RIP Aug. 6, 1946-Oct. 29, 2009

CIRCLE OF LIFE

It's been a long 3 years struggling, that is my Ma (top left, with lil' brother and sister in law on her birthday Aug 6, 2008 in Boston), with a battle she cannot win. This rampant and horrible war is destroying her will and everything she has looked forward to live for, save the recent birth of her grandson. As others who endure bouts with life threatening cancer, there comes a time when they must accept it and submit to its sad grips.

Here is an excerpt from her blog:

"Sept. 3-I met with a doctor yesterday and my future now lies with God. There is not much else they can do for me, so I have joined Hospice and am now a patient. Please feel free to call or leave a message. I LOVE you all and can't thank you enough for all of your support over the last 3 years-Carol"

Death is a natural occurance in life that we all have to manage carefully; like eating everyday to survive, accepting death only allows us to live life to the fullest without any regrets and moving foward towards self realization and progression. Just as Marty passed last month, my Ma will pass, I will pass, you will pass, we all will pass. Ignoring death makes life meaningless and all that you do meaningless, because you'll begin to believe you have more time to do everything you want. The sad truth is, you don't.

I Love YOU

CARPE DIEM!

Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero, is Latin for “seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow”. Believe what you will, but you are a product of your environment and who you associate yourself with. If you surround yourself with mediocrity and hypocrisy, then chances are you will become mediocre and a bonafide hypocrite. If you surround yourself with winners who care about you, you most likely will become a loved winner in some facet of life. Fellow friend and prominent up and coming fighter Marty Kusick passed away last week. His death has torn a hole through the entire wrestling community with shock and disbelief. It came as a huge surprise to everyone who knew him; however he surrounded himself with people involved in drugs and died because of it. Although we grieve the loss of Marty, the people closest to him, including his twin brother Mike, still remain confused, lost, helpless, angry, and blame Marty for his own demise.

Seize the day and surround yourself with loving and caring people. Seize the day and be the person you want to be NOW, not the person you want to be tomorrow. As unequivocal and horrifying as it sounds, we will not be here forever and sooner or later, as the Dead Poet’s describe it, “we all will become food for worms and fertilizer for daffodils”. Seize the day and let ring your legacy for how you want people to remember how you lived. RIP Marty. We will all miss you…

LEARN TO SWIM

In the mist of the Obama Administration creating this socialist yet democratic illusion, they’re also repairing relationships abroad, creating another illusion: security. What many Americans fail to understand is that Obama is just a puppet in a larger worldwide scheme towards globalization. His puppeteers want the US government to have more control and regulation over you, so that you’ll hop aboard Obama's false conquest of change, when in reality it's hopping aboard the New World Order. When economic disaster strikes in the US, and it will the rate we’re going, people will panic. They will fearingly obey Obama. Sadly, many people already obey his orders of what to do, what to think, and what to say. More feared people will follow and yes, change will occur as he promised. Changes such as citizens drowning in a worthless dollar, a country of chaotic imprisonment, worldwide total panic, further economic turmoil and debt our future will be sinking in, and only will we be able to stay afloat by our own self righteousness. My suggestion is, learn to swim…

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."

Benjamin Franklin

MAN'S BEST FRIEND(S)

Two of my favorite and most peaceful companions in this world are new my dog and my everlasting relationship with the great outdoors. There's not many other joys in life that can quite possibly compare, as least not that I have found. Friends and lovers come and go, family often gets too close for comfort, jobs end at 5, yet the loyalty of a dog and the serenity of the wilderness remains constant.

Clyde (right) is a one year old 90 pound Boxer, who I have joint custody of, thanks to my girlfriend Denise. He makes me happy and at the same time, reminds me of how life should really be, playful and mischievious! It's true that a dog is man's best friend. Clyde stays by my side through thick and thin, he has a bundle of energy and wants to play even when I don't, and who would have thought that Clyde would love to eat and sleep as much as me! Clyde and Denise have been a great addition to my life and I am truly thankful for that. Everything happens for a reason and I believe that they were both meant to bring me the soothing calm positive energy that they each possess.

Friends don't always take the form of a human or a dog. Sometimes it's an intangible bond or friendship in the form of a setting or activity. Since I have decided to take an entire year off from competition, I am getting back to some of the things that I have missed over the last several years including backpacking/camping. As much as I need to push myself everyday, training really isn't that much fun and despite the fact that I've learned to enjoy it, serious training and competition has taken away a lot of different things that I use to include in my life, such as drawing, writing, being able to cut loose every once in a while, and of course hiking. Recently I discovered Shenadoah National Park in Virginia (above), just a two hour drive from Maryland and while it doesn't quite compare to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, it's still the outdoors, my home away from home.

I've missed it unknowingly so, yet haven't forgot how to pitch a tent and build a fire on a mountain side. Friends never forget each other, their tendencies, and habits. Just as the wilderness settles into the night, so does my fear of being alone with a soft gentle rain falling upon my tent. It's a great feeling knowing that I am able to trust myself on mother nature's land, surrounded by the bewildering sounds of animals brushing in the wood, and the faint voices, ghosts (mostly indians) of the wilderness past who trust me in their domain. My friends till the end.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

My friend found a video of me on youtube from summer 2007. Won in overtime, 3-2.