Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope it's a fine '09. No, I'm not going to spend the next few minutes telling you all my resolutions and all the crap I think I'll do this year. Who am I kidding. They are the same one's I failed at last year. You can read last year's if you're curious. If I do them, I do them, If I don't, I don't. It's as simple as that. There's nothing magical or special about January ONE... oh, we do begin a new tax year, that's about the only certainty.

I don't want to sound fatalistic but I don't want to strap myself with unreasonable expectations, fail, then carry guilt around for the rest of the year. I'll tell you what, I'll do my best, That's it. That may not be good enough for some people but it will have to do. I'll do my best. I'm a good guy, I'm friendly, I work hard and I am attentive to those I love. Those things won't change.

I'll do my best

Gratitude

OK - Here's the annual "what I'm thankful for blog". Yes, all of the normal things; wife, children, job, church, health...... But this year maybe something different. Something that only comes to one after fighting a tough battle for a season. Maybe that's why occasionally we are placed in the front lines of battles we would prefer not to fight....to learn wisdom. There's a couple of ways to gain wisdom; Passively by study, meditation and prayer learning from the experiences of others or aggressively by our choices and actions and the consequences that result.

The Lord in his wisdom tells us... "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words" Alma 32:27. Trust and believe me - obey. Or, go find out for yourself - disobey. Life is a combination of the two. Either way, if we are honest with ourselves about the outcome we will gain wisdom.

This Thanksgiving I am particularly grateful for the knowledge that I am truly a child of a living God. That He, as proof of his infinite wisdom, has given me freedom of choice.

If I am a truly a child of a living, loving God, what are my innate abilities and what should I be able to accomplish? The possibilities are unlimited. Unlimited if we view our lives in the eternal perspective. If we view ourselves strictly from a temporal perspective (the perspective that the adversary wants us to adopt) then we confront all sorts of limitations. A short person probably won't excel at basketball. A school teacher probably won't live in a mansion on the hill. Not all of us will be rich and famous. Not all of us will drive a luxury car, sport a 3 carat diamond ring or vacation on the French Riviera. The adversary would have us believe those things are the definition of heaven, Oh, I almost forgot... and looking "tight" in those True Religion jeans. Wow, that's a heaven reserved for less than a speck of humanity if that is the criteria for membership in the kingdom.

As a child of God I am only limited by my ability to make good choices. I have infinite power to do what is in my sphere to control. If I want to be thin I can choose to be thin. If I want to write a book, I can choose to write a book. If I want to be happy and make people around me feel better, I can choose to do so. I may never be a great basketball player..... but does it really matter?

I choose to be better and do better. "Now ye may suppose that this is a foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass;..." Alma 37:6

So I'll start small today.

The Burden of Men

It’s been awhile friends. I don’t suspect there are that many people that regularly check this blog other than my family, and my family is well aware of the what’s been happening since my last entry. But it does have a name; The Burden of Men. Sounds more like a title of a book. Maybe instead of a blog I should write a book.

I guess the biggest news is that I changed jobs. Breaking down reluctant people on the phone seems to be my lot in life. At least this time around they are less reluctant, more interested and better prepared for “the pitch”. It makes my life a lot easier and the days go faster. The happy part of thehappyrick.com is coming back. The purpose for work is finally being fulfilled …making money. We would all like to be doing something that fulfills our nature but the fact of the matter is 99% don’t live in that Utopia yet, so we simply work for money. I’m finally making money so all’s good.

Money can’t buy happiness but it sure as hell can buy a lot of things. I have proven one thing: Lack of money causes a chain reaction that brings nothing but stress and unhappiness. So in a real sense money does buy a certain kind of happiness despite what the PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) people would like us to believe. I am all over having a positive mental attitude. But maintaining a positive mental attitude is a little tough when you can’t feed the family, make the mortgage and the utilities go off and on with the flow of paychecks. That’s not a recipe for happiness. Which brings us to the burden of men.

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” …. Some of us seem to sweat more than others. Choices, culture, family, genetics or simple luck; call it anything you want. It’s the Burden of Men. Father, Husband, Provider, tough titles with tough tasks. I’m not complaining, that’s just the way it is. Marian could write an equally compelling book called The Burden of Women. All of this rhetoric is to explain why I haven’t written in my blog since May. The Burden of Rick has weighed me heavily down, which is the burden of men in my world.

This is supposed to be a fun forum with humorous anecdotes. But this is also a verbal reality show. Occasionally reality isn’t very humorous. One thing about my new job; my natural sense of humor is returning. Seems like the last three years the burden crushed my sense of humor, my personality, and my hope for the future. I felt as if my dreams had been run through a rock crusher. No more! I feel the light coming back. I feel the ambition coming back. Perhaps some other things that are really important to me will come back as well.

Money can’t buy happiness… but life can REALLY suck without it.

The Samoan Prince is Home

I can't describe the feeling of seeing Brandon again last night. He has been gone for 2 years serving an LDS mission in Samoa. Our entire family anxiously awaited his arrival. We stood in the baggage claim area looking up at the escalator as all the arriving passengers descended toward us hoping to catch the first glimpse of him in the crowd. Finally, there he was. My son! I saw his face then his smile. I immediately noticed the change in him. I thrust both my fists in the air and grinned from ear to ear as tears streamed down my cheeks. He was wearing a gray suit coat, white shirt and a light green tie. You could barely see the tie for the multiple shell lei's around his neck. Then I noticed the matching gray lava lava, bare legs and black sandals and ukulele. He held his head high and flashed a toothy white grin. He carried himself like the royal Samoan Prince he had become.

Mom, of course, was the first to run out with her arms open. What a sweet, tender moment to see that embrace. Brandon took off one of the larger shell lei's and placed it over her head and hugged her again. As he progressed to me and then through each member of the family; a hug, a shell lei and another hug. The lei was placed on each of us like a blessing. A coronation of love and respect.

I was so impressed with the love and affection he displayed to a large Samoan family that was picking up their son. I can only explain it as his royal demeanor as I saw former strangers each approach him, give him a warm embrace and kiss on the cheek. He had become a brother and fellow member of the Samoan family. He engaged in easy conversation in the native language he had learned. He spoke so fluently and powerfully. It rolled off his tongue like honey. Laughter, affection, tears. He treated them like family they now were. What a transformation.

I hate to see that aura diminish over the next few weeks and months. He is no longer a missionary. He is faced with new challenges of life. But I will always have that picture of him descending the escalator as the royal Samoan Prince. The smile, the lei's around his neck, the green tie, the lava lava, the sandals, the stand-tall demeanor.

We were all hungry and wanted to be gone from the airport. The move to the parking structure was a slow one. Brandon had to seek out each of the 6 Elders he had come home with. That lead to more hugs, and more pictures. His last stop was the Samoan Elder. I witnessed a long embrace of true brotherhood and love. They held each other by the shoulders and looked into each others eyes. I was too far away to hear what they were saying. I know they were speaking their native tongue - Samoan. I know it was words of love and respect. Things only returned missionaries can say to each other. Small words that hold two years of experience and meaning.

We look forward to integrating Brandon back into the home and family. Supporting him as he faces new challenges. Welcome Home Elder Black! - PICTURES TO FOLLOW

He Comes Home Today!

After serving two years in the Samoan Islands Brandon comes home today. We are all excited to see him. We spoke to him on Mother's Day and he sounds a little native. It might take some time for him to lose the Samoan intonation in his voice. That's OK. It will be the first time in 4 years our family had been all together.

Bryan is returning from his trip to Fiji with the BYU Soccer team. Ironically they both connect in LA and are on the same flight home to Salt Lake. I am sure they will work out seating arrangements and have a nice visit. I'm sure Bryan will fill him in. It is almost surreal. I can't believe he is actually coming home...finally. What a great experience it has been for him. He will carry Samoa and the Samoan people with him the rest of his life. Part of him will always be Samoan.

Sorry Brandon, I can barbecue pork ribs on the grill; I guess I will have to learn to bury the whole pig in the backyard pit and do it like you are accustomed to.

Reprint from the Fiji Times Sunday Sports section

Blues lose at home

ZANZEER SINGH
Sunday, May 11, 2008

+ Enlarge this image

Former Ba goalkeeper Laisenia Tuba in action for Lautoka yesterday. Tuba will feature for the Blues from June 1

THE touring Brigham Young University picked up win number two short tour with a stylish 2-0 victory over Shop n Save Lautoka in a friendly encounter at Churchill Park yesterday.

The visitors were on fire against an unsettled Blues outfit scoring a goal in each half.

Ba recruits Niumaia Tagi and Laisenia Tuba made their debut in the Lautoka jersey but could not help the home side.

Valerio Nawatu failed to spark in attack showing signs of lack of game time.

Lautoka fielded a full strength team but could not find its combinations.

Jone Vono Junior was substituted early after he failed to function on the left flank. The Blues introduced former Fiji FA Footballer of the Year Salesh Sami off the bench but he also failed to find the target.

Arvindra Naidu and Joshua Wilson were the pick of the players for the home side, both coming close to finding the back of the net.

Naidu showed his class in the 10th minute with a solo run from inside his own territory.

The new find beat several defenders on his 60 metre run before driving his right footer straight into the hands of BYU goalkeeper Bryan Black.

BYU nearly scored in the 20th minute after a cross from Jordan Cushman found Steven Fellows lurking in the box.

Unfortunately for BYU, Fellows could not steer the ball into the right direction with his left foot.

Naidu got another chance to put Lautoka up in the 25th minute but his shot went wide. BYU found the opener from a defensive blunder.

Tuba was unable to clear a back pass with his shot hitting the back of Marika Madigi inside the box. Garrett Losee was at the right spot at the right time for the easy tap in..

BYU led 1-0 at half time.

Sami found space on the flank inside the opposition territory and sent in a timely cross into the box moments into the second spell.

However, Wilson's attempted left footer sailed away from the goalmouth. Against the run of play Curtis Graham missed an easy opportunity at the other end. Sami should have equalised in the 57th minute after he ran onto a through pass from Nawatu.

The nippy striker toed the ball past a diving Black but could not control it as it rolled out with the goalmouth empty.

Black made a grand save in the 62nd minute palming away a bullet shot from Wilson.

BYU sealed the win in the 70th minute when Brent Jensen caught Tuba napping with his low pile driver from 25 metres ricocheting off the upright and trickling to the back of the net.

Lautoka Football Association president Shalendra Prasad said they would need to build the combinations with the new recruits coming in.

The BYU team lost to Ba 1-0 on Wednesday but bounced back to defeat the Fiji under-20 selection side 2-0 on Thursday.

The visitors will take on Suva in its final tour fixture tomorrow.

BYU: Bryan Black, Steven Fellows, Jordan Cushman, Daniel McKinley, Brent Jensen, Brett Osborne, Garrett Losee, Clay Christiansen, Drew VanWagenen, Morgan Gilliam, Curtis Graham.

Lautoka: Laisenia Tuba, Manueli Kalou, Alvin Avinesh, Arvindra Naidu, Marika Madigi, Joshua Wilson, Nuimaia Tagi, Valerio Nawatu, Muele Vuti, Malakai Waqa, Jone Vono Junior.

Why men shouldn't have Action Figures

This makes me laugh. I think it was taken somewhere in Utah!