TEEPLE.tv

2008 has not been very nice to our nation, our economy and politically we have many black eyes.  2008 saw the failure of many different institutions, both national and local.  KB Toys, Circuit City, T.G.I.F’s restaurants and many other companies that have been around for decades, that just could not forge the economic winter. 

2008 saw a change in our government.  A mandate by the people for change over the same failed policies of the past 8 years.  With the election of Barack Obama, our nation pins it’s hopes and dreams for a more stable future, one based in better equality and hopefully a return to better values than even the past 20-24 years have shown us.

2008 saw a lot of changes in the job market too, some good, some bad.  I changed jobs and now work as I.T. Manager for a Biomedical firm in Redwood City.  A couple of my friends lost their jobs, repercussions to the downsizing trend infecting many companies lately.  I feel that my life has taken a new turn with the advent of my current position, but the jury is out on whether or not this is a good turn or a bad turn.

2008 saw a great loss in the acting world, too.  We say goodbye to such stars/starlettes as Paul Newman, Charlton Heston, Suzanne Pleshette, Heath Ledger, Roy Scheider, Richard Widmark, Dick Martin, Sydney Pollack, Harvey Korman, Bo Diddley, George Carlin, Bernie Mac, Estelle Getty, Isaac Hayes, Levi Stubbs, Michael Crichton, & Eartha Kitt.  We pray for their souls and the others who saw their candles dimmed in 2008.

My wife tells me that I am too pessimistic and a nay-sayer in general, but I told her this entry was about looking forward, toward the future.  My hopes are high for 2009.  I will settle into my job, find my groove.  My children will continue to flourish and be blessed with good health and happiness.  Our jobs will be safe and secure in the coming months and our family will continue to grow (not laterally, but vertically, thank you very much!).

I have high hopes for the Obama administration.  I have high hopes for the housing market during this slump.  I have nothing but anger and dismay at the people who managed our money over the past few years and what a travesty they have made of the trust we gave to them.  Tonight, I say goodbye to 2008… the friends we lost… the economy slump… the sad dismal holiday season that should have been more full of love and splendor, but turned into more of a dud.

I look forward to 2009.  I don’t know what the future holds, but know that our family unit will continue to be strong moving forward and with good friends, good will, and the grace of GOD, 2009 will turn out to be a blessed year of growth… of stability… and most of all… full of LOVE for each other.

Peace,
Bill Teeple

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I was perusing the Internet yesterday and ran across this amazing site which had ARCHIVES of my old site. But not just my site, but all sites on the Internet. I simply typed in my URL, and the site returned to me dates of when my site changed – so I could go back to Mid-2001 and view my first public facing website.

Amazing. I found a couple of poems I wrote that I thought I lost forever and I found some scathing dialogues against my old employer, eHealthInsurance because of a work dispute we had.

Anyway, I won’t dwell on the past, but revel in the recovery of two small technological poems I created in 1999 and 2000. Here is the first of those two poems:

STARTUP
by Bill Teeple

A flick of the switch,
and it pulses to life.

Fans whirling, drives spinning,
Electricity Imbimbing.

This is the START & I await the happy computers greeting

will it start, will it stop, will it stall
…stall
…stall

Action, icons appear, bringing form
to microscopic 0′s and 1′s

So begins the magical dance as
my clicks and drags manipulate
and transform the 0′s to 1′s and
the 1′s to 0′s.

Form and function travel in
the ether contained from diode to diode.
Much to small to see,
but it’s there. I smell it… I can taste it.

Have you tasted it lately?
You may have and not known it.
I cannot describe it; it changes so fast

… technology… changes… everything

…even us.

I will post the other one… in a few days!

Cheers,
Bill

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It was 4 years ago today that my father died. He was very adamant about not ruining our Christmas by passing away on Christmas Eve/Day – so he hung in as long as he could until 5:45 AM on the 26th of December.

He was buried on the 29th of December, my anniversary with my wife. This year, we will have 12 years of blissful marriage together.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I have my health, a good job, good friends, and most importantly to me – my family. It amazes me how my children grow with each passing day and the leaps and bounds they make and how incredibly smart or talented they are, each in their own unique way.

Andrew can tear through books with the greatest of ease – and it isn’t just reading the words, but understanding the concepts and stretching the bounds of his imagination. This is the year we start on a bit of Jules Verne, I think. He is reading the Yearling! amongst others great novels. He read Star Wars books 4, 5 and 6. He has read the entire Harry Potter novels and Little House series. Did I mention he is 8.

Erica has so much energy and vibrant life. She is ‘pure energy’ at its greatest. She can sing, dance and is starting to play the piano. Her talent doesn’t stop there, she is a very good actress and loves to play parts and act out scenes with Mommy (any Hollywood Directors – pay attention). She is 30 years and 12 hours my junior, and I am blessed to have such a fireball share my birthday with me (and my twin brother).

Ryan. What can I say about Ryan. He has such a beautiful imagination and as much energy as Erica. I call Ryan my hybrid. He has the awesome intellect of Andrew and yearning for growth, yet the energy and unstoppable force of Erica. He is 3. We named him for my father. Ryan Martin Teeple (Martin being my father’s God given name).

The last time I saw my father alive was on Christmas Eve in 2004. We journeyed to Modesto to the hospice he was staying in and tried to make the best of what we knew was a horrible event. The passing of a parent is very traumatic, but I guess the effect of the passing is probably magnified by the level of love and connection you had with that parent. I was happy that Cynthia and I had the ability to tell my parents that the Lord had blessed us with a new pregnancy and that I could tell my mother that with one life leaving, another is coming. It did not help that my son would not know my father, just as I never met my grandfather Teeple, whom passed a year before I was born.

My regret is not wanting to believe that my father was dying. For the weeks leading up to his passing, I didn’t visit as I should have. I made excuses and talked on the phone, but did not take the time off work to drive my ass over the hill to see him in Modesto. To spend his final days. This is what hurts the most. How must it have been from his standpoint to not have his son by his side as he was dying. Mine was a defense mechanism but nonetheless, selfish in nature to the core. If I didn’t see him, then I wouldn’t have to accept and believe his mortality.

Yes – my regret is not being with him in the end. It is not being a part of that horrible ending to his life. To not also find the closure in the realization that the end of this life was the beginning of an eternal existence with God. That is the hallmark and a corner stone of my faith. For years, I was angry with God – bitter that my Lord took my father away from me, from my kids, from his wife. Angry.

But I have learned that my family is very important to me. More important than any technology or toys I can purchase. More important than a quiet evening at home alone. All the chaos of my family life and experiences, I would not trade for the world because they are what makes me the man that I am today. A father. A husband. A confidant.

I am blessed and if my life where to end tomorrow, I would be sad that I would miss out on my children’s lives, but I would be happy for the time I have been given with them all.

Words to close this blog entry with? Live each day as generously as possible. Be generous with your time, your affections, your love and you will never go wrong.

God be with us all,
Bill