stuff...

More contrast in my life…

Kevin was living and working in Utah, for ski season this winter, after returning from a summer gig in Alaska. He came home about 6 weeks ago. The contrast: empty house/full house. Missing the tranquility of the empty house…

During my recent vacation, I spent some time with Gadget Girl, a good friend who lives in the Virgin Islands. (Yes, we have some history together, too). It had been about 9 months since I saw her last, and it was a real treat catching up. She also took me on an “off-the-grid” tour; spots only known by locals. It was a lot of fun.

 

Vacation in the Virgin Islands was fun, but my time with Jenn was marred, slightly, by the fact that I wasn’t feeling well. I came down with a fever and cough—very annoying. Still, if I’m going to be sick, it may as well be in paradise with Jenn! I’m bummed I missed the infamous Full Moon Party at Bomba Shack; we’ll have to go back for that one in the future. Contrasts: healthy vs. sick, time with Jenn vs. time alone.

A little home improvement lately, as my deck is now sheathed in stone, the attics insulated and new travertine going into the house right now. It’s disruptive and the chaos in the house contrasts with the order that I so enjoy. Now, to get a Jacuzzi installed…

And, of course, the weather! It’s funny how happy it makes me to experience the recent heat wave, then the moderate weather that followed. I love Southern  California, the sun on my face, the sea breeze at the house in the afternoon. Ahhhh. Winter in SoCal is not horrible, but Spring has been springing for a while now, and I see blooms everywhere, soaking up the sun.

Life is good. Duh…

50 shades of finished

It has been an interesting run. I read all 3 books. I liked the second best. I am ambivalent about the overall experience. It was a good story, told poorly. Most of the excitement, for me, came from the shared experience of so many friends reading it simultaneously—and their shock at some of the racier ideas. Of course, I went to Catholic school, so that’s sort of like stacking the deck a bit. 

I do not want to rehash a lot of the usual reviews of this story, but true to my thoughts on romance, I can’t let the fairytale ending go. Yuck. And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the heroine is an idiot. Well, maybe “idiot” is a little harsh, but I found myself sympathizing more with the evil dictator, control freak than with the “normal” girl. And lastly, I’m a guy that really gets into the willing suspension of disbelief. I have no problems with aliens chasing each other around with light sabers, Hobbits wandering the Shire, heck, even a Bahamian crab singing to a wee mermaid. Why can’t I believe in a ridiculously handsome, kinky, hung, 27 year old billionaire who hooks up with a multi-orgasmic virgin for a little light spanking?

Batch Lore

I am deeply concerned about an obvious failure in this great nation’s Food and Drug Administration regulations. As a bachelor, it is clear the government has failed me. I found myself reading the expiration date on a bottle of salad dressing. “Best before AUG2008”?  What the heck is that? What does “best” mean? And more importantly, where is the label that reads, “TOXIC AFTER: XX/XXXX”?

In case you were wondering, it didn’t taste very good.

Too Easy?

When I was a lad, my grandpa asked us kids to collect up these little lead weights they use to balance car tires. They come off frequently and you can find them in the street gutters, (a place I spent a lot of time as a kid). So, we collected up these little things for a while, then my grandpa showed me what he was going to do with them. He had a small crucible, (I didn’t even know that word back then, and neither did he), and used a propane torch to melt the metal. He poured the molten lead into a mold he had, added a couple of wires and let it cool. An hour or so later, he popped the molds open and voila! Fishing sinkers!

Lately, I’ve been riding my bicycle to and from work each day, and, of course, as I’m riding along, I notice a lot of these tire weights. Many of them. This gets me thinking—well, of course, by the time I collected up the weights, found a crucible, found a propane torch and bought propane, well, the whole thing would be rather silly unless it turned out to be a lot of fun, too. I’m a little busy in my life for this sort of fun, but I bet I could do it. It’s not a question of would I do it or should I do it, (not economically feasible/busy guy), but could I do it?

In our modern life, I find it remarkable that so many incredible things have become disposable. Take cell phones, for instance. They are amazing gizmos, full to the brim with modern technology. When one goes bad, it is cheaper to buy a new one than to fix the old one. Cell phones, like fishing weights, are readily and cheaply available. When you think about it, there are a lot of things like that these days.

But what do we lose when we do not apply our problem solving skills to things like making fishing weights? Just today, I made the decision to replace a car battery, rather than figure out how to charge the old one. (It was probably dead. I jumped the car, let it run for 30 minutes, stopped the engine, but it wouldn’t turn over again). I could have taken the battery to an auto parts store, had it tested, bought a charger, charged it at home, etc. I didn’t even want to invest the time to learn about that process; brand new Costco battery, $79 and 15 minutes of my time. I stand by my decision, but I wonder if that battery had life in it? Would I have learned something today? I have never been very handy when it comes to cars, but I am Mr. Goodwrench compared to my sons. Will they be hostages to the car dealership? You can guess how I feel about them…

I often tell my sons that the two most valuable attributes I look for in employees: problem solving skills, and the ability to retain things learned. But what happens when I opt out of problem solving in favor of cheap and easy? Do I become a dull knife?

Cold Feet

I am such a simple creature. I take delight in many simple pleasures. Just this morning, I was warm and toasty under the covers, but my bedroom was a little chilly. I slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom, where the new stone floor was quite cold beneath my feet. This floor used to be carpet, but now a lovely travertine and occasionally as cold as a well digger’s lunch bucket. Hmm, I thought to myself, perhaps I should have kept the carpet? I went through my usual morning ablutions as the water in the shower warmed and my feet cooled even further. I opened the steamy shower door and stepped into the hot water. What a delicious sensation! My feet warmed, the water splashed most satisfactorily, and I inhaled the heavy steam. I wonder, would I have even noticed the joys of hot water this morning, if the stone hadn’t chilled my feet?

I do a lot of thinking about contrasts and about simple pleasures. Nothing makes me appreciate summer more than these long nights of winter. Getting up before the sun and leaving work after full dark is depressing business for me. It makes me wistful for those halcyon days of summer, when the sun woke me in the morning and I could garden for hours after work. I wonder, how much of the hectic nature of the holidays is owed to the shortened days, leaving us so little time? In the summer, I miss the need for a fire in the fireplace. A full moon party in the summer always runs later, as we wait for dark and the beautiful light of the moon. I was in the backyard last night and the plumeria have dropped their leaves. It is well and truly winter in Southern California, despite the temperature in the mid 70s. Although far from desolate, winters here are just enough to make me fully appreciate the daffodils, which herald spring for me. They make me laugh—they pop up, glorious, then often get scorched by a sudden nice day, here. How frustrated they must be.  

They say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It’s the contrast of being apart and being together that makes this so.

Simple pleasures…has it always been so for me? It is hard to recall. I think I have always taken delight in the small things, but I would certainly sacrifice my simple pleasures for something I considered more important. Maybe that’s the change? Maybe what I consider important has changed, and these simple pleasures have risen accordingly?

Perhaps I am simply justifying my burgeoning alcoholism? You see, as a young man, I would never embrace the demon rum when working the next day. Now that just makes me laugh.

random

Time flies like an arrow,
fruit flies like a banana.

I had a great weekend, filled with fun and friends!

Even though it's a short week, I'm having trouble getting motivated at work. 

I am intrigued by the idea of making a bust sculpted from spam. I might be good at that sort of thing. But what then? a change in careers? Can I really be the budding new artist working in that avant garde medium? I can just see myself sfter a gallery opening filling out the insurance forms because a masterpiece was inadvertently destroyed for lack of appetizers. Ugh.

I had a weird dream the other night. I dreamt I was a king and I was assassinated by a Japanese princess using throwing needles. It took a long time to die, but wasn't really painful. Where does this stuff come from?

Candles and fire in the fireplaces! There are some real nice things about this time of year. Of course, I find the early sundown thing a bit disconcerting. I was also eyeballing some gorgeous cyclamen at Costco the other day. I still have plumeria blossoms and paperwhites, but they will both be gone soon. That cyclamen could turn out to be a good friend. 

"You...<sniff>...complete me...<sniff>" What a crock of weapons grade baloneyium! 

I really need to get going on that jacuzzi. And the new carpet in the living room, but especially that jacuzzi! I want it, I want it, I want it!


Well, that's enough rambling for the nonce...