The Reawakening: Part 3

Now, before I continue with this adventurous story, you need to know something. These first 7 or 8 posts were written about a year and a half ago. These thoughts and postings were what I was feeling then. The reason I’ve decided to post them now is because a few weeks ago I was laid off at work. While usually that may come with feelings of regret, anger, confusion, and fear… I can honestly say I don’t have regrets, I’m not angry, and while I might think about what happened and why, the confusion is only temporary. I’m also not afraid of the future because getting laid off is part of this adventure. A twist I didn’t see coming. Recently I was praying for God to swing low like a sweet chariot, not to carry me home, but to just help me in my unbelief. Maybe this is part of a grander story, more on that later, but for now… back to the reawakening… about 17 months ago, I wrote:

I was 4 years old and we were on vacation in Monticello, Florida. I remember standing just outside the back door of my grandparents neighbor’s house when a litter of young beagles appeared and our life with Belle began. To write about her would require many more posts of good memories that are too numerous to count.

She was the first experience I remember having with an animal. She was a fantastic beagle!

Shoot! Now I’m getting all sappy. But anyway, animals… I love them. I’m fascinated by them. I’m thankful to God for them. I wonder how I can and if I should try to make a living being with them? The more I talk to my close friends and actually, the more I’m honest with myself, I almost think I need to be doing something with animals. My entire life I’ve been passionate about them down to my very core. But I’m currently working in television so the gap between the two is quite large. Plus, the only experience I have with animals is limited to pets, zoos, and nature.

-Out of the Wilderness

Wedding Reception Playlist Music

Stuck not knowing which songs to play at your wedding reception? If you don’t have a DJ or just want to give the DJ a list of songs to work with, look no further. I compiled these from a few other lists, as well as suggestions of my own. This list is strictly fast/dance songs. I may also compile a list of slower music in the future. If you have other song ideas, feel free to comment below! I’ve made a note of songs that have suggestive lyrics, they are in bold.

RAP/R&B:
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas
Low (Apple Bottom Jeans) – Flo Rida Feat. T-Pain
In The Ayer – Flo Rida Feat. Will.I.Am
Big Poppa – Notorious BIG
Hypnotize – Notorious BIG
Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-A-Lot
Jump On It! – Sir Mix-A-Lot
Dynamite – Taio Cruz
Tootsie Roll – 69 Boyz
Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
Teach Me How To Dougie – California Swag District
This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan
Yeah! – Usher Feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – Beyonce
Hot In Here – Nelly
U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer
Bust A Move – Young MC
Timber – Pitbull ft. Kesha
Hey Ya! – Outkast
Wiggle – Jason Derulo
Sexy Back – Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland
My Love – Justin Timberlake ft. T.I.

OLDIES/ROCK FAVORITES:
You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC
Love Shack – The B-52′s
Brick House – Commodores
Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees
Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard
I Love Rock And Roll – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi
We Are Family – Sister Sledge
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
Play That Funky Music (White Boy) – Wild Cherry
Some Kind Of Wonderful – Grand Funk Railroad
1999 – Prince
Mony Mony – Billy Idol

DANCE:
Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO Feat. Lauren Bennett & Goon Rock
Just Dance – Lady Gaga Feat. Colby O’Donis
Jump Around – House Of Pain
Thriller – Michael Jackson
One More Time – Daft Punk
Twist And Shout – The Beatles
The Twist – Chubby Checker
Y.M.C.A. – The Village People
The Train (Come On And Ride It) – Quad City DJ’s
Macarena – Los Del Rio
Cupid Shuffle – Cupid
Cha Cha Slide – DJ Casper

SING ALONG SONGS:
Sweet Caroline – Niel Diamond
Celebration – Kool & The Gang
Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
Shout – The Isley Brothers
Come on Eileen – dexy’s midnight runners

NEW-ISH SONGS:
Shut Up and Dance – Walk the Moon
Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson
GDFR – Flo Rida
Shake It Off – Taylor Swift
Happy – Pharrell Williams
All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor
This is How We Roll – Florida Georgia Line
Cruise – Florida Georgia Line
Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke
Turn Down for What – DJ Snake
Cowboy – Kid Rock

COUNTRY NON-LINE DANCE:
Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) – Big & Rich
(if you’d like more country, let me know!)

Sniffer’s gonna sniff: a story about my amazing dogs and something important I lost

It’s a beautiful day.

Nashvillians are entering into the time of year that makes cold winters bearable. Days where the sun is bright and warm, and winter ice is a thing of the past. One day not too long ago was one of these days, so I went for a hike at Percy Warner Park in west Nashville, dogs in tow. It was beautiful. The way the sun cut through the towering trees. The sounds of animals foraging through the woods. Small flowers blooming. Runners running. Sniffy dogs sniffing. Our 5-mile walk concluded a few hours later and as I reached into my pocket for the car keys, slight concern. I don’t feel them. Panic. I check other pockets. I check all the pockets. Reality washing over me like any adult man at a Justin Bieber concert. How did it end up like this? What do I do now? Lucky for those adult men, they can just go home. Me? Nope. I might as well not have even had a car there, because without that little piece of carved metal, I wasn’t getting in. I wasn’t going home. Plus, who’s the dummy who’s got two fingers and left his phone in the car? This guy.

And I was like baby, baby, baby.

I said to my babies, we need to walk the trail again. And please keep in mind the farthest either of my dogs have ever gone is 6 miles. We already walked 5 miles, and now I’m taking them for 5 more. I felt terrible, like I was asking too much of them. If you do the math, it was not too far south of a half marathon.

Hello darkness my old friend.

It was completely dark when we completed the trail for the second time and I couldn’t have been more proud of my pups. They seemed to end stronger than they began, pulling towards squirrels, barking at deer, walking with perked ears as we rounded the final curve. We saw lots of wildlife, lots of things that weren’t keys. And now my car is one of the last 2 or 3, and the others are firing up to take their drivers home. I didn’t feel compelled to ask for assistance from the other park patrons, in fact, I felt compelled not to. So there I was sitting by a car I can’t get in, much less drive!

Islands in the stream, that is what we are.

The plan at this point was to befriend a volleyball and hope for a ship to pass by. Wait no, we weren’t that hopeless yet! I approached a house close to the park entrance and the nicest of ladies, Susan, offered so much help. She even brought out a laptop so I could email my friend “Bill.” Yeah, remember how I didn’t have my phone? I also don’t know anyone’s phone number! So email was the next best thing.

Police on the scene, you know what I mean?

After firing off an email, I returned to my car. It was weird sitting there not even knowing if the email was received, and yet, believing that the electronic flare would be seen and rescue was on the way. And it was, in more ways than one. The local police came by to lock up the parking lot, as they do every night, I’m sure, and the officer gave me a ride to police headquarters. My first time in the back of a cop car. It was nice. Very comfortable. I asked about the car and the lady officer informed me it was a Volkswagon Passat. Very cool. Arriving at the station, they were kind, helpful, and were over-the-top with Piper and Asia. They had treats, food, water, and plenty of back scratches that I know Piper and Asia appreciated. They brought me to a computer so I could check my email (to see if “Bill” had responded or anything). That’s when another officer stopped by and handed me a slip of paper. On it was “Bill”‘s phone number! Apppparrrrrentllyyy, nice lady Susan called up the police with this bit of information that was anything but itty bitty! Susan was a life saver! It was a pretty amazing moment. “Bill” arrived about 10 minutes later and took me home.

You live, you learn. You laugh, you learn.

The next day “Bill” and I did one more search without success and then I called to have a key made. From this experience, I learned a few things. Always have a spare key. Having friends is good, having good friends is better. Wear pants with bigger pockets. Sometimes dogs will surprise you. There are a lot of squirrels. As bad as it seems, it could be worse. This will be a landmark time in my life because of the amount of loss that came in a short span. I lost this set of keys on  a Saturday. The following Tuesday, I lost my job. Crazy right?

-Out of the Wilderness

The Reawakening: Part 2

tuxedoPlease consider this a formal invitation to come along with me as I move forward, perhaps out of the wilderness, into the next chapter of my life. The focus of this adventurous writing is what I do for work, but really, it includes so much more… because I don’t have a limit on where I can go or what I can do. I may be inspired by my friends, time with my dogs, during normal business hours, or something I hear on the radio or see on TV. I’m very excited to find out how this stirring in my heart will be fulfilled. My goal is to post every Thursday around 1pm Central.

To have a more full understanding of where I’m coming from, you should probably know as a 30-year-old I was inspired to make a pledge and that’s sort of what’s going on now, 6 years later. Or at least, it’s a continuation of that pledge that I desperately need to live out.

The pledge was to never live a regular life. That can mean many things, but to me, it means not settling. Living an adventure in my work, in my relationships. I’ve heard it’s every 5 years or so one goes through some kind of phase in life questioning their significance, maybe with the itch to hit reset and start over, whether it’s in a job, relationships, moving to a new city, or some other aspect of life that feels stale. It happened to me in 2008 (as I mentioned, when I was 30 years old). During this uncomfortable phase a friend of mine, one who’s more experienced and further along in years and in wisdom gave me a book called No More Mondays by Dan Miller. It’s about being satisfied at work, whether that means changing jobs, or just changing perspectives in my current job. Now, I’m reading it again. It’s an inspiration to know feeling claustrophobic at a desk is an OK feeling to have. It doesn’t mean I’m lazy or ungrateful. Because I’m neither. But it was at this very desk where I sat for 8 hours that work became routine. I traded passion for a paycheck. I convinced myself comfort was more important than connecting with deeper needs. But a combination of events at work shook me out of the status quo. The timing couldn’t have been better because just as I was beginning to question my goals at work, I had time off to think through my desires, my skills, and I was about to spend a week in a small town north of Cincinatti.

The ideas, lists, brainstorms, plans, rants, and wild thoughts that follow are not a journey to the next goal in my life, they are the adventure my heart longs for. I certainly hope you’ll accept my invitation to come along!

-Out of the Wilderness
black shoes

The Reawakening: Part 1

DSC08335Walking through the quiet, snow-covered patch of woods in a small town north of Cincinnati, the only sound is that of feet crunching through the day-old ice and two young dogs chasing the scent of animals out looking for food or huddled under trees that had fallen months before. A nearby lake is turning to ice. The only color is that of little red berries hanging from thin, bare branches. It was in these moments, away from desks and deadlines, a dream is reawakened. The only danger to a stale routine is that of a heart again stirring for adventure.