Now don't get me wrong, my life is far from perfect but its pretty good if you ask me. I think there are tons of good things in my life and I'm grateful for all of them. While I'm always striving for better, I do appreciate what I have. All that being said, one thing that remained a constant for quite some time is that for me the 4th of July was like the movie Groundhog Day, which is somewhat ironic because that's one of my mom's favorite movies. It's hard to remember a 4th of July weekend that didn't have a lasting effect in setting forth some significant course events that influenced the balance of that particular year for me... over and over again, apparently until I finally get it right!
Back in 2010, 4th of July weekend marked the end of relationship (if you want to call it that) that left me lost, confused, and sort of angry. Because they were so helpful to me in high school... Cliff's Notes version for you: It was an interesting summer filled with highs and lows. I went sky diving, to the NBA Finals, had another great birthday and in the end it was a good thing for me that things played out the way they did. It was all wrong for me. As much as at times I convinced myself it was good... I knew deep down it was not from start to finish. If I was being honest with myself we had as little chance of working out as Kim K and Chris Humphries! Which reminds me I want my own reality TV show! Anyways, sometimes we just do things with no logic to them, but I definitely learned some valuable lessons. I tend to look back and think of it as training. Preparing me for more important things to come. Its like one of my favorite movies growing up, The Karate Kid. Daniel thinks he is just going through all these awful labors and tasks that just stink with no point and it turns out that he comes to realize Mr.Miagi was teaching him karate...honk! (Thanks Stupid, Crazy Love)
Let's fast forward to the 4th of July weekend, 2011. For some reason this week in the year was once again one that was anything but ordinary and set off a string of events that would not be soon forgotten. I took the Friday before the 4th off as it fell on a weekend this year. Great idea right? An extra day to enjoy the amazing weather, relax, unwind, destress, and have a great time with friends and family. Exactly what I needed after some stressful weeks at work. So, its Friday morning and I don't set my alarm and I get a great nights sleep. I wake up and its beautiful outside, the birds are churping and I feel great. I'm totally in a great mood. I make some breakfast, I catch the highlights from last night's games on ESPN. All good! I decide to do some cleaning in my apartment to finish out the morning. I like things organized and neat (if you know me, not I do not have OCD!), but I don't enjoy cleaning. Its definitely a pain in my back side, but on this amazing morning it's like a combination scene from Risky Business and Mrs.Doubtfire in my apartment. The music is on, I'm sliding across the floor in my socks like Tom Cruise, I'm dancing in the living room as a vaccuum... and yes like movie I picked up the couch with one arm and vac'd underneath it with the other like Mrs. Doubtfire! I work out you know ;) I stop for a moment to get a drink and I pick up my cell phone. I have an email from the City of Boston...peculiar. I open it and its an alert letting me know my car was towed. I'm a bit annoyed. That's going to cost me like $120! I know you can't park on my street Sat/Sun of 4th of July weekend because I live next to the Esplanade, but its only Friday and I'm positive I parked in a legal spot. So weird! I begin calling Towing Companies to see who has my car. After 45 minutes of calling, I find the person with my car. I ask the guy if the ticket on the windshield says what the violation is because I'm still confused. Then the guy on the other end says, "what ticket? wait, do you not know?" Right then and there I got that feeling in your stomach and head like when I rode the Tea Cups at the carnival as a kid. I say, "tell me what?" He proceeds to tell me there was an accident on my street this morning and not one, but two cars collided, ran off the road and barrel full speed into the side of my parked car. My car was completely totalled. I seem to recall his description of the damage resembling that of the image from Armegeddon when the meteor blew up in a nuclear explosion at the end... I was floored. That is not how you'd like to start of your fun 3 day weekend. What ensused was endless convos with police, insurance agents, bumming rides off people for 4 weeks, finding out a friend of mine from work was killed in a separate terrible accident, and me getting an illness in my throat that baffled doctors for the better part of 3 months. It was like I was on that show House. This mystery illness made it really tough to eat, and had me looking like I was getting ready for an audition for the Tom Hanks role in a re-make of the movie Philadelphia. It wasn't an amazing Fall and clearly I wasn't my normal happy self as much as usual. However, I am not a quitter. And yes, I did finally get better with the assistance of an Acupuncturist interestingly enough. Who would of thunk it? It's true and it happened just in time of Christmas. I was able to push through the crap (with the help of a very smart woman) and got a great Christmas gift, my health back! And when I look back at that time again now, I still see the positive in it because now I am a much stronger person physically and mentally... honk!
Now we move to this past 4th of July in 2012! Life was good, as usual. I was playing soccer all summer, boxing again, on the verge of a promotion at work which I had worked extremely hard for, and the weather has been great all year. I had been to Miami, San Fran, the Cayman Islands that Spring and I was headed to Asia for work later that month (where I'd never been). While the events of that weekend were far less wild and crazy it had a pretty decent size impact as in past years. No cars getting wrecked, no jumping into a swimming pool and hitting the bottom face first resulting in a bloody mess (see 2008 at my aunt's house), no getting bit by a vampire from the Bayou! I am big on the little things sometimes having the most impact. The little details are important in life. I was headed to Tokyo in mid July so I took some time to take it easy, hang out with my friends Dan and Gabe... and their new baby on the 4th. And of course Sean, Nate, Amy and Erin made it as well and the annual roofdeck BBQ broke out capped off with the traditional shot of Port (long story). Anyways, that week I made some extra efforts above the norm to make sure to check in with friends I hadn't seen as much lately and things of that nature to make sure everyone was doing well. As it happens I eneded up going to the beach to catch up with one of my older friends that I don't see as much anymore. Side note, beach with an old friend is much wiser than beach as a first date (see prior blog posting, lol). It was nice and we started checking in and hanging out everyone once in a while again (not weekly, but more regularly that earlier that year). We touched base about the 1st of September to see about grabbing a drink Labor Day weekend, but schedules conflicted so no big deal. A couple days after Labor Day though, he shot me a text inviting me out for a drink that night. I was at the gym lifting so I was kind of wishy-washy on going. At the end of the day, I thought to myself that working out is important to me and I love it but its not more important than family, friends, and enjoying myself so I decided to walk home, shower, and head out to meet up with him and some of his co-worker friends. Afterall, it was a legs and abs day, who seriously enjoys that workout! I like to "pick things up and put them down", lol. Well, it just so happens that was another pretty damn good decision. I took a immediate liking to one of the young ladies he was with and decided to persue that by getting her info soon thereafter and asking her out on a date. A nice little turn of events that I can't help but think stems from my efforts earlier in the summer. Let's fast forward and jump ahead to present day. It's now mid-December and the holidays are upon us. Christmas decorations are up, parties and events are being planned, I've seen my family a bunch recently. Despite the dislike for cold weather the holidays are a favorite time of year for me. Hey, I still enjoy the claymation Rudolph on TV and the Chipmunks Christmas DVD. Next up for me is trying to figure out what to get my family and friends in the way of gifts. My parents are hounding me once again about what I want for Christmas... and I while I tell them something small if fine like always, I can't help but think that it's sort of a moot point for me... in a year where I traveled to the Tropics and to Asia, where I got promoted to Senior Product Manager of Apparel at New Balance... the best thing in 2012 is that I must have been extra, extra good this year because it feels like I had Christmas already... that Santa came early this year for me... in early September, just after Labor Day in fact!!!
Let me put it like this... It's like I've been laboring at the poker table and in the biggest pot, with all the money in the middle, I am one card away from a royal flush, and the dealer turns over my winning card... the Queen of Spadas.
What a difference a year makes : )
