Thoughts on Marriage from a veteran

Recently my best friend’s parents celebrated their 45th anniversary. Can you imagine being married for 45 years? That seems nearly impossible when I am at the age where I am no longer hearing the ringing of wedding bells but rather the tearing up of joint accounts, mortgages and all other items associated with the union of two people. In the rare event that I do attend a wedding, in the back of my mind, I estimate how long it will last. being the survivor of a starter marriage, I wouldn’t say I was bitter….merely realistic.

However, this email gave me a lot to think about. Even with the religious references taken out, it is great advice for any couple starting out on a joint journey. Congratulations to Juan and Lydia Mercado!! Email follows:

COMBING GREY HAIR by Juan L. Mercado

( The wife and I had to give a “response” to the toast that our kids and friends offered on our 45th wedding anniversary. Here is what Lydia and I mumbled. – JLM )

J : The Irish poet William Butler Yeats once wrote of a friend: “we dared to dream that he would comb grey hair.” Lydia and I now comb grey hair.

Yet, to advance in age – and hopefully, in wisdom and grace — is denied to many. Scan the obituary pages. You wince to see so many young lives cut short, some in brutal conflicts as in Mindanao and elsewhere.

And was it not Henry IV who wondered aloud: “Is it not strange that desire should so many years outlive performance?” .

It has been 12 years now since Lydia was diagnosed with breast cancer. Surgery, chemotheraphy, radiation and follow-up checks blurred into each other. Yet, God saw fit to give the present of extended years. We are grateful.

L A “sapphire” anniversary is more than about combing grey hair. “Gratitude is “memory of the heart”. It is a time for giving thanks for the good days as well as the not-so-good days.

Sending good vibes to Owen Wilson

Its midnight in LA, I am harassing my programmers and trying to figure out where everything is at. My NY programmer is still up and as we trade emails till the wee hours of the morning, it occurs to me to ask him why he is even awake. His reply was….”insomnia…and recording a song for Owen Wilson” Huh? Apparently Owen Wilson had tried to commit suicide yesterday.

Matt Fargo, one of the more colorful characters I have had the opportunity to work with, sent me this song. Its a little cheery and upbeat for a song about suicide but perhaps that is what is needed. (Click this strange play button below to hear the song)

Note to self: Never play Korean card games with a Korean

Over a year ago my Korean friend lreflection turned us on to the Korean card game GO-STOP or (Hanafuda in Japanese or Godori in Korean). My husband and I became avid fans of the game spending countless hours on yahoo games until one day, they pulled the plug on us. Go Stop is a card games that involves twelve suits, a TON of rules and dubious ‘traditions’ that involves throwing cards down with as much noise as possible and hiding one’s money under a mat (so your opponents do not know how much money you have squirreled away). It’s very hard to find people to play Go Stop with because of its steep learning curve.

Since we have learnt Go-STOP from lreflection, different members of her family have proceeded to win all our money at every game including her brother and even her mom. Last night was no exception. Within 4 hands, she had won 90 cents and left us penniless (literally) This may not sound like much, but when you consider that one point is one penny and we started with 30 pennies each. The 15 minutes it took seem to go be extremely fast 9Good thing we were not playing with dollars) So unless you have photographic memory, have been playing Go-STOP your entire life and know how to count cards, don’t try to play with the Koreans

A bit of trivia is that Nintendo started out as a company making picture cards (Yes … Go-Stop cards) long before they ever made video games. Apparently they still make them.

BEARFORCE!!

Bearforce1 videoclip

A clip sent to me by my friend Bryan. I can’t quite decide if its meant to be intentionally funny or not. Enjoy!