Random Access

Monday – 01 June 2015
It’s Monday. It’s the first of June. And… something something something-or-other.

There’s far too much blood in my caffeinestream for me to be writing a post this early. And it’s already been far too long of a day – I received a lovely wake up call from room service our after-hours monitoring company at 4:15. One issue was a non-issue, according to my manager, the other was… relatively minor in my book, but still needed some attention.

An hour and change later, after getting confirmation that the alerts had cleared, I headed back to bed. In the back of my head was a notion to go to the gym. I pushed it way back. As I laid in bed, I realized a couple of distinct possibilities:

1. I could fall asleep, just in time for my alarm to go off, or
2. I might not fall asleep and just get steadily more irritable at not being able to sleep.

I got up and went to the gym. I have to say that it was more crowded at 6 AM than I expected – the ellipticals were almost all in use and the treadmills appeared to be equally employed. So, I skipped cardio today.

But, I didn’t skip doing my leg workout. One of these days, when I’m a bit more coherent – or, Heaven forbid, I actually plan it out the night before – I’ll add a couple of things to my leg routine. Since I was early (and also because I missed a few days last week with st00pid work issues and/or a sick kid), I went ahead and did my chest and biceps routine.

Back home, started waking up Team DiVa – Vanessa requested We Will Rock You (so she could sing to it) and Diana, much to my surprise, requested Because the Night, by Patti Smith… and to my greater surprise: started singing it! Yep, that’s my kid. After that, it was shower time and I just want to go back to bed getting dressed and ready for the day time.

Let’s see what the day brings.

Workout
Today was a double-workout day:

• Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 100 lbs (because I didn’t think to go do squats on the Smith rack)
• Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
• Leg Extensions: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
• Leg Curls: 3 x 8 x 65 lbs
• Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 100 lbs
• Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
• Bench Press: 3 x 8 x 115 lbs
• Decline Press: 3 x 8 x 95 lbs
• Dumbbell Fly: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 8 x 25 lbs
• Barbell Curls: 3 x 8 x 40 lbs
• Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 8 x 25 lbs
• Wrist Curls (fwd): 3 x 8 x 40
• Wrist Curls (rev): 3 x 8 x 40

And it was good.

Stray Toasters

• Over the weekend, Sara! and I watched John Woo’s The Killer. It made me realize just how long it’s been since I’d watched a John Woo film…
• Confession: I now own all of the currently-available Marvel figures for Disney Infinity.
• Sara introduced Team DiVa to Star Wars, by way of Vader’s Little Princess this weekend.
  
• The Single Ladies – DuckTales mashup makes my inner fiend grin.

I should probably figure out what I want to do for lunch…

Namaste.

Friday – 29 May 2015
“The best laid plans of mice and men…”

That is an excellent quote for the past 36 hours. Wednesday night, thanks to a couple of adorable children, I had a less-then-stellar night of sleep. As I noted yesterday, I figured that I might hit the gym after they went to bed last night.

No go, Flight.

I didn’t get out of the office until nearly 8:30 last night, chasing down what appeared to be a mail server issue. (More on this later.) By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was eat dinner and then do a lot of nothing. I was  highly successful at accomplishing both tasks. Before going to bed, I resolved to hit the gym this morning.

Strike Two!

Last night, Diana started getting a little sick and was up many times in the night. Mostly moaning “Mo-o-o-o-mmy…..” or “Da-a-a-a-a-ddy…..” or both. A couple of times, she came into our room for cuddles and/or to sleep. According to our Sense, either Sara or I (or both of us) were up about seven times last night. That made getting out of bed damn near impossible. I finally dragged my carcass out from the sheets around 7:45… and I felt like a zombie. (But nowhere as perky as Gwen Dylan/Liv Moore from iZombie (1, 2).)

Back in the office a little early – and a couple of cups of coffee later – I was informed that last night’s high-profile, high-priority email emergency was not only non-existent, but also a complete misunderstanding/miscommunication between two parties.

*grblsnrkx*

#ajobaintnuthinbutwork #LifeInIT

Aside from that, it’s been a decent day. It’s been relatively quiet.

It was also coworker Adam’s last day. He got “an offer he couldn’t (and shouldn’t have) refuse.” Fortunately, we only live a couple of miles apart and our daughters like playing together, so I don’t consider this him riding off into the sunset.

Stray Toasters

• Separate & Unequal, an article by my friend, Bryan Young. Read it.
• CHART: The Qatar World Cup Death Toll Is Stunning
• Roland Park Reflections on the Riots
• I may or may not have introduced Shake Your Bon Bon to Team DiVa…
  • They may or may not occasionally change the lyrics to “Chicken Bomb Bomb”
• Miniature LEGO Adventures That I Create in My Spare Time

Okay, there’s a little more work to be plowed through before the day is done.

Namaste.

Thursday – 28 May 2015
Another #NBNThursday is here. This one even came complete with sun… which hasn’t been seen (to a large extent) in a couple of weeks. It’s been good to get rain, but it’s also nice to know that the sun still exists.

This morning, I skipped the gym (but, didn’t skip a leg day!). Last night was a … difficult… night for sleep: I had a troubled time falling asleep, and once I did, I woke up multiple times to deal with children who were not sleeping well. Yay. Something had to give and I decided that it was my getting up at 6:30 to go to the gym.

My current conundrum is: Do I go this evening or do I give myself a/another rest day and just go on Saturday morning?

I’ll figure something out. Eventually.

Namaste.

Friday – 15 May 2015
I should get around to writing this before it is no longer Friday.

Things have been good during my extended radio silence. What’s kept me from posting? Basically: Laziness. I’ll freely cop to that. That said, I had planned to write something this afternoon, but wound up getting wrapped up in a project and the next thing I knew,  it was time to get Team DiVa from daycare. Oh, well, better late than never. On the other hand, I got to have dinner with these two cuties, so it was worth it.

One of the good things of the past two-ish weeks has been that Sara and I have rejoined a gym. More specifically we joined Vasa Fitness, a rebranded gym that we used to go to before Team DiVa was born. We’ve been trying to figure out schedules that would allow us to both work out 2-3 times a week.

Another good thing from this week, was in a training class for work (at home!) which had an east coast-based schedule. That meant that I was up each morning for a 7:00 AM class. That also meant that my “lunch” time was around 10:30 each day. I used that time to go to the gym, instead. I actually like the idea of getting up a bit early and starting my day with a workout. My plan is to keep getting up around 6:30 and putting in forty-five minutes to an hour at the gym before getting on to the so-called “friction of the day.”

Sidenote (since I just made a Rush reference): I’ve been tracking my visits to the gym on Swarm/Foursquare with the tags #carveawaythestone. Why? Because it’s less typing than #OhDearLordHowAndWhyDidILetMyselfGetSoOutOfShape and a bit less embarrassing than #WhyDoesThisHurtSoMuch.

And, being back in the gym means that I need to start tracking my workouts again. So, let’s get the past couple weeks out of the way:

• Thursday- 23 April 2015
  • Elliptical: 15 minutes, 1.3 miles
  • Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets / 10 reps
  • Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 90 lbs
  • Inclined Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 50 lbs
  • Fly: 3 sets/8 reps – 2 sets, 70 lbs; 1 set, 90 lbs
• Monday – 27 April 2015
  • Elliptical: 10 minutes, ~1 mile
  • Leg Raises (Roman Chair): 3 sets/10 reps
  • Rotary Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
  • T-Bar Pulls: 3 sets/8 reps, 45 lbs
  • Standing Tricep Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 50 lbs
  • Seated Tricep Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 45 lbs
• Wednesday – 29 April 2015
  • Elliptical: 10 minutes, ~1 mile
  • Leg Press: 3 x 10 x 60 lbs
  • Leg Extensions: 3 x 10 x 50 lbs
  • Leg Curl: 3 x 10 x 50 lbs
  • Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 10 x 60
  • Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 40
  • Bench Press: 3 x 8 x 95 lbs
  • Reverse Punches: 3 x 10 x 10 lbs
  • Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  • Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  • Wrist Curls: 3 x 15 X 30 lbs (forward)
  • Wrist Curls: 3 x 15 x 30 lbs (reverse)
• Tuesday – 05 May 2015
  • Elliptical: 10 minutes, 1 mile
  • Bench Press: 3 x 8 x 95 lbs
  • Shoulder Press: 3 x 8 x 50 lbs
  • Fly: 3 x 8 x 60
  • Vertical Press: 3 x 8 x 50 lbs
  • Dumbbell Fly: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  • Barbell Curl: 3 x 8 x 30 lbs
  • Dumbbell Curl: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  • Plank: 3 x 30 seconds
• Saturday – 09 May 2015
  • Fitness Assessment
    • Walking High Kicks: 2 x 10 steps
    • Walking Quad Stretches: 2 x 10 steps (each leg)
    • Walking Butt Kicks: 2 x 10 steps (each leg)
    • Kettlebell Overhead Tricep Extensions: 3 x 10 x 15 lbs
    • Kettlebell Squats: 3 x 10 x 25 lbs
    • Lunges: 3 x 10 steps x 15 lbs (each hand)
    • Hollow-Body Hold: 3 x 30 seconds
    • Russian Twists: 3 x 10 x 20 lbs
• Tuesday – 12 May 2015
  • Elliptical: 10 min, 1 mile
  • Smith Squats: 3 x 8 x 50 lbs
  • Leg Press: 3 x 10 x 60 lbs
  • Leg Extensions: 3 x 10 x 50 lbs
  • Leg Curls: 3 x 10 x 50 lbs
  • Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 10 x 60 lbs
  • Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 40 lbs
  • Seated Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 25 lbs
• Wednesday – 13 May 2015
  • Elliptical: 10 min, 1 mile
  • Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  • Short Grip Pulldowns: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  • T-Bar Pulls: 3 x 8 x 25 lbs
  • Row: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  • Standing Rope Pulldown: 3 x 8 x 50 lbs
  • Standing Tricep Press: 3 x 8 x 40 lbs
• Thursday – 14 May 2015
  • Treadmill: 10 minutes, ~0.7 mile (betw. 0 and 2% incline)
  • Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  • Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  • Leg Extensions: 3 x 8 x 50 lbs
  • Leg Curls: 3 x 8 x 50 lbs
  • Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 10 x 60
  • Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 40
  • Seated Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 25
• Friday – 15 May 2015
  • Elliptical: 7 minutes, 0.75 mile
  • Bench Press: 3 x 8 x 115 lbs
  • Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 8 x 1 @ 20 lbs/2 @ 25 lbs
  • Dumbbell Fly: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  • Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 8 x 2 @ 20 lbs/1 @ 25 lbs
  • Wrist Curls: 3 x 15 x 2 @ 30 lbs/1 @ 40 lbs

And that was that. It’s going to take a while to get back to where I was when I stopped going to the gym, but I’m enjoying the journey so far.

Stray Toasters

• Since cutting the cord, nearly two months ago now, I haven’t missed cable.
• I’ve been quite pleased with and a occasionally surprised by my Comics-On-TV shows of late: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Flash, and iZombie.
• By way of Mike B.: Space X gets certified to launch NASA science missions
• I’ve seen Avengers: Age of Ultron twice now. I’ll see if I can’t type up a two-part review in the next day or two.
• Team DiVa asked me to play Candy Land with them last weekend. It was, not surprisingly, the first time I’d played the game in many, many years. And, it was fun, too.
• Check out this Flash Gordon animated short, by Rob Pratt
• Confederates in the Jungle
• I don’t recall how I stumbled across this item, On Being a Cripple, by Nancy Mairs, but it is a fantastic and fascinating read. It is long and, for some, might not be necessarily “easy” to read, but I think that it’s very much worth the time to read.

And, it’s well into Saturday morning, now. I guess I’ll just schedule this to post sometime after the sun is up.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 21 April 2015
I knew that I wanted to post something this evening, but i wasn’t quite sure “what.”

I was helped in my decision by three things:

1. A mental conversation that I had with myself on the way home,
2. A friend’s announcement that her cancer is out of remission, and
3. An off-hand comment that someone made to me in response to noting Item Number 2 that caught me sideways.

Let’s take these in order.

• Item One
  On the way home, I asked myself: What is it that you cherish? 

  What I should have asked, while only a slightly different question, was: What do you cherish most? 

  To be honest, the first few things that came to mind when answering the first question were “things.” When I went back and prioritized my list to align properly with the second question, the “things” slipped a few notches.What I cherish the most are my family and friends. Period. Full stop.

  I have a small-ish family, by blood. I have a rather extensive extended family. Looking at it, I cast a rather large net when I define “my family.” They include the blood and by-marriage relations, but also a number of people who have become as close to me in spirit as those with whom I share biology.

  And, despite the miles apart or even the weeks or months between conversations, I’m glad to have them as part of my family. All of them.

• Item Two
  I have a friend who fought – and beat – breast cancer five years ago. She’s a pretty amazing person, even without having beat cancer. Earlier today, she revealed that it was back. (I had a bit of a prelude of what was to come, from a conversation that we had last night.) She had the most amazing and positive attitude about beating cancer the last time, I expect nothing less than that same dogged determination in the way she faces it this time.After she made her announcement today, I realized that the two of us (among others) lost another friend – from the same circle of to friends – cancer… four years ago, I believe. I’m really hoping that it’s not something in the water, at this point.

• Item Three
  I can be a rather flippant, at times. Cavalier, even. I admit that freely. But, I do know how – if not always when – to bite my tongue.Long story, greatly abridged version: This afternoon, I basically mentioned something related to my friend’s cancer returning. This evening, and rather out of the blue, I received a comment about what I had said. If I had to guess, it was a quick response to what I had said earlier – no true malice intended, but it came without context or understanding why I had commented the way I did. Reading it, I wasn’t mad. I was more annoyed at the way that it had come out of left field. I replied in a simple but very direct manner. Again, there was no malice, but I wanted to address it quickly and make it known that the comment was not appreciated.

  My message was received and acknowledged.

So, how do I tie all of these together in a big bow? Like this…

The person who made the comment is part of my family. My friend with cancer is part of “my family.” I love them both.

Do I have a problem reconciling this? Not really. Yes, there’s a part of me that is annoyed with the situations – the cancer and the comment – but at the end of the day, we’re still talking about two people for whom I care dearly.

That said, I ask those of you reading this to think about what it is that you cherish. Is it a thing or is it your relationships with your “family,” no matter how big or small it may be?

I’m not judging, either way. It’s not my place to give weight to what it is that other people value.

What I do ask is that you honestly assess what has such weight and meaning to you and show that care.

Be good to yourself. And to each other. And to those people, places, and things (hey, nouns!) that have meaning to and for you.

Namaste.

Thursday – 02 April 2015
Another No Bad News Thursday draws to a close and I realize that it’s been a little while since I’ve blown the cobwebs off of here.

Life is good. I really can’t complain. Oh, sure, getting Team DiVa to actually go to sleep when we put them to bed can be… trying, but they’re kids. It’s normal. I just hope that this phase passes relatively quickly. (That’s normal, too, right? I mean, to hope for that as a parent…)

Last weekend, we took the girls up to Antelope Island. (On which, I have never seen antelope…) We did see bison, however. We also flew a kite and the girls threw rocks in the water. What can I say? It’s one of their favorite pastimes. They also touched the Great Salt Lake… and got a little muddy and sandy, which caused a little consternation on their parts/amusement on ours.

I also stopped at a train store not far from the island, Almosta Junction. Although, compared to the last time I was there, it could just as easily be called “Almost a train shop.” It was a bit sad to see how little inventory they had. That store is definitely a labor of love.

Later that evening, I went to hear Jonni Lightfoot and W. James Woods play at a local restaurant.

It was a good evening, until the waitress – not 10 minutes after I had paid – came back to tell me that they had no record of me having done so.

*grblsnrkx*

Fortunately, my bank and its app, had my back. Right there on the screen, big as day and twice as bright, was the charge against my account. Idiotsticks.

Stray Toasters

• We “cut the cord” last week. We bought an HD over-the-air antenna (which has been great) and are just using our Roku (with Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Sling). It’s been good. I do miss the flexibility of having a DVR to catch the things we miss, but I’ve been able to stream those shows, so no major loss.
• This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. Every year, I recall the song Palm Sunday Downpour, as done by a trio of guys I know who used to go by the band name: Hat. On a lark, I decided to see if I could find a copy of the song on the ‘tubes. Lo and behold, I did. Not only that, It’s been updated and redone by one of the original band members, Christian Scott Martin. It’s not quite the version I remember, but it’s pretty damned close.
  
• I’ve been playing – and enjoying the crap out of – Disney Infinity. I just finished the Avengers Play Set a few days ago. The final boss, a Frost Giant monster, took out my entire Avengers lineup. I wound up having to finish it off with Rocket Raccoon, which made me grin like a fiend. God willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I’ll probably get started on the Guardians of the Galaxy set this weekend.
• Boom de yada
  Boom de yada
  Boom de yada
  Boom de yada
• Words that I never thought I’d string together: “Read this insurance company fan-fic.“

That’s good for now. And, I can still get it in under the wire and still call it “today.” Nice.

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 March 2015
It’s just another Manic Monday No Bad News Thursday.

My day started a little earlier than usual, as I had to be on-site about an hour-and-a-half early to follow up on a [EXPLETIVES DELETED] [REDACTED] project. As I was getting ready, I heard Vanessa milling about in her room. I went in and told her that it was still “sleeping time” and that she should go back to sleep. She didn’t, but she did lie quietly in bed.

Ten or fifteen minutes later, I heard her making (mostly) quiet noises; I went back in to check on her. She asked “Is the sun up?” I told her that it was, but that it wasn’t time to wake up yet; I asked if she wanted to go into the other bedroom and hang out with Sara! until it was time to get up. She said “no,” and that she wanted to read in bed. I told her that would be fine. She got one of her My Little Pony comics, crawled under her covers, and proceeded to “read” it.

Shortly, I was packed up and out the door. I didn’t set the coffee maker last night, therefore, I had no to-go cup of caffeinated goodness this morning. I rectified that with a trip to Pin-up Girl Espresso.

I paid with a card, but didn’t have anything smaller than a $5 bill with me for a tip. So, I gave Mia the five, told her to take her tip out of it and to apply the rest to the next person’s drink order. Why not make someone else’s day a little better, if you can, after all?

On to work.

And that’s where I am. Time to chase down info for this project, put out some fires, and just be awesome. Possibly even in that order.

Quote of the Day
I messaged Sara! a little while ago, to see how morning prep with Team DiVa went. This was how that conversation went:

Robert:
Good morning!
I hope that getting under way wasn’t too bad…

Sara:
Good morning!
The only big meltdown was when the girls realized that you were already gone for the day and they couldn’t give you a hug and a kiss. It was meltdown city.

Robert:
Well, damn. I’m sorry.

Sara:
It was very sweet that they were so upset. It was okay. we sorted it out.

Robert:
Okay.

Sara:
And, we took a rocket ship ride to the moon this morning. Then the rocket ship took me to work. So the astronauts are going to stay on the moon all day, and the rocket ship will pick them up and bring them back to earth tonight.

Robert:
HAHAHAhA that’s awesome.

Sara:
Yeah, it was pretty good. DIana wasn’t into it this morning (contrast to yesterday) but by the time we were almost to learning tree she was on board looking for planets and aliens. So it turned out okay.

I love those kids and their imaginations.

As I noted above: It’s No Bad News Thursday… get out there and attack the day!

Namaste.

Thursday – 19 February 2015
Last night, Sara, #Team DiVa and I went out for dinner – the girls’ choice. While out, I ran into this little lady, my “cousin,” Kylie:

Kylie: Disneyland – Electric Light Parade

The only thing: She wasn’t so little anymore. This picture was taken in 2001, so you can imagine what adding 13.5 years would do. And, it’s been at least 4-5 years since I last saw her. She has grown into a lovely young lady. (Her mom has every reason to be proud.)

It was a very pleasant surprise to my evening.

Stray Toasters

• Your Coffee Addiction Is Officially Good for You (not that I needed validation)
• Someone posted the following picture into an H.P. Lovecraft group yesterday:
  It… inspired me to come up with this:

  Spider-Cat! Spider-Cat!
  More evil than a Devil-Bat!
  Claws your arm or your thigh
  Makes you sleep with one eye…
  OPEN!
  Here comes the Spider-Cat!

• Adult Wednesday Addams
  “Adult” as in “not a child,” not as in “risque.”
• DC Comics has made some… curious… decisions in the past few years. One decision that has been “good” is the one to start a new, out-of-continuity Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman book. If you’re a Wonder Woman fan and are not reading this book, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
• From Javier Grillo-Marxuach: The Audacity of Being Jaded

Namaste.

Friday – 06 February 2015
My niece, Grace, turned seven today:

Team DiVa and I got to talk with her – and her sisters, my sister and brother-in-law, and my dad – over Skype this evening. I believe that it was one of the most engaged conversations that DiVa has had over Skype.

Other things that made today good:

1. Post-work/post-daycare with Team DiVa.
2. An end-of-the-work-day chat with Sara!.
3. Introducing Team DiVa to Undercova Funk before bedtime.
   
4. Learning that Sana Amanat, former editor and co-creator of the new Ms. Marvel, got what are colloquially referred to as “big ups” as she was named Marvel’s new Director of Content and Character Development.
5. Conversations about fashion and style with a trio of coworkers.
6. A discussion with a coworker about my standing desk, her pilgrimage o The Garden of Sweden to acquire one… and the confused looks on the employees’ faces as they showed her their standing desk (much more expensive) and she kept telling them “That’s not it.”

Things that did not make the day good:

1. Yet another email spam/virus outbreak at work. (Fortunately, we caught it quickly and got ahead of it before it became too widespread.)
2. Not getting to eat lunch because of the above.

On the whole, I’d call the day a “Win.”

Stray Toasters

• I am running a nominally Valentine’s Day-themed tournament tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of teams my players bring.
• I should comb through the various and sundry links that I’ve posted here, see if the links are still active, determine if I still care about them, and pin the worthy on Pinterest.
  • I may even move The Covet List from an Amazon Wish List over to Pinterest, as well.
• The Pro Dumpster Diver Who’s Making Thousands Off America’s Biggest Retailers
• It may just be the way I’m wired, but I’m not sure that I entirely agree with How Often You Really Need to Shower (According to Science)
• Speaking of which, how often do you wipe down your kitchen counters?
• Marvel, in other news, also announced a new book, spinning out of the upcoming Secret Wars: An all-female team of Avengers.
• And, before I forget: Someone at DC seems to have had a rectal craniotomy and decided to make Starfire a little more palatable/accessible to readers, including those who mostly/only knew of her from the Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go! cartoons.
• I might actually be one step closer to running a new Shadowrun campaign.

Time to find something to do now that Team DiVa has finally knocked out for the night.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 04 February 2015
Today is No Bad News Thursday Eve. It is also World Cancer Day.

From the United Nations’ World Cancer Day page:

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells. It can affect almost any part of the body. The growths often invade surrounding tissue and can metastasize to distant sites. Many cancers can be prevented by avoiding exposure to common risk factors, such as tobacco smoke. In addition, a significant proportion of cancers can be cured, by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, especially if they are detected early.

Two of my friends, Mary and Jake, are cancer survivors. Their cancers were caught and treated early. I am able to enjoy their company today because cancer awareness and treatment methods have progressed to their current points. That, however, doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for more people to learn more about the awareness and for treatments to improve.

But, I’m glad for the strides that have been made.

Namaste.

Tuesday (with a little Wednesday thrown in…) – 13 January 2014
Day 13: Perform a mind dump of everything you’re worried about. From the leaky dishwasher to your family member’s poor health — get it all out. Dwight D. Eisenhower did it, and it significantly helped him manage his stress. Just as your body needs to…cleanse itself of waste, so does your mind every once in a while. Getting all your stressors on paper may alleviate some of that pressure. Use David Allen’s GTD trigger list to help you out.

With apologies to Monty Python, “I’m so worried about…”

• Being a good husband and dad.
• Keeping in touch with my family – here and “back home.”
• Making time for friends.
• Making time for me.
• Staying on top of my health.
• Whether or not I’ll be able to fit some travel in this year.
• Projects around the house, now that I don’t have the Train Room as an excuse.
• Becoming more aware of and informed about issues in the community.
• What the Hell is still “not as right as it could be” with my car?!
• Keeping all of the balls that I’m juggling for work in the air.
  • This one isn’t horrible, but there’s just been a lot going on over the past two weeks.
• A proposed project (that’s actually kind of up my alley) – I just want it to go well.
• Cleaning up my queue of work requests.
• Managing to get – and do well in – upcoming training.
• “…the baggage retrieval system they’ve got at Heathrow.”

Namaste.

Sunday – 11 January 2015
Day 11: Memento mori. “Remember that you will die.” Admittedly, this isn’t the most pleasant topic. There is, however, great benefit in meditating on the reality that at some point, you will in fact die. It motivates you to live the life right now that you want to be living. Meditate on this, and write out your thoughts. Does death scare you? Does it motivate you? It’s okay to be honest.

I’ve pondered this at various points in life. My thoughts have kind have been all over the place on it: I’ve thought about it as “the next phase.” I’ve worried. I’ve found solace in my faith. I’ve feared. I’ve tried not to think about it.

At this point, I think that it’s reasonably safe to say that while I don’t necessarily fear dying, I don’t have any intention of meeting The Lady Death anytime soon. Even if she looks like this:

 

That said, I hope to live a long, full life. My prime reason? are these three:

I want to be around for them.

One day, I won’t be here. I hope that when that time comes, those I leave behind can say that I was a good son, brother, husband, and friend. That’s my motivation and the legacy that I want to leave behind. What more can I ask for?

Namaste.

 

Saturday – 10 January 2015
Day 10: Take a look at the hero’s journey, and identify where you are in that journey. Doing so can help you better understand where you are in life, and help you figure out where to go next. You can take it in the context of your entire life, or you can take it in the context of a certain phase of your life. Either way, you can be sure that you’re part of a greater journey, and knowing what comes next can help guide you along.

If I go with the “entire life” context, then I’d say that I’m somewhere in the Apotheosis and Resurrection phase:

Often, the Hero needs for all of his growth to come to a head and manifest itself all at once in a moment of enlightenment called apotheosis; this realization is the death blow to the old self and beliefs, and the embracing of the new; this is punctuated by a symbolic (sometimes literal) death and resurrection

My moment of enlightenment was learning and accepting that I was ready to get married and possibly start a family. (Fortunately, Sara! was amenable to both of these.) Becoming a husband and father was most definitely the “death” of my being single and whatever manner of “footloose and fancy-free” I may have been. My “resurrection” was becoming part of a greater whole and, later, a father.

It’s been an interesting part of the journey and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Namaste.

Sunday – 04 January 2015
Day 4: Via negativia; today, pick a habit that you’d like to eliminate from your life. Bad habits are like armpits, we all have ‘em and they all stink. Whether cutting soda out of your life, or putting a stop to your porn addiction; either way, as with yesterday, think about the steps you’ll take in order to put the kibosh on that negative habit. And again, also think about how you’ll keep yourself accountable to that goal.

This one is easy: I’d like to eliminate my occasional lack of patience with Team DiVa.

They’re three and despite their precocious natures, they sometimes – not surprisingly – act like… three-year-olds. There are times when they do things that are 180 degress opposite of what I’ve asked or told them to do.

At these times, my patience is tested… irritation peaks… and temper flares.

The main thing that I need to do is: Remember that they are three and respond to them calmly… even – or especially – when I want to explode inside. Take a deep breath. Walk away. You know: Be (or at least act like) a mature adult.

Fortunately, Sara! is good about pointing out when my response to the girls is disproportionate to their behavior. I’m becoming more aware of my reactions and and trying to be better about being more even-tempered in dealing with the girls when they’re pushing the envelope.

As the saying goes: The longest journey beings with a single step.

Namaste.

 

May your Christmas be merry, your Kwanzaa be joyous, and your New Year be happy!

Namaste.