On this date 21 years ago, my father passed away. It was the first time that I ever saw him weak, and as I saw the life leave his eyes, I saw that I thought was fear. I always thought that it was him fearing what was next. I now realize that he was fearful for what was going to happen to all of us left behind.
After many trials and tribulations, I think that we’re hanging in there.
As I’m getting older, I’m seeing someone familiar looking at me in the mirror…
I miss you, Dad!
St. Pius X Parish is hosting a Motorcycle Blessing on Saturday, June 1st at 8:30AM. Coffee and donuts will be served and the first 60 people will receive a reflective decal for their bike or helmet. ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
St Pius X Parish is located at 14101 Superior St in Southgate. Join us!
What happened to the years? You’re growing up to be a very beautiful young lady! We’re so proud of you and we love you very much!
Happy birthday!
Kiara at almost 6 months
Kiara’s 5th Grade picture
SocialBizUG.org (formerly LotusUserGroup.org) had a contest to see how many buttons people kept from different Lotuspheres and other conferences through the years. I found a few of them, but I know that a few more are in boxes under boxes in my basement. I’ve got to get in there and see how many more I have… 
What do you think?
I have 4 one day Disney Parkhopper tickets that I can’t use. They expire on Monday, January 28th. They cost $132.06 (including tax) per ticket. I’m willing to part with them for $75 each. I’m even willing to pay for overnight shipping. Contact me via Twitter @raybilyk, by email (raybilyk@thepridelands.com) or just reply to this post!
UPDATE: I was asked a question about transferring the tickets… I never used these tickets, and won them in an auction, so they have no names/associated with them. There’s no issue with transferring them.
UPDATE 1/24: I have 2 tickets left. I will be down there on Saturday if anyone is going to the parks on Sunday (Great for the wife/husband/significant other…) CONTACT ME!
Come now until 4PM to the Southgate Walmart and purchase your Girl Scout nuts and candy to support Troop 44061 (Kiara’s troop). We take credit cards, and you can donate to the Troops as well! EVERYTHING MUST BE SOLD!
Voter 736 #ivoted (@ Voting at Davidson School) http://4sq.com/QlLIIa They ran out of “I Voted” stickers! #awesome
It’s time to stop the annoying commercials and all of the partisan talk out there and vote your heart! Do your self a favor this time… VOTE YOUR HEART, not who you think is going to win!!! I hate hearing people say, “I’m not going to vote for <INSERT NAME HERE> because then my vote will be wasted.” If you vote for ANYONE, you’re NOT WASTING YOUR VOTE!!! JUST VOTE!!!
If you been stopping by my blog lately (and who isn’t), you might have noticed the countdown widget on the right…
Since February 4th, 2008, I’ve worked for a great organization that has helped me keep a roof over my family and food on their plates. I’ve learned a lot, and more importantly, I’ve made some great friendships.
The biggest challenge with this position has been the drive to and from work each day. My drive would take a little over an hour each way, and that was on a good day. On some winter days, it has taken me over three hours to get home. Even if I’ve had a great day at work, the drive home each day would ruin it… so much so that it was having a negative impact with my family. I was coming home angry. My family doesn’t deserve that. Combine that with the fact that my son was starting preschool in the fall, and it was becoming clear that something had to change.
Thanks to the recommendation of a friend, and with the support of my family, I can now say that on June 14th, I will no longer be working for my current employer.
Starting on Monday, June 18th, I will be working for a privately owned company located in downtown Detroit. I don’t want to publicly say where at this time, mostly because I am not familiar with their social media policy, but let’s just say that it’s a great organization that is a huge supporter of Detroit with a belief in it’s future. My future employer is also very family friendly.
By working in downtown Detroit, it cuts my 1+ hour drive each way down to 18 minutes each way! I will also continue to be in the Yellowverse, because I will be not only continuing my work in IBM Lotus Notes/Domino, but my new employer has embraced Lotus software, so I will be working to improve performance, enhance security and be an evangelist for Lotus software in the organization, with hopeful opportunities to show everyone what it can do!
This does mean that I will no longer work with some great people, but with all of the different ways to keep in touch with me, I’m sure that they won’t be gone from my life, just not there every day like they are now… (Some of them are taking me to a great place called Clubhouse BFD after work on Wednesday… stop on by…)
I’m excited, nervous, anxious, and sad… but I think that this is all for the best! “The Lord works in mysterious ways…”
Now, as Bob Segar would say, time to ‘Turn the Page’…