{09.26.2008} Friday Melange

This is it...my last day in Bloomington, IL. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I knew this day was going to be bittersweet. On one hand, I am so happy to be finally moved back to Chicago, on the other hand, I'm sad about leaving a great town and community.

So, in that vein, I will share a (cheesy alert! cheesy alert!)..."Letter to Bloomington/Normal", from the Abrahams.

Dear Bloomington/Normal,

Thank you for all you have taught our family and allowed us to experience in the last 4 years. When we moved here we had never seen so many corn fields and yet so many new houses. We had never seen so many pickup trucks and yet so many business professionals driving said pickup trucks. We had never watched the 5 o'clock evening news that started with stories about "nice things" rather than the number of killings or robberies that might have taken place throughout the day. We had never seen a huge, modern, corporate complex, literally surrounded by farmland and cows.

Its obvious you're doing something right. From the old timers in town we heard stories about all of the expansion over the years and yet even in the 4 short years we've lived here we've seen even more expansion. For example, when we moved here there was no Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Rosati's, Meijer, Potbelly, Noodles & Co., Hollister & Co., or nice mall. Now there are three Starbucks, two Rosati's, a Meijer, 2 Potbelly's, 2 Noodles & Co. and a very nice mall with great stores. We felt at home, while not being "home".

It was here in Bloomington that we as a family celebrated Jason's and Susan's 30th birthdays, our 5th wedding anniversary and most importantly the birth of our daughter Isabelle.

We helped plant a Harvest Bible Chapel in Peoria, and made lasting relationships there. We both made significant contributions to State Farm via our jobs, and built great relationships there as well.

We've lived in 2 houses, met great neighbors and had great conversations with friends over the dinner table. Our lives will never be the same because we had a chance to slow down and experience community in a different way. We took part in local events and again experienced the genuine "goodness" of people.

Again, thanks for allowing us to make this our home for the past four years. We will always have a special place in our heart for this town.

With genuine love and gratitude,

The Abraham Family.

Oh, and by the way. The re>ROOT is now complete.

"Texting automatically removes 10 IQ points"

The title of this blog entry is a quote by Paul Saffo, a technology trend forecaster in Silicon Valley. The New York Times published an article last week that illustrates the dangers of texting while doing various activities and the actions being taken by the government.

We all text to communicate; its become even more easy with unlimited text message plans. I love the fact that I don't need to have a direct conversation, I'd rather be able to ask or answer a question and move on. There are times when texting has gone out of control for me: recently a friend and I exchanged 80-something text messages to discuss some issues in the news (not while driving, thankfully). I only have a 250 text plan, but have found that that is not enough anymore. To illustrate this, these numbers just blow my mind: In June of 2005 people texted 7.2 billion times - wow. How about June of 2008? 75 billion text messages were sent and received. Amazing. This is according to CTIA - the Wireless Association.

The reason I'm writing this today is because I've found that I am texting (& twittering - which is different from having a nervous tick, but not by much) more and more on the road. After reading a few articles and hearing about the train accident in California this past week, I've decided that I will not text or twitter while driving anymore. In this fast paced world, we've all become more and more accustomed to being able to communicate at any time, anywhere. With the popularity of the iPhone and its many useful features, I've found that while texting or trying to communicate instantaneously is simple, it is also becoming a much more dangerous activity. Especially when you consider all the other drivers texting while driving.

Several organizations have done some sort of research on the effects of texting while driving; this is what the UK's Transport Research Laboratory found:

• Texting behind the wheel impairs driving skills more than being drunk or high
• Reaction times deteriorated by 35% (which is worse than being drunk @ the legal limit - 12% worse reaction time)
• Drivers drifted out of their lanes more often - steering control was found to be 91% worse

This is all just to say that I would implore you as my friends and family to drive safely, and quit texting as you drive...whatever you have to say can wait until you pull over.

{09.19.08} Friday Melange

When I started this Melange idea, I promised you various topics...true to that, here is a topic many of us don't consider, Insurance and the Economy.


Insurance has taken a prominent place in the American headlines this week with the struggles and eventual bailout of AIG. AIG was one of the world's largest insurers, basically the world's insurer for corporate risk. Many have wondered why allow this company to be bailed out, as opposed to Lehman Brothers, or any of the other investment banks or other major corporations? My belief and important to understand: insurance plays an immensely vital role in our economy.


Over the past few months we have seen a situation that no one in this generation of Americans have seen - a meltdown of Wall Street and the effects on Main Street, USA. You know the names by now: Countrywide, Bear Stearns, IndyMac, Fannie & Freddie, Lehman Brothers, AIG...not to mention Merrill Lynch, WAMU, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs who have all lost billions of dollars and have laid off thousands of employees.


Why did the Federal Government bail out AIG? The common understanding is that this company was a lynchpin for the rest of the world's economy. AIG had themselves spread throughout the world and their complete demise could have been a disaster for the world economy. Here in the US, AIG and the other insurers play a very important role within this economy, that I have just recently learned about.


Insurance does what you think it does - protects and helps manage risk for everyday life situations. However, it also helps this economy move forward (information from the Insurance Information Institute):


Property/casualty (auto, home and commercial) insurance allows those who are the victims of accidental loss to recover financially through the payment of claims for property damage and injury. When property/casualty insurance claims are paid, funds are transferred to local businesses in the form of payment for goods or services. Among those that receive the most revenue are auto repair shops, building contractors and the health care community.


Life insurance helps households manage their finances in the face of death and disability by minimizing disruption to a wage earner’s dependents. Annuities reduce the likelihood that a retiree will run out of money. By providing a measure of financial security to individuals, life insurance products help stabilize the economy.


Insurance companies also contribute to the economy through their investments. As part of the financial services industry, insurers act as financial intermediaries, investing the funds they collect for providing insurance protection. Total assets of property/casualty insurers totaled $1.483 trillion in 2006. Cash and invested assets were $1.229 trillion, or 83 percent. Life/health insurer total assets totaled $4.723 trillion in 2006. Cash and invested assets of these insurers amounted to $2.874 trillion, or 61 percent.


Insurers contribute more than $250 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product. Their taxes include special levies on insurance premiums, which amounted to almost $15 billion in 2005, or 2.3 percent of all taxes collected by the states. They are also very large employers, providing some 2.3 million jobs, or 2.1 percent of U.S. employment.


According to the US Deptartment of Commerce, of the major industries in this country, "Insurance Carriers" (as a subset of Finance and Insurance) ranks 5th in terms of Revenues generated ~ $1.4 trillion ~ (behind industries such as wholesale trade, manufacturing, retail trade & ahead of health care, construction, information and many others).


If you've read through all of this, congratulations! You now know much more about insurance than you ever hoped to know.


If you've read through this and found you've learned something, please leave a comment!

Abraham Family Values

I have been really challenged after reading a friend's blog about their effort to create family value statements for their family to live by. Dave Steinbeck is the Community Life/Teaching Pastor at a church in Eureka, IL. Before that, he was an analyst at State Farm and a co-worker of Susan's. For those of that have visited our second house in Bloomington (the one we just sold), Dave is the master carpenter that created that beatiful deck in our backyard.

Susan and I have had the privilege to spend some time with Dave and Heather (his wife) and their children. I can tell you that we have been blessed and challenged by knowing them, and now I have been challenged again.

In case some of you are link-shy, let me summarize a little of what Dave wrote:

• What are the values that your children will take away from living in your household?
• Are there certain phrases and truths that define your family?
• He pointed out Proverbs 6:20-22, which tells us why this is so important: My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

When Susan returns from her trip, and we get some time to just sit and talk, we will create a list of values that we want Isabelle to live by and know. In the meantime, take a look at Dave's post...maybe you'll be inspired to come up with a list of your own.

This doesn't have to be a list of values that you create just because you have kids - if you are engaged or newly married, this would be a great exercise to go through with each other to really establish your relationship and to define the journey you are starting.

Birthdays...

Hmm...this stinks, I am now 32 years of age...and starting my 33rd year of life.

Tonight I received the greatest gift I have ever received. A little background...I am a gift person. If you are aware of the 5 love languages, I am a gift person through and through...there's no doubt about it. I love giving and receiving gifts.

I have gone throughout my life never wanting and truly being blessed, whether it be tangible things or true friends. All day long I have received numerous Facebook birthday wishes, text messages, phone calls and even a cookie delivery at my office. But by far, the greatest gift came this evening when I put my daughter down to sleep.

Bedtime for Isabelle has never been an easy time; a typical bedtime starts at 7:45 PM, hoping that she will fall asleep by 8 PM. Usually Susan and I walk out of her room exhausted and irritated at about 8:30 or 8:45 PM. Tonight was no different, except that I was alone (Susan is on a business trip), and Isabelle was her usual self. She always has that "oh...I forgot to do {insert stalling tactic of the night here}" and needs to rearrange her stuffed animals and pillows, and needs to find the right spot of the bed, and needs one more story, and needs to sing that last song, and on and on. Tonight was a little different though...she needed me. All she wanted was for daddy to rub her back, and stroke her hair and for her to be able to hold my thumb as she fell asleep. I probably broke all the parenting rules and set her "schedule" back about 2 weeks (if Susan is reading this you can imagine the head nodding. Right. About. Now.). However, as I lay there next to her, I realized that for the past 2 or so years, I was always too busy or too impatient to just be daddy. I got to be a daddy again tonight, I was there for my daughter when she needed me. I was able to re>root myself as a dad. For me, that was a gift I will never forget...

You see, re>rooting for me is not simply being able to take my family and move them from Bloomington to Chicago, re>rooting are these little experiences that I have unfortunately let slip away. One of my friends mentioned that September was an amazing month for me - on the surface - yes, it was. I finished Agency training, finished school, closed on our house, packed and moved and had a birthday. But at 8:00 PM on 9/15/08, I experienced the greatest moment a dad could ever experience - a daughter's true expression of love...her little hand holding my finger and saying "don't go, just stay."

Hmmm...my 33rd year is going to be great.

re>ROOT in Progress

The majority of the re>ROOT is complete. Since last Wednesday we have packed, moved, unloaded and unpacked. Our furniture is at my parents' house in Wheaton and the other stuff is locked away in storage, not to see the light of day for at least another year.

Here's a picture of us moving from Bloomington back to Chicago...I'll post more pics later.

Another week of milestones...

Quick update on the going-ons of the Abraham family:

• Jason finished up his MBA over the weekend
• Movers come to pack our house up on Wednesday
• Movers come to load up the truck on Thursday
• Movers unload the stuff in Wheaton on Friday
• We will be in Wheaton permanently the week of September 22
• Isabelle starts pre-preschool on September 24th
  

Its amazing to truly see God's hand in all of this. Six months ago we weren't sure when or if this State Farm Agency opportunity was going happen, how much more school I could take or if our house would sell in this market. As has been the theme throughout this blog and our life, God never fails.

We're looking forward to a busy week, but an eventful one for sure. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make this transition real.

Oh...and can't leave out a mention of those amazing Chicago Bears! How about that....they go and surprise everyone, including, probably themselves. Nice start to the new season.

The re>root is happening.

Jess? Who the heck is Jess?

Alright, so I tried to slip one by you all, but Nate caught it. Nicely done Nate, you get a pat on the back...and maybe a free auto quote?

So here's the story on my name "Jess"...remember, "vote for the best". Didn't really rhyme then, and really doesn't ryhme now, does it? Oh well.

Jess was short for Jessley, my official name. During my school years in Wheaton, I was known as Jess from 2nd grade on, simply because I was too timid to tell the teacher that I would rather have been called "Jason". I still kick myself when I think back...William was Bill, Thomas was Tommy, Oommen was Chris (!), but Jessley was...Jess. This timidity was borne out of the fact (I believe) that I was truly the only Indian kid in Wheaton, at that time. When I graduated from Wheaton North in 1994, there were three Indian kids, and only one was a Patel. This might cause shock and awe to you Niles North and Maine East grads.

This plays a large part in the "masks" I wore during my formative years - I was "Jason" at church and to my close family and friends: I was strong, confident, & had a lot of friends in that circle. At school, I was "Jess", much more timid, quiet and really stayed to myself. The way I made myself more confident at school was by getting involved with school politics and sports (did you know I ran cross country, played basketball and tried out for volleyball and football)? I used my ability to make friends and build relationships to help me run for various offices and that helped me throughout my school years. By the time I got to high school, everyone knew me as "Jess", and I thought it would be too much for me to "change" my name. I worked too hard to have people know me as someone and didn't want to screw it up. When I got to college, I finally decided that I would tell each professor: Even though the class roster says "Jessley", please call me "Jason".

To this day, past friends in high school find me on Facebook or reunion websites and are surprised that my name is Jason...not Jess. Crazy, huh?

Now you know just a little bit more about me...

{09.05.2008} Friday Morning Melange

**This image is from www.dividedwefail.org, which believes that financial security and healthcare are the 2 most important domestic issues we face as a nation today. I do not support this organization, I have no reason not to support it...just don't. I just thought their logo was cool.**


Politics by definition is the way groups of people make decisions; Plato, Aristotle, Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton, Bush...these historical figures have all impacted history in one way or another by their involvement in politics.

There are some out there that know I have a slight passion for politics. I will not, I promise you, make this blog a political blog. My political feelings will never get in the way of friendships or family (believe me on this one). However, my political beliefs are a part of who I am, part of my story as Jason Abraham, and I believe it will be a part of my legacy. I want the opportunity to tell you why I believe in some of the things I do today. Many, many years ago I was introduced to Ronald Reagan via a close family friend. My friend was a passionate conservative and that truly rubbed off on me. I started to learn more and more about Reagan and his story - his legacy.

I had a greater interest in history and political science because of this basic understanding of Reagan and took part in student government. I ran for Student Council VP and other roles, truly getting into the whole political effort. I remember "commissioning" an artist to draw my campaign posters...my motto was "Vote for the Best...Vote for Jess!" This interest in politics was due in large part because of my admiration of Reagan.

But let's be honest, Reagan to me was simply THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES...there was a certain amount of respect I gave him...regardless whether he was Democrat or Republican. Just as a child of the sixties adored JFK, I had that amount of respect for Reagan. Just as a child of the nineties adored Michael Jordan, I had that amount of respect for Reagan (MJ wasn't the President in the nineties?).

Even though I was only in junior high then, I felt a connection to the idea of smaller government, lower taxes, strong economic principles that helped working people keep more of their money and strong moral values. Over the years, I have become more passionate and more vocal about these beliefs. The election of 2ooo piqued my interest. Who doesn't remember the hanging chads? I was glued to the TV as I and the entire country were a part of that process. Politics became a daily part of my life during those days as we all learned a little bit more about the political process.

I have become more a part of my party, yet, the opportunities for compromise and good intentions far outweigh any party affiliation. What's best for this country and its citizens is what's most important. Over the past year or so, we have seen how passionate beliefs can start to tear people apart. Just last night at the Republican Convention, protestors were inside and outside the convention hall disturbing the peace. Protestors were getting violent and throwing bleach in the eyes of delegates, rocking busses with cub scouts inside, doing anything to get their voice and agenda heard. Why? Because they have a belief, extreme as it may be. The next 61 days will be an amazing part of our American history.

Now it is officially Friday morning, I am going to sleep.

You now know a little bit of my story.

Leaving a Legacy

How does one go about leaving a legacy? Well, what is a legacy, exactly? Some might argue that a legacy is the monetary trail you leave to your heirs. Some may say that it is the story of your life; your accomplishments and failures, your children and the lessons you've taught your children. Maybe its just your headstone with a summary of your life, such as: "Husband, Father, Athlete, Friend."

With the political season in full swing, there are a lot of stories and reports about the accomplishments, or lack thereof, of certain candidates. The vetting process has shown us all that there are stories in each person's life that has molded them to be the person they are today. What's your story? I'd challenge each of us to think about our past accomplishments and failures, along with our future aspirations to start leaving a legacy.

As Susan, Isabelle and I make this transition to re>root in Chicago, I've been thinking a little more about my legacy...and how it relates to the legacies of others. I've always been intrigued by history and historical figures...George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Dwight L. Moody, Ruben "the Hurricane" Carter, Martin Luther King, Jr., Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad Ali, Barack Obama, John McCain. Obviously some of the names in my inpromptu list are in no way comparable to the life and teachings of Jesus, but they have lived a life worth studying. I can read biographical novels, and learn much, but many of us don't have the time to sit and read a book about a person. If you've never taken the time to read about or study a historical person, I would encourage you to pick up a book or buy/check-out an audio book on a person you find intriguing.

If you don't have the time to do this, leave a comment with the name of a historical figure you would like to learn more about. Maybe there are others that have the same interest and we can all create a forum and discuss that person and his/her life's story.

This world has been blessed with millions and millions of stories...realize your story today.