Wolf Rumblings

I like wolves, I like to comment on things that are going on, and I like to encouarge people when I can. So that is where I got Wolf, Shepherd, and Rumblings from. Enjoy!

Name:
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Road Zone

This past week I have discovered that there are certain perks to having a 40+ minute drive to work. One perk is that you can listen to lots of cool music. Another is that there is amble opportunity for people to cut you off and be total jerks to you and you get to cuss at the bums ... I mean show them kindness and mercy *wink, wink*; I really do try not to get mad at them.

But the coolest thing that I have realized in the past few weeks is that it gives me the chance to talk to God and to reflect on the life I have led with him without too many distractions. Yeah, you have all those cars on the road, but most of the time I am autopilot since I know the way so well. Well this past week I had an epiphany about my relationship to God. When I accepted Him into my life it was mostly because I felt guilty about the actions I had done in my life and I was kind of afraid of going to hell, but not too much because I was a good person and I figured I would go to heaven (I know now that is not true, I can only get into heaven by accepting Christ as my savior). Yet, as I learned more about what it meant to be a Christian and began accepting Christ into more aspects of my life I desired to have a closer relationship with Him. And I have begun to care and worry less and less about where I would be spending eternity.

In short, I pursue a relationship with God and His Sob because I want to have the relationship with them here and now in my daily life. I do not worry about what that has in store for tomorrow, a year from now, or what it means after my death. I do not care about the rewards nor the benefits that I receive from the relationship. I try not to worry about the difficulties that come with the relationship (that is a lot harder said then done).

I want the relationship . . . PERIOD! In a way, it is the same as being married. You don't get married because of the benefits that come with, you get married because you want the relationship to blossom, to become something more. In my walk with the Lord and Christ, this is all I have come to desire, to have the relationship blossom.

Of course, just like a marriage there are the ups and the downs. There are things you should or have to do that you really do not want to, but after some fighting you do it anyways because that is what love is. And in the end that is what it is about, Love.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ummm ... what weekend?

So yeah, Christi and me went up to my folks this weekend, only thing is that nothing went the way it was suppose to.

We were going up to see my folks because we had not seen them in awhile and to see how my dad is coping with the whole stupid Delphi fiasco. Also, we were planning on getting both of our computers worked on (esp. mine since it had caught on fire and we wanted to see what could be salvaged) by my brother, the computer wiz of the family, and hanging out with him while my folks were off getting my sister from the University of Toledo for her fall break.

Well things definitely turned out a little bit different. We ended up picking my sister from UT, which means we got up a good 3 to 4 hours earlier; found out my computer had totally been fried, so we had to go by a new hard drive after getting from UT (we were already planning on using one of my brother's friend's computers, just needed to have a hard drive installed) and then we would have to install all of the stuff it needed; this meant we had to stay through Sunday, which meant we got pancakes (who-hooo!) and had to rake leaves (not something I have missed). Finally we left my folks house around 6 Sunday evening, making us late for Veritas. But we did not leave alone, we ended up bringing back whatever had made my dad so sick in Mexico. Fortunately we managed to get to a doctor sooner than he could and managed to get on top of it with some drugs.

So all-in-all, a very crazy weekend that did not give us much sleep and left us totally exhausted and sick. Yet, I would do it all over again if I had to. One I believe in helping people, esp. family, when you can. Two, I got to spend some really good time with my wife, mom, and sister (something that almost never happens) in the car ride Saturday. Three, part of this weekend was Friday, and I got to hang out with a really awesome friend that helped keep me focused on what is good on life, and that aspect allowed me to go through the weekend with good light heart and high spirits. Thanks Katie for an awesome night Friday.

You guys have a great Wednesday, and those of you that go to the D-Tour, I will see you there tonight!

Friday, October 14, 2005

Capitalism

At the dawn of the Twentieth Century people had to worry about being mistreated by companies and work in lousy conditions, but the companies would continue to exist because the owners wanted to make a profit so that they could continue to expand their company. They were not worried about their bonuses or salaries because they were personally tied to the success of the company, not the stock market. Now at the dawn of the Twenty-first Century that is no longer the case. Companies are no longer directly run by their owners but by a board of trustees (voted in by the stock holders) who picks the CEO and a few other executives. And these individuals have no real interest in the company; it is just a job for them. If the company fails who cares, they will still get their bonuses because it comes in the form of stock options. That might make the executives work hard to keep the company profitable because that would drive the stock price up, making them more money. But NO! There are ways around to temporarily drive up the stock so that they can sell it, which then drives the stock back down. In fact, most companies that rely on this heavily to encourage executives to work towards making the company profitable finds that it does the reverse because all the executives care about is figuring out a way to tweak the stock to make more money, not making the company profitable.

AND THIS IS WHY I really want to hurt some people right now; people that have a ton of money, power, and responsibility and the fact that were willing to sacrifice the last two to get more of the first. People who are paid quite well because they are entrusted to run companies effectively so that they are effective, productive, and profitable, and yet, they are willing to bend the rules/laws and just as easily break them to get themselves a couple of extra million dollars in their pockets, money that is just probably more "petty cash" for them.

And in case you are wondering, yes I am referring to a specific company and its "supposed leaders". I am referring to the incredibly incompetent, idiotic, bloody money grabbing, greedy, SOB, jerks that have helped run Delphi into bankruptcy

Delphi is America's largest auto parts supplier, employs over 13,000 people in Ohio alone - most of these in the Dayton area - and they have factories in other parts of the country, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Thailand, China and various other countries that I can not remember off of the top of my head. In the poorer countries these factories are the only "well paid" jobs nearby, and is part of the reason why they have seen small economic booms in those areas. At one point (I do not know for sure about now) Delphi actually supplied enough money to local school districts, via taxes, that they had helped keep property taxes down and allowed for good schools to exist (it is one of the reasons at one point that Centerville, Kettering, Oakwood, Bellbrook, Beavercreek, and so many more schools were able to pay its teachers than the average state wage). And there are a host of small job shops (small factories that make specialized machines and parts) in the Dayton area that rely solely on Delphi as their principal business, which means that their jobs are now toast.

In short, the job market in Dayton just got dealt a really nasty blow, assuming that is that Delphi will have to close its factories in the Dayton area because they declared bankruptcy. And they are already saying they will probably be closing them in the next few years. Yet, that might not even be the worse. I do not have current stats available, but at one point Delphi supplied GM with all of its parts along with supplying other companies with parts as well (this is back when Delphi was a part of GM, but it was called DELCO (Dayton Electric Company) back then). So suffice to say if Delphi is forced to start to decreasing production then these companies are going to have fewer parts to make cars. That is just not good for an industry that is already struggling.

I am sorry for ranting for so long. I am just really ticked off because executives were once again being greedy instead of trying to make the company better. And now one of the oldest, existing companies in Ohio could be gone. It was founded in 1909 by Charles Kettering, the guy who invented the electric starter, and 'twas called Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company back them and has had many names since then. Also, part of the reason I am really ticked is that my Dad could be losing his job soon because he works for those . . . dare I say it . . . bloody, cold hearted, worthless bastards who probably have never done a day of real work in their whole stinking worthless lives. Please pray for my folks, they are really scared.

All right, I am done, really. Again, sorry for the ranting.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Life

Life is such a fragile, unpredictable, beautiful thing. One moment life seems normal and the next thing you know, bam something happens. I found out Friday that my dad's company had gone from debating about declaring bankruptcy to deciding that is what they were going to do, and then ... BAM! Saturday they declared bankruptcy, faster than even my dad had even thought they would. And then I find out Monday that my "supervisor's" baby died on Friday. Just stopped breathing. So I am at work, holding the fort while the rest of the team is at the funeral. And this is new concept for me, because I have never been left on my own before at a temp job.

So I sit here at work with these conflicting emotions, wondering if I am right in feeling them. Both things were not real shockers in that they happened, I suspected that they were going to come to pass. But they still made feel like crap at first. Yet, there is a peace now from them happening. It is almost something that was being hidden has been revealed and now it can be dealt with appropriately. I hope that my dad's company comes out ok, that he will get to keep his job and that he will get the kind of retirement that he has been promised since he started with the company, nearly 30 years ago. And the baby, she is now with God, which is probably for the best. I just pray that her folks will get through it, and that maybe they can find God and his Son in all of this. UGHH!!! All these emotions and thoughts going through my head just don't seem to make sense at times, because they seem to conflict. I guess that is just part of becoming an adult.

Oh well. Life is short and unpredictable, I guess I just need to remember to treasure those special moments.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Consequences

All right, I have seen some interesting things and some really bad things happen to some people I know these past few days, things that seem to be consequences of the actions they have taken. I would like some feedback on the following question, "Will God have something bad happen to someone else for our sins to punish us?" A for instance, you lie to your boss about a project that you screwed up and someone else gets fired, and this someone happens to be a very dear friend of yours. This is the best analogy I can think of without actually giving an example of one of the events that have happened the past few days.

Thanks for your comments.

Monday, October 10, 2005

HeLlO!!!

So yeah, I have decided to join the blogging community. There are times that I just wan to share my opinions and have no means to do so, and since so many I know use this anyways, I figured it would be a good way to get my opinions out there. So howdy all!