Thoughts for Today

Baxter's Buzz Life is full of all sorts of surprises. It's exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. Back in the day people stayed at jobs for 30-40 years until they retired. That's becoming less and less the case. It makes it tough to have that comfort level....especially in the world of sales. What can you do? Work hard and keep an update resume is a good start.    Work drama will never end. I don't care where you work. I was exchanging stories with a friend of mine today, and there are wacky things going on from mom and pop shops, to fortune 100 companies. Wacky people in leadership roles and wacky people reporting to their wacky managers. And then you have to deal with different personality types. I believe, many times, that the manager you report to along with the actual work you do (and pay of course) determine how successful you'll be at a job. Some personalities just mesh well with all types of folks and then some others just have bad attitudes and a negative outlook. Those negative folks will always find it difficult to achieve happiness (life is tough enough when you're optimistic). These negative Nancy types are truly fighting an uphill battle. These sour faced-characters are walking around bringing the morale down in the office, one frown at a time. They don't understand how meaningful a simple smile could be to someone having a tough day. A simple hello or compliment can go a long way.

Advantages of Having a Baby

16 weeks ago my wife and I had a baby girl. This is the most awesome feeling IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. Soon I'll blog about that whole experience, but for now I'm sharing a list of advantages of having a baby.

1.  Taking weird family photos - I took the most awkward picture since I was in elementary school (I used to take every picture with my mouth open forever. Wish one of the photographers would have given me a heads up) with my wife and my newborn baby, posted it on Facebook and I only heard one comment about how bad the picture was (you know who you are).

2.  Bad grammar - I'm not sure why "baby talk" was invented, but I'm pretty sure it's one of the worst inventions this side of the shake weight. "Wook at da wittle baby." Seriously? Who talks like that?? And then they wonder why their baby talks like Elmer Fud. Talk to them like regular people.....because they are regular people. They're just little.

3.  Passive aggressiveness - Have you ever talked to your significant other through your baby? It's one of the quickest way to start an argument...Trust me. "So daddy was just gonna leave you poopy until I came back, huh?" What did you and mommy do all day? The house looks the same as when I left for work today." Even though you can do it, I'd advise against it.

4.  Blame farts on the baby - Infants have some of the loudest farts around. Conceivably (pardon the pun), you could pass gas as loud as you possibly could and blame it on the baby. And depending on how gullible they are, your spouse could actually go for it. I wish you the best of luck with that one.

5.  Leave engagements early (or get out of plans altogether) - Children are unpredictable. They get fussy, sick, and your plans can unravel quickly. Anyone who has kids are typically more understanding if you change plans suddenly or need to cancel. And if the people you are cancelling with DON'T have kids, you can believe that somebody with children will attempt to explain (and justify) your sudden change of plans. And if you are already at an event, you are one baby meltdown from excusing yourself and skating home early. Nobody wants a crying baby ruining the mood of a good party or gathering. They'll be glad to see you walk out of that door.

Shout out to K-Dubb for helping me with this list.

Letter to TSH

Baxter's Buzz

Life changes, and sometimes quicker than a blink of an eye, and days turn into weeks fast. Then you realize that you haven't talked to one of your favorite people in the world for like, months.

I just want you to know that I am very proud of you and the woman you've become. You're wedding, I hate that we cannot attend. Just know that we are praying for you guys and I am excited for the life you two seem to be building together. No relationship is perfect, but you just keep working on it and do your best to demonstrate your love and appreciation for one another (I say this to you as I remind myself of the same thing).

I didn't know any married people when I was young besides Derrick and Lea. I remember everything seeming so perfect and effortless for them, at least that was my impression (This is me as a teenager who didn't spend a ton of time with them). I remember seeing them argue for the first time and it gave me hope that Crystal and I DID have a shot because we argued sometimea too...haha. I was like, "Well, this must be natural."

I'd like for us to spend more time together. I want to get to know Cortez better and spend time with Kennedy too. We're neighbors and I've been to your house one stinkin time! It's totally my fault though. When we were young do you know how excited we'd be if we knew that we'd both have little baby girls, be married and live 5 minutes from one another? What would make for a better script? You are weird, like me (maybe even more weird) and that doesn't always play out well for us. We have so much going on in our brain, dealing with who knows what, that picking up the phone can sometimes be difficult. I get lost in my mind for days at a time, thinking of so may people, yet reaching out to so few. That is on the list of about 2,593,552 other things that I need to work on, although very close to the top. Please know that I love you very much and always will.

Poems by Bax

Another Year Here

Another year here
Who said it couldn't be done?
We won. I'm doing my victory dance like Re-Run
But I've been what's happening
Sometimes I'm forgotten about
But give me a minute and I'll be back again

Haters want to attack again
Ah, home sweet home
I used to say leave me alone now I'm begging you to stay
Cause when you go away, I'm probably standing with you
And that could never be my position for more than a day

There's so much to do and our time is limited
Don't rush life, do your best to remember it

My New Year 2013

Baxter's Buzz So as I approach my 32nd birthday tomorrow, ironically,  I'm fixated on when my first child will arrive (any day now) and what is expected of me for my wife's 30th birthday. I've been telling my wife that the only gift that I need is a healthy baby. Wifey's birthday is in June and I don't expect her to feel the same way. Turning 30 is one of those "milestone" birthdays so I get it. Just not sure what she's expecting because all of our money has gone to this future sweetest baby in the world. Because my birthday is on the work calendar, people feel completely comfortable asking me how old I'll be this year. I don't mind that question at all. The only issue I have is, the people who want to know my age are women. And Lord knows you cannot ask a woman their age. A little hypocritical, don't you think? There are some women that are proud to tell you their age. Typically, it's because they believe they look young for their age, they're in good shape for their age, or they feel accomplished for their age. I suppose it's a lot easier to brag about your age when you feel like you're on path to your dreams. I believe we all take stock and assess where we are in contrast to where we'd like to be. It's only natural. January 1 brings a certain amount of reflection, but I consider April 16 my new year. What plans do you have for the rest of this year?

One Year Ago

Baxter's Buzz

Last year today, a good friend of my family, and a great friend of mine passed away. Just two days prior to her birthday (which happens to be my birthday also). She would be so proud of how this past year has gone for me. She helped me develop my love of movies and taught me not to be afraid of wearing your heart on your sleeves (which I haven't followed in the slightest). She was intelligent, articulate, passionate and unable to be silenced. She loved hard and stuck to her guns when she felt strongly about something, regardless of if she believe she was right or not. I remember her being somewhat of a mother-figure for me when my mother passed away. She wasn't afraid to be herself with the understanding that everyone wouldn't accept that. That's one of the lessons I hope to pass along to my daughter.

 Last year when my Aunt was sick, I told her that she couldn't go anywhere because our birthday was coming up soon. She agreed but I later realized she had to get up to heaven in order to work on getting my first born here. So as my birth month concludes, my first daughter will be born and I know that my aunt had something to do with it. I'm sure she was polite while also being extremely articulate and persistent in making her request known. The thought of the exchange makes me smile.

Siblings Day? - Last week people were celebrating something called "Sibling Day." I can honestly say that I've never heard of this before this year. Is this real? Although my dad had several children way before I was even thought of, I grew up by myself, and therefore consider myself an only child. I did spend A LOT of time with 10 or so of my closest friends and consider them my brothers. I guess I want to wish them a happy siblings day. Oh yeah, my sisters and my blood brother too.

Welcome To The Club - With our desire as humans to have an answer for every question and complete every sentence, we need a reason for other people's success. But we need an answer that WE can accept. "The girl who lost all of that weight HAS to be starving herself."
"He's a brown-noser and that's why HE got the promotion."
"That house is TOO nice for them. They must have purchased a foreclosure."
My advice to anyone achieving some success and consequently, obtaining some haters: Focus on what made you successful and don't worry about haters. And remember that a pat on the back ain't far from a kick in the behind. Folks are very fickle and may be rooting for your success one day and your demise the next.

Silence is Golden

Baxter's Buzz I've been thinking about this next chapter that I'm entering and how I'll adjust. God gives the baby 9 months to grow inside the womb and the parents 9 months to "prepare." I don't care if the room is painted, the books are read, the birth classes are completed and the stroller has been purchased, you ain't ready. With our first child on the way, there's definitely some uncertainty. For every person that wishes you well and tells you everything will be fine, there are 8 others telling you about lack of sleep and all of their other horror stories. Do you not think we know our sleeping has to change? People saying stuff like, "Get your sleep now," like we can stock up on it. I think sometimes people don't know what to say so they all say the same thing. It's the same reason people always talk about the weather when they see someone. But I encourage everyone to appreciate a little silence and shut up sometimes.