I’ve always considered my lovelife one of the stranger ones out there; it’s just the way it seems to be working out so far. I think it might have something to do with how I’m usually not very open with my emotions, I’ll be the first one to admit that sometimes I say or do things to cover up what I’m really thinking or feeling. It probably has a lot to do with the type of environment I was raised in.

My parents split up when I was around 10-years old; I remember a lot about it, but I don’t remember if my dad had been staying somewhere else right before the split or not. Anyways, one day, my dad asked my brothers and me where we wanted to go to dinner at. We chose Burger King or McDonalds, whatever; we were kids, that’s the type of thing we wanted! So, over the course of dinner, my father explained that he and my mother were splitting up, and I remember him putting special emphasis on how it wasn’t our fault — but, I was 10-years old, that didn’t mean shit to me.

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After reading the thread about “A Dog’s Purpose” I thought I’d post a little story of my own.

I used to have a little Yorkie named Charlie when I was 15. He was such a great dog. He’d always greet me when I came home, he’d growl at someone if I was having an argument, and he’d sit by my bed and never leave my side when I was sick.

Charlie didn’t only take care of me, he also took care of my cat “Kitty” (yes yes, original). Kitty used to have ‘fights’ with the neighbouring cats who’d come over to my house for a tussle. Charlie would always protect Kitty.

One day when I was at my grandmother’s house, I had a strange gut feeling. I picked up the phone and rang my mother.

“Mom, how’s Charlie?”
“He’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Can you check?”
“No I’m busy now, I’ll check later”
“ok thanks”

10 minutes later, I got a call from my mother. She had a sad tone. Charlie had died.

What had happened was my sisters opened the house door and the gate and charlie ran out. A Saudi man (saudi plates) came and hit Charlie and sped off. Not even a word.

Now I think I’m a strong person and I shed a tear for my dog. However I started thinking about life and how it would never be the same without Charlie.

When I got home, my father burried Charlie in the garden. The garden was actually very dry with just a bit of grass.

Sadly soon after, Kitty had to be put down because she came home one day bleeding. It seemed the cats finally got to her.

A year later, a tree started to grow where Charlie had been burried.
I ran to my father. Did you plant that? That’s Charlies place! MOVE IT!

No, he said, I didn’t.

He walked out to take a look and smiled.

“That’s Charlie, even after he’s gone, he’s now grown into a tree to take care of the house and be there for you”.

Charlie was still there for me.

I’ve moved quite a few times since then, but I always took a small jar of sand and kept it with me.

I passed by just recently to take a look and the tree was HUGE. It had grown in a great tree.

I know I’m just pulling at strings here, but I like to believe that Charlie is trying to grow tall and strong, so I can see him wherever I live.

Even writing this, my eyes water.

It’s really been a long time since I’ve posted here, August of ‘06 to be exact. It looks like Kei has added his personal touch to things, too! So, if anyone’s ever wondered where the “…and some of Jim’s, too!” came from, that would be me.

So, where have I been for the past year? To anyone who read my last post, that still kinda held true, I was playing FINAL FANTASY XI. Well, that and working continuously — 6-7 day weeks, 50+ hours a week sorta became the norm for me for a long while. It seems like that’s starting to pick back up again with it being not only ‘cold/flu season’ but also the ‘holiday season’. The reason cold/flu season applies to me so much is that I work for CVS/pharmacy as a Shift Supervisor (part of the store management).

One of the things I really like about my store is that it’s always getting busier — this year vs. last year vs. the year before. When I started working for the company in August of ‘05, there was pretty much nothing in the area, we were literally on a corner in the middle of no where. Now, there’s a new bank across the streeth, medical arts buildings directly behind us, and from what I hear a police station and shopping center going on the two adjacent corners. So, in the next year or two, we’ll make almost a full transformation of our orginal locale. I think it’s pretty awesome, especially since it’s not just the immediate area where I work, the entire city is becoming more… industrial? (more…)

Life is hard.

I’ve neglected my blog. Sorry…
Wake up early morning, meetings, interviews, work.

Seems that I might end up either being part of Qatar Investment Authority or becoming second secretary of the legal department. (no not the secretary that types up things, a secretary of the state)

Sleep time…