Bubbha-Mind

Enjoy the Silence

Amyda — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:22:43 +0000

I’m sitting here on my couch, wide awake, at 3am. I’ve been here before. Insomnia and I are old friends. It used to make me crazy, especially when I worked a 9-5 desk job. I could never accept the fact that this is just who I am. I would toss and turn, angry and frustrated that I wasn’t like everyone else. I would stare at the ceiling and ask no one in particular, “WHY can’t I fall asleep like a normal person!?” There were nights when I would actually lie in bed with tears streaming down my face because I was still awake.

It’s a Jeep Thing, I Don’t Understand

Amyda — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:47:52 +0000

Last November I took my Jeep to the gas station to fill up the tank. I put in the nozzle, pulled the handle and waited for the click that lets me know that the tank is full. The pump clicked, I pulled out the nozzle and gas gushed out of the tank spilling all over my hands and the side of my Jeep. I thought I had done something wrong until it happened again a couple of weeks later. It was around this time that we received a letter from Chrysler about the problem. In it, they explained that they knew about the problem and were offering a lifetime warranty on the part. In other words, if you’ve got the problem bring your Jeep to a dealer and we’ll fix it for free. Good deal, right? Not so much…

A Bittersweet fathers day

Bubbha — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:32:53 +0000

I have a wonderful daughter. She is thoughtful, intelligent, loving, sarcastic, and all around good person. As is customary, she called me today to wish me a happy fathers day. She even waited until later in the morning knowing that her old man likes to sleep in. I couldn’t be prouder to have her as my daughter and it gives me great joy that we have such a wonderful relationship. This is the part of fathers day that I really love. It’s a day that I know I will hear from her and it’s a day that I reflect on how our relationship has evolved over the years as she has grown from a shy little girl to an outspoken, independent college graduate.

Read more on A Bittersweet fathers day…

Rough Seas

Amyda — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:21:20 +0000

People spend a lot of time thinking about the future. We think about everything from what we’re going to have for dinner to what our career path will be. Sometimes those thoughts are very specific. We imagine how we will feel, how we will act, and what our lives will be like if that future becomes a reality. One part of the future that few people think about is the death of someone they love. We never stop and think about what our life will be like when someone close to you is no longer around.

Semper Paratus

Amyda — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 02:18:49 +0000

It has been four months since my father died. Tomorrow afternoon a US Coast Guard boat will take my step-mother and I out to sea where my father’s ashes will be scattered. I really wanted to write more tonight. I’ve got a million thoughts running through my head. I have been through so many changes since my dad died, however, as I sit before my computer screen it’s clear that I am not yet ready to say what’s on my mind.

I Am

Bubbha — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:47:39 +0000

What is the problem with the world? I am.

This was a profound answer to a question that has plagued society ever increasingly. My wife and I just went to see “I Am” by Tom Shadyac. For those unfamiliar of Tom, he was the director of the films “Ace Ventura”, “Bruce Almighty”, “The Nutty Professor”, “Patch Adams”, and “Liar Liar” just to name some of the most well known. Tom was living the life. He got his break directing with “Ace Ventura” and with the fame and following fortune, he acquired more and more possessions and grand homes that went with it. Then something happened that changed all that…

The Iron Maiden Sangha

Bubbha — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:35:11 +0000

My wife and I just completed a trip to Tampa to see my life-long favorite band Iron Maiden, meet an online friend in real life, make new friends while there, and why this was so enlightening.

Ordained Monastic Vows

Bubbha — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 03:54:52 +0000

The video below is Amy and I taking our monastic vows and receiving our Dharma names in the Order of Compassion.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Amy’s Dharma name is Ani Jampal Yangchen and mine is Jampal Sangye. May we live as Bodhisatvas and bring honor to our teacher Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda.

My Eulogy for Bob Schneider

Bubbha — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:40:33 +0000

My father-in-law, Robert E. Schneider, passed away Saturday, February 12th, 2011. Today was his memorial service and in honor of Bob, I am posting my eulogy.

My relationship with Bob was one where I felt not so much like a son-in-law, but more like a son. I always looked to Bob as a father figure. I know it always brought a smile to his face when I called him Pop. Pop was a man who took great pride in everything he did. I think that was one of the things that really brought us together. We both see there being two ways to doing something… the wrong way and our way. Pop was always willing to teach you the right way to do something.

Finding comfort in sickness

Bubbha — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:48:43 +0000

For the past two weeks, I have been fighting a nasty creeping crud. It started out as a horrible cough, raging headache, and sinuses that drained so frequently I wanted to remove my nose. It mutated into bronchitis, sinus infection and ear infection. In short, I felt like shit. I don’t like being sick (who does right?) and until recently I had always been blessed with a very resilient immune system. When I got sick in the past, typically a couple of days and I was back on track. This time though, it just kept hanging on. I recently left my job of 14 years and as fate would have it, I was sick the last week of my old job and the first week of my new. I actually missed two days of work during my last week at the former employer. I’ve been to the doctor twice in the past two weeks with two scripts for antibiotics that increase in strength each visit. What I’m trying to say here is that I had one nasty bug and it held on for a long time.