Veterans Day

Today is November 11th; Veterans Day. Today, I hope and pray that every single American will sit back and take a moment to think about all those that have served our country; in times of war and peace. I hope that at some point, either today or any other day, that every American will take a few moments to thank a veteran for their service to our country.

America would not be the envy of the free world without the US Veteran. The whole world would not know liberty and freedom without the US Veteran. So many times in our country's relatively short history, our brave men and woman have gone to the aid of the world to ensure liberty and freedom. So many times OUR brave men and women in uniform have stared down evil and beat it back. World War II was all but lost, with the Axis powers looking to be unstoppable until WE entered the war. It was the tenacity, valor, courage, and commitment of the American military that stopped the spread of evil in that war. Even today, our brave men and woman stand in the face of the evils of terrorism and fight tirelessly on a daily basis to keep that evil at bay and away from our shores. Our ranks of US Veterans grows every day. All US Veterans have one thing in common; their sacrifice and service to the protection of our freedoms.

Our Constitution guarantees our freedoms and our military stands ready to fight to protect and defend that Constitution. With over 23 million living veterans in our country, everyone should have more than enough opportunities to show their appreciation for all that they have done for our country.

For all the great things that our country does for our veterans, we must do a much better job. 260,000 veterans are homeless in this country. Is this how we repay those who have given so much for us and our freedoms?

Our country owes so much to our veterans. Remember to do your part today to say THANK YOU.

Letter to God

Howdy God!

This is Troy, from College Station...AKA Aggieland; ya know, home of the Fightin' Texas Aggies. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe you could see fit to take away this headache that I have.

As you know I'm going on almost a month straight with this nagging pain. Now, I know there are MUCH more important things in the world that need your attention right now. And a bad, long lasting headache isn't really anything compared to a Marine who's fighting for his life in a hospital bed or on the operating table in Afghanistan or compared to the parents that are worried half to death as they wait in the cancer ward of a children's hospital with their precious baby is fighting for her life. I understand that my headache isn't nearly as bad as some things could be. But right now it's getting to be a little bit more than I can handle.

I know you know this, but every night I fall asleep hoping and praying that when I wake up in the morning my head wont hurt, and every morning for about a month now, I wake up disappointed and in pain. I know that you will never give me more than I can handle. I guess I'm just asking that maybe you not have so much faith in me this time. Because I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.

I definitely want to thank you for allowing me to get up every morning and to function SOMEWHAT normally, even with the headache. I want to thank you for it not being something as serious as a tumor or aneurysm that is causing the pain. I also want to thank you for allowing me to live in a country with such great doctors and for my wonderful doctor in particular.

I guess I'm just asking once again, that if you have time and see fit, to please relieve me of my pain. I'd be really and truly appreciative of that. However, I'll understand if you decide that it's not time for that yet. I'm not going to presume that I know more than you or even that I know what's best for me.

Thanks for taking the time to hear me out.

Love always,
Troy

Remembering 8 years later

There are plenty of events throughout history where people ask "Do you remember where you were when...?" I will never forget when and where I was when I heard about the tragic events that were taking place on 9/11/01. I was living in Arlington, TX at the time. I had moved up there three months prior to start a new job. That morning I was in bed with a hurt back still groggy from the pain killers and muscle relaxers in my system. Barely able to get out of bed, I called into work to inform them that I probably was going to be late. I was told not to bother coming into work because "we were under attack." I jumped out of bed and ran to turn on the TV. I sat and watched the TV in horror for the rest of the day. Immediately my mind started racing. What could I do to help? I had to do something.

The next day I walked into a Navy recruiting office and spoke to a recruiter about getting back in. That afternoon I took the aviation battery test in the hopes of scoring high enough to become a Navy NFO. (I couldn't be a pilot because I don't have 20/20 vision) Unfortunately, I scored high enough to be a pilot but missed the cut off score for NFO by ONE point. I was told to come back in 2 weeks and take the exam again and was assured that I would be shipping out within weeks of passing the exam. One week later, on 9/18 I walked into my supervisor's office and told her of my overwhelming call to duty and my desires to re-enter the military. I offered my 2 week notice, because I didn't think it was fair to continue training for a position that I didn't believe I would be around to fill. I was thanked for my service and immediately shown the door. Needless to say that delay after delay and set back after set back prevented me from ever re-entering the military.

8 years later, I still wish (almost daily) that I had been able to do my part in this War Against Terrorism. I now have a son serving in the United States Marine Corps, who will undoubtedly find himself serving overseas (possibly/probably Afghanistan) in this continued fight against evil. And that is the way I see it; Good vs Evil. Plain and simple. It was pure evil that took the lives of so many innocent people 8 years ago. It is pure evil that still lurks with the sole desire to kill Americans and destroy America.

8 years later, I fear that too many people have forgotten. I fear too many people have forgotten what we lost. I fear too many people have forgotten that this fight was brought to us, to our door step. I fear too many people grow weary of this fight and are all too ready to throw in the towel.

I hope and pray that the strong, the brave, and the patriotic will be persistent. I hope and pray that strong men and women will stand fast and say "WE WILL NEVER FORGET; NOT ON MY WATCH!"

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Mid Year Review

Last year someone I know suggested using the month of July to look at the current year and see where we are as far as our yearly goals. (I don’t like to use the term resolutions as most people forget about their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January or February) So, here we are midway through 2009. It's time to take a good look at myself and my goals and see where I am, what progress I’ve made on each goal, and determine where I can improve.

My first goal for 2009 was to continue daily self improvement. I think I’m slacking on this one a little bit. Each day I continue to work to be a better person, father, and friend. There is always room for improvement in this area. I still think I fall very short of where I want to be or WHO I want to be. I still struggle with going to church on a weekly basis (much to the displeasure of my mother). To be honest, I haven’t been to church in quite a while and I have no real excuse other than I’m lazy and chose not to. I definitely got to work on that. As a father I need to lead by example and I often fall short with that as well. I’m probably more critical of myself as a father than any other aspect of my life. Being a father is, without a doubt, the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life or that I will ever do. I pray daily to be a good dad and to try and impart some sort of wisdom on my children and to hopefully show them what it means to be a good man and a good father. I hope and pray that I don’t screw that up too bad. To screw up doing that, affects generations of Hinojosas to come. I guess Chris and Clay would be able to tell you best how well I’m doing at meeting this goal. The same goes for my friends. You’d have to ask them how I’m doing with this goal. I get to see so few of them regularly as they are scattered around the state and country. I hope that they feel as though I continue to work daily at being a better friend to each of them.

My next goal was to complete the teacher certification program that I am enrolled in. This is a goal that needs major work. I haven’t done a whole lot with this goal at all. I partly blame my work schedule and the inability to sit in on classes and watch a teacher at work, but mostly its due to being unmotivated to get it done. Partly due to my horrible habit of procrastinating (maybe a self paced course with no deadlines wasn’t such a good idea) and the other part is due to the fact that I’m wavering on my motivation for wanting to get certified to begin with. I think that in order to be an effective teacher you need to be passionate about teaching. I’m not sure that I am. I get passionate about it sometimes, but then it cools off. I’m trying to figure out why that is. The last thing I want to do is jump into yet another career and just go through the motions only to quite a year or two later because I’m bored or just done enjoy it. I’ve done that too many times since leaving the Navy and graduating from college. Either way, I think I need to complete the certification program so that I have the option to teach if I so chose. So, need to hop on that pronto!

One of my other goals was to seriously look at starting grad school. This is a tricky one. I really want to go to grad school. I love school. Well, at least I love going to school and the classes that I’m interested in. The problem for me is trying to decide what I want to pursue an advanced degree in. I’m interested in SO MANY different subjects. When I start to sit down and seriously think about grad school, I’m like a kid in a toy store with the ability to buy JUST ONE toy. They all look so good. They all look like so much fun. I can imagine myself enjoying each of them. But in the end I can only pick one. But which one? George Washington University’s Educational Technology Leadership Program is of very great interest to me and always comes up at the top of my list. I think I need to look into it again and see what I might need to do to try and get accepted. I did so poorly in college at A&M that I often talk myself out of grad school because I think that there is no way that I’ll ever get accepted. Need to change my way of thinking on that if I ever want to seriously go to grad school.

Another goal was to spend more quality time with Clay. I think I’m doing ok with this one. It’s difficult to spend a lot of time with a 17 yr old who has his own life, his own friends, and his own job. However, I think we do a pretty good job of making the best of the time that we do get to spend together. Clay and I go to the movies together a lot and we play video games and there are a few TV shows that we watch together. I try to check my “parental persona” at the door when we do these things together. Clay gets enough of the dad that is always telling him to clean up his room and do this or do that. He doesn’t need THAT dad to go to the movies with him or play video games with him. When Clay and I do those things together, it’s pure joy for me. It’s in those moments that I know that all my career sacrifices and sometimes personal relationship sacrifices were all worth it.

I also attend more rock concerts with Clay. Here I’ve fallen way short. Mainly due to work schedules and financial reasons. College Station isn’t the Mecca of rock concerts. So in order for us to catch a show we’d have to travel to Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin. Most of which would involve taking time off of work or school, renting a hotel room, travel, etc. Things just haven’t worked out for us so far this year. But the year is still young and I just read an announcement that AC/DC added an Austin date to their tour this year!!!

I wanted to write more this year. I’ve written a few blog entries and I ever tried my hand at writing a few movie reviews. I just haven’t made the time to sit down and write a whole lot this year. But I haven’t stopped writing either. So, I’m ok with where I am on this one.

Next goal: continue to exercise and increase intensity level. I can definitely say that I’m right on target with this one. I’ve been working out pretty steady all year with my friend Kristen and just last month I jumped up the intensity level by starting the P90X program. I think that definitely qualifies as being on track with increasing the intensity level of working out. This goal – CHECK!

I also wanted to stay in touch with friends better and travel to see them more often. I know that I have fallen short in this category too, as I often forget to keep in touch with a lot of my friends regularly. For this, again, I have no real excuse. To say that I’m busy or that I don’t have time is a very poor excuse to not, at the very least, communicate with the people that mean so very much to me. I can say that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have been so helpful in striving to achieve this goal! I definitely want to start seeing my friends more often. Maybe to better complete this goal I’ll try and take at least 1 day trip every couple of weeks to a different city (within reasonable driving distance) to spend some time with different friends. That could be fun!

Oh, and last but not least, I wanted to advance to “HARD” or “EXPERT” on the drums on Rockband 2!!!! HA-HA! Ok, so far I’ve managed to be able to play SOME songs on “medium”. I haven’t played Rockband 2 with as much consistency as I did when I first got the game back in December.

All in all, I think I’m doing pretty well so far this year. I’m trucking along with most of my goals. As with all goals there is always room to improve. The main thing is to continue to work towards my goals, don’t lose site of them, and not get discouraged when I fall short.

Independence Day, 2009

Today is Independence Day, the 4th of July. The greatest holiday in America! The day that marks the beginning of the greatest, most prosperous, most generous, most free nation in history of the world!

We live in a world where people from other countries seem to hate America and Americans. Hell, even some of our very own citizens act as though they hate America. But TRUE Americans know that without the good ol' US of A, the world would be run by socialist, dictators, and mad men. Without America, all of Europe would be speaking German. Without America, the USSR would still be thriving and denying freedoms to its citizens and taking over country after country with its communist might. Without America the people of Iraq would still live in daily fear under the rule of a mad man who wouldn't hesitate to kill his own people with brutal chemical attacks. Without America the people of Afghanistan would still be under the brutal, oppressive rule of the Taliban. Face it, without America the world would be a far worse place for ALL people!

America is the shining city on the hill! America is the land of the free and the home of the brave! America is the land of opportunity. America is all those things because Americans are willing to fight and shed blood for their freedom and the freedom of others! America is the greatest country in the world and Americans are the greatest group of people in the world!

Celebrate your freedom America! But let us always remember that Freedom is never free. Let us never forget the sacrifices made by countless men and women in uniform in service of our great country and in defending freedom here and around the world. Let us always keep in our prayers those brave men and women currently serving to protect and preserve that freedom.

God bless the USA!!!

Angels and Demons Movie Review

This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch the much anticipated sequel to The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons. Although Angels and Demons is the movie sequel, it was in fact the first of the the two books and where Dan Brown's character, Robert Langdon, is first introduced. The story is about the re-emergence of an ancient secret society seemingly determined to bring down the Catholic Church and the actions of the Vatican Police and Swiss Guard, with the help of Professor Robert Langdon, to stop the plot. The book was excellent. The movie, not so much. I was highly disappointed in this film.

Although Ron Howard did a great job with scenery and locations for filming the movie (the story is set in Rome), that is about all he managed to do a great job with. This movie was long and the majority of the movie was, quite frankly, boring. Ron Howard attempted to "dupe" the movie watcher into thinking certain scenes were more dramatic than they were by utilizing dramatic sounding music. Guess what Ron? We didn't buy it.

If you've read this book, please save yourself some money and don't bother going to see this film. I promise you that you will be highly disappointed. If you haven't read the book, please do so and avoid the movie. I promise you that you will be much more entertained and better off for it.

Angels and Demons officially receives 2 1/2 Bags of Popcorn out of 5.

Until the next review, maybe I’ll see you at the show.

Star Trek Movie Review

At the suggestion of a friend, I have decided to start writing movie reviews of the new movies that I go to watch. So, here is the first T-Roy Movie Review.

Today is the official release date of the J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot movie. I had the opportunity to see the first showing in Bryan/College Station last night and all I can say is PHENOMENAL!! I usually judge whether or not a movie is “good” by a few very simple criteria; 1) was I entertained and 2) did I leave the theater feeling as tough that was time well spent. I left the theater last night thinking “when can I see this again!!” Yes, it was THAT good! You don’t have to be a huge Trekie to enjoy this movie. However, if you were a fan of the old Star Trek television series and/or the Star Trek movies, you will undoubtedly enjoy this new installment of the Star Trek franchise that much more. The introduction of favorite characters and the references to old favorite lines and character mannerisms will definitely bring added appeal to Star Trek fans. But, don’t be fooled, this movie is GREAT entertainment for even the casual Sci-Fi fan. This movie has great action, the proper dose of laughs, and incredible special effects.

What I’m about to say may offend some die hard Star Wars fans, however, after seeing Star Trek, J.J. Abrams effectively made George Lucas his “bitch”. This film made all 3 of the Star Wars prequels look like puppet shows put on by 3 graders.

This movie is definitely poised to be the best movie of the summer. The only movie that I can foresee even coming close to challenging Star Trek as the best movie of the summer will be the highly anticipated Transformers sequel.

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek definitely gets 5 out of 5. (Not sure what I’m going to use as my rating device just yet. Stars seems a bit cliché and over done. Jalapenos is already taken, as is 2 thumbs up. I welcome any suggestions.)

Until the next review, maybe I’ll see you at the show.

The Real Reason...

Recently it came to my attention that someone that I knew a while ago seemed to view my "Superman Collection" as a bad thing and very juvenile. As alot of you probably know, I have alot of Superman stuff and I do have an affinity for the big guy in blue. Alot of people make assumptions as to why I like Superman so much or why I have so much Superman stuff. I don't think in all of my years a single person has every asked me "WHY". Most assume that I'm one of those nerdy comic book collectors. Truth be told, I haven't purchased a Superman comic book in over 15 years. Matter of fact, most of the Superman stuff that I have was given to me by friends or family.

One of the reasons that I love Superman so much is that it's the very first movie that I can remember my Mom taking me to see when I was little. Of course, Superman is a really cool super hero...he's strong, fast, has x-ray vision, and can fly. What's not to like? But THE real reason that I display all of my Superman stuff and went so far as to permanently tattoo a Superman "S" on my body is really a little bit deeper than all of that.

Superman is the ultimate example of the best of human qualities. Superman is the perfect example of always doing the right thing, no matter what. I keep my S's around me, and visible to remind me that I can ALWAYS try to to the right thing. No matter how hard. No matter how unpopular. No matter how much easier it would be to do the wrong thing. No matter if no one will know. No matter if no one will really get hurt. But simply because it's the RIGHT thing to do.

I've passed my love of Superman on to my kids. And hopefully one day they will come to realize the true reason why I love the big guy in blue. And maybe, just maybe, they too will always strive to be like our favorite superhero and always do their best to do the right thing...no matter what.

Be Happy

On a recent visit to my parent’s house, I spent some time one evening with my Dad and one of my dad’s friends. He’s a family friend that I’ve known all of my life. We sat outside and talked for several hours over a few beers. (Ok, he did most of the talking and I listened, but it was in listening that I gained a wealth of knowledge) As we sat and talked he said something to me that had a deep affect on me and that I continuously repeat to myself daily. He said, “I’m happy, because I choose to be.” That sounds pretty simple right? That is simple, but yet incredibly powerful stuff. My friend said to me, "I control my attitude not the things around me or the things that happen around me. It’s not that I don’t care about the things that happen. I care, but it’s not going to control who I am and how I feel.”

Life is too short to be negative and unhappy. So, from this day forward, I will be happy. I will be happy because I chose to be.

New Year...2009

Wow! What a difference a year makes. Who knew so much could happen in twelve little months. I started 2008 in a relationship but ended the year single. In 2008 I managed to get a new job. Which was a good thing seeing how I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep paying my bills after not making any money at all with the recruiting business that I was trying to get off the ground. I also managed to become a grandfather in 2008. Yes that’s right. Laugh now. I’m a 36 yr old grandfather thanks to my oldest son Christopher. Speaking of, in 2008 I also became the proud father of a United States Marine! Also at the beginning of 2008 I seemed to have a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do with my life and here we are at the beginning of 2009 and I’m back to having no clue. I’ve thought about making resolutions this year...or more appropriately, setting goals for myself for 2009. But, I’ve been having a hard time trying to set some. Setting goals is not usually a problem for me, so this has taken me aback recently. First and foremost I know that I want to continue my goal of constantly trying to improve myself each and every day. Even if it’s just in some little way like learning something new or trying to be a better parent, or something along those lines. I think in 2009 I want to make sure that I complete my teacher certification coursework. Maybe look at seriously starting grad school somewhere. Clay is finishing up his Junior year of high school and starting his Senior year in 2009. So, I think one of my goals is to make sure that I spend as much quality time with him as I possibly can this year. I promised him that we’d try to go to more concerts this year. So I guess one of my other goals would be to attend more rock concerts with Clay in 2009. I’d like to write more. I love to write. And most of the time my blog posts are more pieces of my writing rather than just thoughts and journal entries. So, I guess another goal will be to try and write more in 2009. I did pretty well at working out and getting back into shape in 2008. I think another goal will be to continue with that and kick it up to the next level. I’m better off than I was at the beginning of 2008, but not where I want to be. Wow, this goal list is shaping up nicely after sitting down and putting things down on paper. I also think that I will use 2009 to get back in touch with and stay in touch with old friends that I have reacquainted myself with in the latter half of 2008. Maybe even make a few trips out of town to visit with those friends that have managed to scatter themselves all around the state and the country. Cool, another goal; travel to visit friends out of town. Ok, I think I’ll stop there before I get too much ahead of myself and set too many goals. So, lets recap: Continue daily self improvement, complete certification coursework, seriously look at starting grad school, spend more quality time with Clay, attend more rock concerts with Clay, write more, continue to exercise and increase intensity level, stay in touch with friends better and travel to see them more often. Oh, and last but not least….advance to “HARD” or “EXPERT” on the drums on Rockband 2!!!!