June 4, 2009

April 1, 2008

  • The day I picked up Evil.

    (this is a repost of a blog I did on Myspace, but i thought you all would enjoy it as well)

    I picked up Evil a couple of years back. No really, I did. Let me tell you about it.

     

    When I saw Evil, it was gross, dirty and on the ground in a parking lot by a store that I frequent. It looked like it had been there for awhile, waiting for someone to come along and pick it up. I saw it lying there and it immediately intrigued me, so I picked it up and looked at it … you know, just to kinda check it out. Evil was tiny, plain and pretty obvious what it was, but I didn’t care. It was a small thing that seemed innocent and besides, it made me laugh. I mean come on, who ever finds Evil in the parking lot? When I  usually encounter Evil, I’d chuckle, throw the damn thing away and go wash my hands, but today something was different. I kept Evil in my pocket and forgot about it.

     

    A couple days later I found Evil again in the front pocket of my jeans. I remember pulling it out and looking at it that day, Evil seemed … well … less dirty and gross, and still made me laugh, so I kept Evil and put it in the cup holder of my car.

     

    Evil stayed with me for over two years. Every time I’d go to the car wash, I would have an opportunity to get rid of it and throw Evil away, but I discovered I was pretty protective of Evil and made sure it was always safe and tucked away where it couldn’t get thrown away. It seemed natural to have Evil there … it was comforting and my own little secret and private inside joke.

     

    I remember one time someone got in my car, and I quickly reached down and turned Evil over so the person getting in couldn’t see it. I mean, how can you explain your Evil to someone? I really didn’t want to go through the long, drawn out story about how I got Evil and why I kept it. I was really embarrassed and ashamed of Evil, but my desire to keep it was stronger than my anxiety of having it exposed and having to account for it.

     

    So Evil stayed in my cup holder for the next two years.   

     

    About a week ago, I came to the conclusion that I really didn’t need to keep Evil anymore. The inside joke had run it’s course and now Evil was just a part of me like a wart or callous. But every time I went to get rid of it, I would distract myself and just keep on going about my life with Evil always close by.

     

    Today, Sunday April 30th, I threw away Evil. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy, and I started getting anxious about throwing Evil away after I took the picture. I mean, this is something I’ve kept with me for years, and in my mind seemed like a part of my … my identity. But I knew it had to go, so I tossed Evil in the trash anyway. Kind of odd how I had such an attachment to a small insignificant object that really didn’t need to be a part of me. Hmmm … might be good to go a little deeper and look at how that’s like my life.  

     

    I wonder what other dirty little things there are in my life I’ve picked up over the years need to be thrown away?  

    evil

     

    DG

     

March 24, 2008

  • Where have I been????

    Well, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it? So much to write about and very little time to do it.

    You’ll hear more later (I just found my password to login … dumb stupid memory)

    DG

September 30, 2007

December 31, 2006

  • Okay, I’m lame.

    Here it is my birthday again, and I’ve realized I’ve only posted once during 2006. To be honest, I’ve been cheating on Xanga with myspace. If you’d like to see it, check out www.myspace.com/dgleadbetter.

    I hope all of you have the best 2007 … I know mine can only go up from here. :)

    DG

September 5, 2006

  • Wow … what happened?

    The last thing I knew, it was my birthday. Now’s it past the middle of 2006! So much has happened, so while this will be a brief post, allow me to catch you up to speed with my life:

    1. I’m in the middle of getting a divorce. I’ll blog more about that later, as I’m still processing all of my feelings.  

    2. I’ve lost about 65 pounds, thanks to a nutritionist (the added stress of #1) and working out. I’ve gone from a 46 inch waist to a 34. I feel really good.

    3. I have a new place and feel like I’m in a really good spot in my life. Even though things seem totally out of whack, I feel a strange peace … kind of like being in the eye of the storm. Of course, that’s today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. :)

    Thanks to all of you who have kept in touch over the last 8 months. Even though I was off the radar for awhile, know that all of you were never far from my thoughts … especially psiler and faquet. You two guys rock!

    More to come …

    DG

December 31, 2005

  • Today is my 46th birthday. Happy birthday to me.


     


    I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to see a year finally leave. 2005 was a pretty messed up year all the way around when I look back on it. Let’s see … I crashed my bike, broke my wrist, almost had to sell the house because of a crooked mortgage company, five people I was really close to died, 2 got in to bad accidents (that was just in the first 4 months of the year) and my wife was diagnosed with clinical depression.


     


    Other than that, it was a great year.


     


    While I try not to dwell too much on things negative, I do feel it’s good to be honest about what happened and how I feel about it. That was 2005 in retrospect. All things considered, 2006 is looking to be a whole lot better.


     


    So what was the good stuff in 2005? Well, I healed up really well, my bike got rebuilt, I was able to mourn the loss of my friends and relatives who passed on, I didn’t get the flu, I still have my home, my job and my health, good friends who care about me and a wife that loves me. So really, regardless of all the bad, I feel like I’m a pretty healthy and wealthy man.


     


    Not to mention all of my online friends who still visit my blog (even if the updates are few and far between).


     


    Tonight we’re having a taco and tequila tasting with some good friends and I’ll probably ring in the year by myself after everyone has left. Not a bad way to close out 2005, to be sure.


     


    So here’s a glass to you, my friends. May 2006 be a year of peace happiness and prosperity to you and yours.


     


    DG

December 25, 2005

December 8, 2005

  • I can’t even believe it’s almost Christmas! Things have been good … REALLY busy, but good. I’ve been immersed in getting our shop’s new web site up and running … check it out on Saturday. www.lifestylecycles.com. It’s should be up and running by then.


    Our company Christmas party is right around the corner … the 17th, to be precise. It’ll be big fun for sure.


    So what’s been going on around these parts?


    DG 

November 26, 2005

  • I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know mine was awesome. Very low key, hanging out with friends, good food, great wine, fantastic conversation, impeccable cigars and scotch … what more could you ask for?


    Sorry for the lapse in blogging … things have been super busy. Things at the shop are great, things at home are well and everything has been awesome in general. Served on another Discovery team last weekend and just really getting back into the swing of things.


    The air is getting crisper and chilly and it’s a perfect time to hang around the fireplace.


    I’ll write more later.


    DG