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.

And there she is, her first real job experience.  After 6 hours of baseline training, the boss threw her into the fire to run the shop for 2 hours on her own.

When I got there she was organized truffles onto the display trays.

Cozy little place, perfect for Binks.  She made over $130 during the 7 hour shift that went 2 hours longer than expected due to scheduling issues.

I remember it took me a MONTH to make my first $100.  I thought I was rich.  I used it to buy my first computer.

Binky says she going to invest it into her portfolio. 

She's a lot smarter than I was.  But the computer definitely worked out. #followyournose

Super proud of this child.  She loves it too. <3

Today, I saw my daughter Binky run her last race as a high school runner.  After 4 years of struggling to improve, she started to break through when we found out it was her low iron levels making it impossible to improve. 

Anemia!

Since she has been put on iron supplementation every race she has run has been a PR.  

If we had only discovered this earlier, who knows what she would have become.

I think that's one of the things about this life sometimes.  It can be filled with what if's.  All sorts of what if's in an innumerable amount of different situations.

There's nothing that can be done, and wishing things had been different is a waste of time.

Approaching it with gratitude that we DID find out before the season was gone, and she was able to see the improvement she worked so hard for.

Breaking a 6 minute mile, after being stuck at 6:45 for almost her entire high school career.

We got to see her improve.  She got to feel that strength for herself.

There's gratitude and joy and accomplishment in that.

Sometimes hard work doesn't pan out the way you want it to, until it does.  Or until it does in a different way that you intended.

The world and life seems to go at it's own pace.  The world has it's own plans for you.

Secret plans.

And really, what we have is right now, and the possibility (but not guarantee) of so many more moments.  What if's are wasted time.

So proud of Bink and her 3rd leg 2:44 800m effort.  She ran strong!

So cliche, but how quickly time slips through our fingers. Today I drove Binky and Squeak to school so we could all get Starbucks together.  As I drove they both mentioned how they miss being driven to school.  We talked about the Poinsettia drop offs, listening to music, talking, and walking all the way to class from the nearby neighborhood where I'd park.

Kalea is graduating in weeks.

Just a stark reminder that a new transition phase is coming my way, and as with all things, it can't be stopped.  One must brace oneself for these times and carve a new path.