Today is Dr. Seuss' Birthday and he is undoubtedly one of my all-time FAVORITE authors. As a children's book collector - he really is the one to beat. So without further adieu...in honor of Dr. Seuss...
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations! Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener therein the wide open air.
Out there things can happenand frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too.
OH!THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups can happen even to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on. You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?
Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose?
How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters?
Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place......for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to goor a bus to come,
or a plane to goor the mail to come,
or the rain to goor the phone to ring,
or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go!
There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.
there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
I'm afraid that some times you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone! Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go though the weather be foul
On you will go though your enemies prowl
On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many a frightening creek,
though your arms may get soreand your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
You'll get mixed upwith many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Brayor
Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
Well, it is official, I graduated. I have an MBA! Crazy! The time has gone quickly even though it has been a TREMENDOUS journey. I have worked countless hours into the night on more occassions than I can count. I breathed financial statement analysis for weeks on end, wrote papers until my fingers were raw and there weren't any letters left on the keyboard, developed marketing schemes and created business plans, evaluated my ethical stance and the predictability of interacting from a moral perspective, gained an in-depth understanding of business law and the somewhat overwhelming and scary connotations that said laws entail. When one class ended, another began - every 6 six weeks for almost 2 years - and then I walked across the stage at Graduation on Friday night, and the beginning of the end was upon me. For the next 12 weeks I will be working on my cumulative project with a team of highly competant and competitve MBA grads. July 18th is DONE DAY - the day we give our final presentation and close this chapter of our lives FOREVER. I am ready to taste the victory of completion...but until then, I'll celebrate because I DID IT!
I'm not totally sure what she's thinking in this second picture...maybe she doesn't like DOG SMELL...or maybe she's a little scared - the dog's head is bigger than HERS...either way she is DARN cute and i just can't wait to wrap her up in my arms and make her laugh for me!!! this is going to be a GREAT weekend for sure!!!