Monday, October 4, 2010
Life is a matter of inches
Right now my life is a matter of inches. When I look at Anney's belly I realize that our daughter is just inches from changing our lives forever. I am inches from being able to hold my baby daughter and begin guiding her through her life. I am inches from being a 'daddy'. It is like when I reached for Anney's hand on our wedding day and inched the ring from its resting place on the Bible to its permanent place on her finger. Only inches to a wonderfully changed life. I am inches from seeing what Anney plus Craig equals. Sofie is inches from not only changing our lives, she is also inches from changing my parents from their 42 year titles of Mom and Dad to Grandma and Grandpa and Anney's parents to becoming Oma and Opa for the third time. She is inches from making my brother an Uncle for the first time. She is inches from being Daddy's little breathing , crying and huggy little girl. She is inches from making a grown man cry.
Monday, September 20, 2010
My Sibling.
Today I will be writing about 'Day 4 - Your ?Siblings'. However to be more accurate it should use the singular 'sibling', as I only have one. My brother Clark is 2 years older than me and while we didn't always have the best relationship, we now have a great relationship. We both continually asked for a sister growing up, but to no avail.
Today's blahg will be more of a picture blahg of my bother and I throughout the years.
Remember in 'Back to the Future' when the guy asks Marty is he is a sailor because he was wearing a vest jacket. I loved my vest, which had zip off sleeves. I am not sure why I we are wearing the tight shorts so I will blame it on the late 70's/early 80's. And our socks? I can only blame my stylist.
As you probably can guess this picture was takend BEFORE the picture above. I am on the right. I think that I am so happy because I have my own little bowl to pee in; I didn't have to warm up the whole tub. Good times.
Yes, were cool by the ages of 6 and 8. Clark is in the red shirt and glasses. Ironically, Clark is the only one in the family who doesn't wear glasses now. I think that we were poor because we couldn't afford a couch with armrests on both ends. I love my shirt, I would love it more if my brother was wearing it. This picture also shows a trait that would haunt me throughout my growing up year: my untamable hair.
This is Clark and I (with the Hedgren kids) at Camp Trestle Glen (now Camp Kuratli) in the early 80's. Please notice my hair problems continued. However, if I had been a girl, that feathered hair would have been an asset.
If hindsight truly is 20/20 then when a time machine is created I will pay to go back in time and plead with my parents to scrap this photo shoot. This shows me at the height of my awkward phase. Look at that freakin' hair. What was anyone thinking? And look at my beaver tooth. It stuck out at almost a 90 degree angle. I am not sure what Clark is doing in this picture, but I think that he is pinching a loaf in his pants or playing a game of solitare pull my finger. And this picture is a good example of why fat kids shouldn't wear horizontal stripes.I have just looked and couldn't find any recent pictures of us. So I guess you will just have to enjoy the old ones.
Day 1 -- Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror
Today I will discuss #13 - something you are looking forward to. This is an extremely easy post.
What I am looking forward to began this January and will be fully functional on, or around, October 14, 2010. Functional meaning pooping, peeing, eating and crying.
To the left is an old picture of our soon to be born daughter. We will be getting another ultrasound next Wednesday so we will get to see what she looks like a few months after this last picture.
Day 1 -- Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror
Friday, September 17, 2010
As I stated yesterday I will not be following the set order for this challenge. Today I will be blahging for Day 20 - Your favorite television shows. In thinking about this topic I have looked deep inside myself and concluded that my favorite shows are either 1) completely ridiculous or 2) makes me feel like a part of the family. Due to this fact I will be dividing this blog into two sections.
I will begin with Part 1) the ridiculous.
The Young Ones - This is a British show that is like a live action cartoon. The main characters get maimed, killed or any number of other things during the course of each episode, yet they always return for more in the next episode. There were only 12 episodes of this show, but in these 12 episode they created something that has lasted for decades. The proof of how great this show is can be seen in how it is still gaining new fans even today.This show is about four college students living (and fighting) together in a flat. There is Mike
Thecoolguy (his characters real last name), Rik the poet (played by the same actor as Drop Dead Fred), Vyvyn the 'punk', and Neil the hippy. As stated above these guys do just about everything to each other including a pickaxe to the head, giving birth, electrocution, overdosing on laxative pills, robbing a bank and (spoiler alert) actually dying.
Thecoolguy (his characters real last name), Rik the poet (played by the same actor as Drop Dead Fred), Vyvyn the 'punk', and Neil the hippy. As stated above these guys do just about everything to each other including a pickaxe to the head, giving birth, electrocution, overdosing on laxative pills, robbing a bank and (spoiler alert) actually dying.
The second ridiculous show that I love is Fawlty Towers, another British show. This show stars John Cleese as probably the worst hotel manager ever. He fights and assaults, both verbally and physically, his staff, the customers and his domineering wife. Each of the characterswork together wonderfully to act as each others foils in every situation. This is a very smart comedy that works in almost every way. The one negative thing that I can say about it is that the production is done very cheaply and sometimes the sets are very flimsy.PART 2) shows that make me feel like one of the family
The smartest sitcom I have ever seen comes from the Great White North. It is a show about small town life in Dog River, Saskatchewan. The show is Corner Gas and it is fantastic. The main character is Brent Leroy, who owns the towns gas station. The other characters are his Oscar and Emma, Brent's mom and dad; Davis and Karen ,the town cops; Lacey, the owner of the town's cafe; Wanda, the employee at Corner Gas; and Hank Yarbo, probably the best comic sidekick since Barney Fife (this is NOT hyperbole, he is that good). This show makes me want to move to Dog River and hang out with these people. I love this show and if you haven't seen it yet you should find it and watch it. It is a classic.
My favorite television show of all time is another British show (see a pattern?). This show began in 1981 and ran through 2003. It is a show about two brothers, Derek (Del) and Rodney. Del is a 'salesman' who doesn't always deal with legally obtained items. Rodney, Del's much younger brother who Del has raised since childhood, has principles which clash with Del's lifestyle and business. For the first few years of the show their Grandfather makes up the third person of their 'family'. However, the actor who played Grandfather passed away so his character died on the show. Because of this Grandfather's long estranged bother joined the cast as Uncle Albert. The rest of the cast remained throughout the series and they are amazing. After awhile both Del and Rodney get married and have children. Del's reaction to Rodney's marriage is the only time that a television show has made my eyes water. I cannot tell you how great this show is, it is worth whatever trouble you may have to go to see it.There are many other shows that I really like, but this blahg has take way to long already so I will just list the others:
1. The Andy Griffith Show - Barney Fife is the best character ever on tv.
2. Freaks and Geeks - Bill Haverchuck is the third best character (see Corner Gas above).
3. The Dick Van Dyck Show - classy, intelligent comedy.
4. Blackadder-the same guy who played Mr. Bean had and earlier, better show.
Day 1 -- Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror
So I have decided to be a poseur (again) and follow Anney's lead (again) by starting this 30 day blog thing. The one thing I will be doing different is picking which number I will do, meaning I will not necessarily follow any given order. But for today I will begin and the beginning by writing about my best friend.
My best friend.
How do I write about this? What is the definition of a best friend? If a best friend is someone I keep in contact with and talk with on a daily basis that I only have one best friend and that is, big surprise, my wife Marianneke van Hiel Summerfield.
However, if you define best friend as someone you get along with and can hang out with whenever and wherever you happen to be then that person would be Bob Duvall. I haven't seen him in about eight years, but I know that when I do see him in the future we will pick up exactly where we left off.
Well maybe not exactly...
If you define best friend as 'Man's best friend' then there is on puppy in particular:
Jasper Fforde Summerfield
My best friend.
How do I write about this? What is the definition of a best friend? If a best friend is someone I keep in contact with and talk with on a daily basis that I only have one best friend and that is, big surprise, my wife Marianneke van Hiel Summerfield. However, if you define best friend as someone you get along with and can hang out with whenever and wherever you happen to be then that person would be Bob Duvall. I haven't seen him in about eight years, but I know that when I do see him in the future we will pick up exactly where we left off.
Well maybe not exactly...If you define best friend as someone you can talk to about anything and who can empathize with you on certain things, then that person 
would be Mark Davey, my partner in fun at Crestmont. When I needed someone who wasn't afraid to stand up against injustice and stupid things I could always count on Mark to stand with me in brotherhood - even against our wives. In a good way.
would be Mark Davey, my partner in fun at Crestmont. When I needed someone who wasn't afraid to stand up against injustice and stupid things I could always count on Mark to stand with me in brotherhood - even against our wives. In a good way. If you define best friend as 'Man's best friend' then there is on puppy in particular:
Jasper Fforde SummerfieldAll four of these people I would consider to be my best friends, but there are more as well: my brother Clark and Phoenix friend Oniel to name two.
Day 1 -- Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror
Day 2 — Your vices
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 —Your siblings
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — Someone that inspires you
Day 7 — Your job
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend that you’ve never met
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — Your dream vacation
Day 13 — Something you’re looking forward to
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — The place you wish you were from
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Something that makes you different
Day 20 — Your favorite television shows
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Your pet peeves
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — A life changing moment
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The thing you most enjoy doing
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — Your talent
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Doing it, yeah, doing it.
Top 10 Songs on my Ipod
Next to me by Ghoti Hook
I love songs that start with piano and then commence with the rockin’ (also see ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ below). This is one of my favorite songs of all time from my favorite band. I like them so much that I almost flew to Philadelphia last summer to see their reunion show, but Commissioning made it impossible.
Every New day by Five Iron Frenzy
This isn’t just one of my favorite songs on my iPod, it is one of the greatest ‘praise’ songs ever written. I listen to this song a lot, especially when I am flying and the plane is landing. I take that back, this isn’t just one of the greatest praise songs ever written, it is one of the greatest songs ever written full stop.
Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Anney hates this song. Well not the song but the video for the song, which IS creepy but doesn’t diminish the song in any way. I am not sure if I like it because of Anney’s hate of the song or the piano/rockin’ equation (see ‘Next to Me’ above) but I like it.
Gabriel’s Oboe by Ennio Morricone (from ‘The Mission’ soundtrack)
I listen to this soundtrack when I need to calm down. No soundtrack will ever top this and no song written for the Oboe will ever surpass the greatness that is this song.
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
What can I say? I had to have at least one Bob Marley song on here and it could have been any of a number of songs. I wasn’t a big Bob Marley fan until after I spent a summer in Jamaica. I wish I had developed a taste for his music before that summer so I would have wanted to visit more tourist places related to him. I also find it interesting that his father was a white Englishman. Just sayin’.
Saints and Sailors Dashboard Confessional
I first heard this song while driving from WCBC to Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg. After she bought me the CD for Christmas Anney used to make fun of me for having the musical tastes of a 14 year old girl (this also had something to do with me using the phrase ‘24/7'). This is funny because she started listening and from then on she wanted to buy the new CDs. But not anymore because Dashboard kind of sucks now, but I still like the songs from this album. In fact every time someone mentions hair being everywhere we still start singing ‘Screaming Infidelities’ (Your hair...is...everywhere...).
Amazing Grace by Flatfoot 56
My favorite hymn done in Celtic/Punk Style. Wonderful. This starts slow and quietish (no piano though) and then gets loud and raucous. Maybe there is a pattern in the songs I like.
Skates by Hayden
My favorite ‘I am not a folk singer’ folk singer. This was the first Canadian singer that Anney introduced me to. I gave her Ghoti Hook and she gave me Hayden. Love this guy. This song is about a lady who drowned and her body wasn't found, so her husband, who can't swim, goes to buy some ice skates so when the lake freezes he can skate up and down looking for her body. If haven’t heard him you should go and get a CD. Start with ‘Everything I long for’,
Under Lock and Key by MXPX
Ever hear of a band that used to be good? That is MXPX. They were great through ‘The Ever Passing Moment’ then nothing but suck except for ‘On the Cover II’ which was a good recent covers album.
Ephipany from Sweeney Todd
A great song that amazingly shows the characters descent from crazy into total madness, and does it convincingly.
Honorable mentions
I’m only Humanoid (Lost in Space) by Blaster the Rocketboy
I found this song on a compilation from ‘Tooth and Nail Records’ in the mid 90’s. I know that they have many CDs but I have never heard another song by this band.
You make my pants want to get up and dance by Dr. Hook
When I was 10 I had a 45 record of this song. I had no idea what it really meant. I just pictured a pair of pants rising up off of the floor and dancing around in joy. I can’t remember when I first became aware of the true meaning of the song, but I would love to go back and see the look on my face.
Shaggs’ own thing by The Shaggs
Apart from U2, The Shaggs are probably the worst band in the history of music. Three teenage girls with no talent forced by their father to be in a band. And they are fantastic because they beg the question: if they can do it, why can’t I? This song is especially great because it is supremely creepy. The following lyrics are part of the song and sung by the band’s father and brother. Pay special attention to the line near the bottom “doing it, yeah doing it”. In the song this line is given special emphasis and I know that in the early 70’s this probably had a completely different meaning, but in a modern sense it is hilariously creepy.
Lyrics to Shaggs' Own Thing (vocal Version) :
oh, okay, girl, now let's see what you can do.
oh, baby, i feel it now. what? i don't know. but i feel it in my bones.
- pardon me, boy.
- pardon me, man.
- were you with my girl last night?
- yeah, that was me.
- on a Saturday night?
- yeah.
- in the bright moonlight?
- yeah, that was me alright.
- ah, i knew it.
- i saw you a-hugging and a-kissing her with all of your might
and let me tell you, fellow, it was a terrible sight
sneaking out with my girl, thinking she was your girl
and doing it, yeah, doing it.
hugging her and kissing her with all of your might,
on a Saturday night,
in the bright moonlight.
- yeah. (me alright)
Most embarrassing song
Friends by Michael W. Smith
I don’t hate many things in life, but this song is one of those things that I do hate. Maybe it is that fact that it is over played that makes me despise it, or maybe it is the fact that it just sucks…I am not sure. You are probably wondering why it is on my Ipod then. Well it was for a farewell video for someone at the corps, and I am such a great CO that I put my tastes and morals on the line for a corps member. I do have a good cover version of it by Ghoti Hook.
Next to me by Ghoti Hook
I love songs that start with piano and then commence with the rockin’ (also see ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ below). This is one of my favorite songs of all time from my favorite band. I like them so much that I almost flew to Philadelphia last summer to see their reunion show, but Commissioning made it impossible.
Every New day by Five Iron Frenzy
This isn’t just one of my favorite songs on my iPod, it is one of the greatest ‘praise’ songs ever written. I listen to this song a lot, especially when I am flying and the plane is landing. I take that back, this isn’t just one of the greatest praise songs ever written, it is one of the greatest songs ever written full stop.
Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Anney hates this song. Well not the song but the video for the song, which IS creepy but doesn’t diminish the song in any way. I am not sure if I like it because of Anney’s hate of the song or the piano/rockin’ equation (see ‘Next to Me’ above) but I like it.
Gabriel’s Oboe by Ennio Morricone (from ‘The Mission’ soundtrack)
I listen to this soundtrack when I need to calm down. No soundtrack will ever top this and no song written for the Oboe will ever surpass the greatness that is this song.
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
What can I say? I had to have at least one Bob Marley song on here and it could have been any of a number of songs. I wasn’t a big Bob Marley fan until after I spent a summer in Jamaica. I wish I had developed a taste for his music before that summer so I would have wanted to visit more tourist places related to him. I also find it interesting that his father was a white Englishman. Just sayin’.
Saints and Sailors Dashboard Confessional
I first heard this song while driving from WCBC to Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg. After she bought me the CD for Christmas Anney used to make fun of me for having the musical tastes of a 14 year old girl (this also had something to do with me using the phrase ‘24/7'). This is funny because she started listening and from then on she wanted to buy the new CDs. But not anymore because Dashboard kind of sucks now, but I still like the songs from this album. In fact every time someone mentions hair being everywhere we still start singing ‘Screaming Infidelities’ (Your hair...is...everywhere...).
Amazing Grace by Flatfoot 56
My favorite hymn done in Celtic/Punk Style. Wonderful. This starts slow and quietish (no piano though) and then gets loud and raucous. Maybe there is a pattern in the songs I like.
Skates by Hayden
My favorite ‘I am not a folk singer’ folk singer. This was the first Canadian singer that Anney introduced me to. I gave her Ghoti Hook and she gave me Hayden. Love this guy. This song is about a lady who drowned and her body wasn't found, so her husband, who can't swim, goes to buy some ice skates so when the lake freezes he can skate up and down looking for her body. If haven’t heard him you should go and get a CD. Start with ‘Everything I long for’,
Under Lock and Key by MXPX
Ever hear of a band that used to be good? That is MXPX. They were great through ‘The Ever Passing Moment’ then nothing but suck except for ‘On the Cover II’ which was a good recent covers album.
Ephipany from Sweeney Todd
A great song that amazingly shows the characters descent from crazy into total madness, and does it convincingly.
Honorable mentions
I’m only Humanoid (Lost in Space) by Blaster the Rocketboy
I found this song on a compilation from ‘Tooth and Nail Records’ in the mid 90’s. I know that they have many CDs but I have never heard another song by this band.
You make my pants want to get up and dance by Dr. Hook
When I was 10 I had a 45 record of this song. I had no idea what it really meant. I just pictured a pair of pants rising up off of the floor and dancing around in joy. I can’t remember when I first became aware of the true meaning of the song, but I would love to go back and see the look on my face.
Shaggs’ own thing by The Shaggs
Apart from U2, The Shaggs are probably the worst band in the history of music. Three teenage girls with no talent forced by their father to be in a band. And they are fantastic because they beg the question: if they can do it, why can’t I? This song is especially great because it is supremely creepy. The following lyrics are part of the song and sung by the band’s father and brother. Pay special attention to the line near the bottom “doing it, yeah doing it”. In the song this line is given special emphasis and I know that in the early 70’s this probably had a completely different meaning, but in a modern sense it is hilariously creepy.
Lyrics to Shaggs' Own Thing (vocal Version) :
oh, okay, girl, now let's see what you can do.
oh, baby, i feel it now. what? i don't know. but i feel it in my bones.
- pardon me, boy.
- pardon me, man.
- were you with my girl last night?
- yeah, that was me.
- on a Saturday night?
- yeah.
- in the bright moonlight?
- yeah, that was me alright.
- ah, i knew it.
- i saw you a-hugging and a-kissing her with all of your might
and let me tell you, fellow, it was a terrible sight
sneaking out with my girl, thinking she was your girl
and doing it, yeah, doing it.
hugging her and kissing her with all of your might,
on a Saturday night,
in the bright moonlight.
- yeah. (me alright)
Most embarrassing song
Friends by Michael W. Smith
I don’t hate many things in life, but this song is one of those things that I do hate. Maybe it is that fact that it is over played that makes me despise it, or maybe it is the fact that it just sucks…I am not sure. You are probably wondering why it is on my Ipod then. Well it was for a farewell video for someone at the corps, and I am such a great CO that I put my tastes and morals on the line for a corps member. I do have a good cover version of it by Ghoti Hook.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
My dog is smarter than your dog and he isn’t even Canadian.
I love Canada. I don’t think that this is a secret, but if it is let me clear up any misconceptions: I LOVE CANADA! “But Craig,” I can hear some of you thinking, “you have to love Canada because you are married to a Canadian”. And to that I say, “true”. I had a ‘like’ of Canada when I visited Vancouver and Victoria while living in Washington State between 1994 and 1998. Then it moved into a ‘like like’ when I moved to Winnipeg for three years to finish up my BA degree at William and Catherine Booth College. There I met my lovely wife (well she wasn’t my wife when we met, the marriage came 3 years after we met) and fell in love firstly with my wife and then Canada.
What do I love about Canada? Well I am a realist so I cannot say ‘everything’ because there are things in any country that I wouldn’t like. For instance: socialized medicine, Blackfly, driving through the prairies, etc. If I had to make a top ten list of my favorite things in Canada it would go something like this (in a somewhat thought out order):
1. Family
2. Corner Gas
3. Friends that I met in college
4. Bob and Doug McKenzie
5. Restaurants (Harvey’s Hamburgers, Swiss Chalet, Tim Horton’s)
6. Coloured money
7. Superfluous use of the letter ‘u’ (flavour, colour, honour, etc.)
8. Eh?
9. Snow
10. Stuart McLean
As I was walking Jasper (the wonder dog) tonight I was listening to The Vinyl Café podcast. Now for most of you this segue sucks, but for the Canadians reading this (Anney and maybe Jackie) this was a brilliant segue, or at least A segue. For those of you who don’t know ‘The Vinyl Cafe’ is a podcast by Stuart McLean (#10 on the above list). Stuart McLean is like Garrison Keillor if Garrison Keillor were funny. Stuart McLean travels Canada giving concerts in which he has musical guests and then tells stories. The stories are generally about one family: Dave, Morley, Stephanie and Sam. Dave is the always comically and lovingly screwing up husband. Morley is the longsuffering, loving wife. Stephanie is the teenage/college age daughter and Sam is the typical preteen boy (and in my opinion the best character) whose friends are hilarious and remind me of some of my ‘friends’ at that age. They also have a dog named Arthur who likes to sit on potatoes. The story that I was listening to tonight was entitled ‘Morte d’Arthur’. I know that this means something like ‘death of Arthur’ and I put off listening to it for quite awhile because I don’t want to think of the words ‘death’ and ‘dog’ in the same sentence. In the story Dave, the dad, is telling the kids about the dog he had had when he was a kid. Long story short: good dog that was hit by a car. Dave is telling the story because Arthur is old and sick and might not live much longer. He dies in the story (spoiler alert) and this brought up emotions in me that all previous dying dog stories/movies have failed to bring up. (‘Marley and me’ tried way too hard to be sentimental. ‘Old Yeller’? Okay, Old Yeller may have gotten me when I was a kid.) Maybe it didn’t help that I was actually walking Jasper as I listened to this, but I got to thinking that he was already two years old and he won’t live forever (20 years at the most). Sofie will grow up with him and as she gets older Jasper will be getting old and one day I will have to explain to her why Jasper had to go live on a farm and why Daddy is a crying mess. Just kidding! I will not take the easy way out and lie, I will be straightforward with the truth. And I have no doubt that I will cry.
Wow, this is getting morbid. How did that happen? Jasper is alive and well and whining at the door right now. I think that it would be easier to think about the future death of a dog if said dog was stupid ( I mean who is going to miss a dog that walks into walls or drinks out of the toilet) but Jasper is a genius…he is way smarter than your dog. Can your dog sneeze on command? Jasper can! This is the one that people don’t believe…as if I could even contemplate teaching a dog to sneeze. But we did. He can also sit, shake either paw, high five, play dead, go right and left, leave it (put a treat in front of him and tell him to wait), go to bed (in his own dog bed) and kangaroo (hop in circles on his hind legs). AND he can do them all (except go to bed) by either vocal commands or gestures.
Do you ever get lost when you are writing? I can’t for the life of someone else remember what my point was. Something that Anney and I always talk about is whether or not Jasper is a part of ‘the family’. I say no, because he is a dog. I ‘love’ him in a master/pet way. But he is a dog. I am proud (as you can tell from the above paragraph) when he learns a new trick. But he is a dog. He isn’t my child. I am not his dad and Anney isn’t his mom (pet peeve # 2,576-when people refer to their pets as their children). When Jasper is sick or limping or throwing up I am concerned, but I wouldn’t get him a kidney transplant or an artificial leg. But I WOULD get him one of those wheelchair things where the dog drags its back legs in a chariot looking thing. Those are awesome.
So in conclusion I ‘philio’ love Canada and my dog and I ‘eros /agape’ love my wife, but that is a story she won’t let me blog about…but we will be parents soon…
Like like,
Craig
What do I love about Canada? Well I am a realist so I cannot say ‘everything’ because there are things in any country that I wouldn’t like. For instance: socialized medicine, Blackfly, driving through the prairies, etc. If I had to make a top ten list of my favorite things in Canada it would go something like this (in a somewhat thought out order):
1. Family
2. Corner Gas
3. Friends that I met in college
4. Bob and Doug McKenzie
5. Restaurants (Harvey’s Hamburgers, Swiss Chalet, Tim Horton’s)
6. Coloured money
7. Superfluous use of the letter ‘u’ (flavour, colour, honour, etc.)
8. Eh?
9. Snow
10. Stuart McLean
As I was walking Jasper (the wonder dog) tonight I was listening to The Vinyl Café podcast. Now for most of you this segue sucks, but for the Canadians reading this (Anney and maybe Jackie) this was a brilliant segue, or at least A segue. For those of you who don’t know ‘The Vinyl Cafe’ is a podcast by Stuart McLean (#10 on the above list). Stuart McLean is like Garrison Keillor if Garrison Keillor were funny. Stuart McLean travels Canada giving concerts in which he has musical guests and then tells stories. The stories are generally about one family: Dave, Morley, Stephanie and Sam. Dave is the always comically and lovingly screwing up husband. Morley is the longsuffering, loving wife. Stephanie is the teenage/college age daughter and Sam is the typical preteen boy (and in my opinion the best character) whose friends are hilarious and remind me of some of my ‘friends’ at that age. They also have a dog named Arthur who likes to sit on potatoes. The story that I was listening to tonight was entitled ‘Morte d’Arthur’. I know that this means something like ‘death of Arthur’ and I put off listening to it for quite awhile because I don’t want to think of the words ‘death’ and ‘dog’ in the same sentence. In the story Dave, the dad, is telling the kids about the dog he had had when he was a kid. Long story short: good dog that was hit by a car. Dave is telling the story because Arthur is old and sick and might not live much longer. He dies in the story (spoiler alert) and this brought up emotions in me that all previous dying dog stories/movies have failed to bring up. (‘Marley and me’ tried way too hard to be sentimental. ‘Old Yeller’? Okay, Old Yeller may have gotten me when I was a kid.) Maybe it didn’t help that I was actually walking Jasper as I listened to this, but I got to thinking that he was already two years old and he won’t live forever (20 years at the most). Sofie will grow up with him and as she gets older Jasper will be getting old and one day I will have to explain to her why Jasper had to go live on a farm and why Daddy is a crying mess. Just kidding! I will not take the easy way out and lie, I will be straightforward with the truth. And I have no doubt that I will cry.
Wow, this is getting morbid. How did that happen? Jasper is alive and well and whining at the door right now. I think that it would be easier to think about the future death of a dog if said dog was stupid ( I mean who is going to miss a dog that walks into walls or drinks out of the toilet) but Jasper is a genius…he is way smarter than your dog. Can your dog sneeze on command? Jasper can! This is the one that people don’t believe…as if I could even contemplate teaching a dog to sneeze. But we did. He can also sit, shake either paw, high five, play dead, go right and left, leave it (put a treat in front of him and tell him to wait), go to bed (in his own dog bed) and kangaroo (hop in circles on his hind legs). AND he can do them all (except go to bed) by either vocal commands or gestures.
Do you ever get lost when you are writing? I can’t for the life of someone else remember what my point was. Something that Anney and I always talk about is whether or not Jasper is a part of ‘the family’. I say no, because he is a dog. I ‘love’ him in a master/pet way. But he is a dog. I am proud (as you can tell from the above paragraph) when he learns a new trick. But he is a dog. He isn’t my child. I am not his dad and Anney isn’t his mom (pet peeve # 2,576-when people refer to their pets as their children). When Jasper is sick or limping or throwing up I am concerned, but I wouldn’t get him a kidney transplant or an artificial leg. But I WOULD get him one of those wheelchair things where the dog drags its back legs in a chariot looking thing. Those are awesome.
So in conclusion I ‘philio’ love Canada and my dog and I ‘eros /agape’ love my wife, but that is a story she won’t let me blog about…but we will be parents soon…
Like like,
Craig
Monday, August 23, 2010
General Larsson please consider this...
In October I will be living every Officer's dream. My wife and I are excused from Officers' Councils this year. Our first child is due the same week as Officer's Councils and I am extremely excited about this. However, I am actually sad that I will be missing OC this year. It is truly (not) a Sophie's Choice. I will not miss the birth of my daughter for any reason (that can be humanly controlled) but I am sad that I will be missing General John Larsson, who will be the guest at our Officers' Councils this year. I am sad because he is a General and he wrote the fantastic book '1929, A Crisis That Shaped The Salvation Army's Future'. I loved this book. It was the last book that kept me up late reading (to the point that my wife made me turn off the light because it was well past midnight) and I would love to hear General Larsson speak about the book. But I am gladly staying home to be with my family as it grows.
This made me start thinking about what I could do to still get to see the General when he and his wife are in Hawaii for our Officers' Councils. The only thing I can think of is to invite him to our Corps on Sunday, October 16. He could speak in the service and also do a co-baby dedication (along with my father) So this is an open invitation...if anyone knows General Larsson I would be forever grateful if you could pass this on.
Thanks,
Craig
This made me start thinking about what I could do to still get to see the General when he and his wife are in Hawaii for our Officers' Councils. The only thing I can think of is to invite him to our Corps on Sunday, October 16. He could speak in the service and also do a co-baby dedication (along with my father) So this is an open invitation...if anyone knows General Larsson I would be forever grateful if you could pass this on.
Thanks,
Craig
Sunday, August 22, 2010
I got Lost in Inception...
Does anyone else think that the new Wonka commercials (Under the wa-ater fall, dreams do come true) are even creepier than that Oompa Loompa in the vastly inferior Johnny Depp version?
So I saw ‘Inception’ last week and someone told me to blog on it…so here goes…
Before I reluctantly watched ‘The Dark Knight’ a few years ago I wanted to hate it because of how they used Heath Ledger’s death as a selling point for the movie. But then I saw it and it was great. It was probably the best superhero movie ever. The exact opposite was true of ‘Inception’. I couldn’t wait to see it and I had high hopes for it, but it left me kind of empty. I found it long and cliché ridden. But it wasn’t all bad.
First, the good:
1. Joseph Gordon –Levitt. Everything he did in Zero G was amazing. He was very dapper as well.
2. The movie treated the audience like it was intelligent and didn’t spoon feed very much. Except the few times that Leonardo felt the need to explain complex dream concepts instead of show us how they work.
3. The numbers in the movie actually meant something…unlike ‘Lost’. Okay I had to work my disappointment with ‘Lost’ into this review because I can’t write a whole review about ‘Lost’ or I will go on for pages. So…Lost sucked-Inception not so much.
4. This movie is probably the closest I will ever get to those cool seats on airplanes that can be made into beds.
Now the bad
1. Leonardo DiCaprio- Terrible actor. Didn’t care about him and couldn’t have cared less if he found his wife and reunited with his kids or not. As far as ‘deep’ acting goes, I think that Leonardo is only a step above Hayden Christensen in the emoting department.
2. For such an intelligent movie ‘Inception’ was extremely cliché ridden. Here is a list of them:
a. Shooting-Guns were being fired by everyone in every direction and very few people were hit.
b. Choking-If you are being choked don’t struggle until you pass out. Just struggle for a few seconds and then fake passing out. That way the choker will stop choking and you can start breathing sooner and not wake up tied to something with a gun in your face.
c. Motorcycles-If you are in a car/van being chased by a motorcycle all you have to do is jerk the steering wheel toward the motorcycle until you hit it knocking the driver off of said motorcycle. This works even if they have a gun. In car versus motorcycle car will win almost every time.
3. The chase/fight in the snow was only one Arctic Monkey swinging in a tree away from Crystal Skull territory. That is not a good thing.
Summary
I like this movie. Not the best ever, but nowhere near the worst either. I kind of liked the ending. I didn’t mind that there were a lot of unanswered questions because the movie never promised any answers…unlike ‘Lost’. The unanswered things in inception made the movie better because it made me decide what I thought. Lost promised a lot and delivered nothing in the way of answers. I HATE YOU LOST!!! (Maybe some Lost therapy is in order) Anyway, despite some faults and a long running time I did enjoy ‘Inception’. I give it a 3.25/5. I will watch it again when it comes to DVD so I can enjoy it with some knowledge of what is going on. Thank you Joseph Gordon-Levitt for making this movie for me.
So I saw ‘Inception’ last week and someone told me to blog on it…so here goes…
Before I reluctantly watched ‘The Dark Knight’ a few years ago I wanted to hate it because of how they used Heath Ledger’s death as a selling point for the movie. But then I saw it and it was great. It was probably the best superhero movie ever. The exact opposite was true of ‘Inception’. I couldn’t wait to see it and I had high hopes for it, but it left me kind of empty. I found it long and cliché ridden. But it wasn’t all bad.
First, the good:
1. Joseph Gordon –Levitt. Everything he did in Zero G was amazing. He was very dapper as well.
2. The movie treated the audience like it was intelligent and didn’t spoon feed very much. Except the few times that Leonardo felt the need to explain complex dream concepts instead of show us how they work.
3. The numbers in the movie actually meant something…unlike ‘Lost’. Okay I had to work my disappointment with ‘Lost’ into this review because I can’t write a whole review about ‘Lost’ or I will go on for pages. So…Lost sucked-Inception not so much.
4. This movie is probably the closest I will ever get to those cool seats on airplanes that can be made into beds.
Now the bad
1. Leonardo DiCaprio- Terrible actor. Didn’t care about him and couldn’t have cared less if he found his wife and reunited with his kids or not. As far as ‘deep’ acting goes, I think that Leonardo is only a step above Hayden Christensen in the emoting department.
2. For such an intelligent movie ‘Inception’ was extremely cliché ridden. Here is a list of them:
a. Shooting-Guns were being fired by everyone in every direction and very few people were hit.
b. Choking-If you are being choked don’t struggle until you pass out. Just struggle for a few seconds and then fake passing out. That way the choker will stop choking and you can start breathing sooner and not wake up tied to something with a gun in your face.
c. Motorcycles-If you are in a car/van being chased by a motorcycle all you have to do is jerk the steering wheel toward the motorcycle until you hit it knocking the driver off of said motorcycle. This works even if they have a gun. In car versus motorcycle car will win almost every time.
3. The chase/fight in the snow was only one Arctic Monkey swinging in a tree away from Crystal Skull territory. That is not a good thing.
Summary
I like this movie. Not the best ever, but nowhere near the worst either. I kind of liked the ending. I didn’t mind that there were a lot of unanswered questions because the movie never promised any answers…unlike ‘Lost’. The unanswered things in inception made the movie better because it made me decide what I thought. Lost promised a lot and delivered nothing in the way of answers. I HATE YOU LOST!!! (Maybe some Lost therapy is in order) Anyway, despite some faults and a long running time I did enjoy ‘Inception’. I give it a 3.25/5. I will watch it again when it comes to DVD so I can enjoy it with some knowledge of what is going on. Thank you Joseph Gordon-Levitt for making this movie for me.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Oh Crap...
Most of you probably already know this story, but I don't have time to update my tome with a new writing, so enjoy this 'classic'.
About 11 years ago my brother and I shared an apartment in Phoenix. I had just started work at a new job and the boss raffled off some tickets for a Diamondbacks game (Major League Baseball) and I won. Now gentle reader you must understand that I hate baseball and I only went to see the new multi-million dollar stadium that the oh so generous Arizona taxpayers had given to the owners of the team through corporate welfare. Anyway, my brother and I went to the game on Saturday morning and sat in the ‘just okay’ seats that I had won. I had no great revelations about the greatness of baseball but I did have general awareness that I was hungry. So, in order to break up the monotony that is a baseball game, we headed to the concession stand (ASIDE: why is it called a concession stand. Am I conceding anything? What am I giving concession to? My Hunger?) for some oh so tasty and artery clogging concessions (maybe by eating at a concession stand I am conceding my health). I got some nachos and went to the condiment bar, which had stale looking pickles, ketchup, mustard, etc. But what really caught my eye was the vat of jalapenos resting on the counter before me. For some reason they looked so warm and inviting. Now in my younger days (for this story ‘younger days’ means any day previous to the day this incident occurred) I could have eaten molten lava and the only ill effect would have been some spicy burps. But, as we will discover, that all changed on this fateful day. I took a heaping helping of jalapenos and headed back to the seats to finish off the torture of the baseball game. As I ate my nachos I decided that I didn’t want the jalapenos anymore so I ate around them. What a smart boy am I. But if the story ended there, this post would end here with my happy tummy full of nacho chips and simulated cheese. But the story doesn’t end here.
My wonderful loving brother, who is no great lover of baseball either and was therefore looking for a distraction, said to me, “I dare you to eat that whole pile of jalapenos.”
You now how you can never think of anything clever to say until after the opportunity has passed? Well, I wished I had said ‘no, thank you,’ but all I could think of to say was that famous statement that people who have been dared ask hoping that the reward will be insignificant enough to decline the dare: “what’ll you give me”?
“I’ll buy you dinner at George and Dragon.” Now for those of you who don’t know George and Dragon is an English restaurant in central Phoenix. For some reason, during that time, I had a huge love for British food (I still do to an extent-but I am not nearly as fanatical about it anymore)(now it’s Thai food) and, since I was only making $7.00 and hour at work I couldn’t really afford to go there much. In essence, my wonderful brother had taken a knife and jammed it into my Achilles heal for his own enjoyment.
Still searching for an out I asked, “whatever I want”?
His response was both calculated and, as I look back, caring (wanting to take me out to dinner, but making me earn it in the process)(at least that is the way I choose to remember it. But, who am I kidding, he probably just wanted to see if I could hold down a pile of jalapenos).
“Whatever you want,’ came the reply.
He had me in a place I couldn’t escape from: in between a pile of spicy vegetables (are jalapenos vegetables? Fruits? HMMMM???) and a gourmet English feast (or at least as gourmet as an English pub in central Phoenix can get).
So I did what any man in a similar situation would do (why is it that guys feel that they must take any dare that comes along? I mean I have drank bottles of ketchup, eaten out of camp slop buckets, and eaten out of the food catcher of an industrial dishwasher after washing dishes for 200 campers. Why? This summer at camp I bet a counselor 1 dollar that he wouldn’t drink about a ¼ cup of bacon grease. I knew he would do it, but why? For a dollar? Anyway I am digressing from the story and I don’t want this to become a study of the male psyche) and I ate the mound of Jalapenos. It was a bit warm and burned for a few minutes, but that was that…or so I thought.
We went to George and the Dragon and I had my victory meal. I can’t really remember anything about it, except for what happened afterwards. My brother was in the market for a new car and wanted to drive by car lots on the way home. I was driving and it was fine with me, so we began the long drive home.
For those of you who don’t know Phoenix streets, let me explain a bit. They are set up on a grid. Central avenue divides East from west and (I think) Osborne Street divide north from south. Avenues are on the west side of Central and streets are on the east side. We lived at 59th Avenue and Dunlap/Olive and were coming from Indian School and Central. That is about 10 miles from dinner to home.
Anyway, we were on our way home on the surface streets so we could look at car lots on the way. About 5 minutes into the drive my stomach started gurgling a little, but that is nothing out of the ordinary. We continued along and by the time we were at 19th Ave and Glendale (6.8 miles from home) my stomach started to really grind and started hurting. I told my brother this and he, in his loving older brother way, laughed at me. Roughly 5 minutes later I had a startling revelation: I felt everything from my stomach drop into my bowels. No real warning, no burning sensation, just my stomach saying to me, “you treated me poorly, lets see how fast can you drive”? By the time we got to 35th Ave and Glendale (5 miles from home) I had to go BAD! I swear I gained 4 inches as I sat up straight to try and force it to stay in. There are two more things you need to know before the story continues:
1. I used to have a phobia of public toilets. I would have rather driven home from the mall to use the toilet than sit on a public mall toilet (in fact I did once, only to drive right back). There is something about a stranger going where I would be going that I found disconcerting. We passed probably hundreds of perfectly usable toilets on the way home, none of which my phobia would allow me to use.
2. My car was a manual Ford Festiva. This is very important because when I locked my knees and pinched my cheeks together the pain was bearable, but I couldn’t do this because of the clutch. It was agonizing.
So here I was driving as fast as I legally could to get to an acceptable toilet that was still 5 miles away. I informed my thoroughly amused brother that we would have to forego the car browsing for the evening. He was enjoying the show too much to care. And what a show it was. Every, and this is no exaggeration, EVERY light we came to was red. Not red in an ‘I’ll change in a few seconds red’, but red in an “I am going to change to red as you are just close enough to have to stop and wait a full 2 minutes to continue’ way. This was a mixed blessing because while we were stopped I could clench, but, at the same time, I was losing precious time. I felt like a scuba diver trapped in an underwater cave and Flipper had just left to go get the Ranger and I was watching my air supply/bowel capacity get lower by the second. Flipper couldn’t return fast enough.
Anyway, by the time we were just about a block from home I was giving myself mental high fives for making it this far. But the pain was excruciating. Mixed in with the pain was the pressure of not giving my brother the satisfaction of having something on me AND the pressure of my bowels fighting to finish their job.
I knew that at any second my struggle would be over and my car seats would forever tell the story of that fateful jalapeño day.
I was so happy when we pulled into the driveway that my crying went from tears of ‘oh, no’ to tears of 'elation’. There wasn’t a second to spare. Of course our apartment was at the back of the complex and on the opposite side of the parking lot on the second floor. Anyhow, as we got close to the parking place I told my brother to turn off the car and lock the doors. Just before the front tires came to a stop by bumping the curb, I jumped out of the car and sprinted towards the apartment. I had made it! As I spread my legs to hurdle the first set of stairs, all heck broke loose! It was like a geyser. It lasted for a good 30 seconds. It burned. Enough said. The irony here is that I went straight into the shower and never made it to the ‘safe’ toilet. My pants were ruined, and my gourmet English dinner passed through me so fast I never got to properly digest it.
My intention in writing this was to be kind of an object lesson that you, gentle reader, could learn from. That’s not going to happen. Let this be just one more reason/excuse why most of you will never learn how to drive a stick shift car.
About 11 years ago my brother and I shared an apartment in Phoenix. I had just started work at a new job and the boss raffled off some tickets for a Diamondbacks game (Major League Baseball) and I won. Now gentle reader you must understand that I hate baseball and I only went to see the new multi-million dollar stadium that the oh so generous Arizona taxpayers had given to the owners of the team through corporate welfare. Anyway, my brother and I went to the game on Saturday morning and sat in the ‘just okay’ seats that I had won. I had no great revelations about the greatness of baseball but I did have general awareness that I was hungry. So, in order to break up the monotony that is a baseball game, we headed to the concession stand (ASIDE: why is it called a concession stand. Am I conceding anything? What am I giving concession to? My Hunger?) for some oh so tasty and artery clogging concessions (maybe by eating at a concession stand I am conceding my health). I got some nachos and went to the condiment bar, which had stale looking pickles, ketchup, mustard, etc. But what really caught my eye was the vat of jalapenos resting on the counter before me. For some reason they looked so warm and inviting. Now in my younger days (for this story ‘younger days’ means any day previous to the day this incident occurred) I could have eaten molten lava and the only ill effect would have been some spicy burps. But, as we will discover, that all changed on this fateful day. I took a heaping helping of jalapenos and headed back to the seats to finish off the torture of the baseball game. As I ate my nachos I decided that I didn’t want the jalapenos anymore so I ate around them. What a smart boy am I. But if the story ended there, this post would end here with my happy tummy full of nacho chips and simulated cheese. But the story doesn’t end here.
My wonderful loving brother, who is no great lover of baseball either and was therefore looking for a distraction, said to me, “I dare you to eat that whole pile of jalapenos.”
You now how you can never think of anything clever to say until after the opportunity has passed? Well, I wished I had said ‘no, thank you,’ but all I could think of to say was that famous statement that people who have been dared ask hoping that the reward will be insignificant enough to decline the dare: “what’ll you give me”?
“I’ll buy you dinner at George and Dragon.” Now for those of you who don’t know George and Dragon is an English restaurant in central Phoenix. For some reason, during that time, I had a huge love for British food (I still do to an extent-but I am not nearly as fanatical about it anymore)(now it’s Thai food) and, since I was only making $7.00 and hour at work I couldn’t really afford to go there much. In essence, my wonderful brother had taken a knife and jammed it into my Achilles heal for his own enjoyment.
Still searching for an out I asked, “whatever I want”?
His response was both calculated and, as I look back, caring (wanting to take me out to dinner, but making me earn it in the process)(at least that is the way I choose to remember it. But, who am I kidding, he probably just wanted to see if I could hold down a pile of jalapenos).
“Whatever you want,’ came the reply.
He had me in a place I couldn’t escape from: in between a pile of spicy vegetables (are jalapenos vegetables? Fruits? HMMMM???) and a gourmet English feast (or at least as gourmet as an English pub in central Phoenix can get).
So I did what any man in a similar situation would do (why is it that guys feel that they must take any dare that comes along? I mean I have drank bottles of ketchup, eaten out of camp slop buckets, and eaten out of the food catcher of an industrial dishwasher after washing dishes for 200 campers. Why? This summer at camp I bet a counselor 1 dollar that he wouldn’t drink about a ¼ cup of bacon grease. I knew he would do it, but why? For a dollar? Anyway I am digressing from the story and I don’t want this to become a study of the male psyche) and I ate the mound of Jalapenos. It was a bit warm and burned for a few minutes, but that was that…or so I thought.
We went to George and the Dragon and I had my victory meal. I can’t really remember anything about it, except for what happened afterwards. My brother was in the market for a new car and wanted to drive by car lots on the way home. I was driving and it was fine with me, so we began the long drive home.
For those of you who don’t know Phoenix streets, let me explain a bit. They are set up on a grid. Central avenue divides East from west and (I think) Osborne Street divide north from south. Avenues are on the west side of Central and streets are on the east side. We lived at 59th Avenue and Dunlap/Olive and were coming from Indian School and Central. That is about 10 miles from dinner to home.
Anyway, we were on our way home on the surface streets so we could look at car lots on the way. About 5 minutes into the drive my stomach started gurgling a little, but that is nothing out of the ordinary. We continued along and by the time we were at 19th Ave and Glendale (6.8 miles from home) my stomach started to really grind and started hurting. I told my brother this and he, in his loving older brother way, laughed at me. Roughly 5 minutes later I had a startling revelation: I felt everything from my stomach drop into my bowels. No real warning, no burning sensation, just my stomach saying to me, “you treated me poorly, lets see how fast can you drive”? By the time we got to 35th Ave and Glendale (5 miles from home) I had to go BAD! I swear I gained 4 inches as I sat up straight to try and force it to stay in. There are two more things you need to know before the story continues:
1. I used to have a phobia of public toilets. I would have rather driven home from the mall to use the toilet than sit on a public mall toilet (in fact I did once, only to drive right back). There is something about a stranger going where I would be going that I found disconcerting. We passed probably hundreds of perfectly usable toilets on the way home, none of which my phobia would allow me to use.
2. My car was a manual Ford Festiva. This is very important because when I locked my knees and pinched my cheeks together the pain was bearable, but I couldn’t do this because of the clutch. It was agonizing.
So here I was driving as fast as I legally could to get to an acceptable toilet that was still 5 miles away. I informed my thoroughly amused brother that we would have to forego the car browsing for the evening. He was enjoying the show too much to care. And what a show it was. Every, and this is no exaggeration, EVERY light we came to was red. Not red in an ‘I’ll change in a few seconds red’, but red in an “I am going to change to red as you are just close enough to have to stop and wait a full 2 minutes to continue’ way. This was a mixed blessing because while we were stopped I could clench, but, at the same time, I was losing precious time. I felt like a scuba diver trapped in an underwater cave and Flipper had just left to go get the Ranger and I was watching my air supply/bowel capacity get lower by the second. Flipper couldn’t return fast enough.
Anyway, by the time we were just about a block from home I was giving myself mental high fives for making it this far. But the pain was excruciating. Mixed in with the pain was the pressure of not giving my brother the satisfaction of having something on me AND the pressure of my bowels fighting to finish their job.
I knew that at any second my struggle would be over and my car seats would forever tell the story of that fateful jalapeño day.
I was so happy when we pulled into the driveway that my crying went from tears of ‘oh, no’ to tears of 'elation’. There wasn’t a second to spare. Of course our apartment was at the back of the complex and on the opposite side of the parking lot on the second floor. Anyhow, as we got close to the parking place I told my brother to turn off the car and lock the doors. Just before the front tires came to a stop by bumping the curb, I jumped out of the car and sprinted towards the apartment. I had made it! As I spread my legs to hurdle the first set of stairs, all heck broke loose! It was like a geyser. It lasted for a good 30 seconds. It burned. Enough said. The irony here is that I went straight into the shower and never made it to the ‘safe’ toilet. My pants were ruined, and my gourmet English dinner passed through me so fast I never got to properly digest it.
My intention in writing this was to be kind of an object lesson that you, gentle reader, could learn from. That’s not going to happen. Let this be just one more reason/excuse why most of you will never learn how to drive a stick shift car.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A thought I probably should have left in my head...
Do you remember those old fantasy movies/books 'A Thief in the Night' and 'Left Behind'? While sitting through our first childbirth class this week I had a terrifying thought brought on by these movies. I know that in the book of Left Behind there is a scene where a woman is giving birth and then the 'rapture' (Ed. note: blogger does not ascribe to this theory) happens and her stomach deflates and the Doctor can't find the baby. Poof, it is gone. Well my terrifying though was this: What would happen if Damien Omen's (from the movie 'The Omen) saved mother was giving birth and the 'rapture' occurred? Would the mother disappear and the baby be left behind? And if so how exactly what would be left behind? Just the bloody baby? Or would the umbilical cord be left as well? What about the placenta?
I know that this is a ridiculous scenario because how can Damien Omen be born at the start of the rapture when he is supposed to be the Anti-Christ. The rapture would have to go 30-some years while Damien learned how to be evil, and the Bible (?)clearly(?) states that it would only be 7 years. Maybe some further eisegesis is necessary.
So convinced I kid,
I know that this is a ridiculous scenario because how can Damien Omen be born at the start of the rapture when he is supposed to be the Anti-Christ. The rapture would have to go 30-some years while Damien learned how to be evil, and the Bible (?)clearly(?) states that it would only be 7 years. Maybe some further eisegesis is necessary.
So convinced I kid,
Friday, July 30, 2010
Jack of all trades, master of none or Jack of all trades with a master of one®?
Well, God’s Fellow Workers (2006-2008) just quickly surpassed the two year mark of Officership. Is it everything I expected? Everything and more. And more. And more. and…well, you get the point. At Crestmont the concept of ‘officership’ was always in my mind, but the reality was something that seemed far away. I knew that it was coming. I couldn’t wait for it to come. I was preparing for it to arrive. And then concept met reality on July 16, 2008. It was good in a ‘jumping off a 20 foot pier into a foot of water’ way. I wasn’t fully prepared for what awaited us at the Corps.
Before becoming an Officer I worked for the Army for 10 years as an employee. In working for the Army I became accustomed to my job descriptions ending with the words ‘and other duties as assigned’. If I had a normal, physical job description as an officer it would not doubt end with the words ‘and all other duties as assigned and unassigned’. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining (this time), but there are so many aspects to this job (or calling, if you must) that one cannot hope to be proficient in every single phase of officership. It is a sometimes tough, grueling sludge through things that have to get done in order to protect, or propel, the mission. There is an old saying that describes someone who does many things without perfecting any of them as a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’.
Just off the top of my head, here is a very incomplete list of ‘trades’ that I have plied in my two years of officership.
Driver
In-home Care giver
Preacher
Teacher
Accountant
Toilet Cleaner
Baby sitter
Launderer
Complaint Department
Store Clerk
Wedding Officiate
Suicide Counselor
Praise Band substitute member
Prayer warrior
Waiter
Food line server
Bad guy
Cook
Phone Operator
Cashier
Clothes Sorter
Trash engineer
Donation collector
Tour guide
Tax preparer
24 hour on-call
Parking enforcement officer
Chairperson
Table mover
Night watchman
House cleaner
Carpenter
Low level plumber
Verbal punching bag (literal)
Counselor
Travel agent
Grant writer
Good guy
Caregiver
Master of Ceremonies
Funeral Officiate
Human Resources Department
Board member
Plumber
Punching bag (figurative)
Parking attendant
Tent repairer
Carpet Cleaner
Camp planner
Painter
Security Guard
Social Worker
As I stated above this is a very incomplete list. I once worked with an officer who once complained about something that he needed to accomplish, but had no desire to do. I answered quite flippantly, and in hindsight quite inconsiderately, that he had ‘signed up for it’. I can’t remember how he responded to me, but I think about that exchange almost every time that I am engaged in doing something that a) I am not proficient in or b) don’t really want to be doing. And (can I start a sentence with ‘and’?), let’s be honest there are many situations that fit the first description. And (again I fight grammar) to be even more honest the second probably presents itself more than it should, but this isn’t a confessional so I will move on from this digression.
So are we set up to be a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’? Yes and no. There are many things that I do so infrequently that I cannot hope to become an expert at them (however, this does not give me an excuse not to try my best or give my all in those situations). But there are many things that I do so frequently that I must master them (preaching, teaching, counseling, etc) for the sake of others and my ministry. So the term ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ isn’t completely true. I guess I will just have to settle on being a ‘jack of all trades with a master of one®.
Philippians 2:13-17
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Before becoming an Officer I worked for the Army for 10 years as an employee. In working for the Army I became accustomed to my job descriptions ending with the words ‘and other duties as assigned’. If I had a normal, physical job description as an officer it would not doubt end with the words ‘and all other duties as assigned and unassigned’. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining (this time), but there are so many aspects to this job (or calling, if you must) that one cannot hope to be proficient in every single phase of officership. It is a sometimes tough, grueling sludge through things that have to get done in order to protect, or propel, the mission. There is an old saying that describes someone who does many things without perfecting any of them as a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’.
Just off the top of my head, here is a very incomplete list of ‘trades’ that I have plied in my two years of officership.
Driver
In-home Care giver
Preacher
Teacher
Accountant
Toilet Cleaner
Baby sitter
Launderer
Complaint Department
Store Clerk
Wedding Officiate
Suicide Counselor
Praise Band substitute member
Prayer warrior
Waiter
Food line server
Bad guy
Cook
Phone Operator
Cashier
Clothes Sorter
Trash engineer
Donation collector
Tour guide
Tax preparer
24 hour on-call
Parking enforcement officer
Chairperson
Table mover
Night watchman
House cleaner
Carpenter
Low level plumber
Verbal punching bag (literal)
Counselor
Travel agent
Grant writer
Good guy
Caregiver
Master of Ceremonies
Funeral Officiate
Human Resources Department
Board member
Plumber
Punching bag (figurative)
Parking attendant
Tent repairer
Carpet Cleaner
Camp planner
Painter
Security Guard
Social Worker
As I stated above this is a very incomplete list. I once worked with an officer who once complained about something that he needed to accomplish, but had no desire to do. I answered quite flippantly, and in hindsight quite inconsiderately, that he had ‘signed up for it’. I can’t remember how he responded to me, but I think about that exchange almost every time that I am engaged in doing something that a) I am not proficient in or b) don’t really want to be doing. And (can I start a sentence with ‘and’?), let’s be honest there are many situations that fit the first description. And (again I fight grammar) to be even more honest the second probably presents itself more than it should, but this isn’t a confessional so I will move on from this digression.
So are we set up to be a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’? Yes and no. There are many things that I do so infrequently that I cannot hope to become an expert at them (however, this does not give me an excuse not to try my best or give my all in those situations). But there are many things that I do so frequently that I must master them (preaching, teaching, counseling, etc) for the sake of others and my ministry. So the term ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ isn’t completely true. I guess I will just have to settle on being a ‘jack of all trades with a master of one®.
Philippians 2:13-17
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Craig Summerfield: Welcome to Canada, it's the Maple Leaf State...or is it Welcome to Canada, it's the make believe state?
I typed up today's blahg in a Word document but Blogspot wouldn't allow me to copy and paste it. So here is a link to the newest Blahg.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
40 years of fun
Fifteen days ago I turned 40. I used to flippantly tell people that I probably wouldn't live to be 3o and here I am 10 years past my self imposed due date. I used to think that 40 would feel different. I am not sure if I expected to wake up on July 2, 2010 and be a different person, or if at the exact time of my birth my back would star aching. Neither happened. It is kind of like to first time I left the United States (not counting trips to Canada and Mexico) for vacation in England. I somehow expected that once we landed at Gatwick airport I would feel like a different person-a world traveller. I did not. Even after visiting multiple countries I didn't feel like a different person, just the same person who had travelled more (in one five year stretch my birthday in five different countries - 97 Jamaica, 98 Guyana, 99 United States, 00 Russia and 01 Dominican Republic). Likewise I don't feel any older or wiser at forty than I did at 39. However, I have learned a few things in the past year about aging.
1. Bifocals-I have been wearing glasses since I was 15 and up until a couple of years ago they were good for reading at any distance. Lately I have to do the old guy tilt. You know when you're trying to read something close up and you either read it as you always have, or you have to tilt your head back and read it under the lenses of your glasses. Very soon I will need to get down on my knees and thank Ben Franklin for having the idea of bi-focals so guys like me can tilt our head back a little less for reading purposes.
2. stray hair- I used to have an impressive hairline. I still do compared to some men. However, lately I have been finding stray hairs about 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower than the rest of the hairline. (It is almost as if the rest of the hairs have decided, for some strange hair reason that humans can't fathom, that they no longer want to hang out with the stray hair) Now, I don't think that my hairline has receeding so I am not sure if the hair is finding new places to sprout, or I am in denial about my hairline. If the former I consider myself lucky, if the latter then I need to seriously consider #3...
3. Losing weight- because fat guys don't look cool bald. There I said it. Maybe some big guys can pull it off, but most (not you of course) just look like they have done it out of necessity not out of coolness like skinny guys do. Maybe this is the over 40 guys body image issue de jour. Ladies have Barbie to blame, and we have skinny bald guys.
I am sure there are more but I need to go and move furniture so our new carpet and linoleum can be installed next week.
XOXOXOXO,
1. Bifocals-I have been wearing glasses since I was 15 and up until a couple of years ago they were good for reading at any distance. Lately I have to do the old guy tilt. You know when you're trying to read something close up and you either read it as you always have, or you have to tilt your head back and read it under the lenses of your glasses. Very soon I will need to get down on my knees and thank Ben Franklin for having the idea of bi-focals so guys like me can tilt our head back a little less for reading purposes.
2. stray hair- I used to have an impressive hairline. I still do compared to some men. However, lately I have been finding stray hairs about 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower than the rest of the hairline. (It is almost as if the rest of the hairs have decided, for some strange hair reason that humans can't fathom, that they no longer want to hang out with the stray hair) Now, I don't think that my hairline has receeding so I am not sure if the hair is finding new places to sprout, or I am in denial about my hairline. If the former I consider myself lucky, if the latter then I need to seriously consider #3...
3. Losing weight- because fat guys don't look cool bald. There I said it. Maybe some big guys can pull it off, but most (not you of course) just look like they have done it out of necessity not out of coolness like skinny guys do. Maybe this is the over 40 guys body image issue de jour. Ladies have Barbie to blame, and we have skinny bald guys.
I am sure there are more but I need to go and move furniture so our new carpet and linoleum can be installed next week.
XOXOXOXO,
Monday, July 12, 2010
My Christian attitude versus Christian Platitudes.
Writing a blog everyday is something very new to me. I want to continue to do it as much as possible but I don't know exactly what I can write to fill up a daily blog. I don't want to be a theological wanker ( I know, I know that this word has negative connotations in British usage, and that is the only usage I know as well, but in using it I don't mean it in that way. I mean that I don't want to be like a lot of bloggers who think that they are theologically intelligent because they throw out a lot of other people's quotes and think that that is what makes them intelligent.) 'Oh, how clever', I want to scream at their over serious, ridiculous ramblings, 'yes the church should be a driving force in the world, BUT HOW genius'? 'well, yes you are a clever little devil saying that we should be more like the founders of our particular denomination [yeah, I said it: DENOMINATION] because nothing nowadays is religious OR holy enough'.
Wow, in rereading that it sounds negative and it wouldn't suit this blog to come off as negative when my true intent was sarcasm (why is sarcasm called the lowest form of wit when it is so hard to perfect?)
So let me just finish today's writing by telling you one of the things (of many)that drives me crazy-the phrase 'God is good'. ARGH just typing it makes me want to test his goodness by driving to Walmart and seeing if I get a good parking place, because we all know that if my space is more than 5 spaces back then God, by definition, is not good. Or at least he won't get any love on Facebook statuses (stati?) for being good. Good and bad are human constructs and God is above that. To say 'God is good' is an anthropomorphism (I have a theory that if someone wants to sound intelligent they just need to learn to say this word without fumbling their way through it and then people will believe anything they say)and to try and bring God to our level seems to me to be an inexcusable (NOT unforgivable) action.
Well I finished another blog. This makes 4 days in a row. God is...HEY!
Theologically yours,
Wow, in rereading that it sounds negative and it wouldn't suit this blog to come off as negative when my true intent was sarcasm (why is sarcasm called the lowest form of wit when it is so hard to perfect?)
So let me just finish today's writing by telling you one of the things (of many)that drives me crazy-the phrase 'God is good'. ARGH just typing it makes me want to test his goodness by driving to Walmart and seeing if I get a good parking place, because we all know that if my space is more than 5 spaces back then God, by definition, is not good. Or at least he won't get any love on Facebook statuses (stati?) for being good. Good and bad are human constructs and God is above that. To say 'God is good' is an anthropomorphism (I have a theory that if someone wants to sound intelligent they just need to learn to say this word without fumbling their way through it and then people will believe anything they say)and to try and bring God to our level seems to me to be an inexcusable (NOT unforgivable) action.
Well I finished another blog. This makes 4 days in a row. God is...HEY!
Theologically yours,
I would like to thank the World Cup for reminding me why I dislike soccer (or if you are a purist, football) so much. The final game had a whopping score of 1-0. Really? One goal in 90 minutes of play. That is boring! I have heard the argument that because there are so few goals it makes the goals that are actually scored more exciting. That is pure crap. That is like saying that the whole of the Star Wars prequels were good because the final fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan (in Revenge of the Sith) was good. Bull! Getting there is not half the fun if it is mind numbingly, excruciatingly dull. 'But Craig', I can anticipate some of you saying, 'soccer is the most popular sport in the world.' True, and the players are great athletes, but the game is boring.
Except for boringness I am hard pressed to think of exactly why I dislike soccer. I like indoor soccer because of its fast pace. I like hockey, which also has low scores, but it also has hits and fights (on the ice as opposed to in the stands) so there is an excitement factor. I dislike baseball because of its start/stop nature. Basically the same with American Football. There are hits but it also starts and stops very frequently. So what is the best sport in my opinion? Basketball. Despite being played by overpaid, self important players, it has high scores and mostly fluid playing (except in the last few minutes of some games, which is annoying).
So what am I trying to say? I find soccer boring, but I would never begrudge someone the right to watch it. I would one day like to be able to watch a full game and say, 'wow 1-0 that was a great game', but I don't thing that day will never come.
If you like soccer/football I honestly hope you enjoyed the World Cup and maybe you can explain to me what I am missing.
Except for boringness I am hard pressed to think of exactly why I dislike soccer. I like indoor soccer because of its fast pace. I like hockey, which also has low scores, but it also has hits and fights (on the ice as opposed to in the stands) so there is an excitement factor. I dislike baseball because of its start/stop nature. Basically the same with American Football. There are hits but it also starts and stops very frequently. So what is the best sport in my opinion? Basketball. Despite being played by overpaid, self important players, it has high scores and mostly fluid playing (except in the last few minutes of some games, which is annoying).
So what am I trying to say? I find soccer boring, but I would never begrudge someone the right to watch it. I would one day like to be able to watch a full game and say, 'wow 1-0 that was a great game', but I don't thing that day will never come.
If you like soccer/football I honestly hope you enjoyed the World Cup and maybe you can explain to me what I am missing.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Just sitting here in the stench of by own well earned b.o. Today I have been cleaning out the garage so new carpet can be put down on Tuesday. We are at the beginning of a big update of the quarters. The house is 21 years old and the carpet and laminate flooring are both original. Ewwww, right? So in the midst of everything that is going on (regular life, pregnancy, etc) we are moving everything in the house in three waves (garage, kitchen/dining room/bathrooms and rest of the house) to make the floors accessable. This wouldn't be too bad, but we are one lifter/packer down, so I am on my own in the moving department (which is fine with me since it means baby S will soon be here).
Since baby S is soon to arrive I thought that it would be interesting (or at least fun for me) to write a few things about Fatherhood that I already have decided. These will be divided into two categories: 'Things I don't like but will probably cave in on' and 'Things I will not cave on'.
1. Things I don't like but will probably cave in on
- Santa Claus. I am not a fan of Christmas. I know that it celebrates the birth of Jesus at the wrong time of year, but I am fine with that aspect of it. What I don't like is Santa Claus and the untruths that go along with his mythology. However, I married into the wrong family if I want to extracate Santa from my life, so I will give into it and let family fill her head with Santa stuff while I put my name on EVERY gift that is from me.
-Pink/frilly clothes/tea parties/Disney Princesses I am not into these things but if baby S likes them, I will let her and support her. EXCEPT for the Disney stuff. NO PRINCESSES!
2. Thing I will not cave on
-the word 'fair'. Life isn't fair. Get over it. The sooner learned, the sooner we can move on to real life.
-sports leagues that don't keep score. Life keeps score. Not everybody wins everytime. Learn it. Live it. Thrive on it.
-dispensationalism is silly. Since Veggie Tales have been mum about Revelation and the Resurrection, this lesson may have to wait until she is a bit older. Unless she starts reading the Left Behind for kids when she learns to read at 2 years old. Then we will have some great theological debates.
That is all for now as I must get back to work.
Your working boy,
Since baby S is soon to arrive I thought that it would be interesting (or at least fun for me) to write a few things about Fatherhood that I already have decided. These will be divided into two categories: 'Things I don't like but will probably cave in on' and 'Things I will not cave on'.
1. Things I don't like but will probably cave in on
- Santa Claus. I am not a fan of Christmas. I know that it celebrates the birth of Jesus at the wrong time of year, but I am fine with that aspect of it. What I don't like is Santa Claus and the untruths that go along with his mythology. However, I married into the wrong family if I want to extracate Santa from my life, so I will give into it and let family fill her head with Santa stuff while I put my name on EVERY gift that is from me.
-Pink/frilly clothes/tea parties/Disney Princesses I am not into these things but if baby S likes them, I will let her and support her. EXCEPT for the Disney stuff. NO PRINCESSES!
2. Thing I will not cave on
-the word 'fair'. Life isn't fair. Get over it. The sooner learned, the sooner we can move on to real life.
-sports leagues that don't keep score. Life keeps score. Not everybody wins everytime. Learn it. Live it. Thrive on it.
-dispensationalism is silly. Since Veggie Tales have been mum about Revelation and the Resurrection, this lesson may have to wait until she is a bit older. Unless she starts reading the Left Behind for kids when she learns to read at 2 years old. Then we will have some great theological debates.
That is all for now as I must get back to work.
Your working boy,
Well, I finally made it. I am now at the bottom of the front steps of the door that leads to middle age. This is a good thing because if 40 is the beginning of middle age I should theoretically live to be at least 80. Not bad.
I spent my 4oth birthday in Honolulu visiting restaurants we don't have on the Big Island and watching a movie in that newfangled 3D (which we do now have in our 'little' town). The movie we saw was Toy Story 3. It was good, but the 3D did not add anything to the movie except $4 to the ticket price. It tugged at the heartstrings, but not in the same obvious, over-the-top toy with your emotions way that 'UP' manipulated a cryfest out of some people. Toy Story 3 was a good movie, not Pixar's worst (The Incredibles) but not the best either (Monster's, Inc).
For my birthday I received the 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' Complete Series DVD. I have been waiting a long time for this series to come to DVD. I almost broke my own rule (and federal law) and came close to buying bootleg DVDs of it. Almost, but never did. I haven't had the opportunity to watch the whole series yet, but what I have been able to watch is fantastic in a somewhat cheesy 80's kind of way.
Well I am tired and I have typed more than I expected, so I will sign off now.
p.s. I will be a father soon...yee haw!
I spent my 4oth birthday in Honolulu visiting restaurants we don't have on the Big Island and watching a movie in that newfangled 3D (which we do now have in our 'little' town). The movie we saw was Toy Story 3. It was good, but the 3D did not add anything to the movie except $4 to the ticket price. It tugged at the heartstrings, but not in the same obvious, over-the-top toy with your emotions way that 'UP' manipulated a cryfest out of some people. Toy Story 3 was a good movie, not Pixar's worst (The Incredibles) but not the best either (Monster's, Inc).
For my birthday I received the 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' Complete Series DVD. I have been waiting a long time for this series to come to DVD. I almost broke my own rule (and federal law) and came close to buying bootleg DVDs of it. Almost, but never did. I haven't had the opportunity to watch the whole series yet, but what I have been able to watch is fantastic in a somewhat cheesy 80's kind of way.
Well I am tired and I have typed more than I expected, so I will sign off now.
p.s. I will be a father soon...yee haw!
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