Lately, I’ve been going to my local library to check out books that pertain to the subject of metaphysics. Most of the books I have been reading are on the introduction of metaphysics or guidance on meditation. I recently had to return a book when I started a conversation with a former colleague. I was a librarian for 18 years and changed profession a few years ago. In this particular afternoon, I was asked if I miss working at the library. I was honest and said “Yes, at times.” I then shared an story about a patron who brought in a tire into the library.
I always found working in a public library to be interesting. There was never a dull day at the library because the staff and I would encounter all walks of life. It’s a public setting and everyone is welcome. When I became a manager, I had to be at the forefront whenever there were issues. I could be dealing with an issue regarding fines on a late item or items or worse, a problem patron.
I have many stories on problem patrons. However, the one that stuck out to me that afternoon involved a regular patron. This patron decided to bring a used tire into the library. I’ll call him Mr. Patron for this story.
I was in my office when I got a call about Mr. Patron. He was sitting at the computer desk and had a car tire laying next to him. This part of the library had a narrow hallway and his tire was blocking access to the other computer desks. I remember feeling puzzled. Why was he allowed in with that tire? I learned, as a manager, some staff members do not want to confront a patron. They would rather have the manager deal with it. To be fair, the staff member who called me, was very proactive but needed my assistance to de-escalate the situation. That staff member had just started her rotation at the desk. The previous staff member overlooked the situation.
When I arrived, I was shocked to see a pretty big tire laying on the ground while Mr. Patron was on the computer. The staff member who called me tried to get him to take the tire outside. Mr. Patron did not want to move the tire. I asked to speak to Mr. Patron privately and he immediately got defensive. He stated that he needed that tire because he and his friends at the shelter were buying a van. They thought it would be great to keep this tire as a spare for their future purchase. I listened to Mr. Patron until he was calm. Then I explained to him the rules of behavior for patrons in the library. I specifically referred to items that could interfere with access for other patrons.
To give some background on Mr. Patron, he was a regular at the library. Sometimes we had to ask him to leave for multiple reasons. He was someone who could either be receptive to being asked to leave or he would get very angry. I knew that I could not laugh or say anything that would be disrespectful to Mr. Patron. I knew that I had de-escalate the situation and I did not want to rush to call the police. I knew that if I spoke to him in a calm manner and listened, we could come to a resolution.
I was glad he wasn’t combative that day. To my surprise, he did seem receptive to moving the tire outside of the library. We had a lobby area. I suggested that he move it there. This way, he could see it from where he was sitting. He was afraid someone might steal it. I did not think the tire would be stolen. However, I was concerned that someone would report the tire to the maintenance crew for removal. I made sure to let my co-workers know that we were going to let Mr. Patron leave his tire there until he was done with his computer time. He sat at his computer for about 20 minutes and left the library. He took his tire and we did not see him the rest of the day.
Mr. Patron did try to come back the next couple of days with his tire. Again, I told him that we could not have him bring the tire inside. He was not happy about it but those were the rules. Eventually, he came back to the library by himself with no tire.
I looked back at that moment. I realized how much that tire meant to him. I did not invalidate his claim or logic. That is his truth and I respected it. I could have dismissed him without reasoning. However, I felt he needed someone to understand. I also knew that we had to come to a resolution.
Why am I writing about this?
For a week I thought about why I mentioned this story that afternoon. I was wondering, why is this running in my head, how does this relate to my last three posts?
I am starting to come to the realization on which direction I want to go on my spiritual journey. I am fascinated by spiritual gifts that people receive either through a near death experience or through another channel. I find that when someone tells me their story, I listen and I sincerely believe in everything they tell me. I want them to understand that they are not alone. If my purpose is to bring that information out, then that is what I would like to do. I want to help anyone who has the same experience but has no one to talk to. To bring those stories out and to create a community that helps with learning more about these gifts.
I will share more as I embark on this project. I hope to share this with anyone that reads my blog posts.
After my last post, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I posted something to my site that was overdue. It really meant a lot to me. As the days went on, I then felt this odd sense of writers block. How do I follow up from the last post? Will it be as interesting?
In the past, I would have these conversations in my head. They would lead me to start writing to only end up not producing anything. It is a frustrating part of anything artistic. You feel a sense of accomplishment. Then you struggle to just put something, anything together, as you become your own worst critic.
Divine Timing and Manifestation
Before writing this post, I was drawn to the sentence of the post’s title. I’ve seen this sentence in many texts lately and have heard these exact words in other mediums. I equate this title to divine timing. I’m now doing research into divine timing as it gives me a better understanding of manifestation and synchronicity. Divine timing is the belief that everything in your life occurs at exactly the right moment.
Manifestation is the idea that, through the power of belief, we can effectively “think” a goal into reality. Sounds easy right? But it is much more complicated than that. I remember watching a video where someone equated manifestation as placing an order with the universe. After placing your order, you wait for it to arrive. The analogy used was that of ordering food in a restaurant. The waiter (Universe) takes the order, gives it to the cook, and the cook prepares the meal. Once it is ready, you get your meal, aka manifestation. I know that things manifest when you’re ready. The universe must also be ready for you to receive it.
Divine timing encourages trust. The universe is guiding you towards what’s best for you. This trust remains even when you face challenges or delays. So sometimes, your order may take awhile. You have to be okay with waiting for it. It will come when it’s ready.
Before I had my spiritual awakening, I had moments where things would happen when I internally asked for it. It was like a wish coming true moment. Not that it happened immediately, but it would eventually come to me. I never understood those moments until now. I would like to share a moment I had back in 2010 that happened very quickly.
Washington D.C. – 2009
I moved to the Washington D.C. in late 2009. It was meant to be a great move for my career. It also allowed me to be closer to my family. Instead, it was a depressing time of my life. I didn’t want to dwell on it during this transition. I had moved from a Houston, Texas. Houston is very hot but during the winter months, the weather was very comfortable. I spent five years enjoying the warm winters and it was an abrupt change when I moved to D.C. It was cold and I was living in a dark, no frills apartment. Moving from a single-family home to an apartment was arduous. When I finally settled in, I found no excitement in being in that apartment. I felt stuck and found reasons to not be at “home”. This was also a time when the real estate market collapsed. I could not find a buyer for my house in Houston. I was stuck with rent and a mortgage. My budget was lean to say the least. Even during this lean time, I would find ways to spend time outside of my apartment. It was too depressing to be in.
The Capitol Building.
I think about it now and laugh in my head about how sad it was. I figured things would get better once my house was sold. I started to have feelings of regret for moving to D.C. but I wasn’t allowing it to take over my emotions. In my head, I was giving myself at least a year. I wanted to get situated before deciding to possibly move again.
The highlight at the end of 2009 was having Thanksgiving with my family in New York. It was the first Thanksgiving with my family in six years. It felt great driving up. I remember a feeling of euphoria as I drove through very little traffic to get to my parents’ house. It was a memorable Thanksgiving and I was grateful to be back in New York. Then on that Sunday after Thanksgiving, I decided to drive back and encountered the worst drive back to D.C. ever. I learned that was the worst time to drive anywhere.
I got back “home” and got back to work at my new job. There was a snowstorm in December that was cool and I remember enjoying it. But then came more snowstorms. In February 2010, Snowmaggedon hit D.C.
Snowmaggedon
During those two weeks of Snowmaggedon, I remember working just three days. I was not happy to be in my apartment. I was in solitude with no cable, just basic tv. Internet was different then. I couldn’t stream shows or binge watch TV series. My apartment wasn’t very well insulated so the heat could only heat so much.
An actual photo from the cleanup from Snowmaggedon 2010.
After each passing snow storm, I would spend hours digging my car out from all the snow. I made sure to dig out the car when the snow was soft as it would harden the next day. I also did not want to break my shovel. I had cleared out my car multiple times. I went out with my shovel when the snow storm stopped. I also went out when it would lighten up. It was crazy how much snow we had that winter. I would even go out at night because I wasn’t sleeping well.
This is not my car but eerily similar to it. This picture was taken in Washington D.C. during Snowmaggedon, Feb. 2010.
I was also so bored that I cleared out the sidewalk to the building. This allowed my neighbors to walk into the building without slipping. They do not have to step into thick snow.
I remember feeling alone. I didn’t have any friends in the area. I only just started to meet my co-workers. I also didn’t want my family to worry about me, so I just gave canned responses that all was well.
I spent many hours digging my car out. One day, I cleared out so much snow to avoid getting more snow plowed into my car. I lived on a busy street. The plows came at all times during the day and night to clear the road. I was confident that the overnight plows would not dump any snow on my car. I woke up the next day and saw that more snow and ice were packed against my car. I remember my neighbor feeling bad for me. She was like, “That’s messed up! You cleared out so much yesterday.”
I was livid but gave a calm response. I set out to do more work with my shovel. This time, I really had to work harder to dig out my car. The ice was very thick and needed to be chopped. Then it could be dumped onto the sidewalk or grass. It would have been too heavy to shovel right away and would have broken my shovel.
I then found that my car had a flat tire. How am I going to get this fixed???
I didn’t know what to do and I had no idea how I would get this tire fixed. I knew I couldn’t drive it anywhere. It was already cold and I had never really changed a tire before. I had no clue what to do next. Do I pay to get it towed? Would anyone come out today?
Divine Timing?
Before Snowmaggedon, I did take a short trip to NY in January to attend my friend’s funeral. I had plans to see him at some point in the Spring or Summer. I think we had plans to play basketball. He would mention working out in his Facebook posts, to get back into shape for the summer. I thought of him while shoveling and remembered thinking of the silver lining of shoveling being the equivalent of working out.
As I stood by the flat tire, I decided that I should shovel. I thought that maybe I could gather my thoughts to come up with a plan. I am chopping, digging, and throwing. In that process, I started to think, wouldn’t it be cool if my tire got fixed without moving it. I thought of it a couple of times and sighed sarcastically, “Yeah okay.”
At some point, I see a vehicle repair truck park on the other side of the road. It is not too far from where I am standing. I continue to dig but a sudden thought came to me. “Go and see if they can fix your tire.” I remember hesitating and then decided to dig some more. I saw that the mechanic was repairing a stalled vehicle on the opposite side of the road. It was unusual to see a car parked on that side as there was a no strict parking law on that side of the street.
The vehicle must have stalled and not been able to restart. As a result the driver abandoned the car. I kept getting the thought, “Go and see if they can fix your tire.” For some reason I felt embarrassed for wanting to ask but I finally did. I approached the mechanic and asked him if he was able to fix my flat tire. I told him that I would pay him. I don’t think I had cash but I just wanted to see if he would be available to come over. I explained to him my situation but he didn’t really want to hear me out.
The mechanic seemed stressed out by numerous calls that he needed to tend to. He refused to help anyone else unless they had made some sort of formal request. I was sympathetic to his reluctance. I tried to be understanding but thought this may be my only opportunity to get this fixed. He said no. I was polite and said, that’s fine and walked back to my car.
I went back to shoveling ice. The mechanic probably spent an hour fixing the car when I saw him packing up. I don’t remember if I made eye contact with him. He got into his truck and made a U-turn. Right after his U-turn, he parked right by my car. I stood there shocked.
After my experience, this is exactly how I viewed the tow truck driver and the tow truck. A Tow Truck from the Heavens!
I didn’t think he was going to come over but sure enough he did, he inflated the tire for free. I tried to pay him but he wouldn’t take any money. He said the tire would be fine but that I should get it checked out if the pressure gets low. I was so happy and grateful for him coming out of his way to assist me. It was humbling as I thought the mechanic did not care, but he did!
I remember looking at the sky and I thought of my friend. I saw the sun peering through the clouds and the sunlight just felt different. There was a sense of warmth despite it being so cold outside. I felt it. I also thanked my friend as I knew that he was there with the assistance. Although my spiritual awakening did not start for another couple of years, it was moment that I never forgot. I almost immediately attributed it to my friend being an angel despite being anti-religion.
I remember getting through that stormy period of my life. Eventually it stopped snowing, temperatures warmed up and the last mound of snow finally melted away in late April. That was memorable! My house finally sold and I was able to pay off a lot of my debt. Things got better and I started to settle into DC.
Now, as I embark on my spiritual journey, I reflect on this time. I think about how dark and cold it was. I realize it was temporary but it did provide me with a valuable lesson. Although times were rough, you must go through your rough patches in life because they shape you. You will always have your supporters with you. I had my supporter and he came through when I least expected it.
I now move forward in learning more about divine timing. I have to be patient and understand that sometimes, you’re just where you need to be in that moment.
My step-daughter is currently obsessed with the online game Roblox. Even when she’s not playing, I can see her envisioning what she’s going to do when she gets back online, like a chess player planning their next move. I find it interesting that when I ask about Roblox, she immediately lights up and tells me about all of the drama that is going on in the game.
I love video games but when I first saw the game Roblox, I immediately thought of the game Minecraft. If you don’t know Minecraft, it’s a game designed to look very pixelated and if you want a visual, Google “Minecraft” then Google “Roblox”. Roblox is the catfish version of Minecraft. It’s like back in the day when you asked your Mom for Oreos and she brought back a box of Hydrox cookies instead.
Remember Hydrox cookies??? Looks like Oreos but didn’t quite taste the same. I don’t think I’ve seen a box of Hydrox since the mid 90’s.
Roblox gives you the impression that the game is incomplete and not very challenging. I decided to give it a try and figure out the appeal of playing this game. I also wanted to get involved in the drama! I needed to see what these little punks are up to so I took the time out on a Saturday night to play the game with her. This is what my Saturday nights have become, playing Roblox with a bunch of pre-teens!
This exactly sums up my initial reaction to Roblox. Thank you Patrick!
And It Starts…
I created my own account and avatar. My screen name is LittleJK41 which is a play on her screen name, LittleOG14. I wanted to secretly surprise her in the game, just to see what type of player she would be in this Roblox world. Unfortunately, even with my impeccable research skills, I could not find her. My wife even tried to help me out but we both couldn’t find a way to sneak into her game. So like loser adults, we had to tell her what we were doing and she helped me get to the game she was playing in.
Now to give you a little bit of background on the game, once you sign up, you have the option to set up your avatar. You’re avatar is very plain but you can change his or her features. There are free items to choose from but if you want anything unique to your character, you have to buy it with Roblox money called Robux. I didn’t really care to make my character unique because I definitely wanted it to look like a new player. I wanted my character to be considered a “noob“, another term for a new player, usually associated with a lack of skills for the game as well.
This is what my character looked like but I gave him a spiky hair dew!
In the Club! WHAT! WHAT!
Once I created my “noob” character, off I went trying to find her in a game called Club Red V4. Club Red V4 is a game where you go to a club listening to the latest beats while socializing with other players. I joined her and immediately chatted her in the text box which all the players can read. She was hanging out on the poolside of the club, which was funny to me. I jumped into the water and of course, I couldn’t seem to figure out how to get out. My step-daughter sent someone in to get me out because I couldn’t figure out how to use the ladder. Turns out my step-daughter is the ring leader of the group and all of her friends welcomed me. I asked her, how do you dance, and she showed me the list of dance moves that came up. So I did the dab, the robot, the sizzle, and whatever other dance moves I was able to choose from. She was annoyed that I was dancing in the middle of her circle of friends. She was like, “Dad stop!!!”. What amazed me is that all of her friends believed I was her dad. My guess, the kids believe the phrase, “If it’s on the internet, then it must be true!” So I would say things like, “I am your father LittleOG14!“, “Help your Dad! LittleOG14!“, “I’m the coolest LittleOG14!“, or “Hello, I’m a Noob.” I would have thought that her friends would have thought that we were being sarcastic but they believed us. Her friends let me be part of her circle. It was amazing to watch and see her lead her group of friends in and out of the club.
“He just ran off” “lol” “YOLO” – A little bit of what to expect in Club Red V4.
The club was interesting because I found it was very depressing like a real club. But to a pre-teen or teen, this is fun stuff. Most people were not on the dance floor and some characters were just trying to talk to each other in private, off in some dark corner of the club. I would interrupt their conversations. I would say hello and tell them how new I was to the game. I thought it was funny but my step-daughter was annoyed with my antics. Eventually, we moved on to Prison Life.
Things get real in Prison Life!
Now Prison Life was a much better game because unlike the club game, there are guns, tasers, and other weapons involved with the socializing. Before you start playing, you get a choice of joining the prison guard team or the prisoner team. We joined the prisoner team and my step-daughter lead the revolution. I kind of watched and followed her for 2 seconds then I decided to punch her out and as well as the other inmates. I had fun punching random players but then the officers would shoot me dead. My character crumbles to the ground and then re-spawns in a prison cell. I then started talking smack to all the prison guards and of course they would kill me or handcuff me. My step-daughter seemed so embarrassed by my gameplay that she would often say “STOP DAD!” “WTH DAD!” but I continued. Eventually she and her friends escaped the prison and became “criminals“. Apparently, they get better guns as a criminal. When she became a criminal, she tried to get me to come out to the prison yard to help me escape. I was so busy punching everyone inside the prison, I stopped paying attention to the text box. They were waiting for me to come to the yard to play so they could shoot me but I never came out to the yard. I was too busy trying to get a gun from the prison guard home base. I kept getting killed but I was having fun.
Her friends found me to be cool, just like my step-daughter. They all said that she likes to bark orders to her crew but they liked helping a “noob” like me out. One of her friends helped me escape the jail only to be killed by someone else. I saw one player was constantly chatting with my step-daughter and told him that if he wants to date my step-daughter, he needed to buy her a ring. He immediately logged off and unfriended her. What a wuss! I had fun playing with her but after an hour, I was getting tired of getting killed and quite frankly, I felt odd talking smack to a bunch of pre-teens. I’m too old for this.
Online Games = Old Online Chat Rooms
Oh CompuServe. I only used you because I couldn’t afford AOL.
I now understand why my step-daughter loves this game. It reminded me of the old chat rooms on AOL or CompuServe. Remember CompuServe??? That was for the people who couldn’t afford AOL, the gold standard of the internet in the late 90’s early 2000’s. Just like the chat room, you can see who’s there, pick and choose the theme of the room you want to go into and socialize. In Roblox, same thing except you get to play games one another. You choose different games with different rooms, and you get to socialize. This game appeals to pre-teens as the game play is very simple and honestly, for someone who immediately thought the game was stupid, it’s easy to ignore your kid playing it because you don’t immediately see the inappropriateness of the game right away. As a parent, I saw some games that were not appropriate for a child to play and were very adult themed. With online bullying increasing, I can see this game as another way for kids to gang up on others. So after a lengthy discussion with my wife, we both talked to my step-daughter on the do’s and don’ts of playing this game or anything else she does online.
By playing with her, she has opened up to me more, specifically about the game but she talks to me about her friends. She tells me what goes on in the game and I’m glad we are able to have something to talk about it and I don’t feel like there’s a wall between us. Hopefully, she’ll continue to chat it up with me and eventually move on from Roblox but only time will tell.
Oh and about that seizure? That’s some good ole’ fashion use of click bait.
I’ll never forget the moment I pulled out my phone to send a text and my friend Matt was like, “What is that???” His eyes lit up in amazement. I was surprised and asked why the befuddlement. He thought it was strange that I had a keyboard on my phone. He made it seem like my phone was a dinosaur. I guess with the way technology moves with its constant upgrades, I don’t keep up with the tech wave like most people around me do.
So here’s a list of some of my low tech favorites:
Keyboard on the phone
Yes I love a keyboard on my phone. I love not having to get a spell check for every single word I type. I have control and it is similar to typing on a keyboard. I’ve been typing on a keyboard since I was in elementary school and I’ve been conditioned that way. I also have big fingers so it sucks when you are typing on the surface of a phone or tablet and you misspell words constantly. I also don’t need the constant suggestions! I am a former a spelling bee champ, so I’m very confident with my spelling skills. Just sayin’! I just love my keyboard so I’m kind of sad to see that Blackberries are now going extinct. But are all keyboards gone for other brands of smartphones???
MP3 Player – Sansa Clip
My darling wife bought me an iPod for Valentine’s Day 2014. I have yet to use it. Why? Because I like using my Sansa Clip MP3 player. The Sansa Clip was outdated when I bought it in 2010. I know that the iPod is way better but I’m a little hesitant to pledge an allegiance to Apple. I once owned an iPod and I had to replace it twice at the hint of mist. It was annoying and buying a replacement was very expensive. I guess with that experience I rather keep my wife’s iPod in its case because I don’t want to go to the Apple Store to deal with a bunch of geniuses again. The Sansa Clip, which I have never heard of before, works and doesn’t die at the first hint of mist or a drop of water or even accidentally washing it in the washer machine. The thing works and the one time it did die on me, it was practically 3 years old. So wear and tear versus mist, you be the judge! So let’s just say I’m loyal to this old thing right now and I guess if in case of an emergency, I’ll use the brand new iPod when I’ve decided to move on from the Sansa.
Printing out hotel confirmations, tickets, and directions
I could just pull up the confirmation on my phone right? I guess this one definitely ages me out. I guess there is something about viewing a document on a piece of paper rather than viewing it on the screen of your phone. It’s tangible for one and very reliable. I have a strong argument about printing out map directions because I’ve proved to my wife that her phone can lose reception at random times. It becomes handy to have a printed set of directions when your phone is no longer voicing directions. AHA! So take that Iphone or Samsung Galaxy or whatever gizmo you have!
I’m a little disappointed that ducats for sporting events are beginning to fade away too. There is something about keeping a ticket for nostalgia. I mean you can go on your phone and show off the barcode right? Yes you could take photos and post them on social media but what happens when the cloud disappears or dies. What happens when the day comes that nobody uses Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter, and your photos are in some sort of Myspace void? Then the ticket comes in handy right? I believe the ticket is special because of its composition, the logos, and even the font used to describe what section you are sitting in. I still have tickets to old Shea Stadium that I fully embrace now. Hopefully they will be of value one day! lol
A BOOK!
I am not convinced on switching over to an e-book. I’m sorry but I just love touching a book and having it sit on the bookshelf. Granted it may collect dust if I’m not re-reading it but I still fancy them over an e-reader. I just don’t feel the need to download a book. I’m not suggesting everyone throw away their Kindles or Ipads but it’s just not for me. Plus my main argument with e-readers is that they also get upgraded right away. So why buy a Kindle when it will be outdated in a year or two? A book doesn’t get outdated. Editions will change, the cover may look nicer but it’s still the same text. Besides, isn’t it nice to show off how well read you are? lol
That’s it for now but if you have some outdated tech that you like to use please share!
Seeking Balance While Laughing Out Loud 