What's Up Doc?

My wife and I recently had a big scare last week when our daughter had to be rushed to the emergency room due to her asthma. All is well now thank God and she is back at home excited about Christmas like the rest of the kids her age.

Throughout this 2-day ordeal at the hospital and dealing with the doctors and nurses I could not stop thinking about that commercial.....you know the one with the chick is asking all the questions at the restaurant and then she sees her doctor during a health exam and doesn't ask a single thing...

All I kept thinking about was that we needed to make sure we weren't one of those people not asking any (or enough) questions. We made sure to ask any and every question we could possible think of not matter how stupid they may have sounded. Here's a few tips...

1. For many going to doc can be very nerve wrecking depending on the circumstance, etc. For that reason many times you're not thinking clearly so write down questions ahead of time...if that's too anal, take a notepad and write them down while you wait in the seating area.

2. When it comes to health, it doesn't matter how embarrassing or stupid your question sounds, so suck it up and spit it out. I'm sure you're not the first with that weird growth on your baby toe.

3. You are the customer (patient) thus you are in charge. If the doctor is rushing you, stop them and tell them you feel like you're being rushed. Its your right.

4. If you don't understand what you just heard, have them explain it over, (its OK!) tell'em to pretend you're a 4 yr old. Sometimes doctors can be intimidating because they're "Dr.s", but its never impressive when people talk over their audience no matter the title.

5. When in a situation where you don't like your current physician and feel like you're not getting the care you need, find a new one. I understand some people may not be able to switch but if possible, do so. Again, its your body and you only get one.

Good job US Dept. of Health for pulling together a thought provoking commercial.

http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/level2col_1.asp?nav=2colNav00&content=09_0_videos

The Strangest Thing I've ever seen at the Starting Line!

As you read my blogs hopefully they can be thought provoking, inspirational, and/or provide you with helpful information. Today's entry is none of the above.

I ran the Jingle Bell Run 2009 Sundance Square Fort Worth, TX this past Saturday (12/5) and I saw the craziest thing I've ever seen in my 20 years of racing. As I pushed and squezzed my way to the front I ended up next to this middle-aged guy getting prepped for the run.

As I bent over to get that final stretch of my hammies I by chance happened to look at this guy's shoes (don't ask my why, I always look at other runner's racing shoes...). Anyway, I noticed a puddle of water under his feet as well as a stream of "water" pooling into the puddle. To my disbelief this guy was "relieving" himself at the starting line!! Thankfully it was just #1.
I've never seen anything like that in my life. I wondered if it was a pre-race ritual that I've never heard of, or maybe he just didn't have time to hit the porto potty and get back to the start in time so he figured no one would notice. Who knows? I guess I'm writing about this with hopes that maybe someone has an explanation for why?

FAQ

No - I didn't ask him why he was taking a leak on himself at the starting line.

No - I didn't shake his hand and wish him good luck in the race.

No - He didn't get out of line to go clean up.

Yes - He did take off when the gun fired and I lost track of him...he might have beat me, not sure.

Inverted Relationship Fast Food and Age

Why does it seem that the older you get the less fast food you eat? I've noticed over the years that in each year that I get the older, the less I'm able to stand the taste of fast food. Its at a point now that I'd almost rather come home and eat crackers than stop and pickup one of those combos.....

Possible theories on this phenomenon....

1. I'm sick of getting my orders screwed up and begging for extra ketchup.

2. Foods are more processed than ever before and they taste terrible.

3. In the age of information, I've been exposed to too much "behind the scenes" info on what really goes on in restaurant kitchens...thanks Anthony Bourdain! thanks Food Inc.! thanks Super-Size Me!

4. The older I get, the more I'm aware of my mortality, thus making me more health conscience and focused on taking care of my body.

5. Times are tough, save the $6 bucks on a combo meal and sack lunch a ham "sammich"...hey it adds up!

Any suggestions? What do you think?

Going Through

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My family and I traveled to Austin to visit family and we had a wonderful time. My wife and I had a chance to visit with my old college buddy who I hadn't seen in maybe 10 years and we had a great time hanging out. A reoccurring theme of this past week for me has been about "going through". What I mean is that as we go through our lives, we ALL have to at one point or another go through.

These are the trials and tribulations of life that make us stronger on the other side. The message from my Sunday class this morning was about being thankful for the pitfalls of life. We were studying Joseph and discussing many of his trials. The key piece of the equation is having that relationship with Christ through the process. Through prayer and being aware, God gives us the wisdom and reveals over time what is to be learned through that pitfall. Without that relationship one could easily think that, "hey, life is screwing me again" and become angry and bitter. How do I know? I've been there.....

I'm still learning as this is a life long process, but I am getting stronger in my faith and learning to trust God through the good, but especially the BAD.

Consumers Unite! Rule #2b - Follow-up

Well, this is the final outcome of the dentist bill dilemma...wanna hear it? Here we go....

Where we last left off, the dentist office found an "error" and took off $166.90 from a bill of $440.70, which left me at $273.90. I was pushing for them to split that in half (50% their responsibility and 50% mine..even though it wasn't my fault). They ended up only taking 25% off. So I'm left w/ a bill of $205.43.

Let's see, because I asked questions and stood up for myself I reduced a bill by 53%!!!

Lesson learned....make dentist office provide print off of charges prior to having procedures done. Last but not least, find a new dentist office!!!

Consumers Unite! Rule #2a - Follow-up

Quick update on my dentist dilemma....well guess what? After a few phone calls, my bill has gone from $440.70 to $273.90....and it may go down even further. The dentist office miraculously identified an overcharge of $166.80. What can I say? I guess I do have a voice.

RULE #2a- RULE #2 WORKS AND THERE IS NO NEED TO BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP! ASK QUESTIONS, "DA MAN" THRIVES ON CONSUMER IGNORANCE, EDUCATE YOURSELF.

Be patient, I'm learning as well, I know this is a whole different way of thinking for some people, but trust me it works!

Consumers Unite! Rule #2

I'm staring at a bill from my dentist office for $440.70. Hmmmmm, I didn't know I owed my dentist anything since my last visit was in April of this year. But guess what, between my insurance provider and my dentist office, THEY figured out a mistake was made.


Long story short, my dentist PPO plan told my dentist they were one fee schedule before billing, once billing was submitted, the insurance claimed to be on another fee schedule. Because of this, it was decided that I now owed $440.70 on top of the already $700+ I already paid. Why am I responsible for this error? Ohhh, that's right, I sign a waiver saying that any charges the insurance feels like they don't wanna pay, its on me....even when they screw up.

RULE #2- AS A CONSUMER AND AMERICAN CITIZEN WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE AND A VOICE. Did you know that 70% of this country's GDP is consumer spending? We can't be afraid to speak up for what is right. I don't know whether I'll win this thing or not, but its about principle and I'm going to try!

All I can think about is health care reform. It's this kind of stuff that has to stop. 1) I'm going to war w/ my insurance company to fight this charge. 2) Its very obvious to me at this point that something has to change in our health care system. We can debate public option and all of that stuff...fine...at the end of the day we've given these health insurance companies too much power. Its time to take a stand...so let me put in my $400+ orthotic inserts and I'm ready to stand up!

"Now ya know and knowing is half the battle", the other half is doing something about it. Please comment and let me know if this has happened before to anyone else.

Gotta Go Through!!

Did anyone see 60 Minutes last night! There was a great piece on Tyler Perry. It was a quick reminder for me that we all have to go through. No one escapes. We never know what someone went through to get where they are today.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5419908n&tag=api

The Human Transformer

Consumers Unite!! Rule #1

We as American people need to take our power back as consumers. If you've never given your power away as a consumer then this post isn't for you. For everyone else, we give corporations, retailers, "da man", "the machine", whatever you want to call it, too much control on how we spend our money.

Rule #1 EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. I repeat, EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. Anything, anywhere, anytime. If you've never done it before, start out small...negotiate the price of a DVD at your local retailer. Know that in business and in everyday life negotiating is very normal. Only negotiate with the decision maker. If the sales associate does not have the power to lower the price then you're speaking with the wrong person, go to the manager.

A few key things to know about negotiating...1) information is power (be informed on the item/service you are negotiating, such as understanding its fair price), 2) When buying, hit'em low (below the price you're willing to pay), and vice versa when selling, hit'em high (higher than the price you're willing to sell).

Have you ever called your electric, cable service, or any provider to negotiate lower pricing? Try it out, it works!! Example: I just lowered my electricity bill today from 14.9 cents per kw to 11.9 cents per kw. How did you do that? I asked. Know that no one is going to call you and say hey we want to lower your bill today. Not gonna happen. You have to ask. What's the worse they could say?

Garmin Forerunner 201

I was just telling a friend of mine about this piece of running equipment I've had for about 5 years now. Its the Garmin Forerunner 201 and its used to track distance, pace, time, etc while running. I can honestly say its one of the most reliable pieces of mobile electronics I've ever owned. And, NO, I'm not a paid endorser of Garmin. : (

If you check out Garmin's website I'm sure you'll find some newer models that are smaller and more expensive but at the time I purchased mine I think paid around $125... Money well spent.

Why I Run

Wow, my earliest memories of running were going out to the gravel dusted track with my brother and father at the College of The Mainland (small community college in Texas City, TX). I guess I couldn't have been any more than 7 or 8 years old and I'll never forget my dad telling me how good I was at running. It was at that point when he verbalized it that I just knew in my heart of hearts that I could run.

Fast forward to high school and college cross country and countless track meets--I thought I was running for myself. I saw some success but also experienced some disappointments along the way. I wanted to excel so much that I would completely stress myself out before the gun ever went off.

This morning, I ran a local 5K Fun Run (The Vineyard Run - Grapevine, TX) and it dawned on me why I run today. As my relationship with Christ has developed over the years, I realize that I run for Christ. Running for me today is thanking God for the natural talents He's given me. I in no way, shape or form take for granted the opportunity to put my two feet on the ground. Running is a lot of other things as well; it’s therapeutic, a mental/physical challenge, and it gives me the feeling that I'm ALIVE.

While my race times are nowhere near as fast as they were as a young man, I can tell you that I run 10 times stronger and much more confident because I know I'm using my God given talent that no one on this Earth can ever take away from me.

Fruit of The Spirit (Galatians 5:22) - I Can Clothing Co

Words of wisdom......

"A man of fear lives always on the edge of insanity. A man of faith lives in perpetual reward."

Andy Andrews - Author of "The Traveler's Gift"

Artist: Dave Pressler

Strawberry no C.R.E.A.M.

First of all, I don't like baseball. Second of all, you don't have to be a baseball fan to like this book. I just finished reading, "Straw: Finding My Way" by Darryl Strawberry w/ John Strausbaugh. Myself along with all of the other public had heard about all of Darryl Strawberry's past problems via the news and tabloids , etc. I was curious to hear this man's side of the story about his own life.....hmmmm, sounds logical to me...

This book carries an awesome testimony about life, love, addiction, pain, struggle and what God is capable of doing if we just allow Him. My old pastor once said, "God doesn't want your best, He wants to show you his best." I love that statement. My best will never measure up to what God is capable of accomplishing through me. We ALL have demons and battles to fight, but through Christ we can overcome them. Darryl Strawberry's story is one in millions that is proof of that truth. In my mind, Strawberry, is living the "I Can" dream. This is what its all about. Can I have enough courage to utilize my God given talents to carry out God's purpose for me here on earth? Can I stand up to address my fears and shortcomings without creating addictions as an escape? I am in no way saying its easy, I'm just saying its possible.

I was thoroughly encouraged by this book and I encourage you to check it out if you get an opportunity. Let's go.

P.S. Mr. Strawberry, sorry man.......you do have a turkey neck.

http://darrylstrawberry.com/ds/

My favorite "samich" at Mickie D's is in trouble!

http://www.inquisitr.com/36916/overfishing-endangers-majestic-filet-o-fish/

Born To Run?

Ever had your bubble burst before? I have many times and it happened to me again last Saturday. I had just finished this great book called "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall and based on what I read I was convinced I HAD to buy this new type of running shoe that would surely cure my chronic foot pain. If you're a distance runner you gotta read this book, if not, PASS.

I had already called the store and placed the shoes on hold and even had my lovely wife join me to witness this great moment. So what, you're buying a pair of shoes, you say, I say if you've ever had foot pain, you'd understand. The sales lady was kind enough to pull my shoes that were on hold but she returned with a look on her face that indicated she had some bad news..."Uhhhh, I'll sell you these shoes if you really want them, but I gotta tell you that in good conscience I can't sell them to you if you're having foot problems." She went on to give me her reasons and explain further (along with my wife somehow swtiching from wife to cautious mom mode and agreeing with the sales lady's recommendations.) 2 against 1, I was doomed.....

An hour later and a half dozen shoes tried on, I walked out with her recommendation which were a pair of Brooks instead of the Vibram Fivefingers (shoes for barefoot runners, it'll take to long to explain, read the book if you want to know more....) which I thought were the answer.

So now, I've been given a new running homework assignment and a strict schedule to hopefully get my feet back to normal. If I can do this, then I should be able to get the Fivefingers...we'll see. This story is to be continued.......

Finally Kidrobot is opening a store in Dallas...maybe I'll c u there.

Gary Baseman

Great words of wisdom

I ran across this quote yesterday and had to pass it on.

"It's hard to not eat what you want when you want, or buy what you want when you want. Regardless of your age, emotionally growing up is what we are forcing ourselves to do when we delay pleasure. Our minds start to say that if we put off getting this, we'll have a better that. It has to drop from our brain to our heart and promote action. It's an intellectual behavior that affects will."

Source: Dave Ramsey website

This is one of the hardest things I've ever attempted but I trust and have faith in God that He will give me the strength to accomplish this sometimes seemingly impossible goal. If you want a different life, you have to do something different. Weird is good. Let's go!

Michael Jackson

Our prayers go out to Michael Jackson's children and his family. I was and will always be a big Michael Jackson fan. I'm the designated Michael Jackson imitator in the family, so my memories of MJ are of me as a kid attempting to learn and imitate the dance moves from his latest video.....

He was the best entertainer and dancer I've ever seen in my life. I wonder...who would have won when MC Hammer challenged Michael Jackson to a dance off in the 90's. My pick would have been MJ hands down!

I'm a toy collector so I had to purchase the above MJ collector's item that was too hard to pass up.

Handbook 2009

A friend of mine forwarded this email to me which outlines some great "guidelines" live by.... I'm not sure of the author, but I thought it was worth sharing...

HANDBOOK 2009

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32.. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about

The Word can be delivered in many ways...

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4ce7f62c8fa7541273d6&sp=2

News You can Use?

I write today's message while we're days into the swine flu scare. Is this truly something to be scared about? I don't know. I have read stats that every year an average of 5-20% of the US population contracts the flu. Of those, about 200,000 are hospitalized due to complications and about 36,000 die from further complications and pneumonia. Maybe I missed something, but the swine flu is nowhere close to average annual stats of the regular flu we see every year.

I won't bore you with more stats, but my point is that I believe the media has a tendency to get ahold of a piece a news that sounds juicy and they don't know how to let go.....thus being prone to blowing things way out of proportion. Media were reporting that the US was in a recession (2 consecutive qtrs decline in GDP) back in January of last year and that had not yet happened. Guess what, if we hear enough of that type of news...People get scared, we start panicking, stop spending, and then what do you know....we end up in a recession.

What's the best source of news these days...any suggestions?

Graduated today....

Today, I graduated from school, but not the kind you're probably thinking about...I graduated from Financial Peace University (FPU). FPU is a 13-week course taught by a guy by the name of Dave Ramsey. I gotta tell you, I've had financial planners, accountants, you name it, in terms of people to talk to about money and this guy's class has the most profound and insightful teachings I've ever discovered for me and my family on the topic of money.

The whole goal of Dave's class is to teach you how to become debt free. If you're already there...Congratulations! Keep it that way...... If not, visit http://www.daveramsey.com/ He has a radio show that comes on everyday, his site will have the details on local stations, times, etc.. You can also listen online. In the DFW Metroplex his show is on from 1-4 PM CST on 570 AM.

He has a lot of different sayings but the one I connect with the most is "live like no one else, so you can live like no one else."

March 2009 Testimony

Moving forward...all I Can testimonies will be posted via my blog....see below for last month's post.

March 2009
I knew about Jesus growing up. We went to church on Christmas and Easter, and once in a while I would go to VBS with a friend or sing Jesus Loves Me because that was the tune on my mind. I liked Jesus, actually. I thought He was nice and I loved the stories I heard about from the Bible—especially the ones about how He performed miracles. My favorite was story about how he healed a blind man because I am visually impaired, too. I wondered if someday God would allow me to be healed like that so I could see like all the other kids I knew. Jesus did that for the blind man, why not for me, right? I figured He could heal me if He felt like it, so every once in a while when I thought about it I would ask God to heal my eyes. Once I even wrote Him a letter and asked for Him to restore my eyesight. I left it on my desk in my room so God would see it. The next day it was gone so I figured God saw it and took it with Him to Heaven. (Mom saved it all those years and gave it back to me in a memory box the day I graduated from college.)

I found myself searching for “something” as I grew into adolescence. My family was enduring some significant difficulties during those years. It was a time of tumultuous divorce, poverty, family tragedy, and other life circumstances that would test the soul of even the most strengthened among us. It didn’t seem right that the trauma of events in such a young life were doing so much damage with no hope of repair. What else was there? How in the world would someone survive what our family endured? There HAD to be something out there to give us hope and peace and love amidst that crushing despair… wasn’t there?

I was introduced to the concept of having Christ in my life as my savior at Campus Life and Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings in high school. I was invited to attend because the social side of it was fun, but there was something different about those meetings. It was clear right away. When the gospel was presented I heard it clearly for the first time and that’s when I knew who I belonged to all along. I didn’t belong to divorce or poverty. I didn’t need to be defined by deceit or anger or distrust. God took all of those labels off when I chose to give my heart and life to Him completely. I trusted Him as my one and only provider and my one and only guide. It doesn’t mean that the things of past and present and future will not be painful sometimes. But it does mean I now have a personal relationship with God, who loves me and forgives my transgressions so that I can rest in his arms in times of sadness or fear and know that His plans for me are perfect and that His grace is sufficient always.

Knowing that within my heart brings it all full circle, really. Although my childhood request for God’s healing of my visual impairment was always real, and I genuinely believed that God could perform a miracle if His will called for it, at that time in my life I didn’t know God as my Savior. As a young child, I wanted what “I wanted” from God. I wanted MY way. But I didn’t even know what a great and perfect gift He had in store for me—one far greater than eyesight. God gave His only son, Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, so that he could die on a cross and rise up again and we can know Him in our hearts and have eternal life with HIM! That gift… the one better than eyesight… is the true vision of Christ. That His children would know Him and love Him and build the Kingdom of God’s children who will spend eternity with Him in heaven when their time on earth is done. Because I have that gift now, the true vision of God, being blind is really just no big deal anymore. Inconvenient? Yes. Frustrating? Of course, it can be. But is it REALLY what defines me? Not anymore. I share God’s vision now, which brings immeasurable, overflowing joy.

Funny how God’s plans put it all into perspective, isn’t it?

Andrea Kulberg is co-owner of Future Cheer, a UK based company that is the leading international Cheer & Dance event producer. She is also a motivational speaker and author, currently launching a new inspiring speaking series called “Rock Star U” with her identical twin sister, Aly. For more information about Future Cheer, visit www.futurecheer.net For more information about Andrea’s speaking series and Rock Star U, visit www.rockstarsrock.com.

Not Easily Broken

I just saw T.D. Jakes movie "Not Easily Broken" and I thought it was good. I always rate my movies 1 out of 10 scale and I give it a 8.... Thought provoking content about marriage and what it takes to make one work. Dialogue was very real between husband and wife, trust me I know after almost 10 years. Its no longer in theaters but can be rented on DVD.

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/noteasilybroken/

1st Blog

Man....This is looooong overdue...."I can" be slow at times.. The goal here will be to keep everyone up-to-date on what's gong on with ICC and everything else under the sun.

Stay up and stay tuned!