names

I hear that everyone's favorite word to hear is their own name. Somehow they've figured out a way to test how people react to different words (they hate the words "slacks" and "Chris Henry")

Apparently we just love our names. I do. I use all three. Seems to make sense. Most people aren't getting their money's worth out of their names. You rarely hear the middle name, unless it's Lee. Occasionally you'll get a middle initial... (Anyone remember what the T in James T. Kirk stood for?)

I'm a fan of the nickname. We named Griffin thinking that we'd honor the Griffin family, but also because we thought we'd call him either Fin or Griff (and if Evan was named Gern Blanston, we probably wouldn't have honored the Blanston family - it's a fine line between naming someone after someone else....and also needing to like the name) Cooper quickly became Coop...and I'm thinking we'll call Parker Parker (sometimes it doesn't work out)

I've never once called Annie by her real name -Ann. I've called her Annie or Annabelle for as long as I've known her (I don't think she's a fan of Ann) In truth, I never really liked the name Annie before I met Annie. Luckily a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...and I've come to love her name (or at least her nickname - Annie)

Any guy with the surname Murphy ends up being called Murph, so there's not a lot of pressure on that name. Because Annie was hopped up on hormones in the delivery room, Griffin ended up with two middle names...as did Cooper (I was outvoted 2 -1, Annie and the nurse - both times) Parker is going to have to settle with one misspelled middle name - Elisabeth. Annie wrote that one down, and I didn't really get a vote. It was our first shot at a Z in our family.

Names identify who we are to some extent. They can be superficial, and they can greatly affect who we are. I still don't get why the Royal family is a big deal just because they were born into that name. I guess I could say that about the Hiltons, Kennedys or Osbournes.

I'll always be a Murphy. No matter what I do (steal hubcaps, murder, embezzle millions, play bingo, cheat on my taxes or in Euchre) I'll always be a Murphy. I can't change that...and I wouldn't. One of the things I love about being a son is that it's irrevocable. As a child of God I know that our Father in Heaven will love us no matter what. The story of the Prodigal son is the story of a son who was never not the son of his father....it just took him awhile to realize that.

Sometimes I forget too.

I wonder if God has a nickname for me. He probably just calls me Murph and wonders why I use all three names...

baseball?

There are a few things about baseball that make me want to watch soccer...

They either wear two pairs of socks or one pair with a fake stirrup down the side. I'm thinking that's not going to help them hit a baseball.

The manager wears a game uniform as though he might get out there at any moment to pinch hit.

When the manager disagrees with a call, he doesn't go out there and argue like a football coach - he gets 2 inches from the umpires face and argues with him while moving his head around at, what must be, a ridiculous rate from that close a range. It's like he's saying, "If I wasn't so mad at you right now, I'd kiss you right in the face!" He then kicks dirt over the plate or picks up a base and throws it. Seriously with that?

The infield fly rule is just silly.

I keep hearing that pitching is watered down right now, and that's just wrong.

It's hard to argue that anything is a sport if you wear long pants, eat and chew tobacco while playing, and you stand around for hours.

The Pirates might be the worst team of all time (it hurts to write that - it feels like we've been the Cincinnati Bengals of football for the past 10 years)

Failure to Thrive

Annie took Parker in to the doctor yesterday. When you're first born you're supposed to gain about an ounce a day (I've been doing that for years). At this point Parker should have gained a pound and a half, but she's actually lost a little over a pound.

They call that failure to thrive. I'm not completely sure what that means yet, but I know Cooper was having similar issues. With him, it was a little more obvious because he threw everything up. It made sense that he was having trouble gaining any weight. It's scary to me that Parker isn't gaining weight because she isn't really throwing up all that often.

So, we're taking her into Children's hospital to see how to best help her to thrive. It's incredibly scary to me to deal with the delicate nature of 7 pound babies. Almost everything worries me.
It's amazing the level of comfort I had with Griffin the day after Cooper was born. I went from being worried about everything he did, to letting him juggle knives while learning to ride his bike.

I think it's perspective. He was our little boy one day...and then I got a good look at how little they can actually be. With Coop, he was our baby - but next to Parker now...he's huge.

I think we all go through periods where we aren't really thriving. We might not be shrinking, but we certainly aren't growing (spiritually, emotionally, economically, socially, intellectually...) and some would argue that "if you aren't moving forward, then moving backward" Sometimes we forget because we haven't gone through some sort of tragedy....and we just sort of drift. Big failures often help us bring things into perspective. Lots of little slips just tend to push us in the wrong direction while we're blissfully unaware of why things aren't going so great.

I used to meet with a friend every Friday morning. He'd encourage me when I was going in the right direction, kick me in the butt when I was being dumb, and pick me up when I was on the ground. He helped me to thrive. I miss that weekly time.

I know there are people who walk into a room and breathe life into it...and others who suck the life out of a room. I think I need a few more life breathers in my day to day interactions. I need folks who will point me to life and help me to thrive.

I also need my little girl to start gaining some weight and stop worrying mom and dad...

workin'

I've been talking jobs with some friends lately. There is a job opening in another city that people have been asking me about for the past couple of months. One of my good friends is leaving a city and state that he's lived in for years to accept a new position. Another friend of mine isn't that excited about his job and would love to find something new. I have a friend that's been offered a job that would be a slight raise - but he'd have to leave the job he's had for over a decade. He also knows that if he sticks with his current job, he'll probably end up with a raise that's bigger than the one he'd get with this new company.

So what to do?

We were talking and I started wondering what I'd do.
Leave something that's known for the unknown? Would I risk all of the comfort of working with folks that I know and who know me....or play it safe? I think I know the answer...about 10 months ago I left a company that I'd been with (as a volunteer or on staff) for 17 years. The problem is, knowing what I know now - I'm not sure that I can give great advice.

It's hard working with folks that you have to prove yourself to all over again. It's hard when you're in the top 10% of a company in regards to seniority and then you go back to being a rookie. It's difficult going through all of the subtle auditions of proving yourself. It's also exciting to have a new direction. It's exhilarating to work on new solutions and to be the person with the fresh perspective.

So I'm not sure if I'd risk it if I were him. My situation was completely different that his. People really do stick around for life at his last company. People didn't do that with mine. I guess a good question is - does he want to stick around his company for life?

That's generally a decent question to ask - Is this something I want to do for the rest of my life?

I don't think he could answer yes to that - so his next question has to be - Is this new job something I want to do for the rest of my life?
or
Why does Chris Henry continue to get arrested, day after day after day...

wanna start an argument?

If you like to argue - just say these things:

Obviously the apple computer is inferior because....

I get all my info from NPR/Fox News/The NY Times/Move on/talk radio and it's pretty obvious that...

The Bengals are pretty good, I think they'd be top 10 in the pre-season college AP Poll

My Scientology partner has been helping me to read my aura, and what we've discovered is...

You really shouldn't discipline your child that way

So, are you taking the summer off from working on your yard?

So how long til the baby is due?

Leno or Letterman?

Pete Rose shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame

Do you really think you should date him?

middle of the night

I've been thinking about this day for awhile.

I've been working 13 hour days for a week - not seeing my mom who is in town, our three week old daughter, one year old son, 5 year old son or my cute little wife. I've been envisioning a day where I'd sleep, wake up to Griff jumping on my ear, and then heading off to go to a pirate party with the Murphy gang (our gang sign is the thumbs up and our gang color is sort of a muted navy blue)

I saw it as this perfect day of laughing with friends, and watching my kids run around. Perfect.

And then I woke up at 3 am. It felt like my head was in a vice and my nose was leaking anti-freeze. So I went downstairs to watch shows I'd taped on tivo (House, The Office, Letterman)and then onto the computer. Turns out the laptop wasn't in very workable shape and the PC downstairs is a handcrank that works when it wants to. (which wasn't today)

So what's a guy to do? Take some decongestants and dream of sleeping in and playing beans with some friends....that's what this guy wants to do. Maybe I'll just take some time to catch up on reading a good blog or two...

Saturday - Pirate Party (not the kind found in Pittsburgh, sadly) and being tired all day
Sunday - Nothing - Nada - Zilch - quick little orientation deal I'm in - back to nothing - nada
Monday - You're working? Bummer, I'll be playing motorcycle with Grif
Tuesday - More motorcycle with Grif, followed by peekaboo with Coop
Wednesday - lunch with the gang at work, and then back to the salt mines
Thursday - seriously? You want to know my entire week? What are you, a stalker?

Confidence?

I walked into SOS last night behind two Vineyard legends. I was wondering earlier why they had matching shirts, nametags and fanny packs. Turns out that if you wear an SOS t-shirt and then confidently stride into the auditorium, you don't have to show your SOS wristband.

It's the exact same way that people get into sporting events and concerts for free. You just keep marching forward and don't hesitate for a second. People are intimidated by confidence.

I know a guy that is incredibly confident. I've seen him lead tons of people and I've noticed that he doesn't always know what he's doing. The thing is - people follow him. They're drawn to his leadership because he's so confident in what he's doing. It's as though people find a sense of peace in following someone so sure of himself. He's not incredibly smart, funny or dynamic - he's just confident. The thing is, he leads way more people than others I've seen who have all the "gifts". They're funny, smart, talented...and unsure.

The only problem with the confident guy is that he's a horrible follower. You can't tell him a thing. He's so sure of his stuff, that he becomes unteachable. I wonder how great he'd be if he confidently led people and also was teachable enough to grow in his abilities?

He's like the talented girl who can get by on her charm, good looks, intelligence and sense of humor. She doesn't have to work as hard to win over a crowd...so she shows up late, is inconsistent, doesn't call people back - because she can. If we could get the truly gifted folks to show up on time and be accountable, confident, and teachable...we'd change the world.

hyperbole?

prayin' for ME

Is it counter intuitive to both die to yourself, and ask for prayer for yourself?

It's SOS week and it doesn't feel awkward to ask people to pray for that.
What I'm wondering is how much of a jerk am I to never ask people to pray that God would do huge stuff this week, and then ask people to pray for a little talk I'm giving?

It's clear that I'm much more motivated to get people to pray for ME, because I really do love ME. It's also clear that I haven't been filling my e-mails, conversations and blog with requests for prayer for other things going on. So the whole deny yourself, "...I no longer live, but Christ lives in me..." thing, leads me to believe I should absolutely be so in touch with the needs around me that I'm constantly asking people to pray for _________.

Turns out that the majority of things I go to people with (asking for prayer) are things that ultimately affect me. I'm motivated to have people praying for ME....and that's possibly an example of Me loving Me.

I should probably throw in the disclaimer that I'm not really wallowing in some sort of Irish/Catholic/martyr complex - kind of guilt. I just noticed this...and thought I'd mention it.

Bottom line for me - God's given me one or two gifts, I'm to be a decent steward of those gifts and responsibilities - and I don't think it's all that bad to have people praying for something that seems largely about me. Ultimately speaking to a group isn't about me (I just like to think it is) And maybe I ought to pay enough attention to the people and needs around me so that I'm more motivated to pray for them as well...

Straightening the place up a bit

"We have schedule planners, computerized calendars, and self-stick notes to help us organize our business and social lives every day. But what about organizing the other side of our lives - the spiritual side?"
-the back cover of the book "Ordering your private world"

So my question is - Can you organize your spiritual life - is that even possible?

I haven't vacuumed my eschatology in three weeks!

That's nothing, I haven't dusted my hermeneutics since last Spring!

(I know it's more than those things...I just think it's an interesting way to look at it. I read the book in the late 80's, but thanks to my awesome memory - it'll read like a brand new book)

Just sort of curious...

following the leader

I've decided that I'm ok with front runners.

No one ever has to give me the disclaimer that "I loved them even when they were bad". Doesn't matter to me.

It's cool with me if you hated them when they were unpopular and love them now.

You were listening to Jack Johnson when he was playing on the street corner at 5th and Edmans?
Cool.

You didn't start liking him until you heard Tori Spelling talk him up on the E Network?
Cool.

I have friends that have lived 20 plus years in Cincinnati...and a couple of years in Chicago, Boston and NY. They're White Sox, Red Sox and Yankees fans now.
It's a 10-1 ratio of city they've lived in vs. new city....but they love those teams.
That's fine by me. I get it. Those teams are better. You have some loose connection...now you like them. I'm on board.

I won a bet when I was a kid and started following all things Pittsburgh ever since. Clearly the Steelers have been the best football team of my lifetime and I've never lived within 2 hour of them....I'm ok with that. I'm just going to keep on liking them.
The Pirates have been the worst team for about a decade now (see how I did the "I liked a team even though they're horrible" disclaimer? I'm a Penguins fan too...as much as you can be a fan of hockey)

I like golf when Tiger is playing...otherwise, I'm just hoping Colin Montgomer isn't winning...

You lived for 30+ years in America and 4 in Brazil?
Who you rooting for in the World Cup?
Brazil. I don't blame you.
You can't even say you liked them when they were bad because nobody in this Country knows anything about the history of Brazilian soccer. Actually, I guess that means you can say that.

You loved Bob Saget before he became an award winning actor/comedian? Great!

You thought David Hasslehoff was incredibly talented even before he talked to his car through his watch? Awesome!

It's ok by me if you like something or someone just because they're popular. That's why they're popular...there are a bunch of other people who feel the same way.

I liked Fuller before he began plucking his eyebrows and shaving his forearms. And it's ok even if you've just jumped on the bandwagon recently...as long as we're all on board together.

the world is a big place...

I sometimes wonder about the things people respond to.

Talk about politics or faith....lots of arguing.

Talk about sports....even more arguing.

I wrote a thing about tolerance a few days ago that's generated 38 comments (and counting) I wrote about things I do and don't watch last month...and no comments. (I'm fine with this...I don't wonder why this is...you don't have to explain it to me...I just think it's interesting)

Sometimes I'll write something just to see if it'll get a reaction. It's fun to see different people's responses. I like to hear what people are thinking....

so...

-what are you thinking about?

Yahuh?

Does anyone else who uses Yahoo! have an annoying new look to your e-mail account?

Maybe I'm the lucky one that gets to beta test a new user unfriendly look...
Anybody know how I can get my old friend Yahoo! looking like he did yesterday?

Climbing up the Walls-mart

Just called my 7th Walmart.

First call:

me: Hi, I need an Igloo MaxCold Roller 60 plus quart cooler with telescoping handle please

guy that's not my best friend: Um....ok, I have a MaxCold Roller 60 quart cooler...but it's handle isn't telescoping, but you don't want that.

me: I don't?

guy that's not feelin' me: No, it won't do you any good. It'll end up spilling everything.

me: I think I want it.

guy that hates me: no you don't

me: I'm looking at one right now. We've used them for years...they stack better with the retractable handle.

guy that didn't major in interpersonal communications: no they don't

me: click

I called 4 Walmarts that put me on hold for 5 minutes and then disconnected.

I called two Walmarts where the person answering their phone asked me what department the coolers were in. They asked me.

I work at a church.

They work at a Walmart.

My job is to buy coolers - their job is to provide information to people buying coolers.

them: I'll connect you to women's clothing

me: Um....do you have a seasonal department or maybe you could try sporting goods???

them: oh yeah, I think we have a seasonal department (I'm not kidding....she actually said that)

I'm all for big super-mega-marts. I love them because I love to buy stuff that's cheap and all under one roof...but, come on....seriously?

Anonymous note from a guy who's doing time in a church...(and not me)

I show up to church on Sundays. It's what I do.

I'm a pew sitter.

I figure my role is to observe, drop a few bucks in the basket, and then leave.

It's something I've done for years. Sometimes I look at the people in other pews sleeping and think to myself, "I can't believe people are sleeping in church!" Don't they know that this is God's house?

I go there.

I'm a part of the church. I know church is just a building, but I like to think I'm an active participant -in that I show up every week.
Maybe I'm more of a consumer.
I observe.

It's a nice little arrangement I've had for years now. My parents had the same deal going. We loved what's his name because he only talked for 12 minutes and we could be out of there in 45 minutes. It was pretty sweet.

They talk about a number of subjects from week to week. They say things like, "This is what the God of the Universe is like" and "Following Him means submitting to His will....following Him changes your everything!" And then they stop talking and I go home.

It's what I do. It's what I've always done. I show up...

Speed walking

I want to find Jay Leno on the street and ask him 100 questions. Then I'd edit the questions down to just the ones that he missed. Then I'd go on David Letterman and announce to the world that there's a new kind of walking in town, and it's called ....

ok, I don't have a good name for it yet...maybe speed walking, and I'd ask questions rapid fire.
Then Dave would laugh and laugh and laugh. We'd make fun of how stupid Jay's answers were and then Paul would say, "haaaa, Jay needs to learn-o" and Dave would just give him that look. He'd probably invite me back to the house where Cooper and Harry could play together. We'd soon become friends and he'd beg me to come back on the show.
But I'd say "no, this isn't about me getting famous. This is about me showing up Jay"

If you run across Jay at the mall....keep walking. If he asks you questions that you know, it'll never make it to the show. He'll only show questions that make you look stupid. Why would anyone agree to answer his questions?

Maybe it's because they're not very smart....and I guess that's his point in the first place.

That cursed Jay Leno! I just can't win....

tolerate this

should we embrace tolerance or just sort of lean into it?

should I tolerate say....date rape?
that's just silly. You should stand up and actively fight against that!
What if the person couldn't help themself?

murder? Well that depends....war time? Yes....but we weren't in the war. He just made me really mad....and I really wanted to do it.
then no.

the man boy society? They're men who love boys. Is that ok?
I should mention that that's just how they are. They really do love little boys. If the little boys love them back, is that so wrong? Where does tolerance fall on this one? How about the teacher that's sleeping with her 6th grade student? How about Fuller constantly hitting on Bragg?

Should I tolerate war?

Should I tolerate political views other than my own?

Should I tolerate someone punching me in the face?
How about my neighbor's face?

We've decided that some things shouldn't be tolerated (running red lights, stealing hubcaps, illegally downloading Hasselhoff's c.d.'s...) and made laws to say loud and clear, "This will not be tolerated!" So are we intolerant?
Should we abolish our laws and just let people be?

I'm just trying to stay with the times. Things seem to be getting better the more permissive we get as a society....um....well, back to my original question.

What or where is the line?

maps

I just found out that 75% of Americans can't find Iraq on a map.

50% can't find New York City

29% can't find their state Capital

80% of the people living in this house don't care (not sure if Annie does...but Griff, Coop, Parker and I sure don't)

Is it really a national tragedy that we can't find a particular place on a map? Are they polling international pilots? If they are...then we've got a problem. Otherwise, I think we'll be ok.

I need to know how to get to work, the doctor, the store, and to Fuller's house for his 'So you think you can dance' parties. That's just about it. It'd be nice to know how to get to Solon, Ohio without pulling it up on Mapquest...but I've got Mapquest, and I've got the time to pull stuff up.

So what if American's can't find stuff on maps.

How about this poll:

Do you know the names of your neighbors?

Do you know how to help others?

Do you know why the caged bird sings?

This just in - only 2 Americans (Maya Angelou and Oprah) know why the caged bird sings....apparently he's chipper.

I want to know my neighbors.
I want to know how I can help.
I want to know where I left the remote. I want to know how Jim Rome ever got a job. I want to know why Ed was cancelled. I don't want to know what road I need to take to get to Baghdad.

I'm feeling a bit ripe

I just threw away a really old banana. This thing was jet black. I was wondering how a banana lasted so long in our house without getting thrown away.
Could be....because we lived in a hospital for four days.
Could be...because we also have some individual chocolate pudding cups that are from the Pleistocene era and this is sort of a pattern for us.
or
It could be because Annie's mom figured she could still use it for banana bread...or some sort of muffin. She can take something that I would just throw away and make something out of it.

She cooks. She sews. She knows how to use a glue gun without accidentally dripping it onto the carpet or accidentally starting a fire with it.

So the banana got me to thinking. There's something true about the water that was "ceremonially used for foot washing" that Jesus turned into the "best wine" The message of following Jesus is that he can take old, nasty bananas that you'd never even pick up to throw away without a paper towel....and make them into delicious banana bread....or better yet, a Jack Daniels Flat Iron Steak (he's Jesus after all)

The thing people get hung up on is the black banana part. Instead of celebrating the hope of banana bread....the story is often looked as with the defensive posture "who are you to tell me I'm not perfect?" "I'm better than that guy!"

Fine. We're all perfect. We all are "basically good people" Every person in prison thinks they're good....deep down. All of us are better than Hitler.

Having said that - there was no good reason that Jesus would die on the cross for us.

Let's not get wrapped up in Him not only paying the price for all our foibles (something about that word....I just love it) and the opportunity to accept that gift. Maybe it's easier to focus on the "who are you to tell me I need anything?!" part.

I think Paul was on to something when he wrote, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Bottom line - I know all the crazy stuff I've done - thought of - not done that probably I should have - continue to do....and I'm going to focus in on the Him not only cleaning the slate....but destroying the slate - part.

I'm off to eat some eggs
(you thought I'd say banana bread, didn't you?)

major in the minors

I have a friend that lived with an English major and they had an interesting conversation once.
"blah, blah, blah....you act like you think you're smarter than me"
"that's because I do"
"oh"

It was interesting because the first gal had a higher GPA and was soon to get the one scholarship her Grad school was offering for her program. I started thinking about why the second girl thought she was smarter and what it came down to was that she was an English major.

She was constantly reading because she loved to read...which is part of the reason she was an English major. She was always correcting people's grammar...because that's how you make friends.

I started thinking about it and realized that a lot of English majors tend to lean toward the "I'm smarter than you because of how I speak" kind of thing. Engineers tend to do the same thing...but you can just beat them up and take their lunch money.

So her focus was on grammar....and because that's how we communicate, she assumed she was smarter than everyone else because of her talking gooder.

She couldn't add three numbers together without a calculator. She couldn't speak in front of a group in a way that was the least bit engaging. She couldn't run a mile in under 20 minutes. She couldn't do a lot of things....but because she read a lot, she was smarter.

I think it comes down to what our priorities are. Some people think it's pretty important to balance a checkbook, pay their bills, and put budgets together. They make that a priority and think people who don't are stupid or irresponsible. I know people that can take a car apart and put it together who look at me like I'm an idiot when I ask, "so where do you put the gas?"

So maybe it comes down to focus. Am I focusing on the things people can't do as well me, or on their gift sets? If they can't hit an outside jumper like I can, should I assume that I'm better than them? or smarter somehow?

I guess I need to do the whole "....whatever is pure, right, love...excellent or praiseworthy... focus on those things..."

three's company

We've finally put ourselves in a position to put together a Murphy Family production of Three's Company!

To mix it up a bit we're casting it with two boys and a girl.

Griffin coming into the living room talking to Cooper: so after the party we can all go play in the backyard!

Cooper: that's great!

Parker: What are you two talking about?

Griffin looks at Cooper with panic in his eyes: Um....we were just talking about our friend Marty...um Marty.....Brennaman. He sure is great.

Cooper: Yeah...we love Marty. They go upstairs

Annie walks into the house (playing the part of Mrs. Roper) Hi Parker, how are those two boys doing?

Parker: They sure are acting strange. I think they're planning some kind of party for the Reds or something.

Annie: Oh wow, that sure sounds like fun.

Sean walks in (as Larry, the neighbor): what sounds like fun?

Parker: Um, nothing....what have you heard?

Sean: I heard there was a surprise party for....um...I mean a Bride's party for someone in the building.

Annie: You did! Who's getting married?

and the chaos just goes on and on and on....followed by hijinks, a trip to the Regal Begal....and more misunderstandings.

Starring - Cooper Murphy
Introducing Parker Murphy
and Griffin Murphy

featuring guest spots by Annie and Sean Michael Murphy!

I'm thinking we start touring in Chicago, nail it down....and then head to NY.

I have a daughter

Two days old and she's doing great! We've had some back and forth on the middle name though.

I say Parker Elizabeth and Annie says Parker Elisabeth. I'm thinking we should compromise and call her Bevin.

Off to the hospital...

Parker Elizabeth Murphy

I never thought another girl could take my breath away. She's 8 1/2 pounds and is 20 inches tall...

June 3rd will forever be changed in the Murphy household.

sorry?

I have a few opinions that tend to get people all fired up.

I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are the all time greatest football team.

I don't think the Pittsburgh Pirates are....so it's not just a fan thing.

I don't think pitching in Major League Baseball has ever been better than it is right now.

I think Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player of all time.

I think if you ride a motorcycle without a helmet on you're telling everyone around you how smart you are.

I think Seinfeld, M*A*S*H, ED and The Office are the all time four best shows on tv

I think British dramas are generally overrated...as are Monty Python movies

I think you should build your football team around the offensive linemen

I think that people who vote with their hearts don't generally help

I think that we really did land on the moon

I think Coke is far superior to Pepsi

I don't think all religions basically say the same thing...nor are there many paths to Nirvana/Heaven

I don't think that I could start a religion inspired by Saved by the Bell and then have that be one of the paths....even if I REALLY REALLY believe it

I think we have major problems with poverty, hunger and disease in this world, and most people don't really care.

I think the View isn't necessarily four women with differing views

I think the Fonz was the greatest tv character of my childhood

I think Kramer was the greatest tv character of the last 20 years

I think Hawkeye was the greatest tv character of all time

I think a flat tax makes more sense than our current system

I think most coaches are overrated

I think gas is still a bargain

I think the US Mail system is one of the best things we have going

I think Ashley secretly loves the Pirates and just roots for the Red Sox because she likes their blue hats

I think church services are vastly overrated, and church service is vastly underrated

I think Jim Rome is to sports radio, what Dustin Diamond is to performance art

I'm of the belief that ufo's don't exist

I think OJ did it

I think most people are in it just for the money

I think diet coke tastes better than beer

I think I should probably go to work now

Annabelle

I have the best wife. Today is a big day in the Murphy household.

It's Thursday and there's a two hour Office special on tonight.

Griffin will be wearing cap and gown as he walks the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance and graduates with his Pre-School class.

It's Jeff Hansee's last He Man lunch.

There's going to be a special announcement at the Creative team meeting.

There's the very real possibility that we'll have a daughter birthed today.

And...it's Annie's birthday. How great would it be to have a daughter born on your wife's birthday? That means I could just remember - June 1st...that's the birthday of all the girls that I live with. Bam.

I've known Annie for almost half her life and she's still the best looking girl that continually makes me laugh, while also being an incredible mom, friend, karate instructor that I know. This may sound like an exaggeration (and the karate part was) but she really is the best. She has the prettiest eyes, best smile, greatest laugh, best observations, wittiest comments....and she puts up with me.

Happy birthday Annabelle! You're the greatest, and I love you more each day.