Sad day in the motivational world…

Sad day in the motivational world… See you at the top Zig!
http://ht.ly/fELAS

Count your Blessings

Today, for me, is a day to give thanks and count my blessings.  It’s the day when “every dark cloud has a silver lining” was drilled into me… even if I didn’t completely embrace it until recently.

On September 10, 2001, I went to work like any other day.  Only on that day I quickly found out that layoffs were happening… the third round that year.   Friends and associated were getting canned.  I went to lunch with 3 friends and we talked about what was going on and we wondered if any of us were going to be on the list.  We went back to the office and I started calling friends who had already moved on to see if they knew of openings for people I knew already had been laid off.  As I was on the phone with one of my friends I got a tap on the shoulder… it was my turn to go see the head of the department and get my walking papers.

My stomach sank as I walked into the office… the head of the depart and the woman from HR.  Both people I had had drinks with and liked… and they both looked like crap.  A day full of cutting people loose had taken it’s toll on them.  So, for whatever reason, my mood changed.  I felt sorry for them and I told them I’d land on my feet… I was a smart guy… The department head just looked confused (I regularly confused him with my reactions).  So we parted ways on good terms and he walked me out of the building.

Then my stomach sank again… crap, I have no job, no income, rent is coming due…. pretty much pure panic.  I started making calls again, and that calmed me down and after a few hours I was thinking this whole thing would turn out OK.  I’d be fine – I just needed to focus on the positive.

So the next morning I emailed a few people I had committed to playing volleyball with letting them know I’d still play even though I wasn’t part of the company.  I had woken up early and worked out and was getting ready to do something fun… Yesterday had been such a downer that I wanted to just forget things for a day and enjoy myself.

This is the moment where yesterday became the “good day” and today became horrible.  I had tried calling a few people at work and I couldn’t get through… very weird… but not crazy weird.  Then a fellow co-worker who had also been laid off called me freaking out….

The day before I had been laid off from my job on the 103rd floor of WTC 1.  Today, September 11, 2001… well, we all know what happened.  Me getting laid off was, in fact, a blessing.  Hard to see on 9/10…. easy to see on 9/11.  Since that day I have been blessed in many ways… but I am especially grateful for the following blessings:

1. I met and eventually married Yolanda Valdez (now McCarthy), and have been graced with a wonderful life with her here in Colorado.
2. I became an “insta-Dad” to 2 incredible young boys, Isaac & Savignon Swimmer.
3. I have a full house, full of activity, with my family as well as my brother in law Nando and his 2 girls Faith & Mia.

I continue to be blessed with my extended family and the beauty of social media as a way of keeping up with & involved with all of them.  Life has’t been easy… in the years since 9/11 I’ve lost my mother, my father and my brother… but it has been rewarding, fun filled, and worthy of plenty of gratitude.

So a big thank you to Yolanda & the boys for allowing me to be a part of their lives… and for all of the family & friends who have added such a richness to my life.

I am the luckiest guy I know – hands down.  :-)

Help me raise money! I’m participating

Help me raise money! I’m participating in the 25th Annual AIDS Walk Colorado!
http://ht.ly/ckmNe

Spirit Day at Highline Academy

Savignon with his 60′s costume

Peace Man!

Savignon had a killer costume today.  With school coming to an end, this week is spirit week and the kids have a theme each day.  Today was “dress as your favorite decade”.  Savignon channeled his inner Grateful Dead/Cheech Marin and knocked this one out of the park.

My nieces chose the 80′s… and they knocked their decade out of the park too….  Pretty fun way to start the day!

Faith & Mia Spirit Week 2012

Observations

In the last few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to meet some very creative people.  Volunteering to help with the viewing parties for Mondo Guerra I’ve been able to meet some guest designers who have come into town for the show.  I’ve also been able to get a better understanding of what they actually go through on these shows.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a set of any kind… and reality TV wasn’t really “the thing” when I was on a set.  There were a handful of cop shows back in the 90′s… nothing like what we have today.

So, as viewers, we block out our Thursday evenings and plan for watching Project Runway All Stars.  We have 12 weeks to take it all in.  It’s easy to forget that all 12 episodes are shot in a month or less.  Each weekly episode we see is a grueling back to back shooting schedule where these designers are making creations day in, day out.  I can’t figure out how to write a 200 word blog post every week, much less everyday, and these guys and girls get creative each & everyday for a month straight.  Right now, we’re only 1/2 way through the season, but you can imagine the stress and exhaustion that these designers are already experiencing.  By the end of “the season” they have to be so stressed out and sleep deprived they are ready for a long, much needed, rest.

But they don’t really rest.  This is their moment and they have to take advantage of it.  They have to pre-publicize the upcoming season.  They have year-long obligations to LifeTime.  They have to promote themselves during the airings of the episodes.  And they have to find a way to keep their name out there and keep themselves relevant to keep the momentum going.  It’s hard exhausting work… especially when you then think that they also expose themselves to the public and leave themselves open to criticism from people who simply don’t know jack about what they do or how hard they work.

So to the designers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting… you are an amazing group of people, so don’t let the idiots of the world who actually take the time to tweet “F— You” bring you down.  There will always be idiots in this world but you… you are all unique and bring talent and beauty to the world.  For that, I simply say “Thank you”.

Jerell

Michael

Mondo

Related articles

• ‘Project Runway All Stars’ Recap: ‘Fashion Face Off’ (socialitelife.com)
• Support World AIDS Day With Mondo Guerra’s Limited-Edition Tees For Piperlime (fabsugar.com)
• Project Runway all stars say being on the show is really really hard (kathrynalamode.wordpress.com)
• Get to Know the ‘Project Runway’ All-Star: Mondo Guerra of Season 8 (buddytv.com)

Re-Start

First and foremost, Happy Birthday to my wife, Yolanda. We had a great day yesterday “pre-celebrating” her birthday and we are going to have another great day today with our boys in tow.

Now – back to The 4 Hour Body. My stomach is nearly back to it’s rock solid state. So tomorrow begins the “ReStart”. I’m going to stay off the PAGG stack for a while though. It’ll be all Slow-Carb, Kettlebell Swings and the prescribed crunches. Luckily, although I have not been eating well, I have not gained much weight. I’m still going to Binge today, so I’ll be gaining more weight, so weigh in’s won’t be until next Saturday morning.

So in other news my wife and I are now helping out a local designer with his Social Media strategy. This is really a dream gig for both of us. I’ve been reading & playing with this stuff for a while and my wife has been wanting to get involved with local Denver based artists and designers for quite some time. So no matter what ultimately happens with this “venture”, it has already been an incredible ride and we’ve met some outstanding people that have enriched our lives.

So as we move ahead I’ll be blogging a bit about that experience as well as my 4HB work. With the new opportunity in front of us I’ll also be able to (I think) get back into my photography/cinematography roots…. aka BEING CREATIVE! YAY!!!!!!

So keep your eyes open and watch us ride this wave.

Setbacks

So starting Saturday I was having some tummy issues and the usual protein shake just wasn’t cutting it… Most food wasn’t cutting it. I’ve stopped the supplements and have been eating what seems like it’ll stay down and/or not cause me any issues. I’ll probably gain some weight as a result, but as soon as my stomach is back online I’ll be at this program with a vengeance.

Stay tuned.