Well, it's official now, we really are American suburban parents. I believe that owning a vehicle like this legally obligates us to go on road trips, play soccer, and (hopefully) go wine tasting (that last bit is with friends, not with the kids).
Friday, March 8, 2013
new bus driver in the family
Hey! Now Laura is a bus driver too!!
Well, it's official now, we really are American suburban parents. I believe that owning a vehicle like this legally obligates us to go on road trips, play soccer, and (hopefully) go wine tasting (that last bit is with friends, not with the kids).
Well, it's official now, we really are American suburban parents. I believe that owning a vehicle like this legally obligates us to go on road trips, play soccer, and (hopefully) go wine tasting (that last bit is with friends, not with the kids).
Monday, February 25, 2013
feeling burdened
Overwhelmed with work right now. I have been asked to assist on two more projects, biringing my total project involvent to at least five projects, any one of which can easily comsume all of my available time. What can I do about it? At the moment, I feel like I can fail. Time to push back, and manage everyone's expectations so they expect very little of me. I am actually having a hard time breathing right now, I think I'd better take a walk and get some air.
In other news, my training for a half marathon next month was going great, and last weekend I had run my farthest distance ever by going 9.1 miles. This weekend (yesterday) I was suppoed to run 10 miles, but last Friday my hip started hurting (the same hip I dislocated 5 years ago), and I've decived to stop running altogether this week to give things a chance to settle down. Hopefully it's a temporary setback and I can get back to running next weekend or next week with no trouble. I won't be running too many marathon-type events in my life, I'd like to be able to do this half and then maybe settle back into some shorter runs (maybe as far as 6 miles) here and there just for fitness.
Laura takes the kids to her parent's place three days a week, which means a lot of time in the car for all of them, back and forth. Lately we've really been wishing we lived closer to her parents so that all this time in the car would not be necessary. Not sure we can afford to sell our current house right now, but I think we'll start educating ourselves on our options. It's tough to love my kids as much as I do and know that I can't see them but for a few hours any day.
Ok, time for that little fresh air walk.
In other news, my training for a half marathon next month was going great, and last weekend I had run my farthest distance ever by going 9.1 miles. This weekend (yesterday) I was suppoed to run 10 miles, but last Friday my hip started hurting (the same hip I dislocated 5 years ago), and I've decived to stop running altogether this week to give things a chance to settle down. Hopefully it's a temporary setback and I can get back to running next weekend or next week with no trouble. I won't be running too many marathon-type events in my life, I'd like to be able to do this half and then maybe settle back into some shorter runs (maybe as far as 6 miles) here and there just for fitness.
Laura takes the kids to her parent's place three days a week, which means a lot of time in the car for all of them, back and forth. Lately we've really been wishing we lived closer to her parents so that all this time in the car would not be necessary. Not sure we can afford to sell our current house right now, but I think we'll start educating ourselves on our options. It's tough to love my kids as much as I do and know that I can't see them but for a few hours any day.
Ok, time for that little fresh air walk.
Monday, January 14, 2013
berries too big
I'm tired of oversized strawberries. All that seems to be available in stores (at least in the one store I go to) are excessively large strawberries with no flavor. There are some things in life that should be big, but strawberries are not among them. What's with our obsession for large stuff? In how many ways can this opinion be taken out of context?
All I'm saying is I don't want to pay $6 for a tiny plastic box of organic (and ymuuy and right-sized) strawberries, so instead I pay $3 or $4 for the same size tiny plastic box of oversized (mostly water) strawberries, and I am typically let down. Blah, this last one had negative flavor. It actually sucked flavour out of my mouth.
All I'm saying is I don't want to pay $6 for a tiny plastic box of organic (and ymuuy and right-sized) strawberries, so instead I pay $3 or $4 for the same size tiny plastic box of oversized (mostly water) strawberries, and I am typically let down. Blah, this last one had negative flavor. It actually sucked flavour out of my mouth.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
new year, new yogurt
Of all the things I could possibly talk about, today I come to you with yogurt. Apparently this "protien" stuff is an important part of a "complete" meal, and even more so if one expects to be able to run a half marathon (which I am, the Shamrock'n, some time in March). So, as of yesterday, I have started (trying) to consume "Greek" yogurt. My first attempt was honey flavor and was rather blah since the flavor was more plain, yucky un-flavored yogurt (all those cultures don't have very much flavor culture by themselves) and less delicious, pooh bear favored honey. Luckily today's contestant (blueberry) is posting some great results so far, and I expect to continue this grand experiment.
By experiment I mean, of course, that I expect the consumption of Greek yogurt alone to make me fit, trim, and fast. (Note that I have consumed yogurt off and on for years, but this is my first foray into the world of "Greek" products. Note also that I like to put "Greek" in "quotes" because it is presently striking me as "funny", and because as far as I can tell, "Greek" is a style, and no Greek people were harmed in the making of this yogurt. Note also lastly that I am reading a book by Ellen Degeneres right now, and I find it amusing the way she draws topics out much farther than they need to be drawn.)
So on that whole topic of running, I had long wanted to run a marathon, but in 2007 when I dislocated my hip, my running future looked very bleak. Fast forward 5 years, and really, honestly, I should not be doing a whole lot of running, but I (more or less) enjoy it, it's easy to put on shoes and just go, and one of my co-workers has peer-pressured me into doing a half after he completed his first full marathon. So I look at it this way, I may still never run a full marathon, but this, at least, is an attempt at redeeming what I long wanted to do (the full marathon) way back when.
The problem now, of course, is that the best time to do this was back in 2000 (was in great shape from having rowed a little in college) or 2004 (was in great shape from rowing in Boston) or 2009 (was in great shape from rowing at River City in West Sac), but of course I had "other things" going on which prevented me from training for a run. Over the last 2-3 years I've become a father twice, worked more hours, exercised less, and like many people with best interests in mind, have actually gotten less muscular-strong.
So bring on the yogurt. And the jogging. And the sit ups. We'll see what we (and by we I mean me) can accomplish this year.
By experiment I mean, of course, that I expect the consumption of Greek yogurt alone to make me fit, trim, and fast. (Note that I have consumed yogurt off and on for years, but this is my first foray into the world of "Greek" products. Note also that I like to put "Greek" in "quotes" because it is presently striking me as "funny", and because as far as I can tell, "Greek" is a style, and no Greek people were harmed in the making of this yogurt. Note also lastly that I am reading a book by Ellen Degeneres right now, and I find it amusing the way she draws topics out much farther than they need to be drawn.)
So on that whole topic of running, I had long wanted to run a marathon, but in 2007 when I dislocated my hip, my running future looked very bleak. Fast forward 5 years, and really, honestly, I should not be doing a whole lot of running, but I (more or less) enjoy it, it's easy to put on shoes and just go, and one of my co-workers has peer-pressured me into doing a half after he completed his first full marathon. So I look at it this way, I may still never run a full marathon, but this, at least, is an attempt at redeeming what I long wanted to do (the full marathon) way back when.
The problem now, of course, is that the best time to do this was back in 2000 (was in great shape from having rowed a little in college) or 2004 (was in great shape from rowing in Boston) or 2009 (was in great shape from rowing at River City in West Sac), but of course I had "other things" going on which prevented me from training for a run. Over the last 2-3 years I've become a father twice, worked more hours, exercised less, and like many people with best interests in mind, have actually gotten less muscular-strong.
So bring on the yogurt. And the jogging. And the sit ups. We'll see what we (and by we I mean me) can accomplish this year.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Mary Poppins
A couple months ago we happened to pull up a You Tube video that was a sing-along segment from the Disney movie Mary Poppins for Tyler to watch. It was the segment of the chalk painting sequence where Bert (Dick van Dyke) dances with the penquins. Tyler was enthralled, and wanted to watch it over and over again. Soon enough we were pulling up other sing-along segments from Poppins, and his interest incresed each time. About three weeks ago Laura purchased the DVD so that we could watch it any time, and over the course of these last three weeks, Mary Poppins has ruled our house. This has caused me to realize several things:
After watching Mary Poppins a million times over the last few weeks, I find myself wishing I could lend a Batman Begins-style backstory to the origins of Mary Poppins. How did she become a nanny? Is she really magic? Why does she hang out on a cloud waiting for the wind to take her to her next job? How does she already know Bert and Uncle Albert? How is it she understands the dog? (Baxter, you know I don't speak Spanish!) Has she had similar experiences with other children whose parents were ignoring them?
But I imagine you can see the disconnect here. Anything a writer could do to make the backstory / prequel interesting might detract from all of it being happy-go-lucky Disney style. Apparently the P.L. Travers book that created the Poppins character painted her as somewhat more mean (I should probably read those books, maybe all of this has already been done?), so who knows, maybe she had a terrible past and became a nany to escape all of it? See, I'm not a writer, so I don't know where to go with it. I dream in orthoganal and isometric views, hydraulics, circuits, and mechanisms, not character backstory development. But that hasn't stopped me from lately feeling like it would be a fun thing to do.
Anyway, there you go.
- My son is awesome. Ok, wait, he was already awesome, and I already knew that, but this just reaffirms the fact. He literally bounces off the couch and starts dancing to this movie, especially to Step In Time. It's kind of like XBOX Kinect or Wii Fit where you attempt to copy the motions of the characters on your TV. Can you image that? This is what Tyler does; he studies what the dancers are doing and tries to do it as well, the sommersaults, the high knees, the birdie arm flaps. It is hilarious and energizing and so much fun to do with him.
- I wish I could dance. Did I mention that it is so much fun to try and copy the dances with Tyler? I find it invigorating! And it just looks so cool! Plus, if I could do the stunts they do, I'd clearly be in better shape than I am.
- Julie Andrews is pretty attractive. I never noticed this before, probably because I was like 10 or 15 the last time I watched this movie, but watching it now I realize she is good looking. And she can sing and dance, so she's got that going for her.
- This is a really wholesome, refreshing movie. This statement makes me sound 85, conservative, and churchy, but I mean it. Solid plot, no raunch, no nauseating camera shakes or edits, everybody is honest and understandable, there is singing, there is dancing, there is unexplained magic; the film is entertaining and enjoyable without any hint of being fake or gimicky. It's just good fun.
- I want to become a writer. I want to write the prequel story of how Mary Poppins becomes who she is. But there is a problem with this. My interest in doing this stems from having seen Batman Begins. The hell I say? I'll explain below ...
After watching Mary Poppins a million times over the last few weeks, I find myself wishing I could lend a Batman Begins-style backstory to the origins of Mary Poppins. How did she become a nanny? Is she really magic? Why does she hang out on a cloud waiting for the wind to take her to her next job? How does she already know Bert and Uncle Albert? How is it she understands the dog? (Baxter, you know I don't speak Spanish!) Has she had similar experiences with other children whose parents were ignoring them?
But I imagine you can see the disconnect here. Anything a writer could do to make the backstory / prequel interesting might detract from all of it being happy-go-lucky Disney style. Apparently the P.L. Travers book that created the Poppins character painted her as somewhat more mean (I should probably read those books, maybe all of this has already been done?), so who knows, maybe she had a terrible past and became a nany to escape all of it? See, I'm not a writer, so I don't know where to go with it. I dream in orthoganal and isometric views, hydraulics, circuits, and mechanisms, not character backstory development. But that hasn't stopped me from lately feeling like it would be a fun thing to do.
Anyway, there you go.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Rex Babin
It saddens me to no end to say that a friend of mine, Rex Babin, editorial cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee and fantastic rower, died today of cancer after battling it for over a year. I met him through rowing and quickly found him to be passionate, entertaining, insightful, comedic, welcoming and wonderful person. I admired him in so many ways, and his family was ever welcoming and warm to mine. This is one of those cases where a person who rails against the system to make the world a better place has left the earth way, way to goddamn soon. I can't describe how much the rowing community (at least our little corner of it in West Sacramento) will miss him, and I can't even imagine the scope of the loss in the eyes of his wife and son.
Farewell Rex.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sacbee/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=156775426
http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2012/03/30/sac-bee-cartoonist-rex-babin-dies-of-cancer/?tw_p=twt
Farewell Rex.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sacbee/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=156775426
http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2012/03/30/sac-bee-cartoonist-rex-babin-dies-of-cancer/?tw_p=twt
Monday, February 27, 2012
pants
I have no butt (because I am a white male and I don't lift weights), but I have reasonably big thighs (because I am a rower and occasionally pretend to be a runner or cyclist). These two facts combined mean that no regular pair of jeans will everywhere fit correctly. Most of my pants are baggy and look silly on me, as is the typical requirement for non-movie star men (not than I am really concerned with appearance). But lately I've been really disliking the bagginess, and since I have only purchased one or two pairs of jeans in the last, oh, four or five years, I decided it was time to pants up.
So here I sit at work in a new pair of Levi's 501s, and as I should have expected, they don't fit right. The butt fit is snug (I'm now exemplifying to the world the fact that I have no butt), but the thighs are WAY TOO TIGHT, and I really should take my phone our of my pocket so that my pants don't break it in half. What is the right solution? Why don't pants fit me?
On the other hand, in a world where unemployment is high, people are dying while fighting for democracy, two friends are waging war with cancer, another fighting CF, and starvation happens at all, pants that don't fit right really doesn't even qualify as something to bitch about. I guess everything is relative. Oh well, it sounded like a funny topic in my mind.
So here I sit at work in a new pair of Levi's 501s, and as I should have expected, they don't fit right. The butt fit is snug (I'm now exemplifying to the world the fact that I have no butt), but the thighs are WAY TOO TIGHT, and I really should take my phone our of my pocket so that my pants don't break it in half. What is the right solution? Why don't pants fit me?
On the other hand, in a world where unemployment is high, people are dying while fighting for democracy, two friends are waging war with cancer, another fighting CF, and starvation happens at all, pants that don't fit right really doesn't even qualify as something to bitch about. I guess everything is relative. Oh well, it sounded like a funny topic in my mind.
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