretty much every other night spot in Chicago on the eve of Thanksgiving, it was completely packed and at the limit of capacity. As you can tell by some of the images posted, it was a real intense time of debauchery commencing. The club actually ended sooner in the night for some odd reason, but it didn't stop our after-set cravings for some more fun. We ended up heading out to Mannequin Night Club and finished off our night out downtown into the early hours of Thanksgiving morning. Now what's next? Well, I guess I'll start off with finishing off my year on a good side and get my 2009 rolling with success from the get go. So, time to start some rough drafts of New Years' Plans, and then focus on the challenges and goals in my focus for 2009. Till next time...I'll leave you with a word of the night or in this case word for the post of the night.

booty grazing - The act of mass texting a generic message to members of the opposite sex in hopes that a guaranteed hookup for the night will be established. It often involves a very nonspecific message such as "What are you up to tonight?" or "Want to meet up later?" The key feature is the lack of personalization so that the same message can be sent to as many people as possible. This can also be applied to other contact means such as myspace, facebook or email.

EXAMPLE: Last night I went booty grazing and had to choose between 3 different hoes.

Keep the Booty Grazing alive my peeps!