OBSESSED ON OBSESSION (By Robert Chapman)

I’ve got many (and by many I mean MANY) strange obsessive quarks about me. I think I might be borderline obsessive compulsive, but it’s not so bad to where it negatively affects my day. That’s not to say that it doesn’t affect my days or my entire life, but my obsessive compulsive nature never affects me negatively.

What could some of these strange quarks be? How about germaphob? – nope. Or maybe saying my name a certain way a million times? – nuh uh. Am I one of those people who have to enter a door frame and even six times and then one more for self comfort? – thank God, no.

My obsessions are more along the lines of making sure that when it comes to stairs I end with my right foot, or that things around me are evenly spaced apart. Also, my date book is color coordinated as follows: events are written in blue, days are marked out in black, and times for events are in red.

Many might say that is odd and flat out weird. I’d have to agree with you, but little things like that have to be in order for me to go about my day. If something is not symmetrical, one way or another I have to convince my mind it is okay or I have to move whatever is too far to the right or the left towards the middle.

Through the current events of life (marriage and weddings), I’ve noticed that my strange way of life isn’t for everyone, especially my fiancee. Also, she is one more of my quarks that I’ll have to get used to – she doesn’t function like I do, so I have to learn how to deal and know that it will be just fine in the long run.

This marriage should be interesting, seeing how we both like things clean, only we like them clean in our own version of clean. If you have any great stories about being a newlywed, let me know so I can post them and so I can get some relief that I’m not the only one who has to adjust. Now, my pens are not even in my pen cup . . . I’ll have to jump on that right now.

MR ROGERS, DO YOU WANT THIS NEIGHBOR? (CNN.com)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Paris Hilton may be looking forward to her jailhouse release, but her neighbors aren't.

Anticipating a horde of media when the socialite is expected to be released next week, some Hollywood Hills residents are circulating a letter advising neighbors to call police and local representatives to complain of the noise and traffic that may overtake the sleepy neighborhood, a city councilman's spokeswoman said.

City Councilman Jack Weiss was coordinating with police and other city departments to "ensure safety and access" on the narrow, winding road leading to Hilton's home just north of the Sunset Strip, his spokeswoman Lisa Hanson said.

"We're working to address the disruption issue," she said.

Hilton began her 45-day jail sentence earlier this month after failing a sobriety test and violating her probation twice by driving on a suspended license.

When Sheriff Lee Baca abruptly released Hilton to home confinement after just three days behind bars, a throng of photographers and reporters huddled outside her home. Helicopters hovered overhead.

Weiss's office received more than 50 calls from residents, most of them complaining about the helicopter noise, traffic and overcrowding because the street doesn't have sidewalks and parking space, Hanson said.

Hilton, who was sent back to jail by a judge, is expected to be released Monday, when she will have served about 23 days of a 45-day sentence.

THE LITTLE THINGS (By Robert Chapman)

How important is it in our everyday lives for the little things to happen and happen correctly? Sometimes, if these little things go awry or don’t even happen, then the whole day can seem like it lies in ruins. If we take a look at the history of the world, if the little things would not have happened or if the little things would have happened, we would have learned completely different ideas in our history classes:

-If the Titanic would have left six hours earlier, there might have been enough light for the watchman to see a giant iceberg, and we wouldn’t have had to suffer through three hours of Leonardo DiCaprio drowning.
-If Robert E. Lee wouldn’t have dropped those two cigars with his battle plans in them, the Civil War might have had a different outcome, or might have just delayed the inevitable.
-If Isaac Newton would have accidentally put a minus sign instead of a plus sign in one of his equations, gravity might not be what it is today (because apparently, Newton invented gravity).
-If Abraham Lincoln would have decided not to go to the theatre one night, maybe Reconstruction would have been better which might mean that Civil Rights today might be more advance than they are.
-If K-Fed and Britney Spears wouldn’t have gotten married, our society would have fallen apart because what would entertain our cravings for celebrities turned trashy?!

I love that Gatorade commercial where they show the great plays from the past that did happen, but with the magic of computer animation, they show how those legendary clips would look if they were just another missed opportunity: What if Michael Jordan wouldn’t have made that shot, or if Joe Montana wouldn’t have connected on that touchdown pass? It’s the intricate details of big events that make them larger than life.

But what about our everyday lives? I thought about this idea this morning while I was in the shower. I was in such a grouchy mood a couple days ago because the way my day should start off was not what I needed. I woke up to my dog whining loudly, no cream or sugar for my coffee, my milk had gone bad plus I was out of cereal, I was out of my Irish Spring body wash in the shower, and I had used my last Q-tips the morning before.

Little things like that take what could be a good or even great day and confront you with the choice to dwell over trivial hurdles or to ignore them and get on with our day. The unfortunate thing about the second choice is that we are creatures of habit. We like our morning routine to go according to schedule. If the schedule differentiates from our wantings, then the whole day is shot; it feels like an uphill battle.

Take a look at the little things that go on around your everyday life. Try to imagine your day without them, and on a bad day try to remember, at least your not on the Titanic, with Leo, drowning.

A NEW HOUSE, A NEW REALIZATION (By Robert Chapman)

I can’t figure out which one is more of a shock: the fact that I’m about to get married or the fact that we have bought a house. You could say that they are one in the same, but for those of you who have planned a wedding and have gone through the aches and pains of preparing a house to live in (e.g. – painting, furniture, painting, kitchen stuff, painting, pets, painting, and did I mention painting?), these are both two different entities that have to be dealt with. The funny thing is trying to deal with both of these separate entities at the same time.

As a rookie in the grown up world, I think I am doing an okay job, but looking at the sophistication of those adults I have grown up around, it amazes me at how far behind them I am. I know I’m only in my early 20s, but when some of you were in your early 20s you had much larger shoes to fill than I do. When Megan’s mother was around our age, she already had two children. When my mother was 22, she had already been married for around three years. Some by the age of 22 have kids, have huge responsibilities in the working world, and a select few are making millions in the professional sporting world.

This morning I took a look in the mirror while I was brushing my teeth, and for the first time, it really hit me hard that the adult world is no longer a destination, but rather the forest that I’m already in. I can’t wait to see what kind of parents we turn out to be, but as my father once told me, “Enjoy today and don’t let tomorrow be your goal.” What he means by that is this: enjoy the little things that life has to offer and don’t get all caught up in becoming one of those people who are defined by HUGE accomplishments. I’m learning how to deal with real stress, but I’m also learning how to smile at the little mistakes that I’m supposed to learn from (like putting oil in the air filter of the lawn mower . . . that wasn’t supposed to go there).

TGIF (By Robert Chapman)

In the words of so many people who have stolen the phrase and made it their own, “Thank God it’s Friday!” I enjoy Fridays at The Clarion-Ledger because we have what everyone else has: casual Fridays. So I’m at my computer sitting in my jeans, my t-shirt and my flip-flops, pondering what to write about and it hits me: why don’t I just write about Father’s Day.

Sure, it seems simple enough to write about how great my father has been and how I’m looking forward one day to becoming a father, but with my wedding date very quickly approaching (8 days, to be precise), the realization of becoming a father is already kind of tugging on my heart strings. Hopefully, we will have a good period before we become parents, but one day, I will become a father. I keep thinking, “How will I come across as a dad?”

My father has been a great father. Ever since I was young, he got me stuck on baseball, and now I’m officially obsessed. He has taught me the importance of words and talking things out and has even shown me some of the consequences when words are not used. He has taught me how to fail, but has more importantly taught me how to recover and how to rely on the strength of the Lord. He has taught me how to get back up after falling down, and how to enjoy in the breeze on my face when life is a smooth ride. He has taught me the importance of loving others and has taught me the importance of believing in myself.

I wonder how I will be with my children. Will I be a good father or will I be a bad father? Hopefully it is the prior and not the latter. A guy I work with is celebrating his first Father’s Day as a father. He has a three month old son, and his cubicle is covered in pictures of him. I asked him if he is looking forward to his first Father’s Day as a dad, and he told me that he keeps forgetting that he gets to be included in this holiday. I can understand the surreality (is that a word?) of that because the fact that I’m about to be a husband still makes me blush.

Dads are everywhere. Without them, we wouldn’t be here, and without them, in one way or another, we wouldn’t be who we are. Make sure that you at least think of your father this Sunday, and if you can, call him and give him a hug.

Now, enough with the sappy stuff. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and remember to send me some of your own writings and I’ll post them. I think for weekends I’ll do little blurbs or find little posts from other news sites. Have a great Father’s Day weekend!

IF YOU DRINK, DON'T DRIVE . . . NAKED (Yahoo News)

BELLEVUE, Wash. - Drunken driving is bad, but drunken driving while naked could be worse. A Washington State Patrol trooper pulled over an SUV on Interstate 90 in this Seattle suburb after observing it driving erratically about 1:20 a.m. Friday.

The trooper found both the driver and his female passenger were naked, with alcohol containers in the vehicle. They apparently had been interrupted in the middle of an intimate act, said Trooper Jeff Merrill, a State Patrol spokesman.

A 19-year-old Seattle man was arrested for investigation of drunken driving, a gross misdemeanor, and investigation of embracing while driving, which Merrill said was a misdemeanor. The 20-year-old Seattle woman was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol, he said. The patrol did not release their names.

IN THE HOT SEAT (By Robert Chapman)

Our server has gone down up here at work, so I decided I would utilize my time and write a little blurb, if you will.

Often times, we refer to people who have bountiful blessings spoiled while we ourselves are spoiled in our own sort of ways. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think that Paris Hilton should spend at least 6 months in jail and should not be allowed to see anyone with the same last name or anyone holding a camera. She, in my opinion, is extrodinarily spoiled. But, this goes back to the point I was about to make.

Isn’t the idea of being spoiled along the same line that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” Everything, other than cold hard facts (and even some facts), is relative: beauty, cruelty and even the idea of being spoiled.

If we were to ask our grandparents what they did during the hot Mississippi summers, they would say they drank tea, worked out side, sat in the shade of a large oak or magnolia and treked through the hot summer with rags in hand to wipe off the sweat from their forheads.

Now, here’s what I’m wondering: are we spoiled because we have grown up with AC, and when it suddenly doesn’t work, we fight tooth and nail. Is the fact that we get so upset because we are spoiled, or is it because the invention and convenience of air conditioning has truly improved the quality of life.

Around March, my AC went out in my car. At that point, it wasn’t so bad – I could just role the windows down. When May got here, I started my job, and the heat was turned up. So, now I’m suffering in my own personal sauna to and from work (and everywhere else I go). I’m getting it fixed soon, and I keep telling myself, it will be even sweeter when it is fixed because I will remember how hot and miserable it was.

Maybe this idea of being spoiled and everything being relative is to teach me a larger lesson. It’s like the old saying, “Remember where you come from.” If we remember the miserable things in life, then maybe we won’t take the convenient modernities for granted. Whether it is the new gas stovetop in your house that could be a wood furnace or the computer that might run a little slow that could be a pen-and-pad, remember that we are blessed.

Now, enjoy your air conditioned car and think about me when you’re driving in the 98 degree heat and you say, “Honey, turn the AC down a bit, it’s kinda cold.”

Humble Beginnings

I’m entering the fourth week here at The Clarion- Ledger, and I’ve noticed that being part of the real world is not exactly what I thought it would be, but it is more fun than I was anticipating. Sure, there is a lot of new responsibility, and there is no one else to blame if something goes wrong. All of the finger pointing will come right back to me. Also, one adaption from college to now is that if something is in a downward spiral, I can’t just say, “Oh well, if I can just tough it out until the end of the semester, it will be alright.” There is no more “end of the semester.” But I am finally glad that I can learn something new everyday here at The Clarion- Ledger. I can be passionate about learning and then apply all I’ve learned up here.

With a week and a half left until the wedding, I can honestly say that I’m ready for it to get here so we can look back and say, “Wow, what a circus all that planning was!” I moved into the new house, and we’ve been painting and getting it all ready for the big move in date! All the gifts from the showers are over there, and it isn’t cluttered in one room anymore, which is nice.

One cool thing about working at The Clarion-Ledger is that I got to meet (and now I know) Marshall Ramsey. The crime in Jackson has gotten out of control, with mid-afternoon robberies in public places. Obviously, no one has stolen Marshall's sense of humor!



I hope I can keep this blog up by posting on it atleast once a week. I want to keep it as professional as I can and not fill it with random “this and that.” This will also be a good way to log how married life starts and how it pans out. Until next time!