Category: Blog

Please tip the writer. If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates aren’t bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

I have no idea if more words can help our nation-“The old writer couldn’t write anymore because he had reached the end of words, the end of what can be done with words. And then?” William S. Burroughs, The Western Lands. I love the Material version of this… I guess you go beyond words. The essential problem with that is one I’ve outlined elsewhere, this sort of stuff is really only done best face-to-face, and a blog just doesn’t cut it. Having said that, something has to be done. My HS classmate Bob has jumped ship-no family, so it’s possible for him. Thinking about it, though

So, it’s Monday. Weekend was meh-w/o Fri. and Sun.-I’m really pushing myself and getting minor injuries. Still minor, but I need to pay attention, because minor injuries worsen, especially as I get older and don’t heal as quickly. Sat., pretty quiet-didn’t want to do much, so I didn’t-got bathrooms clean, laundry, shopping, and that’s it. Watched John Wick 2 Sat. night-a bloodbath. Watched Dark Tower Sun. with M-less of a bloodbath-an interesting take on the novels, though-apparently the Gunslinger is stuck in a time loop, and this is the next time through, as there are significant differences between this one and the one in the novels. It got widely panned because of this, but I didn’t think it was horrendous. Also watched the new season of American Ninja Warrior. Got 2 tasks on my punch list done.
Skipped church Sun., shopped, did laundry that didn’t get folded, no vacuum. Signed a longer lease. Late in today-missed 2 buses, one was close, and missed the one home. I got a ride downtown from a co-worker, so it wasn’t so bad-though I had to run to make the bus home-one reason I’m glad I work out, running is much less of a thing. So, home, dinner, laundry, vacuum-the complex has a rule in place to vacuum once a week. Looks like I’m working over shutdown-a respite from the “week with no money”…
So Weds., w/o last night-very crowded. Did the bike because my knee hurts some, and it’s hard to push heavy leg weights when you’ve biked hard. My knee hurts less, though, so there’s that. Dinner, laundry, bed. Last day of school today. Missed my bus, got home in time to leave again. Gamelan was OK, home, dinner, laundry, bed, up today. The pattern holds.
On to Friday-Pride this weekend-don’t know how much I’ll be doing-since E started the booth, I’m a busy man that weekend. At least gamelan is next weekend, and we have some big schleps.

Links. brighter side: nothing this week. Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “We find in Renaissance painting something of the empirical spirit that was transforming mapping.”, Voyaging in Strange Seas

Please tip the writer. If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

So many bad things happening. Just don’t know how any of this is OK-we’re basically flushing our country down the toilet. Day by day, more stuff, gets worse and worse. So far, it’s just restricted to politics. That will likely change.

It’s a long weekend. E is still recuperating, so prolly quiet. We got out for a little while. E was super tired afterwards-she’s not getting enough nutrition. Did laundry and dishes and that’s it-no real cleaning. S is sad because no one came over to swim, so me and her went. C went to the Rose Festival with his gf, then spent Sun. and Mon at home. Church Sun., song went well, but we didn’t do the CCR piece. I want to tart it up with rock & roll, and the sheet he gave me is inadequate. Ran around, shopping, E got tired quick again, home. W/o Sat & Mon., I keep pushing-the run-walk-run I’m doing is called the “Galloway Method”, and I did it intuitively. I’m down to 45 secs each for the walk bit, which puts me at 20 minutes running over a half hour.
…and now Friday-pretty quiet-E had a Dr.’s app’t Weds., she’s lost 20ish pounds-the doc wants her to eat more. She dropped me off at work, went home and slept. We figured at gamelan that she should eat a lot of small meals rather than 3 big ones. WFH Thurs., M’s graduation ceremony, then Cracker Barrel for dinner.
W/o Friday, shop, dinner. S has a farewell party and I do too. Need to clean, laundry, etc. Well, it’s Monday. A pretty busy weekend. Got up, cleaned until it was time to go. Drove to Lake O, missed directions, finally got there, spent the afternoon in the sun. Paddled a canoe for a few minutes. Home, shower, 2nd party in a nice area in close SW. A thing. Home, sleep. No church for me, cleaned more. S haircut, home, w/o alone, dinner, bed-achy finger, so, so tired.
Up Mon., S out the door, car to shop, work, back to pick up the car, work, home, quick to the store w/S, dinner, laundry, bed. E is eating more. Up Tues. at the usual time-back to taking bus/train/train/bus. E was up early too. Easy in to work-I prefer public transit to driving-I guess it’s because I started my work life doing that in London. Home, S’s dinner, w/o-worked hard-maybe too much. Dinner, laundry, clean kitchen, shower, bed. Can you see a pattern here?
Home, Gamelan, dinner, bed, work. The pattern holds.

This is pretty cool. And this should terrify you.

Links. brighter side: kittens and puppies, basically. And people being good to each other. It does happen, you know. Couldn’t tell it from the news…dog & bunny, couple. Not so bright: everything else.

Page 27, Sentence 5: “It is not enough to think bad thoughts about the other driver; we get angry, in essence, to watch ourselves get angry.”, Traffic

Please tip the writer. If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

Usually I whine here about something, but because E is in and out of medical care, I don’t have much to whine about. We’re working through post-op, and I’m trying to keep things on an even keel. Not easy. I did get my paper boxes purged, which is a major accomplishment, and a big check off my “stuff to do” list. Only 16 more things to go.

Drove to work today-waiting to drive back-M doesn’t want to take the train in to visit E… Found a new way through downtown, home, back to visit E for 10 mins, then Mexican dinner, then sleep. Had to pick up C at 12:30-I woke up suddenly to his text. He got a bunch of ps2 games from a teacher.
Up, lazy, then cleaning, then shopping. House is in pretty decent shape. Church, then back home for S’s interview for Princess and the Pauper. No tram on Sun., so libe, hospital, pick up M, home. Purged a TON of paper, some from 2012, need to go through my filing box, and file the paper I kept. I don’t have S’s birth certificate.
Up today, S out the door, drive to work-I backtracked the way home Fri., not bad-avoided the majority of traffic except for a knot right at the Ross Is. Going home was another story-E wanted stuff from Freddy’s, but they didn’t have it, so I took the Friday route, which wasn’t bad. We were going to get dinner delivered, but no show, so I had to hurry to the store and we ate late. Busy packing S’s stuff for potlatch.
Visited E today and brought her stuff-she might come home today or tomorrow. At the hospital-coming home tonight. It took awhile, but it’s Thurs. and everything is OK-E’s still in pain, but home. Working from home, gamelan went well, S is at potlatch. Sat. AM-didn’t watch the wedding, So, S came home, E’s Dr’s visit, shopping, no w/o-just too tired. Lazy Sat., most everything is tidy, need to vacuum and that’s it. Dinner from S’s teacher.
And it’s Weds., at the ER, E had pain-bruised ribs? So, Church Sun., played OK, so much food from everyone for dinners. WFH Mon., go Tues., away early, shop at Target with E. Tough w/o because I didn’t eat lunch. Some kids watched us do t’ai chi by the pool.
They changed a bit of the app I’m doing, but the change was hidden in a Powerpoint so I didn’t see it. So not the right place for it. I was pissed off all day. Prime rule of UI design: don’t let business analysts or end users design UIs… Still in the ER, E has fluid pressing on the diaphragm. Looks like no gamelan for me tonight.
Friday of a long weekend. E is getting better, except for the thing. Finishing up stuff, but slacking on other stuff.

this. Like Agent Smith in the Matrix said, we are a virus.

Links. brighter side: goats, bee friend, rock balancing, comedy wildlife photo awards. Not so bright: everything else-blame boomers, still the 1 percent, The Hidden Meaning of American Decline.

Page 27, Sentence 5: “They meet the work deadline, and they keep the New Year’s resolution, without much fuss.”, The Four Tendencies

Please tip the writer. If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

It’s Tuesday, and my work computer is still slooooow. 4 hours to start up Websphere, which usually takes 10-20 mins. Did a hibernate, so it’s better today, but the CPU is pegged. Better now, but page refresh is glacial. Correction: slow, at least for ajax calls and publishing. Gamelan tonight-Puspawarna is getting better, everything else is fine.
It’s Friday, May 4th. No choir last night-got some laundry and dishes done. That seems to be the way of things now for me-I thought about practicing piano…I cleaned up and bounced my laptop, now I’m sitting at a “Configuring Windows Updates” screen-took a half-hour to clear…WAS is still slow, but better-2 1/2 hours. W/o late, M is getting better at t’ai chi. Yummy BLT for dinner.
Saturday, Cinco de Mayo. We’re having French toast for dinner. Ironic, seeing as the French lost the battle celebrated by Cinco de Mayo. My work laptop is performing fine here at home, so there’s something going on with my network connection at work. I’ve gotten more work done in an hour than I got done all last week. Cleaned, dinner, watching Harry Potter. Sun., church, market, shop, home. And now, Tues. W/o Sun.-M hurt his shoulder, but seems to be healing OK. Figured out what’s wrong with the slow laptop-it’s the docking station. Pulled everything out, working fine, but with 2 fewer screens.
Weds., E’s surgery tomorrow-we have to be there at 5:30. Correction: 10:30-not so bad. W/o last night-M is still hurt. Upped my running by 3 minutes-another few months and I’ll be running the whole time. Up late-hard to get to sleep.
Thursday morning, computing at the dinner table (which is never used for dinner). Leaving soon. And it’s 2, computing in the surgical waiting room-E is in the OR. Hopefully everything will go well. There was a fire alarm. I have to go to S’s play at 5:30-leave here at 4:45? Left at 4:30 and barely made it-picked up M and got there just as it started. S is a fine actress. At work on Fri., visited E-she’s doing as well as can be expected after having your gallbladder out. Rev. Jeanne visited her last night, we’re planning to visit tonight too.

This is pretty cool. And this.

Links. brighter side: ballerina, funny pets, homeless piano player, snow monkeys, the power of treating people with respect. Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “And whether we deem the galaxies to be moving or the space between there and here to be growing, the result is the same.”, Zoom: How Everything Moves

Please tip the writer. If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

Here it is May. The old adage about April and May bringing showers and flowers is ringing less true as climate change pushes those dates earlier and earlier. We’ve been having lovely blooms here for a few weeks now…Too bad about everything else-politics is just a nightmare, I’m just trying to keep moving forward. I have a huge list of things to do, but am lacking the focus and energy. Everything seems OK-kids are fine-C is changing his look, M is working hard, S is spending too much time on her phone. E has surgery in a week-that’s the real big thing, hopefully it goes well and she gets better.

Friday! Lots to do. It’s 4/20, and students are walking out, but not to smoke pot. Home, w/o late, up Sat., very sore throat, lazy-laundry and bathroom and vacuum. Sun.-church, Sat. market, shop-got a PS2, calculator, socks-so much fun. w/o-I have a cold, so it’s hard. Tues.-better today, yesterday was tough. Called my Dad for his birthday. Today just flew by. W/o-pretty good, t’ai chi outside. Thurs.-it’s going to be hot. No jacket, super comfy out with just a shirt. Gamelan was OK-still not 100% on Puspawarna. C is going with white hair. Odd dream-at my childhood house, pooping freely, then floating and everything went black-forced myself out and called out loud. Was up for awhile-don’t remember any of the other dreams, though I remembered them when I woke up. I need to scribble them down right then.
Another Friday. Supposed to be a cool rainy day. Choir last night-decent. Not motivated to clean the kitchen afterwards. Same on Fri, and got busted for it. I was so tired, just couldn’t do it. W/o was good, though. Sat. was cleaning, quick shop for food, laze after that. Sun. church, libe, shop, w/o, dinner, bed. I’m pretty tired right now.

Links. brighter side: Girl surprises her nurse, Texas man made a sign, feeds homeless with allowance. Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “So if philosophy has as little substance as Krauss claims, if there is no way to make progress in philosophical knowledge, then this is as serious a problem for a physicist like Krauss as it is for those who call themselves philosophers.”, Plato at the Googleplex

Please tip the writer. If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

Weds., gamelan tonight. Pretty quiet week, so far. S went to a school play last night-very tired this morning. Good w/o-still hard with the jogging-I was never a good runner, but if I keep this up, I may improve my shape enough to be that or close enough. Even when I was going to the gym all the time, I just skated back and forth from home, or along the bike path. I haven’t done any real running since middle school, and sucked at it then. Hopefully that can change.

Friday-got up early, home early…Choir last night-trying to learn sight reading, but not yet-had to write notes out. The drum sight reading was not bad. Not bad on the song for Sun., but need more work-I’m not much of an on the spot musician unless you want improv. I also have trouble remembering specific lines unless they’re written down-I tend to play it different every time…This trips me up when I play peking at gamelan-I’m playing it for Puspawarna, and there are lots of rests, which require interpolation.

Monday-power was out when I got here, but it went on about 11. Same ol’ weekend-clean, shop, church-played OK.  M to prom on Fri. night-had to cut  my workout off to get him. S went to the pool Sun. and a thing at Pietro’s. W/o w/no M-he’s sick. C is getting it too-I got away with just a sore throat. Tax day. Bills to pay. Calgon, take me away. lol. That was lame-M was talking about dad jokes… So, Weds., w/o last night-M was able to come, I’m still increasing the intensity of my cardio-18 mins of running, half at 5 mph, half at 5.5/6, 12 mins of walking at 4 mph as recovery between the running-all intervals-. I may be able to make it to a full half-hour of running at some point. It’s still kind of amazing to me that I’m doing this!

Thurs., finished up the database changes, choir tonight. E locked her keys in the car yesterday-had to leave early to get gas, gamelan went fine-Puspawarna was better. Shop, get C, shop more, dinner, bed late.

Links. brighter side: bunnies,

Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “So if philosophy has as little substance as Krauss claims, if there is no way to make progress in philosophical knowledge, then this is as serious a problem for a physicist like Krauss as it is for those who call themselves philosophers.”, Plato at the Googleplex

Please tip the writer If you need essential oils, please get in touch. Let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/development-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it. Offsite/off-hours only.

Tuesday. Another week, and next week is the killer one. We’re so underwater. I think we’ll make it, but then it’s bill after bill after bill. I’m tired of this endless no money grind. So, home, visit church to pick up trash, w/o, dinner, bed. Up this morning. I woke up at 2:30 on Sun. night to cop cars zooming into our complex. No one else woke up, and I didn’t go out to investigate. Thursday-no work tomorrow. No gamelan last night. E went to help a friend. Friday, working from home. Getting stuff done-work and ripping libe stuff. W/o, choir rehearsal-it sucked for me, wine. Sat., drive E around, home, laze, practice pieces for Sun., Sun. up, Easter, church, played-not that bad, home, libe, M to libe, shop, etc., w/o, laze, S is having trouble getting to sleep. Up, finally get this stuff to QA and working.
Thursday-pretty quiet week, we got a little $$$ from school, which gives some breathing room. Not much other than the usual, w/o alone Tues., gamelan-new people, busy on C&G at work.
Saturday, the house is now tidy-laundry, dishes, vacuum, C to gf’s, windy and rainy outside-a nice day to work inside. W/o last night-moved up to running 18 mins out of 30-that was hard, but it should get easier. Proof M’s college essays, dinner-eating alone at a nice tidy dining table. Wish I had dessert. Sun., church, libe w/S, pick up E, mall-S & E got into it, home, lazy-so tired-napped a bit, w/o, dinner, pick up C, bed. Tweaked my neck.

Links. brighter side: striking teachers. Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “The Island was growing fast, and the shores facing the unknown offered endless possibilities.”, The Island of Knowledge

Please tip the writer-we are in an endless loop-short of $$$-E is going to start selling Doterra-if you need essential oils, please get in touch. We’re so overextended, hopefully the Doterra thing will work. I may need to take on extra work…let me know if you or someone you know needs web design/dev-my rates are not bad, and I’m pretty good at it.

Another week starts. Busy weekend-bus to Lewis & Clark Fri., had to run to get my music, E picked me up, skipped w/o, choir practice Sat. noon, a thing, then practice, Fulton pub with group, memorial & 2 songs, played, transport, reception, pick up C. Church Sun., libe with S, deliver M, shop, home, so tired, skipped w/o (do it Tuesday, I hope), get C, watch short track, bed. Weds-gamelan tonight, w/o last night-sped up to 5.5 on the run sections. M was fatigued. Gamelan went good-out early. I’m reading more on the bus & train. Choir tonight-I need to work more on music stuff-it’s on my to do list. Struggling with this web service stuff-I broke everything. Friday-it’s not fixed, but reverted-onward. At least I came in early, so I can leave early. Gig this weekend-S wants to come-she may get to sell merch.
Monday-I’m super tired-woke up at 2:30 with restless legs, got up, back asleep by 3, but it takes its toll. Busy weekend0w/o Fri. night, tidy Sat., gamelan from 2:30 to 10:30. S came and had a great time. The place was packed solid and overflowing. Ate at hopworks on Powell. Church Sun., played bass. Shop, Ikea, more shop, libe, w/o, dinner, bed.

Links. brighter side: I found one of a bunch of farm animals eating grass together. National Puppy Day, so I guess it’s puppies and kittens from here on out…The activist kids! Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “It’s traditional in the Corps to keep grunts ignorant about who we fight, something about dehumanizing the enemy.”, War Dogs

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Home Friday, w/o-not a lot of energy, dinner, watching the Airport movies. Tired, up Sat., laundry, tidy, out with E, M vacuumed, S cleaned her room a bit, up Sun., skip church, S to a party at the MAC, walk to Scrap, back, lunch, Goodwill, Pizzicato, Nectar, libe, pick up M, so, so tired, deliver C, shop, home, dinner. No w/o. DST change sucks. Tues. night-took E to OHSU for a biopsy-hopefully nothing. Work, pick up S, dinner. So, so tired and cold. No w/o-just can’t. My mood sucks right now-money worries, hassles, E isn’t healthy, etc… Gamelan is fine, but I was tired and got kicked off the fast bit. Friday-busy weekend ahead. Took E to ER last night.

Links. brighter side: Rolling in the mud with a baby elephant. Not so bright: everything else.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “It makes me sick,” said one trail driver in 1883, “when I think of onions and Irish potatoes growing where mustang ponies should be exercising and where four-year-old steers should be getting ripe for market.”, 50 Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy

Please tip the writer. I think this will be until forever, or until I get a fulltime job-I’m getting eaten alive with healthcare premiums.

Tuesday afternoon-making progress at work, but slowly. S is having trouble sleeping. Home, w/o, dinner, TV, bed. WFH Weds., up, get S out the door, E to dentist’s, M to class. Work, pick up S. Work, laundry, dishes, dinner, gamelan later. Working from home means “leaving early”, because there’s no commute. Gamelan-still struggling with the fast bit of the new piece. And it’s Friday-busy getting the new app deployed to dev-just a struggle. C got busted for not obeying mom. Monday-I tend not to do this over the weekend. Making progress at work. W/o Fri.-I’m actually jogging for the high-intensity interval, Sat.-cleaning, libe-got a bunch of instructional DVDs, dinner, watch DVDs, church Sun., shop in Gresham, home, w/o, dinner, bed. Work up early, couldn’t get right back to sleep. Late bus=getting on a later bus=late to work. It’s Weds., w/o last night-Matt did negative arms.

Here’s an interesting 2016 electoral map-marked much more accurately than others I have seen-except for Washoe County, NV…dunno what’s going on there.

I like this comic strip:

Gamelan was good-still messed up on the new piece, fast version section-I’m pretty jelly on everything else. Busy trying to get this app running-close, but not really the way I want it… Got underpaid last week and we’re in dire straits. Church choir rehearsal last night-at least the piece is charted… It’s Friday-lots to do, many bills, not enough $$$. Next week is a make-up payment.

Links. brighter side:
Not so bright: everything else. Here’s one-The Poison We Pick-this one is terrifying.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “Do you have difficulty controlling your condition with medications or other physician-prescribed therapies?”, Complete guide to fitness & health

tip the writer-another tough money week…I think that’s my future-every week is going to be bad.

On the bus, Tuesday. It’s crowded-I had a panic attack last year on a bus like this-only apprehension today. E made me a cover for my cables, home earlyish, dinner, practice the other church piece. Had to switch over on the project-ack. And Db stuff. Weds., gamelan tonight. W/o last night-I kicked Matt’s butt with negatives. Gamelan was fun-new piece is challenging. Odd dream. No choir practice. Up early Friday, to work early, home early?No-missed the early bus, and the bus home was very late. W/o, chill.
Got to meet C’s gf, Costco-got the flu shot-insurance didn’t pay, C is shopping for frames. Home, Church Sun., no choir, but played drums on one and bass on another. Meeting, home, M to libe, very tired-slept in the car, M driving practice, home-still tired, no w/o, Olympics, to bed early. Slept almost all night, still tired. Flu shot?
Def. flu shot-it’s Tuesday and I feel better, but still a bit off. I went to bed early-ish, and slept most of the night. Work, home late-bus driver hit a car, w/o, dinner, Olympics, bed, up-forgot dreams, to work-just a mess. Less so, but still… Yet another “thoughts and prayers” moment. It will never end…maybe it will. The students are speaking out.
Gamelan-things went better. Another day-busy trying to get stuff working. Failed. Some stuff is better, but still failing. Choir went good. It’s Friday, which is nice, but the pressure is starting to build.
Now, Monday. It’s been snowing a little, but not enough to bring the city down. Cleaned all Saturday, C has a bad sore throat, church Sun., song went well, shop, libe, the usual. It’s Tuesday, supposed to have a snowpocalypse this afternoon. And it was not bad-I was able to make it into work with only a minor delay-YakTrax are awesome. Gamelan got canceled, more snow, slept in a bit, in to work only a bit late. Dealing with messy stuff at work, but getting through it. So far. Had a weird waking dream thing yesterday afternoon.
Friday! Came in early, leave early…Left early-home, hang out, w/o, watched the new Blade Runner. It’s gorgeous and the music is amazing. The plot, well, it’s noir, so meh-interesting, but not up to SF standard. Cleaned the house Sat., church Sun., S & E to friends’ for felting, M to libe, pickup both, S has a small futon bed in our room now, shop, w/o, dinner, bed. C has a new girlfriend, and he spends all his time there, so I pick him up most nights.
It’s Monday-I should get this posted-maybe someone will tip me…

Links. brighter side: puppies and kittens? Adorable sea creatures? Nope-sick, sad world. Thanks, Daria. Not so bright: America the Pariah, How We Could Have Avoided Donald Trump, The Bankruptcy of the American Left, Rural Christian white America has a dark and terrifying underbelly

Page 23, Sentence 5: “History tells us that when people pursue only their own national interests, there is strife and war.”, An appeal to the world

Listening to: a lot of stuff, but the phone & iTunes are a) not marking last played date and b) can’t copy them from iTunes even if I did know it.

Here we are again, another exciting installment of…An Exciting Life. woo-hoo. We’re broke, please tip the writer-it’s only a fiver… Not much else going on-just trying to keep my head above water, hoping nothing happens to sink us. Our country is in odd turmoil-so much bad happening in D.C. and the media, but it’s like nothing is wrong on the streets (at least in Portland). That may change.

In a 2-day training, yawn. Had to be there at 7:30. More of a team building exercise. Gamelan-new piece. Easy bus ride, but so tired-I actually slept on the way in. Gonna play bass for choir-practice tonight. It was frustrating-my sight reading sucks, and the bass was tuned a half-step sharp. I got it going OK, but I’m better with a chart because I need to hit specific notes. Friday-trying to get back into it.
Home, worked out-not really up for it, ate late. I always get so tired on Friday nights. Woke up at 2 and at 7. A big crash on the road in front of our complex-many sirens, didn’t check it out until way after. Went practice driving with Matt, Gaffers in Tigard, Cabelas, home, C is at his gf’s. Church Sun, switched to Sprint, new phones for everyone, setup, M to libe, cook dinner, w/o-fatigued, dinner. E has tummy troubles-this is never-ending, and given our broken healthcare industry, has the possibility of breaking us.
Monday, up, the iPad is missing! Looked around, E is going to look. I know I had it Sun. am while I was eating breakfast. UPDATE: I put it in my leather computer backpack… Weds., money woes, need to chart the choir pieces, gamelan tonight. Making progress on the project. Got my phone loaded up with music. Now for the other thing-didn’t work the way I want it…got another app. Restless sleep. Got up early-ish, to work early-ish, home early-ish? That would be nice. Choir tonight-busy charting the songs. Gonna record so I can practice against it. Did ok-another piece coming.
Sat. am, trying to clean-kitchen done, 1 load of wash, bathrooms next. Need to practice. W/o last night-I’m making progress, and I think my belly is shrinking. Cleaned all day Sat., church-song went well, played for the postlude too. Libe, shop, home, w/o, dinner, playing around on the web late, bed, up but tired. Rioting, uh, “high spirits”, after Philly won the Super Bowl.

Links. brighter side: I need to look some up…OK-found one. No, two. Woman Finds The Boy Who Was Secretly Hugging Her Dog, happify.com. Not so bright: An Exit From Trumpocracy, The American Shithole, What’s so extremely, uniquely wrong about Trump’s presidency, The Useful Idiocy of Donald Trump, How the “Junk Values” of Neoliberalism Drive Depression and Anxiety in the U.S., Why The U.S. Struggles With Diseases Of Poverty

Page 23, Sentence 5: “”How are you?” the one friend asks the other.”, The Little Book of Lykke

Listening to:

I may take a break from this. It’s not like this blog is changing the world, or even being read. Admittedly, that’s not the goal-it’s more like something to spark my memory when I get old. I wrote a thing for the online diary history project back in 2000, saying it’s a way to externalize my life.

Wednesday. More work, then gamelan. Worked out with Matt last night-I’m actually doing this consistently now, and while I don’t know if I’ve lost weight or not, my belly is a little flatter and my pants are a little looser. Tomorrow, church choir-Ian wants me to do percussion, so I need to spend some time drumming.
Friday. Didn’t go to choir practice. W/o w/Matt. Quiet Sat., dishes, laundry, bathrooms next? Bathrooms got done-E tidied her craft bookshelf. Church thing downtown, binz, shop, Super Burrito, home, work on drum thing for church. Bed, up, church-drum thing went well. Home, tidy, shop, M to libe, pick up E, shop, home, cook, w/o, dinner, bad. A little restless, I think, but up, to work-because of MLK Day, the bus-train-train-bus was empty. I was super tired too, still am a bit, even after coffee. Home, still super tired, dinner, etc., to bed earlyish.
Gamelan tonight-pretty mellow otherwise. Rainy, gamelan out early, no choir for me Thurs. It’s Sat., last night was pretty jelly-Matt is down, so he just walked slow, then I worked out. He went to the spa, but got locked out. Gov’t shutdown, woo-hoo. Got Matt’s stuff, Colin went to his GF’s for the day (and Sunday),  tidy, Costco-looked at switching phone service, shop, home. Sun-church early-did a percussion thing, took the bus with S (she likes taking the bus), E meeting, $tree, libe, pick up E, home, mall to check out AT&T, shop, home, w/o, dinner, bed, up.  I think we’re going with Costco & Sprint. A 2-day work thing at Corp-have to be there at 7:30. ack. I can take one bus from 82nd all the way there.

Feeling odd. Hope I’m not coming down with something. I think it’s more of a malaise thing, rather than physical. Also time to post this-need a new p23s5, and my plod is failing-if I get a new phone, it comes with a pile of ram, so I can ditch the plod.

Tuesday. Rainy. Big surprise there. Did dishes, no laundry, tonight? Maybe E will do it? Watched skiing-I so want to go, but the snowpack is thin this year. Matt’s birthday-he doesn’t like birthdays.

Links. brighter side: nothing. nada. zip. I’m sure it’s out there, but not that I have. Not so bright: Donald Trump’s Mental Fitness Can No Longer Be Ignored, The Death Cult of Trumpism, Five Decades of White Backlash

Page 23, Sentence 5: “Desperate populations flock to racist and nationalistic organizations to place blame on someone or something for their economic plight.”, The Crash of 2016

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Ack. Another post already! I have nothing to say. It’s the new year, and I’m trepidacious, both personally and as a society. Time well tell. “Waiting brings fullness.” I read that book many times, wishing I could have Michael’s powers. Still kinda do, but I realize the awesome responsibility that accompanies them-now all I want is time to develop what I have, and the ability to do that (read ca$h). So tip the writer!

Saturday. Spent too much money-we’re in deep this month again-send us $$$, please and thank you.

So. W/o last night, sleep in, tidy, shop. Writing this on an iPad from work-so easy and elegant.
Christmas Eve-church, freezing rain, then snow! Nap, sort of, w/o, fondue for dinner, walk outside with M, shower, laundry. We’re going to watch Alien: Covenant. It wasn’t bad.

Christmas was…Christmas. At least S didn’t get up super early. So, opened presents-got Dune!, some other stuff. Lazed, napped, dinner, bed. Up today, work-started on the new project, setup, ready to go. Dishes, laundry, watch skiing, bed. Up, work, kids to dentist, more work. Laundry, dishes. Thurs.-work, dentist-not as good as the kids, but nice clean teeth! Fri., work, shop, w/o w/o M, dinner late, up late watching South Park. Up, lazy, tidy, laundry.

Sunday-New Year’s Eve, church, M to libe, Fubonn, pickup M, shop, w/o, dinner, watch New York ball drop. Quiet New Year’s Day-had to go out suddenly at 8 PM to get snow boots for S. Back to work today-forgot to do something over the break…and it’s fragile, and slow. Friday-started early, which means leaving early, which means home early. M is sick, E is sick, I hope I don’t get sick. Dreamed about making out with Linda F.

And it’s Monday. Pretty quiet weekend, skipped w/o Friday, lazy Sat., church Sun., libe, shop, lazy, worked out solo, bed, up, work. home, dinner, watch skiing, bed. Schiffrin is on another level.

Links. brighter side: It’s Not Our Job to Choose Who Deserves Help, Positive Things That Happened In 2017 For People Tired Of Negative News, A high school football team took a knee and then all hell broke loose. Not so bright: A Year With Trump, Donald Trump is a dangerously weak president, Is Trump an ‘Aspiring Despot’ or a ‘Bumbling Showman’? Why Not Both?, Damage Bigly, Seymour Melman and the New American Revolution, 5 Big Myths Sold by the Defenders of Capitalism, It’s Been an Open Secret All Along

Page 23, Sentence 5: “That’s number six this week alone.”, Alone Against Tomorrow

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As my blog is more like a recitation of my life as it happens than it is a “blog”, it starts out as tbd. Then life happens, and the tbd gets filled in. I’m feeling very tbd right now. I always start with a comment, then the recap, then links, p23s5 and listening. It works, but kinda boring. I suppose I could comment at length, but that takes energy, and I’m feeling drained lately.
I guess the title says it all. I like to make up “alternate” lyrics to songs, and Christmas songs are ripe for it. There’s more to this one, and worse. I had a chat with M about this. He’s getting into cool stuff lately, and I’m teaching him t’ai chi too.

It’s cold but no snow. E, S, M and S’s class went to the zoo, which was empty except for them. E got me a new winter coat and ushanka hat that’s very warm. Home, w/o w/o M, dinner, shower, bed. I used to take showers rarely, but now that I’m working out, I need to take them post workout. Weds., gamelan-last one until mid-Jan., home, dinner, carry S to bed, bed. Blew off cleaning the kitchen. Was very windy overnight-woke up a few times hearing it. Work-starting on the new project. Net neutrality is gone, Roy Moore lost-win one, lose one.

And it’s Friday. I don’t think this will be an enjoyable weekend-I have to get out the Christmas boxes from the outside closet, and one of my molars lost a big chunk from its front. Sat, and no tree, though I did get the Christmas box out of the outside closet. W/o w/M last night, E was asleep early, S very late. Laundry, smoothies today, then shop, get C from friends’, look for a tree. Home, dinner, E in bed early, S a decent bedtime, laundry, play the Kronos a bit, bed. Sun., church, pick out tree, M to libe, back home, pick up M, deliver E & S to Nutcracker downtown, shop, home, w/o w/M, pick up E & S, dinner, shower, bed. Up, to dentist’s-need a crown. The filling is OK, so I can get by until, but still…

Weds., pretty quiet. 3 interviews for a new person, get to go home early today! W/o last night-M did negative arms. Up early, in early, home early…the tree is decorated, tidy, dinner, bed. The tax bill passed, but the U.N. rejected the Jerusalem thing-win one, lose one, again. OK, so, Friday, again. At least this is the start of a long weekend and wfh next week (for a few days, at least).

I had one of those dreams last night. No aliens, but right down into the underworld. It was black, and there were voices, and I was falling. I woke up once I reached some sort of “not feeling like I was falling but still falling” state. I laid there watching a movie coming out of a portal and a jagged hole inside it. Sort of like the TEX event, but not, as it was definitely cartoonish and cycled.

Links. brighter side:A High School Runner Helped A Struggling Marathoner, Iceland Asked Its Teens Why They Binge Drink, What We All Need To Remember About Teenagers. Not so bright: The U.S. is Not a Democracy, It Never Was, Millennials are Screwed (they’re not the only ones…I’m a job loss or disaster away from it too, plus no retirement savings at all), Fredo in the White House, Donald Trump’s Holiday Gift to America, The Counter-Revolution, Dear White Evangelicals: An Intervention Letter, Reflections on Trump and Corporate Totalitarianism

Page 23, Sentence 5: “I had to go to work the next day but I didn’t feel at all tired.”, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui

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Monday of a very cash-poor week. I just used up all my savings to pay rent. bleh. Quiet weekend-w/o, quiet Sat., Snowpiercer (E had seen it already, M liked it a lot), church-filming Xmas thing, tired, shop with S, w/o, dinner late. S had trouble sleeping (Mon. too-she slept on the chair in our room). Work, home, laundry, dinner, bed-watched skiing, rinse, repeat.

I don’t know how I feel right now-we’re in such desperate money straits, and politics, but everything else isn’t bad-I’m pretty healthy, I have a well-paying job, the kids are fine, E is better than she was, we have a place to live and food and all the rest, which is a lot better than an awful lot of people can say…I still wish I had a cushion, and retirement money, and a great big pile of money would be nice. One can dream-I just have to keep moving forward until.

Gamelan Weds., up late eating, cleaning the kitchen, finding S’s stuffed bunny when she came back to our room to sleep. Up, tired, actually napped a bit on the bus in. Hassle getting home, dinner, S to bed, watch curling, fold some laundry, kitchen, bed, up, got early bus, but didn’t make the connection…E coming to pick me up. And…Monday. Pretty slow weekend-drove home, w/o Fri., clean Sat., S to overnight, watched Martian with E, watch skiing, church Sun., dropped E off at Sat. Market, got S, libe, home, shop, get M, shop, home, dinner, w/o, eat, shower, bed. Hard to stay asleep-napped a little on the way in today. And on the way home.

Links: back to political-I hope I find some “on the brighter side” links… Before Our Very Eyes, Trump Is Undoing the Work of Our Country’s Founders,

Page 23, Sentence 5: “The lightning sought our Ur-humans, Seranis put in.”, Beyond the Fall of Night

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Please tip the writer.

Yet another blog post. They’ll just keep coming, until, I have no idea until. Until I die, I guess. I was one of the first, and after almost 22 years, it’s just a part of my life. WordPress certainly makes it easier…until 2016, it was all by hand-edit file, change link info on month and year boundaries, upload. Now it’s edit via web anywhere. Need to take regular backups, though.

Gamelan tonight, worked out with M last night, late to bed. Watched slalom and cycling while cleaning the kitchen. Gamelan was fine-there’s a mouse in the room. Health insurance is insanely costly. Looks like I’m working over the Christmas break on a new project… Rainy, home, yummy Waffle House hash brown bowl dinner, but I prefer loose hash browns rather than patties. S to bed, watched cycling and short track while cleaning the kitchen. South Park with M too.

It’s Friday! I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow-this week has been late nights busy cleaning up after dinner. Here it is Monday-not a bad weekend, but too short. Long one coming… OK. So, workout with M Friday night-negative legs. Sleep in, clean, practice keyboard until a flooded bathroom had to be dealt with. Clogged toilet plus sticky valve equals many wet towels. Cleaned it up, unclog, done, except for the washing of towels.
Church Sun., with S to market & libe, wash towels, M to libe, pick up E, pick up M & shop, workout, dinner, bed. Hard to sleep-rain is very loud outside our wall. S left a plate out and has tons of bugs in her room-it freaked her out-she ended up in our room. Up, to work, forgot my laptop, back home, an hour late in. It’s Wednesday, 2 extra days off-that means 2 days less money-no bueno. Workout last night, making progress, but I dislike the stationary bike-maybe I need to change it up… And I did-treadmill now-I was doing that in the long ago, so it’s OK-I’m actually moving up weights as well.

And now another week-it’s Thursday-busy at work with problems. Gamelan last night. Thanksgiving was OK-sleeping in, ham, tried to keep things clean, not much other than the usual. We’re out of ca$h for the next week. All the bills are or will be paid, we just have nothing left after doing that. Please tip the writer. Thanks!

I think the work problem is solved. Friday night-worked out-teaching M t’ai chi, dinner, laundry. Ripping-need to watch Snowpiercer.

Links: none to be had-it’s just too depressing. I need to reinstate the “on a positive note” links…I suppose I could post kitten or puppy videos… Here’s one! The Boston Declaration, Doing good may not always feel great…and that’s okay (my HS classmate Bob).

Page 23, Sentence 5: “Just keep collecting your random scribbles on anything you can write on.”, Your Idea Starts Here

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Sat night-DST is over. Cleaned, shop, fish & chips, home. E’s birthday, anniversary just past. Sun., church, S to play, brunch on Alberta, browse, show, shop, home, dinner. M is unwell, and better now. We worked out yesterday-hit M with a negative 3 set leg workout with progressive heavy weights-he handled it well, we’ll see how sore he is today (can you see I used to do this?). And he was only a bit sore, except for glutes, which were still sore Thurs. I think it was an effective workout-need to boost the intensity just a bit. Arms tonight.

And it’s Friday, no Gamelan Weds., pretty quiet. Cold and rainy, just the usual sort of November weather here. Workout with M-negative arms. Quiet Sat., S to overnight party, Chinese dinner, church Sun., pick up S, shop, home, workout-M has sore arms. Hard to sleep-up, to work-banged my knee on the train-very painful, that. I may have work over shutdown…or may not. Such is how it goes here.

Links: How Television, Twitter and Trump Created a Post-Smart America, America Breaks Down: The Anatomy of a National Psychosis

Page 23, Sentence 5: “It may seem simpler to suggest that “atout” is short for “bon atout”, meaning “good for anything”, because a Trump will take any card of any suit.”, The Book of Thoth

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Here goes another weekend…I need to practice my musical instruments. Enchantment tonight-not sure I’ll go.

Didn’t go. Worked out w/M instead, in spite of my sore back. That was a mistake. So, up late Fri., cleaned Sat. to Eno, watched his cool films, E & S to play practice Sun., shop, home, pick them up & deliver M to libe, cleanup, bins, Tea Chai Tea, home, dinner, Pulp Fiction, bed. Prep S, back to bed, work, laundry, vacuum, S to dentist’s, libe, where I’m working. Power was out at work, so glad I didn’t go in. Pick up E, shop, home, dinner, M locked his stuff in the spa, bed, up. Back still hurts, going to lay off any exercise until it gets better.

Halloween-E met me at the Goodwill, no C or S, Super Burrito, M put on my barong mask to greet trick-or-treaters, watched the day after tomorrow for the millionth time. Gamelan, getting cooler, and now it’s Friday. S has a play this weekend, C is getting good grades and the teachers say he’s doing well. My back is recovering, but still not 100%, so not workouts.

Links: America is facing an epistemic crisis

Page 23, Sentence 5: “Generally, people don’t like to rethink really basic assumptions.”, Thinking

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Stuff to go here isn’t known yet. Check back in a minute or two. Or three. Still nothing yet. It’s time for lunch. Lunch came and went.

Home, kid to show, gamelan-still lacking people, home, dinner, picked up kid from show, which didn’t end at 10:30 as advertised. The headliner STARTED at 10:30, so I sat in the parking lot of the Bossanova Ballroom for 45 mins. The security guy recognized me from when I dropped C off, and was cool with it. In fact, he told C that I was out there… I had a headache all day, and my back is sore, so it wasn’t fun. Plus also I took a pain killer that turned out to be a PM version. Ack.

OK. So up early to move the car-they’re striping the parking lot-a spot right across the way. S woke up early and was at the foot of the bed-I kicked her, not knowing she was there, then had her get into our bed, and it was cute when I went in there later-she was reading with mom. Almost missed the bus. Trying to meditate on the train. Need to practice my instruments.

And it’s Friday-major deployment going in tomorrow…and it went OK, barring minor hiccups. Up late Sat., C had a thing-poor guy. Been there, and it’s tough. E to a thing, libe with S, bins, watched Visitors-I love Reggio’s work, but this is so slow, almost like meditation on film. I was busy making dinner and cleaning, and it was like, face, building, face, building, ok-creepy clown sculpture, trees. Not conducive to enjoying the film. Work late Sat., church Sun., more work stuff, clean. No practice, but the house is clean and laundry and dishes are well in hand. It’s Weds., rainy. M spilled tea on his laptop, E got another that was set up badly. Worked out last night, gamelan today. Again, a small group. Missed the bus this morning…it’s rainy, I’m tired. And now I have a headache. Home, dinner, Harry Potter, bed.

Now, Monday again. Not much happened: E has wrist problems, work-panic, home, gym, up Sat., Fry’s, lunch, home, church Sun., market, libe, home, laundry, gym, TV, etc. Hard to stay asleep, my back still hurts, hard to get around, 2 meetings today. Now Weds., worked out last night, my back still hurts some. No gamelan-M is sick. Here’s Friday again, back still not 100%, and I have a workout tonight, and Halloween Enchantment. M is at U of O for the day.

Page 23, Sentence 5: “Goods cost us far less in adjusted dollars than ever before, and Americans can choose from hundreds of different models of everything from shampoos and cell phones to flat-screen televisions.”, Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century

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