I should be asleep!

Ok, it's 5ish a.m. and I'm sitting in here on the damn computer on my day off. Damn! Why you ask? (Well, let's just pretend you asked, ok!) Honey woke up about an hour ago and realized that FGS and two of his friends were in the living room, still awake, and playing X-box or something. Normally this isn't a big deal. In fact during the summer it's pretty common around here, but they're driving to Dallas later this morning for Warp Tour (sorry I don't have a link for that but feel free to google it. Go ahead, I'll wait...). And then they'll be driving back about 11pm tonight. Now I'll be the first to admit that Honey is wound a little tight when it comes to stuff like this, especially if it's something she neither understands nor agrees with, but this certainly isn't the wisest thing FGS has done either.
This all started at 4am when my alarm clock went off (so I guess it's my fault). Why the alarm clock was on is a whole other story...I'm on semi-vacation all this week. NO ALARM CLOCKS!!!!!!! Anyway, Honey gets all riled up and I try to ignore her when she gets like that, especially in the middle of the night because I know that if I get too far from Sleepville I'll never get back. Sure enough, here I am, up making tea after laying awake in bed for an hour.

So I thought I'd take advantage of the time and do something I hadn't done in a while; blog. So last night we went to the Concert in the Gardens for the symphony and fireworks show. Music was ok, fireworks were awesome, especially the finale. I've never seen so many fireworks set off at one time; it was so bright you could hardly look at it at one point. They do this at the Botanical Gardens every summer. In fact they have a whole series of concerts through June and most end with Fireworks. Saturday is the last one at the Gardens and they're doing music by The Eagles. LOL, I just realized the Fort Worth Sympony will be doubling as an Eagles cover band. Again, I'd offer a link but...

Ok, I'm off to make some blog rounds and visit some people I haven't talked to in a while.

Happy 4th everyone.

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

INDIANA JONES - Don't pay full price!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but FGS works at a local movie theatre so sometimes we get to see free movies. And occasionally we get to see a sneak preview with the rest of the theatre staff. Last night was one of those nights. We, (FGS, Diva Daughter) and I got to the theatre about 10pm last night to see the new INDIANA JONES movie. I have to say I was a little disappointed. Fortunately my expections weren't really high to begin with. I think it could've been great; all the ingredients were there but they just couldn't pull it off.

Of course sequels are almost never as good, certainly not better than the originals. But having said that I still hoped this would be a great addition to an iconic franchise. The plot was redundant and the outcome was just silly. There are too many other good movies out right now to waste your money on this movie. I suggest waiting until it hits the dollar movies or video stores. But if you absolutely must see it then DO NOT pay full price; find a matinee.

Happy Memorial Day / 3-Day weekend

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

DEAD WOOD

Had a little "disagreement" with Honey on the way home from work yesterday and as I lay in bed later that night I was reminded of a timeless and prophetic line from the HBO series Deadwood:



"Tread lightly he who lives in hope of pussy"

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

(and tread lightly)

Michael

Shameless Bragging

The past year hasn’t been one of the best for us. The few of you that still stop by here know about my mother, but there've been other things going on that I just haven’t talked about online. Nothing as bad as my mom dying, but still…

Finally some good news; my Friggin’ Genius Son will be graduating high school next month. We thought he was going to college somewhere local but a few weeks ago he decided he wanted to go to Howard Payne University. He was accepted almost immediately (3.99 GPA) but the big question was how we’d pay for it. We just got word today that he’d been awarded a $30,000 scholarship by the university. He was eligible for larger ones but since he didn’t decide he wanted to go there until late we missed some of the deadlines. He’s also hoping he can play basketball and tennis there. There won’t be any scholarship money in that but it’s something he enjoys so we’re hopeful.

We're going out there Monday to visit the school. We'll be meeting with the financial aid people while he meets the head of the math department and the basketball coach.

Wish us luck!

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

Honor Thy Father & Mother

How often do you talk to your parents?

How often do you tell them how much you appreciate them?

Do you appreciate them?

My Dad died years ago, I was 30. I had just gotten on the heart team at work when my Dad went into the ICU the first time. I'm pretty sure he knew that I'd made the heart team, and that he was proud of me for that, but he went down hill pretty fast so I never knew for sure. I didn't cry a lot when he died, to the point where several people were worried about me. It just didn't seem necessary or appropriate at the time. My parents' views on death were very matter-of-fact. It's a part of life and, if you believe in God, it's a time of sadness more for the people left behind than the person who just died.

Why the sudden return to posting? (and don't get too used to it-I'm not promising any kind of regular schedule)

And why on such a morbid topic?

Because my Mom died a couple of weeks ago. She went into the hospital on Friday with bronchitis and pneumonia, which wasn't unusual for her; for about the last twenty years she'd get bronchitis every time the wind changed. I went up to see her on Saturday and stayed most of the day with her. On Monday morning my sister called and said they were having trouble getting her to wake up so I left work immediately. I was about half-way to the hospital and my sister called back and said she was gone. She was 82.

A couple of years ago my Mom's health got to the point that she couldn't live by herself, but wasn't to the point that she needed round-the-clock care like in a nursing home. She didn't want to move out of her house (which is the house I grew up in) so my sister and her family moved in with her. For that reason my Mom's death has been a lot harder on my sister and her three daughters than on me and my family. But even though I live an hour away, and I only talked to my Mom and sister once a week or so, it's strange not having her there. I think about stuff I need to talk to her about, or ask about, or whatever, then I remember that she's not there. It's a lot different losing the second parent. After Dad died we still had Mom to take care of and think about. Now it's more final. It's like the end of an era; a phase of your life has come and gone. That sounds very philosophical, and a little melodramatic, but I don't know any other way to say it. It just feels different after you've lost the second parent.

A few months ago Diva Daughter was selling pens and stuff as a fundraiser for the school band and my Mom bought a pen with her name engraved on it (as any good grandmother would). The fundraiser stuff arrived last week. DD was sorting the stuff and getting it ready to deliver when she came across the pen Grandmother had ordered. She came into the bedroom where Honey and I were watching TV, not crying, not quite teary-eyed but definitely a little red, she dropped the pen on the bed turned and walked out. Honey and I looked at each other, confused until I picked up the pen and saw the name on it.

You hear the cliche all the time about loving the people in your life while you can, but I guarantee you that after they're gone you'll never say "I spent way to much time with them when they were alive", or "You know, I think I might have hugged them a little too often".

Go hug someone you love RIGHT NOW.

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

Big Events

This has been a pretty monumentous week for me. I'm at my sister's house right now so I can't go into details, but I'll make a real post later.

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

Long Time No Post...

It's been a while since I've posted so I'm going to ease back into this with a little Q & A meme. I stole this from another blogger so feel free to steal it from me; just let me know so I can stop by and check out your answers.

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship? ("Define 'serious'...")
A. My wife tells me I am.

2) What was your dream growing up?
A. I don't know...I don't remember having any big dreams when when I was a kid. Heck, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

3) What talent do you wish you had?
A. I wish I were musical...I'd want to be able to sing with great range and play a variety of instruments.

4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
A. Jim Beam & Coke.

5) Favorite vegetable?
A. Are potatoes a vegetable? Maybe not. Ok then green beans..

6) What was the last book you read?
A. "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey

7) What day of the week were you born on? Or Zodiac sign, your choice?
A. I was born on a Thursday (go here to find out). I'm a Cancer.

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
A. No tattoos, yet. I've thought of getting tats on my shoulder (I still have decent shoulders). My left ear is pierced but I don’t wear an ear ring anymore.

9) Worst Habit?
A. I guess that depends on who you ask...I procrastinate. I'm a neat freak, I'm impatient, I eat too much when I'm bored, drink too much coffee, sand I bite my fingernails, but that’s getting better.

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
A. Depends on who’s asking; as a rule I don’t pick up guys on the street. I’ve offered a lift to women and women with children and I’ve been picked up before.

11) What is your favorite sport?
A. I like playing all the usual sports; football, basketball, tennis, golf, racquetball, swimming. I like watching all the uncommon sports like you’d see during the Olympics, and anything my kids are playing.

12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
A. I’m pretty optimistic.

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
A. Engage in some stimulating conversation until we were rescued.

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
A. My best friend was killed by a drunk driver 17 years ago.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
A.

16) Do you have any pets?
A. No, not at the moment. We had two dachshunds but they’re gone now (story for another time), but we’re getting a new dachshund puppy in a few weeks.

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
A. As long as you’re not selling something I’d probably invite you in for a drink, or maybe dinner. If Honey was home she’d probably have a fit because the house wasn’t clean enough for company.

18) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
A. Both.

19) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
A. Lose the spare tire.

20) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
A. What are we doing tonight partner?

21) What color eyes do you have?
A. Hazel.

22) Ever been arrested?
A. Not yet, but I have been handcuffed in the back of a police car.

23) Bottle or can soda?
A. I don’t drink sodas unless there’s bourbon or rum added.

24) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
A. See Q#6 – I’d pay off bills.

25) What's your favorite place to hang out?
A. The deck/patio of one of the restaurants in Port Aransas with family, a warm breeze blowing in off the gulf, and a cool drink in hand.

26) Do you believe in ghosts?
A. I used to but I don’t think I do anymore.

27) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A. What spare time. If I had spare time I’d blog more than once every six months.

28) Do you swear a lot?
A. Hell no. I try to only swear if it’s funny. Was that funny?

29) Biggest pet peeve?
A. Stupid people. Stupidity can take many forms; bigotry, ignorance, intolerance, driving slow in the fast lane.

30) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
A. Eclectic

31) Do you believe in/appreciate romance?
A. I’m a born romantic but I don’t think Honey appreciates my romantic side.

32) Do you believe in God?
A. Absolutely.

That seems like an odd question to end with but there you go. Now go post this on your blog and leave me a comment letting me know you played.

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

My Birthday...last year...

Yes, that's how far behind I am. When I started blogging it was with the intent that it would be therapeutic, an interactive diary of sorts. So why did I quit? Especially when so much was happening and it seemed I needed it the most? I guess the easy answer is LIFE got in the way. It all started on my birthday last year.

July 6, 2006-I had taken the day off for my 39th birthday and was spending it out and about with the wife and kids when my sister calls. They've put my Mom in the hospital again and the Dr.s are telling Little Sis (LS) to get all her papers in order. {My Mom is 81 years old and she decided after my Dad died that she didn't want any ventilators or tubes so she signed a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order and gave LS her medical power of attorney in the event that she couldn't tell them herself when the time came. And it sounded like the time was coming.} Honey and I drop off the kids and head to the hospital. We get there and Mom is refusing to wear the C-Pap. For those who aren't medical or have never had sleep apnea, a C-Pap is a mask that fits tightly over your face and basicly forces air into and out of your lungs, like a ventilator but without the tube down your throat. It's most commonly used for people with sleep apnea and the Doc prescribed one for my Mom two years ago. She has steadfastly refused to wear it opting instead for an oxygen tank and a nasal cannula. She didn't want to wear the C-Pap and she was ready to die that night. There were two things wrong with that.

#1 - LS and I agreed that her wearing something that had been prescribed to her for two years did not constitute "heroic measures" on our part.\

#2 - And I know this was kind of selfish but IT'S MY FREAKIN' BIRTHDAY!!!!! My Mother can't die on my birthday! That's just not right.

So LS and I stayed up all night either fighting with Mom to keep the C-Pap on or watching her "O2 sats" and waking her to take a deep breath whenever they dropped into the 80s. It was a fun night.
We all made it through and Mom got better. She left the hospital a couple of weeks later and when to a nursing home where she could get round-the-clock care and on site physical therapy until she was strong enough to come home. While she was in the nursing home LS and her family moved into the old homestead to take care of Mom. The used to live next door but everyone felt that Mom's days of living alone were at an end. LS's in-laws sold their house (about two miles away in the same little town) and moved into LS's old house so the whole clan is living here on ten acres in Texas. Just like the old days. Mom is still here. In fact I'm at the old homestead now. LS and family went to Oklahoma to visit the distant in-laws for Labor Day Weekend and I come stay with Mom whenever they go out of town. I'm glad we didn't honor Mom's wishes, at least that time.

I'm off all next week so maybe I can get everyone caught up on life thus far. Maybe.


Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

Better late than never...I guess...

We finally got to take Diva Daughter out for her birthday, but it wasn't as great as she'd hoped. Her birthday was actually two weeks ago but she was sick on Friday so we had to postpone. She had planned on having her two best friends over to spend the night Friday, then go out for breakfast and go see Ghost Rider Saturday morning. One of her friends couldn't make it this past weekend so that was kind of a bummer. And I think she just wasn't feeling all that great because she was kind of whiney all weekend. There wasn't really anything bad that happened, just a bunch of little things that didn't go the way she wanted and she got all frustrated and griped about little stuff. LIKE WHAT? you're asking. Well...

It really started Friday night. A new TGIFriday's opened here about two weeks ago and DD decides about 7pm Friday night she wants to go there for dinner. I warned her it would be crowded and we'd have to wait but she wanted to go so I left work and met them there. Sure enough the wait is about an hour and this makes DD mad. The next morning Honey decides she doesn't want to go because she doesn't really want to see this movie, then five minutes after we leave Honey changes her mind and we have to go back to get her. This makes DD mad. We go to La Madeleine's for breakfast and DD wants a de-caff cappucino (she's 12 now and ordering coffee makes her sound big) but we recently found out she's lactose intolerant and they don't have soy milk. This makes DD mad. She orders orange juice instead, but it has pulp. This makes DD mad. The restaurant was really busy and the only clean tables were in the back close to the bathrooms. This made Honey mad because she WON'T sit in the smoking section or near the bathrooms. This makes DD mad. She and her friend decide to sit by themselves. She orders a breakfast croissant w/out tomatoes. When it arrives it has tomatoes. This makes DD mad.



Somehow we make it through breakfast and we walk to the theatre about two blocks away. It was freakishly windy and although the sun was out it was pretty cold. This makes DD mad. But she loved the movie. Nicolas Cage has moved waaay up on DD's "Actors I want to marry and hang posters on my wall" list; he may have even moved up to #2, behind Johnny Depp, of course. DD loves the "Pirates" so as long as they keep making them (#3 will be out this summer) he'll stay at the #1 spot.



Anyway, the movie was totally stupid but totally fun. FGS (soon to be 17) saw it the previous weekend and loved it which was the main reason Honey changed her mind about going. She watched the movie through her hands most of the time waiting for the scary stuff. This made DD happy. It's certainly not the best movie take on a comic character, but it's not the worst either. It's pretty much mindless action movie fun; something fun to do some afternoon. And I definitely recommend going to a matinee, don't pay full nightime prices. It's good, but it's no Spider-Man. It's rated PG-13 but just for some quick scarry images; nothing most 10 yr. old boys wouldn't love. And speaking of things boys love...Eva Mendez was pretty hot too.



Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

Crappy Birthday

Last Wednesday was Diva Daughter’s birthday and the actual day was ok. I went into work late so I could make breakfast for her, then we took her to the Olive Garden for dinner. Honey’s brother met us there which DD loved; he’s a pretty cool uncle. When we got home we gave she got her presents; she made a pretty good haul. But when you’re birthday falls during the week (and birthday’s usually last all week long around here anyway) the real festivities don’t happen until the weekend. DD had big plans too; several of her girlfriends were coming over after school Friday to spend the night, then we were going out for breakfast and going to see “GHOST RIDER”. She was really looking forward to it.

Unfortunately things started going wrong Thursday night. DD woke up about midnight sick to her stomach. Poor thing was in the bathroom about every 90 minutes hanging her head over the toilet. I came home from work early on Thursday because I wasn’t feeling good (sinuses) and after being up with her most of the night I wasn’t doing much better on Friday so we both stayed home. We spent the day catching up on old stuff saved on the DVR, but she didn’t get to have her big birthday weekend.

By Saturday we were both feeling better so we went to breakfast, ran some errands, and just hung out. Then we went to the Olive Garden again (it’s her favorite) Saturday night with the Big Family which is Honey’s whole side of the family. It looks like we’re going to try again this weekend so we’ll see how it goes. She doesn’t get to have friends over as often as FGS does so the fact that we’re ten days past shouldn’t damper things any.

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

CORTEO

Corteo is the latest show by Cirque du Soleil, but it's the first one Honey and I have seen live. Seeing it on TV just isn't the same! We heard several people who had been to other Cirque shows say Corteo wasn't as good as the others. Didn't matter to us though; I guess that's the good thing about it being our first time.









We went to the Sunday afternoon performance (obviously I didn't take this or any of these pics) with Honey's brother and her parents and my only regret is that we didn't take the kids. Even my sarcastic, cynical teenage son would have loved it, and Diva Daughter would have been in heavan. Honey was a little worried when she found out that the performance was actually in a tent, but this wasn't your normal tent.













Just so you've got some point of reference we sat in section 202. Honey's parents were on the front row we sat behind them. These were pretty good seats except that a couple of times the extensive rigging blocked the view of the stage. The first couple of rows of sections 204 or 205 would've been better, or if you can afford it any of the sections in red. But I'm certainly not complaining, especially since the in-laws treated us.










Corteo is Italian for parade or procession, in this case a funeral procession. In the story a circus clown has a dream about his own funeral. In this dream he is escorted by angels to watch as his fellow performers celebrate his life in their own way by each doing their own performance.






Here the clown is escorted by the angels and begging them not to drop him.

















This was part of the opening "dream sequence".













I'm not really sure what ladies swinging from a chandelier have to do with a circus, but then again it is a dream.






















And a nice dream it was; kind of reminded me of my trip to New Orleans when I was a kid. Well, I was 18.


















Who hasn't jumped on their parents bed?



This was another part of the dream sequence where acrobats bounced around on bed trampolines.

They made it look sort or random and scattered, as jumping on the bed should be, but it really was amazing how they did all that without colliding into each other.

This was one of the simplest and yet neatest parts of the show. This little women (couldn't have been more than 36" tall) was suspended in this harness that allowed her to spin around 360 degrees while suspended from these huge helium balloons. The clown would "carry" her with one hand and then push her out over the audience where she would float until she came down into the crowd and she would push off of someone's hands (or head) in another direction. The whole time the clown is telling jokes and talking to her (he called her Balletina) and she would giggle and flirt with the crowd

These guys actually rolled around inside these giant hula hoops. At one point there were five of them going on this tiny stage. I know it doesn't sound like much, but you'd really have to see it.

If you''ve been to the circus or to Cirque lately you've probably seen a balancing act similar to this, but the different thing about this was that the whole time they were doing these different balancing poses that ring they're in was spinning. Oh, and did I mention that both of these people were about 3 feet tall. Yes, that's the same lady that was floating in the balloon.

If you get the chance to go to this or any other show by Cirque du Soleil I highly recommend it.

Vaya con Dios mis Amigos,

Michael

Mardi Gras 2007

Mardi Gras.

Fat Tuesday.

The last day to indulge before beginning a 40 day fast.

So where did this tradition of trading beads for boobs originate?














New Orleans?
















Brazil?













Mexico?












Some college Fraternity?












Does it really matter????











If you're partying tonight be careful.

Vaya con Dios mis amigos,

Michael