Rebel Programmer's Society

For any of you who know me, that may seem like an odd request.   My heart is breaking today though as the world has lost a wonderful woman, Karin Faulkner.   She passed away yesterday after struggling with many complications and organ failure after a bout of pneumonia this week.   It was discovered in early September that she had Kidney cancer.  Now, just three short  months later, she is gone.  She was only 34 years old.

I’m asking for you to pray for the family she had to leave behind….

her wonderful husband, Steve

their son, Kevin (4), who absolutely adored his Mommy

their son, Kien (1), who just joined their family this summer

their daughter, Aria (1), who just came home from Vietnam and few short weeks ago

While I am thankful she is no longer suffering, I mourn her passing as she was a truly kind and generous woman.  She will be missed.

You can read her family’s story at http://karinupdates.blogspot.com/

I don’t consider myself funny. I don’t think of myself as a good public speaker. I was in charge of announcements for ten LAN parties. I used a megaphone and I tried to get people to pay attention. Most people thought I was annoying and disruptive.

Last weekend, on October 18th, my friend Jeremy got married and he asked me to “MC” his reception. I have to say that in the past, after being asked to help with weddings of my friends, I had sworn off ever helping again. But, this seemed very different. The wedding was small and personal. It wasn’t fancy or long. It was more of a private party with two groups of families and friends getting together for a good time. So I agreed to do it.

Conviction is the root of good public speaking. An idea that you hold strongly, and truly believe, is going to demand to be spoken to a group of people who are listening to you. I spent a week coming up with things to say. There was some fretting and worrying about saying something that ruins someone’s wedding. But, like much of my past experience, I decided to “just wing it”. I am often a very strongly convicted individual and all I did was say things I thought were true to myself, and needed to be said to the people there. I think everyone who spoke at the reception did the exact same thing I did.

Listener said I could do this professionally. But, the irony is that I don’t think I could. Two strangers getting married with their friends and families around them … I would have nothing to say except luke-warm, mediocre glurge (a perfectly cromulent word, by the way).

In the end, I had a great time and I enjoyed doing something to help out Jeremy and Annie. It was fun. Lots of people thanked me for doing a good job, but it was all my pleasure. Congratulations to the new couple and I hope they enjoy each other in the good times and the bad.

I guess it was a matter of time. I have been playing Rock Band for many months now, and I guess that my constant drumming was bound to eventually kill the plastic pedal.