Indeed.

It was a typical Iowa fall morning. The air was sharp but fresh. A light haze hugged the ground across the Cedar Valley. Water towers and tall trees stood as ghosts in the distance.

This was a normal morning for me. I was on my way to work with nothing in particular on my mind. The silence, at first, was maddening, but I have grown accustomed to it over the weeks my car radio has been out. I turn left onto the highway.

Moments later, I drive by the construction of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter. Super. Yeah, that’s it, just super. I notice they are really making progress on the super-structure. Lanes are closed and traffic is tight. I should have been paying attention.

I didn’t actually cross the center line, but I got close enough, too close. The dump truck on the other hand, well, he must have been just as impressed with the construction goings-on as I was because he crossed over. Impact. Crushing metal. Broken bones. The hood on my little red Probe crumples like wad of paper tossed out by a frustrated author. The windshield shatters into oblivion. My face is greeted by an industrial sized tire which nearly removes my head. Blackness.

It takes 9 months to enter this world. We leave it in an instant.

The funeral was held on a Monday afternoon. People from everywhere showed up. Old high school friends, friends from college, and the local community. The epitaph read: “Here lies Nate Beam: Father to six, Husband to one, dedicated follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As my wife sits in the front row seat of the sanctuary, her mind races to make sense of what has happened over the last few days. I, on the other hand, have the meeting of a lifetime.

“Hello, Nathan.” These words were not spoken by the figure standing in front of me, but I heard them as audibly as any word spoken to me in life.

“Uhh…Hello….Jesus?”

“Indeed. May I ask you a question?”

“Of course you can…you’re Jesus.”

“Now that all is said and done, now that all is gone and still just begun, what have you done with your time, and why?”

In that instant, I knew. I knew that He wasn’t mad at me. I just knew how sad He was. I knew the truth about my life on earth. And I had no answer that would have seemed even remotely valid, other than the truth.

“You’re right Jesus. I wasted a ton of time. “

“Indeed. Try not to do the same this time.”

“Huh?”

With that, I find myself driving by the construction site for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter. There is no dump truck. There is no crumpled metal. There are no feelings of guilt or sadness. There is only a sense of mission. A mission not to waste my time. Indeed.

Untitled

Sometimes the lack of a title gives an element of artistry to a certain work. For example, it's not uncommon to come across a song called "The Untitled Hymn" or an article "Untitled". But when you really look at it, the fact that they are labeled untitled gives them the title Untitled. Good for them.

Cars, on the other hand, can not be untitled. Even though these are sometimes works of art, if you want to drive your car, it needs a title. At least where I come from it does. And so here begins my latest travail. (not sure if that's the right word, but this is my blog so there)

Over 1 month ago, I purchased a vehicle on eBay. No biggie. Been there, done that. I flew out to Norfolk, Virginia and drove the thing back home. It was truly a fun time. I proceeded to drive the new vehicle locally while I waited for the title to come to me so that I could get a legal registration. Title didn't come. And I got pulled over. Well, the officer was understanding. I showed him the bill of sale and he saw that I was within the 15 day grace period and so he didn't give me a ticket....for that....but that's another blog entry.

So, the 15 day grace period comes and goes. I put the new vehicle in the garage and started driving my old car. After a couple of days, I get ansy and decide to call the county courthouse (for the 3rd time) just to see if there was someway, anyway, to get a temporary registration or something that would allow me to drive the new car. No luck. However, in that conversation I was able to find out that the grace period is actually 30 days, not 15. There is hope.

I started driving the new car again, and was really enjoying having a radio to listen to when the 30 day grace period came and went. New car in garage, old car activated. Am I losing hope? Nope.

I am now on day 37, and no title is in sight. Here are the facts of the case as I know them. According to the seller, his lender released the title 32 days ago to the Virginia DMV. My lender has not received it, so it must be somewhere in the Virginia DMV system. That is all I know.

Meanwhile, I have made 1 month's car payment on the new vehicle. I have paid for 1 month's insurance on the new vehicle. And I have driven the vehicle about a total of 15 days (thankfully for me, I have had a fair amount of business travel lately)

So there you have it. Untitled is not a good thing in the world of automobiles.

Why did I write all of this out? Am I complaining? Certainly not! In fact, I hope that this blog entry shows that even when things don't go the way they are supposed to or even the way you want them to, there is no need to let that have a negative impact on your life. It's just a car. I know that it will all get worked out. I won't be paying on a vehicle that I can't drive forever. The title will come and then I will be able to drive it worry-free.

Happiness delayed is not happiness denied.

Yay, today, Friday.

Yay.
Hey.
Today.
Friday.
No way.
Yes Way.
Today.
Friday.
Ok.
Then pay.
What you say?
Today.
Friday.
No way.
What you say?
I won't pay.
But today.
Friday.
Ok.
Browse eBay.
Go play.
Make hay.
Today.
Friday.
Yay.
Oh by the way.
You say.
You won't pay.
But today.
Friday.
Go play.
I may.
My way.
Today.
Friday.
Eat a filet.
On a tv tray.
Lean back all the way.
Wake up next day.
No longer Friday.
Boo hoo.

How's it goin' dere hey?

Right now, I am up in Fargo, ND in a class for Microsoft CRM.

Yes, Microsoft has an office up here. A pretty decent one at that. There are about 1000 Microsoft Business Solutions employees located here in Fargo. Anywhere from tech support to developers. It's been a pretty fun 3 days. Reminds me of when I was in college in Grand Forks. There are even some UND grads who work here.

One of the things that I notice besides the weather (actually it isn't that bad right now) is the speech. I kinda miss that aboot this area, hey.

Fargo has changed a lot from the last time I was here. It has been expanding like crazy. And from what I'm told, the population of 20-30 year olds has been exploding. That's kind of interesting, dontcha know.

Really, the only thing you can complain about Fargo is the weather. The people are really nice, the economy is good, crime is pretty low. It's just a really nice area.

I am such a slacker.

Ho-kay. So. I put up a post asking how many people still come check out the bliggity, making you all think that I'm going to get started posting again, and then WHAMMO! nothing.

I just don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I need counseling. I just don't feel inspired to write about anything in my life. Really there isn't much going on.

Wait....a.....minute......

I know what's wrong!!!!!!!!!!

I know why I never blog anything anymore!!!!!!

Cause my wife blogs everything.

No seriously, I used to go through my day and every once in a while something would come up or I would do something and I would say to myself, "Hey, you just wrote a run-on sentence." Actually, I would say to myself, "Hey, that would make a good blog entry."

Maybe I can make blog entries psycho-analyzing the reasons why someone makes blog entries.

But really, I do apologize. The last thing I want to do is waste someone's time by having them come here to check the bliggity only to find that the last post was 4 days ago. I mean, come on, you have important things to do, like check 12 other blogs!

Got blog? Well sorta.

Just wondering...

Does anyone ever come here anymore? If so, reply to this post. You can even criticize me for not keeping up with my blog. But I've had a lot on my plate lately. Plus, I just never think that anything going on in my life is worth blogging about.

Maybe I need to eat more Pablo's burritos. Yeah, that blog was particularly inspired. My wife likes to blog about laundry and housework, I like to blog about food. Hmmmm.

Anyways, if you're out there reading this, I apologize for my liggity laziness in keeping up with the Bliggity Blaggity Blog. I will try to do better.

Tru dat.