Have you ever thought about how many decisions you make in a single day?  Some decisions are more important than others, obviously, or are they?  The seemingly simple decision to go left or right can have a completely different outcome.  Today, I decided to listen to my GPS on the way to the beach to see if maybe, just maybe I could avoid the afternoon gridlock and get there a little quicker.  Well, I’m pretty sure it took the same amount of time but I got a real tour of South, Central Los Angeles anyway.  I chalk that decision up as a fail, but who really knows, maybe there was some crazy sinkhole or something on the other route that my GPS helped me avoid, I’ll never know.  When I got to the beach to exercise, I walked over to the entrance to the beach bike/walk/run path to stretch.  There is a really cool sign at this particular spot which I found myself looking at for a little longer than normal, a bit of daydreaming.  Do I go left or do I go right?  This is one time where it really doesn’t matter.  No matter which way you go on this path you are sure to have made the right decision, the best one being to come here after work.  Couple miles in the sun equals a couple miles of smiles for me.  @aloha  #elporto

Another long day inside the office while looking outside to what was certainly a beautiful day, and it was finally closing time.  Eleven hours passed in the blink of an eye while my surfboard laden truck patiently waited outside for me to jump in and head to the beach.  This is where my truck and I are truly in our element.  My whole day washes away the minute I open the door at the beach.  Today, I looked out at what appeared to be a slightly confused, and maybe a tad angry, ocean.  The waves were big and coming in at different angles crashing into each other then onto the sand.  I spotted the rip current that would carry me out to the line up so I hastily put my wet suit on and headed for the water. I got to the waters edge and attached my leash and stretched a little to warm up before diving into the crazy shore break. I chased the receding water and slid into the surf on my board and with the help of the rip current was soon out where I needed to be.  I was also soon faced with a reality check, the surf was a lot bigger than it looked from shore.  I was on my eleven foot long board and twice I had to paddle two strokes up the face of a wave at least thirteen feet or bigger.  Kenny Rogers said it best in the song “The Gambler.”  “You got to know when to hold em and know when to fold em.”  I made a fast decision to fold em, catch a wave and head for the beach.  If this were a Saturday morning and I was fresh it would be a different story than being fresh from a long day at work.  Knowing when to say when is so important in so many parts of life, especially when dealing with the ocean.

I read a quote, supposedly from a Native American Chief that read, “Only the government would cut one foot off the end of a blanket, sew it on the other end and tell us we have a longer blanket.”  This quote is very funny, but also very true.  I have never understood Daylight Savings Time I guess because I have lived in two states that do not participate, Arizona and Hawaii.  The funny thing is however, I now have, for whatever reason, an extra hour of daylight after work to enjoy.  This excites me as I have been struggling with not having much time after work to be active before dark.  I think we should all just leave the time alone and quit changing it. #goofygovenment #aloha

My weekly life is so enriched by what I do on my Sunday.  Sunday’s are awesome in so many ways.  I mean, I know people still have to work on Sundays, and that’s a drag, but, if you don’t, then I have a recipe for you.  Start your day early.  Don’t mess about with all this “I’m going to wake up whenever I feel like it” crap!  Get the hell up!  Example…Nicole and I got up today (daylight savings time…never understood this) and went to the pier for our usual Sunday breakfast at “Polly’s On The Pier”  A Great little restaurant that is above the water with the most charming ambiance (nasty sea birds flying around pooping on everything) I highly recommend.   Back when I lived in Hawaii, I used to make the pilgrimage to “Duke’s” in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii, every Sunday.  In Honolulu, going to Duke’s on Sunday is not something that is taken lightly.  It is the meeting place on the island known as “The Meeting Place.”  I am in Southern California now and finding a meeting place is not as easy as it seems.  You would think that people would be able to meet easier than ever in a place like LA, but no, what with traffic and the Oscars and what not.  Or is it?  Online, I found out that there was going to be a kite festival at Redondo Beach today.  While eating breakfast at Polly’s, we could actually see the kite’s flying.  We had to walk over, wouldn’t you?  I mean, how often are you faced with something so childish as a a kite festival in life?  The odds…well…stupid.  I realize there was no recipe in there, but if you are reading this, then you probobly don’t use recipes anyway.    #RedondoBeach #DukesOnSunday #Aloha #AlohaFriday #aloha #MyAumakua

This week I had a young prospective inside salesman training with me.  I found that for everything I was showing him, he was helping me learn something.  It caused me to think about training and its importance in the world of business.  It also made me think about the importance of making sure you stay trainable in every facet of your life.  If you are not willing to learn something new because “that is just not the way things work around here” or “I don’t need that stuff to do what I do, ” well, prepare to be passed up and passed over.  I have said it before in different ways, but it is very important to learn new things, but equally important to learn to take the training from the trainee.  This trainee’s motivation was infectious for certain, but his asking difficult questions and having me dig for the answers was fantastic.  I hope I am able to bring him onto the team full time, we shall see.  In the meantime, I am looking at my day-to-day operations a little different and will be implementing a little more training into our already busy schedule.  It is that important.

I drove to work this morning with the thought in my head, “If its slow this afternoon, I am going to bail out a bit early and head to the beach, maybe get a surf in.”  Everything was going as planned and by noon we were crawling along.  There is rain in the forecast this weekend so the roofing industry comes to a halt in Southern California.  Other places in America work through in-climate weather, but not here.  Near one o’clock, I checked the trusty online surf report and camera at my favorite beach.  Everything looked good so my plan was coming together nicely, so I thought.  The phone rang with a customer begging us to deliver a small amount of tile out to his job so he could finish it before the rain.  I decided to put my early departure on hold and take care of my customer.  I sent my only available guy out with his tile and I covered the yard.  A few traffic delays, phone calls, quotes to write and administrative items to complete and before I knew it, it was time to close.  I looked up at the sun and was sure I could make it to the beach and get in the water if not for just a little bit.  But the traffic and traffic lights were conspiring against me today.  Sometimes that is the way it goes.  Sometimes you hit every red light and no matter where you turn, traffic.  Today was that day for me.  I am still satisfied with my day today though, because I worked hard and took care of my customers over my own needs.  This, I know, will come back to me one day because I firmly believe that hard work eventually pays off.  Sometimes you just have to take the wheel and make things happen.   #gettowork @aloha #thursdayafternoon

Thank you for being who you were.  Thank you for being such a wonderful role model, yes, even to me.  You exuded class and elegance one could only hope to aspire to.  I’m not sure what happened since the time you and your husband were looked at like royalty and never acted like it, but I for one miss those days.  The white house had class when you and Ronald were there and everyone around the world knew it.  You cared about all others before yourself and were a true First Lady.  I hope we find a way to get back to that level of class in our nations house, even though it may just be a pipe dream.  Even though I never met you, I did get to shake hands with your husband once when I was nineteen years old.  So please, do me a favor and say hello to Ronald, will you?  America and I miss you both, very much.  Goodnight Mrs. Reagan, Rest in peace. @reaganlibrary #nancyreagan

We all get wrapped up into our daily lives, so much so that we tend to miss a lot of the important, little details.  I’m sure I didn’t have ten seconds to myself today to think about anything but my work.  It is really tough to spend eleven hours inside a building then walk out to your car, spend another hour in it, walk into your house knowing that in just a few hours, the sequel begins.  I know you might be thinking “oh, cry me a river pal, things are tough all over!”  Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love the outdoors, being outside, feeling the sun, being active.  I used to ride my bicycle to work, but due to some circumstances beyond my control, I now cannot do that.  I would have to wake up at three in the morning and I wouldn’t get home until six in the evening, and that’s non stop, hauling ass after working all day.  Even I think that is a bit too much to ask of myself.  So what is a guy like me to do?  The truth is, I don’t know.  I am just going to continue to put in the time and do the best job I can.  I will try to get time for myself in when I’m able, but it sure is tough.  It is kind of funny that my benefit’s package advertised a “Wellness Program” which consists of regular doctor visits and getting plenty of measurable exercise.  What a novel idea, I’ll give that a try.  While sitting in traffic on my way home today a bicyclist passed me, and the thousand other cars waiting in line at the light, and quickly disappeared.  Feeling a little sorry for myself, I found my gaze frozen out my window looking at the prettiest little park.  It is the Redondo Beach Veterans Park.  I thought for a second how much of these sights  I miss everyday while staring at the bumper of the car in front of me.  Time to work on some scheduling, and make sure I and my obligations allow me to stick to them.  After all, I want to make sure I do well in the “Wellness Program.” #fulltimewriter #wellnessprogram

I’m sure I am not the only one to have received this certificate from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the mail, but it made me feel like I was.  Rarely does an organization of any type take the time to say thank you.  Any organization that operates on donations is rarely satisfied no matter how much you give or how often, they just want more.  In the case of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, at least for me, it doesn’t matter.  I will give anyway and as often as I can because what they do for families with sick children is truly amazing.   I can’t, nor do I want, to think of how difficult every day is for these children and their families. This is a place of refuge for people living a nightmare.   I mean, how could anyone NOT want to give even a little something to this great hospital?  Hell, if for nothing else, do it to stave off karma! I hope they keep this practice up.  I can’t tell you how good it made me feel, even something so small as this. It is positively not the reason I give, but it sure feels nice to be appreciated.  I’m actually as proud of this as I am of some of my achievements in the Army.  I think I am going to take a hint from this gesture and put it into practice in my own life and career.  Thank you St Jude Hospital, for all you do.  @stjude #stjudehospital @marlothomas

I am typing this using a new software that was gifted to me a few months ago. To say that I am typing right now is an untruth, as this new software is talk to type. It really is truly amazing how this works. It is taking some getting used to I can tell you because I’m used to typing my thoughts out through my fingers and not through the use of my voice. It is a very strange sensation, but, I think it will help me as I continue to enjoy writing stories. I really am focused on trying to figure out a way to make a living as a writer. The reason I know for sure that I want to do this for a living is this; even if I won the lottery today and didn’t have to work another day in my life I would still write stories. I think that is the gauge to use when deciding what it is that you want to do with your life. If I could go back in time and sit with someone who would have explained it to me in those terms, who knows what would’ve happened. As it is however, I have at least figured out, finally, what it is I want to do. So the goal is set, and I will continue to practice and learn new skills, just like this one, the use of this new tool for writing and communicating. Right now it is a strange sensation talking to myself and to this computer screen, but, I’m sure I will eventually get used to it. It really is quite amazing the world we live in today and the advancements that have been made as recently as the last 20 years. Amazing! #dragon