The Blogger of Bolvine

Posted in Stories
the blogger of bolvine

Opine: To express an opinion.

 

The Blogger of Bolvine

There once was a blogger from the land of Bolvine

Who made a promise to never opine.

The stories he shared of morals and life

Were carefully crafted to minimize strife

Atop his perch, and feeling quite smug

He scorned in silence every Facebook thug Read more »

When you play with fire…

Posted in Stories
when you play with fire...

Amber and I have been feeling quite smug, of late.

I’m not sure what it was. I think it was probably the 70% rule. We’ve been trying really hard to ensure that 70% or more of our interactions with our kids are positive.

But something has changed in the boys. They fight less. They express affection more. They’re quicker to apologize to each other and to us.

It’s been quite blissful, actually.

On Sunday, after returning from church, Amber and I decided to take a much-needed nap. In the past, this has been extremely hard to do. Just when we fall asleep, the fighting begins. But this time, we were confident our newly reformed boys would leave us be.

And they did. Read more »

Funnel or failure? You should be failing.

Posted in Stories
funnel or failure

Howdy! What follows is a blog post I wrote several months back. I had just returned from a campus interview for my dream professor job. I was certain I’d land it. But, they rejected me. Feeling dejected, I wrote this post. I decided NOT to post it at the time, because I thought it was a bit whiny. But, after reading it again, I see that there are some great insights in this.

And, not to mention, I landed an even better job just a few weeks ago.

Persistence pays off, my friends.

Enjoy! Read more »

Don’t be deceived!

Posted in Stories
ignorance

When you walk in darkness, you will be deceived.

What do I mean? Lemme esplain.

The Story

Amber and I had just become engaged. It was December in Fairport, NY and we wanted to escape from everything “normal” and bask in our newly established change-o-label. So we donned our winter coats and walked around her neighborhood. It was around 8PM and quite dark. The only light was the occasional street lamp.

I don’t remember what we talked about, but it was awesome. We stuffed our interlaced fingers inside the pocket of my winter coat and she pressed her torso against my arm to keep warm.

And then it happened.

Something moved. I squinted in the darkness and saw him. Halfway up one of her neighbor’s yards, I saw a little white dog. I felt bad for the thing. He shivered in the cold air and trembled with every gust of wind. From the looks of it, he was a teeny tiny shih tzu.

I crouched to the ground and with the most soft, tender voice, I called to him. “Come here boy. Come here.” Read more »