Random Access

Tuesday – 02 June 2015
Today hasn’t been bad, on the whole. Sure, there was that whole “getting a ‘Can you look at this…?’ call at 5:30 this morning” thing. A problem that rectified itself while I was still hearing about what was broken.

*sigh*

Of course, that was after I’d been in bed for about four hours, because I’d forgotten to do some laundry that I needed for this morning – gym stuff, not skivvies – and had to stay up long enough to wash things and put them in the dryer.

*braincramp*

So, this morning’s trip to the gym was lost to the need for more sleep. I could have gone to the gym on four hours’ sleep, but I did that yesterday and I don’t relish getting that little sleep on back-to-back days.

Last night, I tried something new with Team DiVa. Rather than doing  Blue’s Clues or Wonder Pets before bed, I decided to go with a bedtime story for the girls. So… I went downstairs, got a few D&D supplements  (like you do), and proceeded to spin a tale about The Gumdrop Pirates – Captain Diana and First Mate Vanessa – “continuing” a story that my father-in-law made up for them a few weeks ago and that Sara spun a tale about, a few nights ago.

I know what you’re thinking: “Why the D&D books?” Easy answer: They gave me picture references for easy associations on the girls’ parts.

Examples: I told them that pirates had to have a sword, so they picked out the types of swords they wanted to “have” from one of the books. I was also able show pictures of a dragon (one showed up) and townspeople (because they started in a port town).

The other reason was: While I wasn’t exactly teaching them to play D&D, I did tell the story in an interactive manner, much like the way a DM sets the scene for a player group: I gave them a very broad situation – going to a store or talking to travelers – and let them tell me what they wanted to do. The basic story had them setting out on their ship, getting to port, getting supplies, traveling to a cave to find treasure (candy and gold coins – hey, it’s what they said they wanted to find), and returning home.

It went over well, the ladies did a great job explaining what it was “they” were doing and how they did it. My inner geek was pleased. After I finished the story, they wanted to tell stories, as well. They each told a variation of the story I’d just told, but with embellishments. I was quite proud of how they each put their own spin on the story.

After the ladies went to bed, I went downstairs to spend some time playing Disney Infinity… which is how I lost track of time and forgot about doing laundry, until far too late into the night.

Stray Toasters

• Sara snapped this picture yesterday before dinner.
  

  Shirts: Pink or with pink on them…

• Why Do You Have To Say She’s Black?
• Acting TSA Director Reassigned After Screeners Failed to Detect Explosives, Weapons
• I really need to clean up the Train Room, so I can finish building the last section of the train table…
• This Comic Will Change the Way You Look at Privilege Forever
• Spock and Saavik, huh? Missed that one. Apparently, I didn’t pay enough attention during Star Trek III.

Namaste.

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.

Wednesday – 27 May 2015
I’ve been meaning to record these a little closer to the times that I’ve actually done the workouts, but that hasn’t happened. But, at least I have been making it to the gym. So, there’s that.

• 21 May
  Elliptical: 10 min/1 mi
  Bench Press: 3 x 8 x 115 lbs
  Incline Press: 3 x 8 x 70 lbs
  Fly: 3 x 8 x 70 lbs
  Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 8 x 25 lbs
  Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  Wrist Curls (fwd): 3 x 15 x 30 lbs
  Wrist Curls (rev): 3 x 15 x 30 lbs
• 22 May
  Elliptical: 7 min/0.75 mi
  Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  Leg Extension: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  Leg Curl: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
• 26 May
  Lat Pulldown (long bar): 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  Lat Pulldown (short grip): 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  Row: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  Shoulder Raises/Fly: 3 x 8 x 10 lbs
  Side Bends: 3 x 8 x 20 lbs
  Rope Pulldown: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
  Tricep Press: 3 x 8 x 60
• 27 May
  Elliptical: 10 min/1.1 mi
  Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 100 lbs
  Leg Press: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs
  Leg Extension: 3 x 8 x 62.5 lbs
  Leg Curl: 3 x 8 x 65 lbs
  Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 100 lbs
  Standing Calf Raises: 3 x 8 x 80 lbs

Namaste.

I forgot about this until friend posted something elsewhere: It’s Towel Day.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

Monday – 25 May 2015
Today is Memorial Day in the United States.

Please remember that the day isn’t about being “the (unofficial) first day of Summer” or “just a day off” or finding a fantastic bargain during great sales.

It’s a day to commemorate those who have given their lives to protect the freedoms that we enjoy.

Namaste.

Excerpted from a conversation with Sara!:

Rob: Is [coworker] around?

Sara: Yes. She is.

Rob: Ask her: WHAT. IS. THIS?!! http://boingboing.net/2015/05/20/how-to-fluff-chicken-butts-fl.html
Because I don’t have anything resembling words for it.
(NOTE: Sara’s coworker has a sister who raises chickens.)

Sara: Umm…. this is why we will never get chickens.

* – Apologies to The Presidents of the United States of America

Wednesday – 20 May 2015
I didn’t get up this morning to go to the gym. No, that’s not entirely correct. Let’s try that again: I woke up this morning, in time to go to the gym, but decided not to do so, thanks to a not-happy stomach and a headache. I regret nothing.

At work, I called into a meeting, had a couple of impromptu business-related talks with people and apparently spaced off another meeting altogether. Go, me! The later meeting was for a software upgrade – one that I didn’t have to do – and got pushed back a bit until I got to the office. It was further delayed by some VM issues, along with a side helping of someone needing a cluster of servers rebooted. The shutdowns were easy; the reboots were not, mostly because the servers were on a VMware host whose existence I was only tangentially aware of.

::: braincramp :::
“Drat these computers…”

But, I managed to get things resolved.

For lunch, Adam, Brad, Kelsey (!), and I went to Lucky 13. There was a pretty major wait for food, but it was worth it. I went with the Hot Pastrami and Swiss Burger; I was not let down.

Now, I’m tackling an issue that popped up this morning… as a side-effect of the software upgrade. We’ll see if that takes me until the end of the day to rectify.

Stray Toasters

• David Letterman steps down from the late night stage tonight. I’ve been a fan of his since… 1985, I think. Possibly ’84. Either way, it’s the end of an era. I wish him well on the next leg of his journey.
• I quite liked this series of strips from Sinfest:
  
  
  
  
  
• Princes of the Apocalypse is D&D’s Killer App

.eof

Tuesday – 19 May 2015
This morning, I managed to get out of bed once again and make it to the gym before work. This is a “good” thing, as Guys’ Night Out was moved to tonight and trying to go to the gym after that would most definitely come under the heading of “bad idea.”

Work has been decent. There’s been nothing to complain about today. I like days like that.

Exactly.

Shortly, I’ll head home to (help) figure out what to feed Team DiVa for dinner and then prepare to bugger off for the aforementioned Guys’ Night Out. On the way home, I might even stop at the comic shop. Because nothing says “adult” like going to the comic shop when you want to.

Workout
While I did get to the gym this morning, I was still a little slow about getting there. Nevertheless, I was there and I did my workout. #neverskipalegday

• Elliptical: 10 min/1.1 miles
• Smith squats: 3 x 8 x 115 (I think, I need to check the weight of the bar)
• Leg press: 3 x 8 x 80
• Leg extensions: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
• Leg curls: 3 x 8 x 60
• Standing calf raises: 3 x 8 x 80
• Standing calf raises: 3 x 8 x 60

I could tell that it was a leg day when I got to work and my quads complained – just a little – all the way up the stairs. To be honest, I should: A) get to the gym earlier, and B) some lunges to my routine… despite the fact that lunges are of the Devil (…and the Devil is bad.)

Stray Toasters

• Sara shared this with me, a little while ago; it’s a good read.
  United We Parent: Raising Teens and Loving It
• Longinus!
• New Wind Turbine Generates Electricity Without Rotating Blades
• From glassdoor: 25 Best Cities for Jobs

Namaste.

Monday – 18 May 2015
Happy Miracle Monday (1, 2).

Today finds me back in the office. I enjoyed last week’s class, but it was a LOT of information crammed into five days. I appreciated the time away from “work,” but there’s something to be said for being back in the swing of things.

Of course, I would have preferred to have gotten back to it this morning, rather than last night…

I got a call, just as Team DiVa was going to bed, that a server was down. By the time I was able to log in and start looking, I got another call, from a different user, saying that another server was down.

::: braincramp :::

Once I started looking, I noted that it wasn’t so much a “server” issue as it was a “virtual host” issue. And it was one that didn’t want to let me fix it remotely. So, into work I went. At 9:30 at night.

*grblsnrkx*

After banging on things for a while, I resorted to the time-honored IT tradition of: “Turn it off and then turn it back on.” That worked, for the most part. There was still one issue that didn’t resolve. I tinkered with a few settings and got that issue fixed… at least for the time being. There’s a long-term solution in the works, it’s just a matter of timing.

Workout
This morning, I also woke up a little before 6:30, chock full of the good intention of going to the gym. I actually got up and out of bed and – albeit a little more slowly than I should have – got ready to go. I had to abbreviate this morning’s routine due to time constraints, but the bottom line is: I got in a workout.

• Elliptical: 7 min, 0.75 mile
• Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 x 70 lbs
• Short Grip Pulldowns: 3 x 8 x 70 lbs
• Row: 3 x 8 x 70 lbs
• Standing Rope Pulldown: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs
• Standing Tricep Press: 3 x 8 x 60 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Saturday night, Sara! and I watched Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. It’s been a while since I’d seen it. I celebrated the occasion by live-tweeting it… which entertained me nearly as much as the movie itself. I think we’re going to watch Return of the Jedi tonight. I may live-tweet that, too. Because… I can.
• Kronkiwongi
• Who were the Forty Elephants?
• I hope to be as understanding and willing/able to let the girls explore their choices as this mom was: Mom’s dilemma: Should I let my 6-year-old daughter shave her head?
• As I mentioned above, today is “Miracle Monday.” The story was written by Eliot S. Maggin, who also wrote Luthor’s Gift, a short story I just discovered today. Enjoy.

Okay, back to the grind.

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.

Saturday – 02 May 2015
Today is Free Comic Book Day, a day awaited by the comic faithful all year long. Long story, short version:

Celebrate and discover the amazing world of comic books on Free Comic Book Day! Taking place annually on the first Saturday in May, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops!¹

Sara, Team DiVa and I got up, had breakfast, and headed to Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection to partake in the bounty!

We stood in line for a bit… before friends brought us up to their spot in line… and then went inside to get comics for the girls and me and a couple of action figures (1, 2) for Team DiVa. We also managed to find a few other heroes to take pictures with.

The New Birds of Prey: Hawkgirls and Black Canary

Click here to see other pictures from the event.

All too soon, it was over… until next year!

And, of course, thanks to Dr. Volt’s for hosting this event.

¹ – Source: Free Comic Book Day website.

Wednesday – 22 April 2015
Today is Earth Day.

It is also No Bad News Thursday Eve.

But, possibly the most important news of the day is that my coworker, Brad, and I have come up with what could possibly be the best movie concept in the history of concepts that became movies.

We were deciding where to have lunch, when we settled on Five Guys. Then we started mutilating the name in Spanish: Cinco Hombres…

…which then became Cinco Muertes, “Five Deaths,”¹ to our amusement.

At that point, Brad suggested that the Wu Tang Clan should portray the Five Deaths. This was, in my opinion, a great idea. But, I took it one step further:

 Cinco Muertes Silenciosas: The Five Silent Deaths.

In the tradition of only the best kung-fu movies, The Five Silent Deaths set out to avenge the untimely death of their master from a rival clan… each of them taking a vow of silence until their rivals had been destroyed. Brad questioned how well this would work, as it seemed to be counterintuitive to have Wu Tang Clan unable to rap. This was a good point. I posited that they would only communicate by beat-boxing. (There could even be a cameo from Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. Or even The Fat Boys.)

We let it go for a while and continued our drive to Five Guys.

Over lunch, we were talking about Nic Cage, King of the B Movies. It wasn’t long until our conversation turned towards The Rock – the best Michael Bay movie not to star Will Smith and not The Actor Also Known as Dwayne Johnson. For some reason, I then came to the conclusion that Nic Cage needed to star in a movie with Christopher Lloyd… and just let the crazy happen. Brad thought about this for a few moments and then noted that Crispin Glover should be added to the cast, along with Christopher Walken. I asked why not include Christian Bale, for some added intensity. Brad didn’t disagree.

Then, came the revelation: These five actors should be The Five Silent Deaths and that Wu Tang Clan could provide the soundtrack.

Somebody get me an agent, I have a movie to make.

¹ – Apologies for any horrible bastardization of the Spanish language in this post. I took Latin in high school, so Spanish isn’t exactly my strong suit.

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.