My random thoughts on a hodge podge of things that went on this weekend...

Kara is really getting more comfortable driving the Tacoma! Almost every time she drives it, someone in a car pulls up and said, "Wow, are you learning to drive a stick?  Good for you!". The last guy said, in closing, "You'll be able to survive the apocalypse!" 

She comfortably making her way through the neighborhood next to the Buena High School parking lots.

She's smart and is picking it up quickly.  Will it stick?  Will she keep the truck as hers?  Or will I have to sell it and get something else?  Time will tell...

I also did a short Hall Canyon hike with Walt, Jen, Sheila, Kari, and Barb Zerbe.  We went up about 2 miles and then hiked back.  It got a bit hot for Walt, but I really enjoy the hike here.  We saw a lady who used to work at Ventura High who I've talked to before in the stands at a football game.  She volunteers there, and was showing me an app called "Merlin" that will listen to sounds in nature and tell you what type of bird/animal is making the sound.

It's pretty awesome.  I'll be testing that out soon, along with the one my mom uses called "Seek'.

Next up was the Cinco de Mayo + Mother's Day celebration at Encanto Living - the residential care facility that cares for my dad.  All of the mother's had a plaque filled with pictures and a little biography of each.

We had a catered lunch, and Miriam planned a game that uses cards as prompts to create group discussion.

Spike, one of the residents, went on a rant about how he doesn't "understand the women of America", because he's been divorced 4 times and he just can't understand why or how that has happened to him. :)

Ah well, he's got dementia and is in pretty bad shape.  It was hilarious because Miriam had to distract him and move on to the next person.  Everybody was laughing.

The was also a really good Mariachi singer.  She was great and really did a good job and holding everyone's attention for an hour.

Couple final things...

During Jen's admin leave from VHS, she "re-did" our entire stairway banister.  She found a YouTube video that taught her how to remove the finish coat, do minimal sanding, and stain the top of the banister, and then pain the vertical poles white.  It looks great!  She finished that this weekend just in the nick of time for going back to school.

And finally... Walt has been at it again, destroying the "drip system" sprinkler spickets AGAIN!  I had to go to Green Thumb and buy some chicken wire plant root protectors to put OVER the little spickets (after fixing them).  Now he can't easily destroy them. He could if he really tried, but I don't think he knows that yet. :)

This move was a trip.  At times ported me back to middle and high school feelings of being ostracized, even though it was partly due to me being so shy.

Partly by choice, and party because I felt I didn't have a chance of fitting in (I also lacked confidence - and I think kids at that age can sense it!), I was content with my little tribe.  Computer video games, exploring storm drains and tunnels 'round the city, building go carts, forts, and oh so much more.

I don't know if I was born this way, or if it was some sort of defense mechanism, but I just never really truly "wanted" to fit in with the cool kids.

It just didn't feel natural to me.

The cliques just seemed strange and awkward. 

I didn't even really want to try.

Even when I went back to a couple of high school reunions, I still felt like an outsider amongst the ASB kids, the jocks, the cool kids, and all the rest of the groups.

And during college, there was zero part of me that wanted to rush a fraternity.

I simply don't feel comfortable around conformist sorts of mainstream groups.

I hate it when I feel other's have an expectation for how I should act, what I should do, and how I should spend my time.

These things are unsaid, but you can feel the expectations and the judgements.

So...back to the movie. :)

Yeah, an extreme example of not being accepted, being shunned, maligned, and bullied.

There's nothing worse than being outwardly shunned by a group.

We humans are wired to want to be at least included in some sort of tribe.

And when there's enough social proof that one is a pariah, it makes one feel ugly inside.

It's a survival thing I guess.

This movie was great in that it made me feel empty, sad, icky inside.

As I sat reading comfortably outside in a wooden chair on the back patio, on a beautiful day, I hear a clunk and I feel a "whoosh" of air as a large, brown, furry body jumped up into the chair next to me, bone in mouth.

The chair, much too small for his large puppiness creaked under the strain of his nearly 100 pounds of body mass.

This loose lipped, loose skinned animal who has grown into a very large Chocolate Labrador apparently still believes he is a tiny little puppy.

From inserting himself between our legs as we walk around the house, for maximum human contact...

... to jumping on our laps, stepping on us in the process, while we watch TV late at night, eventually plopping his full mass directly on top of us...

... this dog has no clue as to his size and strength.

Oh Walter.

Here we go again! <3

T'was an awesome game night at Bink's workplace, Tifa Chocolate & Gelato. 

I met Kevin and Shag there at 6:30.  After ordering gelato from Bink, Kevin taught us the game "Ride The Rails".

Kevin spent all of $20 on it, and it was awesome.  Players take turns investing in one of 6 colored railroad lines, placing tracks in the colors they invest in, and then moving passengers through different cities connected by the lines.

You score points if you have invested in a track that connects 2 cities a passenger moved along - based on how much investment you've made in that line.

Bonus points are scored for connecting the west coast to the east coast, and building through certain cities.

Throughout the game a couple of people came to the table and asked us all about the game and though it sounded cool.

Well... all of that aside, I won.  And that's all that matters. :)

We had about an hour left, and decided to play a quick game of this little Pathfinder Dice game Chris convinced me to order.  It was impossibly hard, and we all died. 

So, in the end I was humbled.

One cool moment was when the owner of Tifa, John, came up to me during our game and asked if I was Kalea's dad.

Of course, I said, "yes".

He proceeded to gush about how awesome she is as an employee.  The guy was blown away by her early performance on the job.

I thanked him for letting me know and said he can keep her as long as he wants. :)

He's absolutely thrilled with her.

In some ways, your first job sets the stage for future jobs.  You learn to interview, interact with other people - customers and co-workers alike.  You learn responsibility, and all the little things that are never, ever in the job description.

You learn to show up, and be responsible for your actions, your time, and the way you make customers feel.

She's definitely on the right track with this first job, and it's setting her up for the future in more ways than any of us realizes.

I'm sure my paper route had a profound effect on me, in ways I'll never fully understand and can only guess at now.

Anyway, it was a good night, and I'm proud of both of my girls in different ways for different things.  This is a shining moment for Bink as she comes of age...

After a peaceful 10 minute meditation where I explored the fabric of consciousness, I sat down at the table with focused intensity to continue the inner exploration.

The purpose is... well, to find my purpose.

I opened the journal the the page that was last completed, in order to remind myself wherein this journey I left off.

This serious, fascinating journey into self discovery.

I mean, this will define my future directions in life.

Cultivating more happiness, more meaning, more connection with the world around me.

Wait... it looks like the writing at the bottom of the page is somehow "different".

Some alien life form with a script far different than my own.

Or... maybe it's a message from the beyond, or the almighty itself!  The actual almighty!

It's a sign!  Definitely a sign...

I began deciphering the text...

I believe that I am a... "butthole".

Because I am... "full of shit".

Huh?

The next line...

I believe that I am... "fat".

Because...

"I eat too much candy".

Ah the mysteries of the Universe never cease.  Amazing!

It was good to see Bink at the finale of DTech, the Senior Banquet.  

While she feels this program wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and she wasn't thrilled with how it was run - I believe she simply found a path through life that she doesn't necessarily want to take.

I think the program is what you make it.  From silk screen printing, to 3D printing, to CAD design, woodworking, and a CNC machine, DTech is a place for the self-motivated.  Just like in an actual self run business.

You have to be motivated, and have an affinity for entrepreneurship to get much as much as possible out of the program.  

It's not about a grade, everybody is going to get a good grade.

It's about getting the big picture in mind about how the program works, what types of things are available to you, and finding your niche.

Bink didn't really like the self-guided "student run" nature of it.  I think she's a person who likes a plan.

Still, I think it was valuable in some ways, but in the end it just wasn't for her, and that's ok.