Yum!

Yes! I made pancit with longaniza & bok choy! It was tasty! :)

Talking

How sad it is that the image above is how we all have begun to communicate with one another? How sad is it  when you want to talk to someone, it is sometimes impossible for that person to look at you while they have their mobile phone out because they are doing something on it? Do you wait for them to finish or do you continue to talk to that person simply accepting the fact that they are only halfway listening to you?

People can write articles about etiquette but if no one believes that such a thing should be followed then it really serves no purpose. In a group setting, if a conversation does not pertain to me, I have on occasion brought out my phone to keep myself occupied. I do not know if it is better to look at my phone or to have a glazed over look as I tune out the conversation.

Hrm.

Maybe it is a way for people to subliminally let the other person know that they are not really interested in what they are talking about. I am sure that if were just me and another person sitting down having a conversation that I would not be using my mobile phone. That would be rude and disrespectful. Sure, if the person had their mobile phone out while I was trying to talk to them, I could say something. But then again, why say anything since it is a powerful sign that they do not find what I am saying important enough to have their undivided attention.

Pretty soon, the only way we will be talking to another human being will not be looking directly at them, but looking at a tiny screen, typing a conversation to them.

Sad.

Nap Time

Jude decided it was time for a break.

Two Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty

That is the number of days that Danielle and I have been married. Today, we celebrate our eight year wedding anniversary. It was a cool Autumn day eight years ago, our ceremony was suppose to be outside, but the weather did not cooperate so it was moved indoors. It would have been nice to be outside with the leaves all changing colours but it would have been chilly. Since that time, we have been on many adventures, the move from Kansas City, Missouri to Hilliard, Ohio, Danielle's first trip overseas where we spent New Year's in London and more recently our fourteen day trek through France and Belgium. There have been a lot of good times and with all things there must be a balance so there have been some bumps along the way. Though, for me, it requires a fair amount of effort to remember the bad times which is the way it should be. It should be more about remembering and looking forward to the good times while the bad times should be used as lessons to improve and maybe one day laugh about. Maybe.I would say learn from, improve upon and let it be water under the bridge.

In my opinion no marriage is truly happy. It takes work, dedication, commitment and compromise. It has moments of great pride while having equal moments of humbling. It requires patience and the ability to forgive. It is frustration, which slowly leads to understanding. It takes time. It takes time to develop, nurture, love and grow together. It is a never ending cycle and maybe that is what in the end makes it something that is simply satisfying.

So to my wife, Danielle, it has been a wonderful eight years of challenges and growth. I am happy to have you as my partner on this road we are traveling. May our adventures continue, may we always learn something new and may we always continue to grow together.