Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. - Jean Paul Richter

Another year passes, and the train of time appears to have picked up speed. But what a wonderful and beautiful year the scenery has been.

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August 25, 2010

Annual Horoscope

Whew! Feel that enormous burden sliding off of your shoulders, like you've been carrying around an overstuffed backpack for the last couple of years? That would be Saturn, planet of structures and limitation, moving out of your sign. Congratulations, first of all, on having simply made it through more or less in one piece. You passed through the fire and made it out the other side.

Now, what to do with that spiritual Medal of Honor you've earned? Well, for one thing, establish who it is you really are with both yourself and those around you. Your ability to quietly endure both the big and little outrages of life have served you well in the last couple of years, and many of those around you may have come to assume that either it wasn't as rough on you as it was, or that you are somehow made of steel. In fact, you may have come to the same conclusion yourself. Virgo has a reputation for being able to take care of others with the best of them -- but can you turn that same care and attention on yourself? That's the big question you'll be facing in 2010.

The good news (beyond simply less bad news) is that there will be all kinds of opportunities opening up for you in new directions as far as fun, recreation and romance. So take advantage of those whenever you can. You've earned it!

Hmm, opportunities, huh? Well, bring them on!

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What an exciting year and one full of change. Over the past (12) months, I lost my dear friend, Jake the dalmatian, after over thirteen years of unconditional love and companionship. He is still dearly missed. Speaking of change, in almost (6) weeks, a new life is set to enter this world, another Bollman baby boy ... I can't wait to meet him!

Travels to Jamaica, San Francisco, and Chicago allowed long-distance friendships to be rekindled and new ones to be created. While in Jamaica on the continuing humanitarian trip, I was fortunate enough to find some time to get certified in scuba diving, something I've been longing to do for some time now. For me, nothing is more peaceful than swimming in the ocean. That being said, today I had one of the biggest rushes of my life when I jumped out of an airplane at nearly 14, 000'. Will I do that again? Maybe ... those first ten seconds of freefall were unreal and didn't necessarily leave me feeling the desire to do it, again, anytime soon. Yet, after I got my bearings and knew everything was going to be okay, it was kind of peaceful, and man, what a view!

Working in the mountains of New Mexico continued and while labor intensive, my uncle shares stories about times past that are the best treasures I could have ever imagined and totally worth the sweat labor. My Tio Fidel is an amazing storyteller.

Looking back over the past year, I have been truly blessed by family and friends.

New Mexico - Spring 2009

Recently, I had the opportunity to take a few days and head to New Mexico to do a little bit of outdoor work. After driving down through Kansas and hanging out in Topeka for a couple of days due to the transmission breaking down, the majestic view of the mountains was well worth the wait, as were the rejuvinating hot springs. Hanging out with my family is always a blast. BTW, the family photo you see above is only a slice of the whole crowd. My Big Fat Greek Wedding has nothing on me ;)!

New Mexico ....

No matter what time of the year it is, it has always felt like the same temperature in the mountains near Las Vegas, New Mexico. This time, however, it did feel a slightly colder; but, it was still bearable, and as always, beautiful.

My brother and I were able to finish prepping a fence line through the mountains (see the not so great photo) that goes east to west through the mountains for approximately a mile. While initially this may seem like an easy feat, keep in mind the terrain drops about 50 feet in some places and shoots straight back up. Each morning began with a purchase of t-posts and approximately an hour's drive through paved, gravel, and finally dirt roads into the mountains; using the description of roads is actually a generous term as the terrain is more aptly a jeep trail. Then, we would work the entire day hammering posts into the ground manually with a post pounding hammer. While this process may not seem hazardous at first, you can feel the goose egg on my head which proves otherwise.

When the sun slipped under the peaks, we would begin our way back into town, grab a bite to eat with the family, hit the natural hot springs, and then sometimes have a drink. We would repeat this process each and every day.

The hot springs near the Arm and Hammer International College are not only rejuvenating, but offer a wonderful view during the evening of the old monestarey. This college hosts students from around the world an opportunity for advanced studies here in the United States and was once funded by the queen of England.

Other events that occurred besides the goose egg were a dog attack, a spider bite, and a brief ride to the hospital in the ambulance. So, if you want to find out more, you'll have to ask! I can't wait to go back!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Every since I was about fifteen, I've done this "year in review" type of thing right around my birthday. I guess I do it to make sure I'm going in the right direction and not losing track of what I want to do with my life. I know it sounds cheesy, but hey, it's my birthday week, strike that, birthday month, so I'm entitled :).

A busy year? Yes, definitely. The cliches appear to breathe in more life the older that I become. Everyday, it feels as though the world is moving faster than the day before, and I'm playing catch up. No, there is never enough time to get everything done, but as this year has reinforced, it's the important things that truly do matter, and to me, the important things are my relationships with my family and friends.

I believe relationships tell a lot about who you are; rather, I believe it's how one relates to the world around them, be it people, animals, nature, or whatever, that really identifies the type of person he/she really is. How one relates to those things in the universe seems to be continuously changing event, though; I guess the way that I visualize it is that a person seems to be like a buoy out in the ocean continuously bumping into the things around it; some days the sea is calm, other days, it's a little stormy out there and we bump a little harder :). Alright, enough of my meager attempt at being deep.

Year in Review. First off, I went a little farther than a year back. It was just over a year ago that Rochelle and I got married on the beach near Tulum, Mexico. I feel that was a life changing event that was important enough to include for the review :). In case you didn't know, it was just the two of us that flew down there for a week and we were married near sunset on the beach. It was beautiful and not too stressful. In fact, we went for a swim earlier in the morning in an old port near the ancient Mayan ruins. In June, we celebrated our one year anniversary.

Our extended families have expanded as you can see above. Also, our immediate family expanded with the addition of Farley, the crazy weimaraner. A beautiful pup, he's been a challenge for Jake to relate to. I guess like me, Jake needs to work on his sharing skills.

I am still working for the Lee County State's Attorney Office, although my role has shifted somewhat. I now handle all of the civil matters concerning the county and provide general counsel to the various local government departments. Also, I still prosecute and was fortunate enough to have three successful jury trials this year. As for bench trials and hearings, I can't keep count as there are too many of them, both wins and losses. The job provides a plethora of experience that I never knew I would receive from juvenile matters to 1983 prisoner litigation issues. It does keep me busy and makes the days go fast. I did travel to several seminars for legal education, including the ABA's International Law Section annual conference in Miami; simply an amazingly educated group of individuals.

I was fortunate enough to have a rekindled passion for photography this year. The shutterbug syndrome is contagious and thankfully I haven't become immune to it (thank you, Bob). Although, instead of predominantly focusing on people as I have in the past, my interests have become stronger in more static subjects, such as landscapes. Also, "The Duke," a bald eagle that visited the Rock River this winter, became an obsession. Any by obsession, I mean that he actually got me up before 6 A.M. several times on weekends because I had to go watch him. I had never seen bald eagles in my local area before -- they really are very majestic birds -- and HUGE! Also, I attended MAIPP (Mid-America Institute of Professional Photography) at Northern Iowa University, again, for a week. It is a wonderful experience that definitely rejuvenates the creative soul (and always makes me want to purchase more camera equipment!).

I am still working on my mom's property in New Mexico, but have had a lot of help from my brother. The mountains help to put life into perspective; especially when I realize that the closest neighbor is about five miles away. Also, the video clip above is a wonderful reminder of how quickly mother nature can change plans for the day. I think thunder was meant to be heard echoing through the mountains (thunder in the mountains isf like listening to really good music on a Bose system).

If you would like to know more about my year in review, just ask. Or, even better, become part of it. It's been a good year; I've been fortunate to be blessed with such good friends and family, so, if you have actually taken the time to read all the way down to this point, thank you. Now, let's make next year even better!