Balls

Sunday I went to the Rock N Roll marathon San Antonio. I have never attended a race , but I have a few friends that run these races all the time and tell me about all the emotions you go through. “You cry, you laugh, you sing, you yell, you dance.”

Ten minutes on premises I see Christine Chapa and Chris Godfrey. I stopped and chatted with them and start to see people I know like, Elizabeth Anderson, Amber Rodriguez, Simon Ponder and Stephen Chavez. They are all moving fast with no problems.

I get to the finish line area and I’m standing on Montana St. taking pictures of people and cheering for the runners. I see a few clowns dressed humorously as they speed by. I also keep noticing the reactions on people’s faces. Some were laughing, some singing/dancing, some were yelling or asking for encouragement for someone next to them having a hard time. Some were enjoying the crowds’ applause and receiving high-fives from spectators. Some were so focused, I would yell their name and they just kept going either singing/talking to themselves or just attentively looking forward.

On the other hand I saw some people crying out of pure agony! So much pain and hurt, but they just pushed through. Mostly the guys would stop and rest or be out of breath/cramp up, but you could really tell they were in pain and had just run 26.1 miles!

I was wondering, if I was to train, could I do this? Really I was thinking “do I have the balls to pull this off?!” Just then I see a gentleman pedaling a specially designed wheelchair doing a half marathon! This gentleman was not paralyzed; he just didn’t have the use of his arms. So at sometime in his life he had to make a physical and metal decision that he wanted to enter this race on his own. I looked on in disbelief. A little while later a lady came up on the full marathon side in a wheelchair. Remember that she has to go up this hill. With every push of the wheels with her arms up she would come back down. Sometimes she went up two feet sometimes she went up six inches, sometimes she went sideways, but she didn’t stop until she got to the top!

After seeing this display of determination my eyes were a little misty. I was thinking this is the way life is, whether it is with God or not. In life people are going to be rushing by, passing you up, bumping into you, and distracting you. It’s up to you and only you to be determined and be willing push yourself!

If you say you suck well then you will collapse and people run over you! If you don’t train, consume the wrong things, read the wrong messages and live a life of excess you will fail. On the other hand if you train, consume the right things, live a life of purpose, and have the right people around encouraging you, you can do anything you want!

Pumpkin Beer

Five years ago if you asked me to put my seat belt on, I would tell you to go to hell. Nicely, of course. If you asked me to try pumpkin beer I would tell you the same thing, while I was opening a Natural Light or some other “inside the box” beer. I had what my Dad calls “$*!% for brains.”

I thought I knew it all and tried it all. Yes, I had done a lot for a kid my age. At the beginning of 2004 I had a good pick up, it was nice but just like everyone else, I wanted to upgrade. Fast-forward to the end of the year and I had an injector pump go out. I didn’t want to spend the money for a new one so what did I do? I upgraded. I bought a brand new truck.

Fast forward another two years and my company work load was almost at a standstill. I took a job for a crane company, operating cranes and big haul trucks. I had a hard time getting in and moving up in the company because I needed a special crane license. After working for a while there I got to work at a refinery for the company. I was working fourteen/sixteen hour days, seven days a week. One morning, coming off of the night shift, I fell asleep driving. I also found out I had sleep apnea. After sending my truck flying and crashing down, I crushed my heel in seven pieces, totaled my truck and was bedridden for two months.

Since I was not working, I had no income. I moved back in with my parents. While lying in bed doing nothing but going crazy, I decided I needed to do something with my life when I healed. I decided to pay to get my crane license myself... I was in my walking boot going to school. I earned my license and got a job in San Antonio.

One of my best friends from high school lived in town and he introduced me to all of his friends and his church. I met great leaders and volunteers there. It was with their help that I found God. Yes I was born and raised a Catholic, but I was a dead Catholic. After finding God, things started to turn around. I got a free car. I got to go to SXSWi. Really, I got a second family. Also I got to meet people in industries I would have never seen or even heard of if I would stayed on the path I was on. Now, when someone asks me to try something new, like pumpkin beer, a new computer program/tech gadget or an art show? I jump at the chance to go because I know I will meet/see someone interesting, or get to experience something different. Besides I found out I have a passion for architecture. My point is that if a few bad things didn’t happen I would not be where I am at today and I would not be at peace with God!