thought for the day
Mushrooms are members of the mycelium family, at least that’s what I say to sound smart.
I heard a TED speaker (Paul Stamets) speak about mycelium (fungi) and how they are being studied for ways to help the environment. If you don’t subscribe to the TEDtalks podcast in iTunes, you are doing yourself a disservice. While a few of the talks are really “out there,” most have a good speaker talking about something (event, person, happening) that is evoking change in the world. The premise behind TED is to evoke thought, and this talk certainly did! Here is a link to the talk: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world.html
Jake has completed his required observed belay sessions, so is ready to take his final belay test at the local indoor climbing gym. He has really enjoyed the challenge, as he does with most outdoor activities. I will try to see if there is an outdoor club that he can join, on his own to continue the climbing. He’s very athletic, and enjoys all of the time spent recreating outdoors.
After spending more than a month over the past two years outside, he’s anxious to spend more time outside. I do believe that he needs someone to push him to continue to stretch his climbing, camping, and hiking. While you believe that your children can do whatever they want when they grow up, I can firmly believe that Jake will be happiest outside. He is not driven by money, so being a park ranger is certainly not out of the question – even if not directly after college (or high school). At least I know he’ll have a job to fall back on if he wants!
Here is my son’s metropolitan police call box rocket – before having a pseudo successful flight. There was a bit of damage after yesterday’s flight due to a shock cord that burned through (so the parachute and top landed safely but the bottom didn’t). With some loving care, it will fly again! You can graciously ignore my thumb in the bottom right – I’m still not used to my phone’s camera capabilities!
Get your tissues out:
http://www.onetruemedia.com
Well, another Christmas has come and gone. It is actually still the Christmas season, since yesterday was only the start of the 12 days of Christmas. In standard form, we put up our tree just a few days before Christmas, and Sue decorated it Christmas Eve (during the day). Sue’s Mom was here to visit, and left on the 26th. Having her here created the only stress of the holiday.
Connie has always been a highly opinionated person, never afraid to speak what is on her mind. This visit was no exception. While most of the visit was nice, she had some blood sugar issues, mixed with some bull-headed behavior. When her blood sugar dropped quite a bit (the first time), she and Sue got into the first real argument in years. It was not until later that Sue realized that she was talking to a sugar-deprived person, who is very much like a drunk in action. Irrational in thought, with slurred speech to boot. A discussion with my sister later in the day gave Sue better ammunition for fighting the physical side of low blood sugar for the rest of the trip.
In any case, I was very proud of my wife for standing up to her mother. The fact that Sue is approaching 50 means that she doesn’t have to put up with anyone telling her that she is a bad mother or that she has made bad choices. The fact that we’ve been together for 20+ years and that we have two wonderful children (who, granted, have their own problems), is proof enough that she has led a wonderfully fulfilling life, at least thus far. Having her own mother see her as a failure is not something that I will ever put up with. I’ll simply separate her from that irritant to the degree possible. Sue is more wonderful than her mother will ever know – which, ironically, means that kudos need to go to her mother for allowing the base of her child to be so strong.
For some reason, I couldn’t sleep past about 3:30 this morning. I had a great deal of thought running around in my head, so decided to listen to music. I was listening to many different bands, from several different genres. Yes, Genesis, 3 Doors Down, and so on. I have quite the eclectic collection on my iPod shuffle. As several of the artists came on, I was reminded of many of my former friends. I say former only because I have lost touch with them. A blanket of emotions overcame me in thinking about these friends and how they each touched me. None of these take away from my life today. For the most part, I love my life today. However, that life that I love is in part to the history that brought me to today.
Marybeth, Martie, Cindy, and a few others seem to have made the deepest impressions in the tracks of my brain. The tracks of my brain – the wondering of my mind…
Marybeth
We met when working together in a restaurant; I was a manager and she, a waitress. I was struggling as a manager, as it was certainly not my life calling. It was allowing me to get around the money needed to head back to school so I could get on with my life. I was working many hours each week, working my tail off each day – enough that I didn’t have much life outside of work. Marybeth (MB) came to my restaurant when I made the “confession” that I was dating another head waitress – completely against the rules. The other waitress moved to another store in our chain so I could continue my “career” untarnished. Marybeth was a head waitress at the other location and agreed to come to our store as a “trade” so that she could get more experience in a busier location. From early on, she and I got along very well. She and I started joking around from the first day, although our shifts didn’t often match. She was the head waitress for the 3 – 11 shift, and I managed mostly the night (11 – 7 AM) shift. This, of course, meant that she was still there when I came on site. We got to know each other much better when my management skills improved and I started working second shift with her. We were quite the team. She was a very strong waitress who could always make me laugh. She had such a warm personality and a killer smile. I was falling for her in ways that I wouldn’t know for quite a while.
With the exception of spurts of business during the weekday breakfast shift, these were the busiest and the most profitable shifts for the restaurant. Sundays were particular busy and on the rare occasion that I was managing and she was head waitress, we carried off the shifts with near perfection. While I don’t remember all of the details, I do know that we had that “wow, what a day” feeling at the end of it all. Success at a full shift was rare, but always with the two of us together. Later in life, those days helped me remember that adversity can be overcome, if only in short bursts.
Staind did a song named “It’s been a while” – a song of recovery and appologies. This is not about that!
It’s not been a while since I was at the gym – just two days. Sue and I have been very good at going 4+ days a week – 5:30 – 6:30 or so (AM, of course). We start with about 30 minutes of cardio (treadmill), then do either legs, arms, or upper body. On Thurday, we skipped the cardio and did legs and half of the arms. Both of us have been pushing hard at night, making that 5AM alarm sound so loud…
Of course, it’s now Saturday and the body alarm clock went off as usual shortly after 5. Where is that body / mind snooze button?
We’re hitting the gym at 8 today with both kids. Jake needs to start his stairmaster routine to get ready for the summer. I just need to do the full 35 minute routine that Gwynne has set up for me. A little walking (2 min), then 6.3 mph run for 5, a bit of walking at a steep grade, the alternating between 6.3mph run and a 4.5 walk at 4 – 5% grade. With my current weight, it’s a 550 calorie routine. While I feel like crap for the first few minutes, I am able to get into the routine. I rarely speed up what I am doing, and slow it down to keep going. With the walking, I do increase the incline to boost the caloric burn.
4 weeks to go and we will be in Jackson Hole. Hiking will be much easier for us now, and I fully expect to be in the best shape of anyone of my relatives that will be there. I do know that Sue is looking forward to being in good shape for her Mom and brothers to see.
Pictures to come afterwards!
VD – short for Valentine’s Day, of course… What were you thinking?
Okay – I’ve always hated Valentine’s Day. It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with Sue, but I never ever know what to get or how much to spend. VD is a mere two weeks before our anniversary, so we have always downplayed it. This year, I was presented with an opportunity to do a nice job of being a loving husband. As previously stated, we joined the local YMCA. I always find that I do a much better job working out with music blasting in my ears – and help take the concentration away from the pain in my body. I obtained an iPOD Shuffle last year and use it whenever I work out (walk, etc.). Sue has no such device. So…. I bought her a new MP3 player and filled it with several hours of love songs. I think she was touched by the personalization (rather than just from the electronic device). She has used it daily since then, and really likes the music. As a side note, this player has an integrated FM radio that can be used to listen to the TV audio that plays as well. So, you can sit on your butt, watching TV – all the while you are cruzing on the stationary bike.
The last Saturday in January, I finally convinced Sue to let the family join the local branch of the YMCA. It is located above the grocery store that is 1/4 mile from home, and opens at 5:30 AM Mon – Friday, and at 8:00 on Saturdays. It’s closed on Sunday – so it’s a mandatory day of rest (or walking outdoors). I had told her that I was going to join myself if she didn’t want to spend the money for the family. I have been walking a little in the mornings, but with it getting colder and colder, that was both an invitation to injury or sleeping in. With the treadmills at the Y, I am able to work out in a conditioned environment. The same as walking outside – no, but close! The gym is crowded in the mornings, but I always have a treadmill if I get there at 5:30, and always see people I know. The one thing that I have going for me is my iPod shuffle. I have great tunes and it allows me to walk through the tough workouts. On Friday, I take a class that will show me the other equipment for weight training. For now, however, I know how to walk so the treadmill is fine. I wonder how many days you should go before taking a rest day. Well, there’s always Sunday!
Recent Comments