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... e-mail me at aasarch(at)aol(dot)com.

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Peace

For the past month or so, for the first time in a long time, I think I've felt a sense of peace. I like it. I'll keep working at it.. and I'll try to blog more, too.

And I also can't believe it's August already! It was just yesterday that the NY Giants won the Super Bowl, right? Soon we're going to be in the "ber" months. But the holiday season is always nice, even if the weather gets a little cold. Summer 2009.. here we come!

Over The Rainbow

I was quite amazed, yet not too surprised to hear Keith Olbermann and Brian Williams report that after Tim Russert's memorial service on Wednesday June, a rainbow appeared over Washington, DC while Tim's brother-in-law played "Over the Rainbow." It just really forces you to step back and think that there must be a higher power at work, and that Tim knew what was going on that sad, but celebratory afternoon in Washington. And it's the same as with my Dad. The night he died, our alarm in our house went off for no apparent reason at around 1am. My sister, who is a nurse, said that based on the time he died, 1am would make sense to have had Dad cleaned up and ready for transport to the funeral home. It was Dad's way of saying he was OK. And Dad, I know that you're still around with some of the crazy things that go on with the TV and VCR in Mom's house!!

I worked for MSNBC years ago, but I didn't know Tim Russert. And I continue to have a great sense of pride for working at MSNBC and the NBC Network. It is still a void in my career I have yet to fill.

Yet over the past week, I felt like I knew him. I cried while watching the memorial service on-line. I didn't catch it live on TV. And regardless of his political affiliation, he just seemed like a genuine nice guy, who loved his work, but loved his family and friends more. And I think for that reason, I feel a sense of loss with Tim's passing.

When looking at my life through a mirror, I just wonder why sometimes I choose to not be as happy as I can possibly be. I wonder why I can't live a life like Tim Russert did? Genuinely happy, so proud of his wife and son, helped others, and was passionate about his work. Now, being passionate about work is one thing. One thing I know from my own experiences is that work doesn't love you back. Yes, you should love what you do, but who really does? But loving your family and friends as much as Tim did is something to be envious about. From what I could tell from his memorial service, Tim didn't have a lot of real close friends, but those he did, he loved greatly. Why isn't everyone like that? Wouldn't this world be a happier better place?

Though at times I can be stupid and thoughtless, I love my wife and family passionately. And I truly do care about my close friends. When I'm a father, I truly hope that I have the same sense of pride about being a father to my children that Tim Russert did.

Today, I want to live a happy, fulfilling, proud life like my father did and like Tim Russert did. It's a choice. I'll do it.

A Sobering Father's Day

I understand that I haven't blogged in a while, and for anyone out there who reads my blog, my apologies. It just hasn't been a priority for me lately. But I'll try to be better at it.

Dad, we visited you today for Father's Day. We rubbed the lottery tickets for you. We won $7! Not bad. Since I knew you'd be upset if we left the winning tickets for you, we just left the "official... losers" for you. I remember a long time ago, you used to collect them and you had a stash of them in your night-table. That was a long time ago!!! I hope you're doing OK, Dad. I miss you.

This past Friday, Tim Russert of NBC News' Meet the Press suddenly died. He died of a heart attack. It turns out that Tim had heart problems similar to my Dad. Now I didn't know Tim at all. I didn't meet him when I worked at MSNBC. So maybe it's silly to feel bad that he died, and that the tributes on television this weekend did bring me to a few tears. But yet, I feel sad.

Events like that of Tim Russert do bring life into perspective. It reminds us of what is important.. family, friends, love, and G-D. Not working 20 hour days at work at a job that may or may not reward in ways that we deserve. The thing is, while we have the right perspective now, it fades, and we all go back into our old habits of worrying about the wrong things.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.

McCain 2008

Time Goes By Quickly

Time really does go by so fast. I can't believe that it's been a little over 2 weeks since I last posted on my blog. And so much has changed. NJ Transit instituted their parking fees despite the complaints and feedback of passengers and politicians alike to not charge for parking. Shows how much those idiots care. However, I will keep my fight going with local politicians from Wayne and surrounding communities to get them revoked, though it seems lately that my efforts are falling on deaf ears. And why bother complaining to NJT? They're not going to do anything about it, despite the fact that we are paying customers who have no choice but to use their G-dforsaken awful system.

I also got a new car.. bought it, no lease. Had no desire to lease again. I was tired of throwing away money and trying effortlessly to work with dealers to get a good lease deal. I got a great purchase deal. I totally suggest Garden State Honda on Route 3 West in Clifton NJ if you are looking for a new Honda.

And for the first time in a long time, I got the flu. An awful case of the flu. Congestion, aches, headaches, and a fever of 102. My fever didn't help me take my exam in class on Saturday.. who knows how I did on that. But I muddled through and if I get a B in the class, I'll be awfully pleased considering the amount and the complexity of material shoved at us in 5 Saturday classes.

And the 1 year anniversay of my Father's fatal heart attack came and went in February. Maybe that's what my flu symbolizes. I love you Daddy. And I miss you so much. I think about you everyday when I'm awake, and when I sleep at night.

But I am feeling better and I will get to work tomorrow. But I will take it easy. I'm sure I have hundreds of e-mails from the days I was out. One thing at a time. Can't conquer the world in one day.

My Point Exactly

Wow, I haven't published a blog posting since February 6! Well, for all of you out there who aren't reading my blog anyway, here's a new post which you won't read.

But this brings me, sort of, to my point, and this is not meant to be a criticism to those who enjoy writing a blog posting every day. I know people like that and I totally respect what they do. But after spending a whole day at work, and a full Saturday in Grad school, I just can't park myself in front of my computer and start typing away in a blog or newsgroup. There are some newsgroups (or what they today call "social media") that I do lurk on and people post on what seems every minute of the day. I just wonder, don't people have anything else more productive and better to do than to sit all day and night posting onto a newsgroup or updating their blog all day long?

Look, I like the idea of a blog. It's a glorified online diary where one can post thoughts and get things off of their chest. It's the same thing that would occur if you used an old fashioned notebook-diary. Except in this case, others can read it. It's quite an interesting concept in this Web 2.0 generation. But try to become a new member of a newsgroup.. forget it! You'll need to go through a hazing period to get into these strange fraternaties.

So my thought... go outside.. play.. see a movie.. kiss your wife/husband/loved one... go to school.. stop texting.. join an organization to meet people in person, but get off the computer! I'm going to do that right now... to study my homework.

My point exactly.

Simple Optimism...and other stuff

Every night from 8-9PM, WPLJ (95.5FM) here in New York plays "the 80s at 8" which is an all request hour of 80s music. I guess I am a child of the 1980s, and hearing the music just reminds me of a time that was so much simpler. Yes, I had my own issues and problems like every kid growing up does, but over all, it was a happier, simpler, optimistic time. My family was doing well financially, we were healthy, all of my Grandparents were still alive. And while people and the media like to make fun of Ronald Reagan for the way things were in the 1980s, it overall was a good decade in my opinion. A very simple decade. Things aren't so simple anymore. We've managed to make life very fast paced and very complicated in so many ways. Makes me wonder... where's the optimism with Obama, Clinton, McCain, or Romney? Scary... very scary.

On Pat Sajak's blog, he talks about the importance of buying vowels when playing Wheel of Fortune. While I agree about the importance of buying vowels on the show and how, if done strategically, can help a contestant solve the puzzle and win the game, I think some of the strategy of buying vowels is taken away because vowels are still so cheap at $250 each. When the show first debuted on daytime television over 25 years ago, $250 was a lot of money to spend on vowels, considering the top dollar amount on the wheel was $750. Today, a contestant can earn thousands of dollars with a single spin of the wheel, and if all 5 vowels are in the puzzle, a contestant could buy all 5 for $1,250. The price of vowels should keep up with the times, the money given away on the show, and increase strategy and competition. Increasing the price of vowels to $500 would not hurt the integrity of the game.