james nunn | blog

Here is the dilemma with this one. I like to eat, and living in the Dallas ‘burbs there are an abundance of places to eat So I guess my favorite place to eat will depend on what I am yearning for. So here goes, my listing.

• Mexican: La Hacienda (been good for a long time)
• Thai: I’d say Samui (I like the way they do their tofu), but Silk Road is a close second
• Burger (turkey): Mooyah’s (there is just something amazing about their turkey burger). Great chips (er, fries) as well.

I know there is more, but they were the first few that popped into my mind

Part 13 - Something you’re looking forward to

This one is easy. I’m looking forward to my mother and sister (and possibly my aunt) coming to visit at the end of this year. My mother has never been to the US, and not only will she be here for her birthday, but also for Christmas as well. This is probably going to be the highlight of my year (with apologies to anything else that has happened or will happen during the year).

Of course, I think it will be a major highlight for many of my friends as well who are excitedly waiting to meet my mother, and no doubt learn all the more embarrassing things from my past. Thank goodness most of my friends know me fairly well, and will have equally as many embarrassing things to share with my friends.

I’m also excited that we will be doing some traveling while my mum is here, and I am looking forward to sharing with her and my sister parts of the country that I’ve been too, and others where I will be visiting for the first time. As the trip gets closer, I’ll be posting our itinerary for comment and suggestions.

Hmmm… I really need to re-look at these topics and maybe do a few different ones. My dream home is one that has my family in it. I know this may sound pretty “icky” to some, but I really do have a belief that home is where your heart is. Right now, my heart is here in the US with Chris and my dogs. As anyone that really knows me would tell you, the dogs are my number 1 priority right now as they have yet to learn feed and take care of themselves.

I guess to answer the question, my dream house has room for us all without being cramped, which is pretty much what we have right now in our new home. Great neighborhood, good neighbors, and space. So I guess I’m in my dream house right now

Part 11 – Bible Verse

Not being a practicing follower of any one faith, this one was a little more difficult. I can’t say that I have a favorite Bible verse but I do have a favorite reference to the Bible and all other religious texts which is what is often referred to as the “golden rule.”

There is a reference to this in Matthew and Luke (Christian religion) which suggests that you treat others as you would like to be treated (do unto others, as you would have them do to you) [Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31].

There are also references in other world religions, many of which can be found here.

Part 10 Something you don’t leave the house without…

This will come as a shock to no-one: my phone.

On the rare occasions I have left without my phone, I have gone back for it. The same cannot be said about my wallet or other things.

I guess technically if I left the house without my keys, I would not get far, so I think this will be something that I would also go back for — unless someone else was driving.

Part 9 – Something I am afraid of…

Fear can often take a person to a very dark space. Knowing this keeps things real for me, but sometimes it can be a little too real. So …

My first answer that came to mind was death, but then I started to think about that and I really think that the one thing that I am afraid of more is being alone. Not the kind of alone that one cherishes after a house full of people have left following a party, but the kind of alone where there is nothing or no-one. Isolation. That kind of alone.

Of course another question could be asked why being alone would be a bad thing or something to fear. I mean, people do it for years and cope quite admirably (think monks in the Himalayan mountains). So if not being alone, then what.

Perhaps it is being along with my thoughts. But then again, I actually like to think. Some of my friends have suggested that I actually overthink way too much. So if I’m not afraid of my thoughts, what could I be fearful of? Perhaps, it is the lack of thinking that I fear, which kind of brings me back to death. In a sense this is what death brings. After all death is pretty final, and from what I understand about it, there is not a lot of thinking going on after it happens.

But if I’m not afraid of death (not sure if I have established that completely), then the other impact of being alone may be what  I am fearful of. The lack of interaction with others, the relationships that I have (or would not have), the companionship with my partner, my friends, my dogs. Could not having those be what I fear? After all isn’t that interaction responsible (in part) for the people that we become, that is the definition of who we are? We are told that people are social in nature and they need  human interaction to exist, or develop. It has been suggested that not having that leads to troubled minds, and when added with over thinking, that can never be good.

So perhaps, I am fearful of the person I would become if I were alone.

Thinking, or my thoughts are what get me into trouble. Again, not the kind of trouble that involves calling a truck to carry me away (I’m pretty good at self analyzing and the reality that I live in), but there is a long journey that a thought can have before reaching the end of the pathway it has taken.

So what I am afraid of?

I think beige is a good answer.

Day 8: A photo that makes me happy

Here is a picture of me with my family – both blood and chosen – during a trip to Australia in 2009. We are all on one of the trails in the Glasshouse Mountains in Queensland.

The trip to Australia was the first time that I’d seen my mother in nearly 9 years, and I was there with Chris and our best friends Bobby and Ian (my family in the US). This picture of my “family” together all at the same time brings me happiness, especially knowing that my mother (and brother for that matter) had finally met our friends.

I know there are dozens of other photos out there that could equally bring me happiness (especially any with my dogs in them), but this was the one that I kept going back to when I was reviewing pictures for this post.

And I would be lying if I didn’t say that the first flight of QANTAS landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport did not bring me a little smile, and tears of joy.

Day 7

This one has been a little tough for me. For those that know me well, they understand that I’m not a music person. I like music, but I’m not absorbed by it. Given I paid a visit to the doctor this morning, and I finished watching the Doctor Who episode earlier today, I’m going to go with “Doctor Doctor” by the Thompson Twins. Here is the You Tube link to a slightly modified mix of the song.

Thompson Twins – Doctor Doctor