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Thursday, November 29, 2012

My biggest announcement of my life so far





I have some huge news for you my dear readers. But, before I get to that I want to let you know that I had a great time in Texas with my family and friends. I loved being home for Thanksgiving and eating all that good food. I was so happy to spend time with family I hadn't seen in quite a while and friends that I missed. I didn't do anything super amazing but just being able to relax and be with my friends and family was enough. We even got to skeet shoot and blow up pumpkins with an AR-15 at my uncle's farm. All in all I had a great time. For those of you that I missed I am sorry and next time I am home we will catch up for sure!

Also, thank you for all of you who donated to my Movember cause as the month is almost over now. Even if you didn't donate I do hope that I raised awareness about men's health issues. I have enjoyed having a mustache for a month and look forward to doing it again next year. Congrats to all my Mo Bros and Sis's. Thank you to Vivi for putting up with my mustache for a whole month haha.

Ok, now for the big news I know you have all been waiting for. I am engaged to be married! I proposed to Viviana last night and she accepted :) We have known for a while that we love each other and this love has only grown. We want to spend the rest of our lives together so I bought the rings in Texas and last night I popped the question and she said yes. I had a whole proposal plan worked out but I didn't get to do it. Vivi knew I had bought the rings (I was previously ring shopping here in Colombia) so last night she asked to see them. I asked her if she was sure that she really wanted to see them. She said yes so I showed her. At that point there was really no reason to go through with my proposal plan so I just asked her lol. She said it was no big deal that I didn't make a big deal out of it. It saved me time and money doing it this way :)

My original plan was to take her back to where we had our first date and have a cake made up that said "Will you marry me?" I wanted to have her whole family hiding and then come out after I asked her and everyone would eat cake. But looking back on that plan, the logistics of that were going to be really hard, she has a huge family!

So we are thrilled to be getting married and we love each other totally and completely. Now we are in the middle of wedding planning but when something new develops I will let yall know. For now its back to work and normal life for me. Yall take care,Tyler

P.S. My mustache wasn't great but it was passable :)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I made it to Texas

I made it home safe and sound to Texas for a two week visit with my family. If you need anything or just want to get in touch, feel free to say hi to me here or on Facebook! -Tyler

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Texas

On Monday Nov. 12th (tomorrow) I will be in Texas for  a short 15 day visit with everyone back home. I am really happy to have Thanksgiving at home though and I have enough time to see and everyone and eat and do everything I want. I will be taking lots of pictures for everyone in Colombia and bringing back some gifts.

Yall take care and see you (in Texas) tomorrow night! :D -Tyler

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Friend's Webpages I like

So I decided to start a new section on my blog for friend's of mine who have websites that I can vouch for or like. The first is www.trutravels.com a website for travelers going to Thailand. My friend Joe runs a tour guiding company there and they give great guided tours. I will let their website speak for itself!

If you would like to be included in my blog section "Friend's Websites I like" or you just want a shout out on my blog, from me. Please contact me and if I know you and can vouch for you I am happy to do it or include your link on my blog.



Now for Joe, I have personally met him and can vouch for him. Both of us have extensive experience with the beautiful country of Thailand and I would seriously suggest a visit to Thailand so you really can't go wrong with that! without further ado, A little bit about Joe's Company: As well as picking you up from the airport and taking care of all the details, we will give you all of the advice and info you need before, during and after your tour. You are guaranteed to meet other travelers in the same situation and we can help you plan the rest of the trip to suit the preferences and time frames of you and your new travel buddies.

Our group leaders are on hand not just for the whole tour but for the duration of your travels and are always happy to hear from old group members when they re-visit the same countries or areas.
They will help you to discover the best bits of all of the places you visit and are there to ensure you have all the info and advice you need to have a truly amazing experience.

We love Thailand! Many conventional package tours are often put together by people who have never traveled in Thailand with only profit margins in mind and feature many locations that we personally wouldn't choose to visit. Many other backpacker tours are unnecessarily long, overpriced and take much of the freedom out of your experience. Our tour is intentionally kept short so that you can use it as an introduction to the country, as part of a shorter holiday, or with a combination of other tours. Don't get sold a rubbish, expensive package by a travel agent or big tour operator that does not know about what they are selling you.

Travel safely. Traveling in an unfamiliar country where you don't speak the language can be daunting and while Thailand is a very safe country on the whole, there are always risks and by traveling in a group you reduce some of these. By also having an experienced Group Leader with you who knows Thailand and the places we visit well, you will be much safer then you would be on your own.

Our TruThai Experience tour is the best value for money short tour on the market. All for 375 GBP! 

Tyler

Something Inspiring

I got this from a friend and thought you might like it: When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full..

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or
golf balls.

The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take time to get medical checkups.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.



Hope you like it! I know I did -Tyler

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Movember Week One

Here is my week one Movember Progress Shot.

It is not much yet but it is getting there. Thank you all for your donations and remember if you want to donate you can do so until December, Here . My next progress shot will be next Thurs. Yall take care,Ty

Electoral College

Earlier I made a Facebook post about this so I thought I would expand on that and write this blog.  Keep in mind this is my opinion only. As everyone in the free world knows now, Obama is our President again. I am going to keep my personal politics out of the blog as much as possible, other than to say I am extremely frustrated with BOTH the Republicans AND the Democrats.  I am not living in America right now, so in reality none of this affects me in a huge way. But, I am still American by birth and blood and always will be. Our country is in a bad place right now. Economy wise,health care,housing market, and the list goes on. I think everyone deserves a share of the blame. First and foremost of course is the greedy,selfish executives on Wall Street who just care about profit and nothing else. Next up for blame is the politicians who are basically the same. 99% of the people in Washington DC no longer care about the people of America. They care about themselves and their agenda's only. Of course the average American also has to take some blame as well. As a whole Americans have been so complacent letting ourselves get into this mess and we just keep spending money we don't have and running around being the world police. 

America is changing with the times and our political system is not changing with it. America is now less white,freer thinking,gayer,more open minded, not everyone is a Christian,some people enjoy marijuana,prostitution,gay marriage and are open to abortion and gambling. Rather than trying so hard to prohibit all these things and fight so hard against them why not just relent and start making some money! We could responsibly regulate and tax many "sinful" things in America instead of fighting them. It would make it safer,more controlled and take the law of supply and demand away from Criminals. Our "War on Drugs" is a total failure. A consenting adult of sound mind and judgement, in my opinion should be allowed legally to be a gay pot smoking,gambling prostitute finding person if they so choose. As long as they are responsible,pay the proper amount of taxes and do these things legally and do not hurt anyone else while doing it.

My view may not be "mainstream" but I do think my view is gaining traction. Our government does not need to babysit us and control our entire lives. Adults are considered adults for a reason. They should be allowed to make their own choices. Gay marriage is not going to destroy the fabric of America. Canada and many other countries (including Colombia where I am living now) allow it and they are doing just fine. I do not do drugs of any kind but, if someone wants to smoke a little pot on their own personal time while doing no harm to anyone else and they pay for this pot legally I say go for it. Same goes for gambling and prostitution.

Which brings me to my next point. I am so happy to be from a country where we have the freedom to vote and to protest and worship any God we want without fear of being imprisoned or killed. I can say Obama sucks or Romney is a jerk and I do not have to fear for my life. We have no dictator, we are a democracy. Even if we are in a mess, I still believe America is the greatest country on Earth. But we need to make sure we stand up for these freedoms and don't take them for granted. Not every country in the world has these same freedoms and we need to be aware of that. The citizens should control the government NOT the other way around.

I am not sure how to feel about the Electoral College in America. On the one hand, every state gets representation in government.  Each state gets a chance to "pick" their candidate. But, large states like California and Texas (55 and 38 electors respectively) can wield large influence over a state such as Montana that only has 3 electors. The presidential race is not won by the popular vote (vote of the average Americans) but by the "electors". So in reality the popular vote does not matter. The average person's vote does not matter because the electors while "usually" they vote in line with the popular vote they are not FORCED too. On the other hand, if the election was based solely on the popular vote that would mean a state like Texas which has 30 million people (roughly) could all vote Republican and a state like Montana which has only a few million (if that) could vote another way and it wouldn't matter. Basically the larger states could greatly influence the election one way or the other. But, in a way they do that now with their large portion of the "electors".

Basically I am saying I love America. I am American but things need to change. I sure hope my kids do not have to grow up with all this mess. That is all. Thanks for letting me express myself. I am so lucky to be able to write this blog without having to fear for my life. Even with all its problems America is still my birth country and the country I love. -Tyler

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Weird Dreams

Recently I have been having a lot of strange dreams for some reason. Generally speaking I do not put much stock into the meaning of dreams. I think some dreams can and do have meaning but most are just products of an overactive imagination in my opinion. Well last night I had a dream that involved Steve Jobs. I never knew Steve Jobs personally but, since his death last year I have listened to many speeches of his and read many quotes from him. I have really come to respect him as a human being and a business man. It was truly a loss when he died. Yesterday I was not reading or thinking about him which makes this even more odd. Well here is it:

I was sitting in a classroom and there was a banner that said "Class of 1993" but this was some kind of college campus. I was my current age of 27 and I didn't look any different physically. Steve Jobs was the professor of this class and he was telling us all how "Nine years ago (1984, the year of my birth) Apple released the first truly personal computer (which is actually true) and he was telling us many thing about how he started Apple and Apple computers. There were many students in the class listening, just like any normal class around the world. Everything in the room was 1993-ish. The computers,the overhead projector, Everyone's clothes, the whole 9 yards. Except for one difference. Steve proceeded to reveal a new product to us in this classroom and everyone was all excited and they started taking pictures. But, they were using the very latest Iphone 5's to take these pictures! Which in 1993 were not even thought about.

After this, Steve started telling us about his life and how to better our lives. It became more of a motivational speech at this point. He said something in my dream very similar to what he has said in real life. He said " It is your right and your responsibility to live your life uniquely. Do not spend your life living someone else's reality. I remember how inspired I felt (in the dream) when he said this. But, at this point there was some college kids outside throwing rocks against the window and he stopped his speech and said "Those damn Russians again!" He then left the room to go chase down those kids. It was at this point, when he was out of the room I noticed a closet that was closed (but not locked) and it said "Restricted" everyone was sitting in their seats quietly but I got up out of my chair and I went to the "Restricted" door and opened it. I remember there was a very bright light and a long hallway. I started walking down this hallway but before I could get to the end he came back into in the classroom.

I was scared I was going to get in trouble so I ran back to my seat and everyone was looking at me. He then spoke to me directly. I was so scared he was going to be mad but he wasn't. He said "Tyler you are a rebel. You are a rule breaker and I like that. Don't lose that hunger." That was it. My dream ended after that.

I cannot make heads or tails of this dream at all. I did wake up feeling very inspired though. In a way I have been a rebel for the past few years. Traveling all over the world Solo, meeting new people doing and seeing new things. Not living inside any "box". I guess in a way I have been fulfilling his speech to me. I have been really happy over these past few years and I continue to be happy not being "normal". The only other thing I can piece together is about the Russians. Yesterday I was reading This Article  involving the Russians. What do yall think? do dreams mean anything?

Wild dream huh? Here's to you Steve. -Tyler

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Let Movember Commence!

Let Movember Commence! I will now grow my mustache throughout the month of November for the Movember Charity!

Remember, you can donate until December Here . Take care and happy November,Tyler