Teej's Secret Box

Note:  This was written on December 23rd, but not posted until now due to myself being so busy with the family.

My, what an interesting year it has been for myself, this Year of the Recession Part LXVIII (basically, we have gone through this before, and life will get better if you work at your skills (improving and/or expanding), and continue to ensure that everyone is aware of your skills and desire to help them).  We got a new president elected, and we’re witnessing the fall of our banks and auto makers.  Some of my friends have been laid off, as many companies quickly move to protect their positions in this economy.

I did not help my position by slacking off, especially in a critical deadline junction at one customer.  My scrambling to save the project fell woefully short, and my company had to bring in a guy who previously quit while working for the same client only to come back later on.  However, I hope that my efforts the past few months, especially the past 3 weeks, have been fruitful to help recover some of the damaged reputations.

I do need to finish one more certification test, and start studying on a different one.  Even though I am on vacation the next two weeks, this needs to be done, so I will have this done.

I have only taken one trip out of the country this year — to Aruba, which was a delight, especially in the culinary sense.  However, in exchange for the trips I usually take, I ended up finding the love of my life.

A long time ago, a friend by the name of Amy Lynn Edwards (Peterson), who was strong with intuition, noted to me that I have already met the love of my life, just that I have not realized it at that time.  That memory stuck with me, even in my disbelief.  I chose to try out the dating websites, and became more social in the deaf world in Phoenix.  But both never really panned out.  Early in this year, I decided to just stop searching, and start experiencing life the way I want to live it.  I flirted mercilessly with a female friend of mine, with no luck (a common refrain everyone probably experienced.)

Then a grade school classmate found me on Facebook.  In fact, quite a few classmates found me on Facebook, but this one is from Salt Lake City, and is a successful deaf culinary chef at a five-star hotel there, a long way from his troubles back in school.  Amazed and highly impressed, I caught up on the news with him, and was reconnected to a few other classmates, including her.

Heather and I started talking, and we both realized that she was going to pay Salt Lake City a visit.  I thought that it was cool enough to experience a new city with two of my old friends, so we decided to set plans for me to swing by for a weekend.

But a funny thing happened during this planning phase — we ended up talking deep into the nights.  Once we met in person, I fell in love with her.  It wasn’t the type of lusting after that I experienced in the past, but a matter of, “yes, she is the one.”  I keep hearing my friends saying the same, and many pundits talking about this phenoma, but I couldn’t quite believe it until I actually experienced it.

We connected in so many ways, and her flaws were not an issue for me, just as mine is not for her.  Within three months due to several circumstances, she begun to live with me at my home.  In just a couple of days, her two kids will join us.

The past half of year have to be the best half year of my life.  The initial lust have evolved into such a deep undying love.  I felt a need to be with my love as much as I could, which lead me to weekends being spent with her, instead of elsewhere.  I am ready to sacrifice my life in order to better the lives of my family as much as is reasonably necessary.  I cares for our kids, and hope they will care for me in return.

It is amazing, this feeling I am blessed with.  I can only hope it’ll last for a very long time.

How was your year?  Please feel free to share.

With best wishes for a safe holiday for all of our friends and families –

In Southwest Virginia, there is an organization called the Roanoke HANDS Group, also known as Hearing And Deaf Signers.  This group is part of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Center organization, and meet frequently for a variety of reasons.  One of such gathering is the Christmas Dinner.  My parents and I have gone to this celebration almost religiously when I was much younger, but that have ceased since I went to college.

In fact, i was not able to participate until this year, more than a decade later.  It was a great bash, with plenty of old faces intermindling with new faces.  Stories were shared, and pictures were taken.  I had the good fortune to take a significant amount of pictures of this gathering, and would like to share them with you, my dear readers.  Let’s see if there are any faces you may have recognized…

(Click on picture to see the album)

Being angry at someone, that is good.

Being angry to the point where one go out and try to convince every single person that may have any possible contact with this person, and telling them in an incredibly skewed and inaccurate way how bad of a person he might be…

Not as good.

At least I know who my true friends are.

Special Note:  Please take some time to read the following posts before reading this one, they are all posted immediately below this post:  Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

* * *

We all make choices out of many different reasons.

Some are rational.  Some are not quite as rational.

Some are planned.  Some are not quite as planned.

When it comes to love, far too many people would gladly tell you that they knew from the moment they met a person that they would marry him/her.  A dear friend of mine who had sex with hundreds of women, and is known as a playboy suddenly found himself very monogamous, and very faithful to a wonderful wife he just married a couple months ago, simply because he knew from the first night that she will be his wife.

I saw Heather in person.  I fell in love with Heather.  It is still early, so I am still being a bit cautious.  However, unlike any other women, I have felt that I could trust her completely.  No, not like the other women I’ve loved — completely.  Does it matter that she has a different person in her life too?  Yes, it does matter to a great deal that we must work with each other.  It is a difficult challenge, and not one that would work on many people.

But I do not follow any cultural norms of my society.  I follow the beat to my own drummer, just as those nijab-wearing American women.  I realize that life is not skewed like those “religious” people would like you to believe.

And most importantly of all, I will NOT hold the details back; especially with people I love and care about, even though it may not be something they want to hear.

Heed my words well:  Do not lie on my behalf.  I am open because I feel true with my situation at this time.  If it does not work out, it would suck — but that is all part of life.  Do not lie and cover the fact that we are all different.  Work toward an openness, acceptance, and love for your fellow people, especially your own family.

To those that have accepted this — thank you.  You are indeed friends I am blessed of knowing.

Yesterday Wii Fit – 40 years, 50 minutes.

Today Wii Fit – 31 years, no play for today.

As an aside, there’s one game I absolutely adores, and is taking quite seriously — Rhythm Boxing.  It is well paced, pretty diverse, and long enough for me to not have to “Press A if you understand that you will not stand on an edge of a cliff holding a cat on the leach surrounded by mice while playing this game.”

I can understand the need for Nintendo to protect their business interest by inserting disclaimers, but I think that lawyers are being overzealous here.  “Watch out!  You may lose your balance!”  Well, duh.  It’s Wii Fit!  You will lose your balance here or there.  Don’t tell me that every single time I ask you for an exercise that involves lifting a leg.  In fact, tell me the first time, and then just go direct to the exercise afterward (maybe with a little window saying, “Careful with your balance!”)  It disrupt the playing experience after the first few times.

* * *

I got my Video Phone (VP) working!  Woot!  The TV was just delivered yesterday, and I spent the evening setting up my router for it, and got it going by chatting with a friend all night long.  That’s why there’s no blog posting — I was seriously chatting like a little teenager girl for hours.  That phone will be the death of me.

Do contact me if you want my number.  Also please do warn me ahead of time when you plans on calling — it’s in my office, and I would not be able to see the flashing lights here in the kitchen.  And please, do not sue the VP companies.