Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

Coming Events

11/30/2016

At today's Faith Formation session (Catholic class), we were trying to work out our schedule leading up to the Christmas Pageant and the Christmas Eve children's choir mass. It was then that I realized that we are only about three weeks away from Christmas break. Once again, time has shot past.

Tomorrow, I write "December" at the top of my whiteboard. In 11 days, Alex has her birthday. In 15 days, Trevor has his. In 21 days, I'll be singing winter holiday songs in the halls for the last school day of 2016. In 22 days, Katrina comes up for a holiday visit. In 23 days, I'll be holding my birthday/movie marathon (it's looking like MCU from the Avengers to Civil War although I still need to get copies of four of the movies).

Meanwhile, we still have a number of gifts to get, functions to attend (both the elementary and the high school are holding their winter concerts on the same evening), and classwork to complete (both as teacher and as student). Somehow, I still want to squeeze in some Catan, Carcassonne, and D&D in the upcoming weeks.

I guess I just need to give up sleeping.

Cold

11/29/2016

I was surprised to see temperatures in the negative digits today. Normally, it's easy to ignore in the morning when I'm pulling my car out of our heated garage. However, it was cold enough this morning that there was frost on the interior side of the doorknob in our arctic entryway.

At least I had the forethought to pack sweatpants rather than leave work in my exercise shorts. I do need to take into account the extra time it takes to warm up the car before I drive it. I was racing the bus to the boys' stop a bit today.

Thankfully, we have a layer of snow with this cold chill. There is something about that blanket of white that makes the cold so much more tolerable. With some of our Christmas lights and decorations making their way up around our house, I actually look forward to the cold (if not the heating bill).

Backsliding

11/28/2016

Especially around the holidays, I find it the hardest to stay on top of controlling my blood sugar. So many of the foods that I love this time of year are either full of sugar or full of starch. In addition, due to the busy holiday schedule, and especially when I'm away from school and thus my gym, I tend not to exercise as frequently (if at all).

All of this leads to an increase in my blood sugar readings and my weight. So far, I've still managed to stay in the borderline realm of just barely unhealthy, but I need to start reeling myself back in. I find it especially easy to continue a downward slide after I make a mistake. It's as though the one screw up suddenly gives me permission to go into full regression. It quickly becomes a more and more difficult pit to climb back out of.

The first step is admitting that there's a problem. As long as I don't use it as an excuse (i.e. I'm just unhealthy; I might as well enjoy what life I have left), I can make this my new starting point. I'm bound to slip; however, that does not give me the excuse to do so on purpose.

... one step at a time ...

The First Sunday in Advent

11/27/2016

Now is the time to prepare the way for the Lord. Are we focusing on our own pleasures and obligations during this time of preparation for Christ? Unfortunately, I know that I am. My mind is spending its time thinking about the things that I want to get done, the things that I need to get done, and the things that I should get done in the next month.

I'm so busy trying to keep my plates spinning (or rather, after this Thanksgiving, getting them spinning again) that I often forget that my relationship with God is not another plate to spin, but the force that allows them to spin in the first place. I need to allow God to be a part of my everyday experience. Every trouble, every success, every moment of calm should be shared, or rather, I should recognize that He shares them with me, for He is always at my side whether I take the time to recognize Him or not.

This is how I need to prepare for this year's Christmas season: to be more mindful of God in everything, and thus to make my actions more worthy of His attention.

Shoveling

11/26/2016

After two hours of shoveling the little more than an inch of accumulated snow, I am still only about halfway done with the driveway. Granted, I did take a little while planning out how to shovel the circle that dominates our yard (one of the features of our home that reminds me of a castle or palace). However, this was only a little bit of fluffy, soft snow. I need to come up with a better plan for when we get greater amounts, especially since my lower back is already twinging from the work that I did.

We do have a larger scoop/shovel that might work better, but in the long term, I'm still thinking about something with a plow. Preferably, this would be an ATV. Although a truck might be more practical, the ATV just sounds like fun.

For now, I think that we will need to get a few more shovels, hand them out to my sons, and get a full shovel brigade going.

Black Friday 2016

11/25/2016

I have long held the personal tradition of going out on Black Friday for what I call "search and destroy" shopping. I make the lists of the items that I'm looking for and the stores that they are in several days before Thanksgiving, honing the list as the days go on. While in Michigan, this meant planning a route between the various stores and deciding which one had the highest value (or at least most desirable) targets (which was, ironically, usually at Target). Here, it was a bit easier as there are only two main stores who have what I was looking for: Freddy's and (and I feel terrible about this) Walmart.

Now, I refuse to do any Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving, so I knew that by the time I got to Walmart, the lot would be largely empty and most of the best deals would be gone. However, they did have a great deal on a pre-lit LED Christmas tree as well as a couple of video games that I figured would still be there.

Now, I know that this tradition flies in the face of my usual abhorrence of our consumerism based society, but I just have a lot of fun doing it, and I get some good deals in the process. This year, this meant a larger TV and a sound system (both purchased at Freddy's, despite my perusal at Walmart). I thus spent much of the day after shopping setting these up and reorganizing our home's audio-visual layout. Now, I'm really excited about my birthday movie-marathon (theme TBD). I was also amused that I paid less than a third of what I bought our previous tv for even though the new one is both larger and has more features. Granted it's been over a decade and technology usually seems to buck the trend of inflation.

I also managed to the get the tree set up (if not decorated) and a good portion of our large driveway shoveled (with Rowen's help). I also did laundry and several small errands and projects for Janelle. All-in-all, it's been a good day.

Thanksgiving 2016

11/24/2016

While I am thankful for so much in my life this past year, there are a few that truly stick out. At the top of my list is my wonderful wife, Janelle, who not only went along with our move up to Alaska, but has done so much work to handle our finances, run our rental cabin, keep our children on the paths to be the best possible versions of themselves, and make our house a home. Without her, I do not know what I would do.

Speaking of our house, I am tremendously thankful for the house that we found, the help we received to find, purchase, and move into it. I regularly think about, and often say aloud, how much I like the home we now have. Sure there are areas that could be improved, but it is an amazing place.

I am thankful for Steve and Alana Tuckey, who have allowed Katrina to live with them and supported her in many other ways during this past year. Some many elements of Katrina's life, and thus our family's life, would have been exceedingly difficult without all that they have done.

My parents have done so much for which I am thankful. Among the things that I could mention is that they take the time to talk with me regularly and keep me updated on events back in Michigan (and Chicago, and Minnesota, and even Texas). I shudder to think what my life would be like at this moment without their guidance and assistance.

There is so much more for which I am thankful. From friends, both old and new, to my job and colleagues, to my new church family, I have been truly blessed this past year. Thus my thankfulness for all of this ultimately goes to my God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Wednesday Before Thanksgiving

11/23/2016

The news that I've been waiting for has arrived: our dry weather pattern is being replaced by a wet one. Although none of the snow predicted thus far is of a storm level, it sounds like it at least will be covering everything in a usable layer starting tomorrow. To me, this is much better than the continual "snow is two weeks away" predictions that we've been getting.

Janelle made a pre-Thanksgiving meal as we plan on spending tomorrow with friends and she wants us to have plenty of leftovers. Everything was fantastic! Special surprises included Alex's Italian rolls, "cranberry" sauce made from the low-cranberries in our yard, and Janelle's amazing chocolate pie (which we even better than memory served). These are leftovers to look forward to.

We had the annual Turkey Trot at our school today. This year's crop of new highers had a great performance (although I'm still biased towards last year's). The students were pretty well-behaved, and everyone seemed to have good fun.

I am trying to figure out my Black Friday attack plan. Part of the debate is deciding whether I should break my long-standing avoidance of Walmart. Freddy's has a few things that I would like, but Walmart has at least four really nice specials. I still refuse to go in on Thanksgiving, but I'm certainly wavering.

Royalties

11/22/2016

I just got the notification that I will be receiving my first check from Amazon for my novel Dragon Hunter. With eleven books sold, that puts it at just over twenty dollars, officially making it more than I have ever made for writing fiction. Thank you, those who picked up a copy (I'm guessing most, if not all, have access to this post); I hope you enjoyed the read.

Thanks also to Truston for providing me with my first review for the book (as well as some editing suggestions for the future). It surprised me how much seeing those five stars would affect me emotionally, even knowing they were there.

Anyway, Christmas shopping is well underway, so if you know people who have a Kindle or Kindle App and would like to read a story about dragons in our modern age, I certainly would like to share my story with them.

Big News

11/21/2016

Now, I hate keeping secrets, and I'm not very good at it. Thus, when Peter Maurer asked for my permission to ask my daughter Katrina to marry him (I didn't make it easy for him), I had a hard time not blurting it out to the entire world, much less keeping it from her for a week. Later, when he asked and she said yes, I was then told that I couldn't post anything about it until they had a chance to tell certain people directly. It's been two days and I have finally been given the "go ahead" to tell the Interwebs that they are now officially engaged with the plan to marry at some point in the summer of 2018.

I am quite happy for the two of them. It has been a pleasure getting to know Peter during the time that Katrina has dated him. He is a man of integrity who goes to mass regularly, works hard, and appreciates science fiction and board games; honestly, what else can I ask for in a son-in-law? Sure, sure, it's probably a bonus that he's in love with my daughter ...

Anyway, if you see Katrina, make certain you compliment her on the ring ... er, engagement. This is one of those times that Janelle and I would have liked to be with her to celebrate, but we will have to wait until we see her at Christmas.

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

11/20/2016

While I know that America was built on the premise of not serving under any kings (something that I personally agree with), I feel that an exception should be made in the case of Jesus. He does not ask for an allegiance in the form of an army or for us to provide taxes for His protection (although there are some who believe otherwise). Instead, He is the King of kings who rules through service, continually willing to sacrifice Himself for His people.

Unfortunately, we so often serve other, more selfish powers. There are so many people, ideas, and forces in this world that seek to bend us, or seduce us, to their will. Jesus warns that none of them will satisfy our needs, that He alone deserves our loyalty as He is eternally loyal to us. He will never abandon us, but He will not force us to obey His rule.

Today marks the final day of the liturgical year for the Catholic Church. Next week is the first week of Advent--our time of preparation for Christmas. To celebrate this, our church had a youth choir sing at mass, for which I played accompaniment with my guitar. Connor, of course, joined in, but surprisingly, so did Rowen. In fact, Rowen had all of the refrains and most of the first verses memorized (likely because I've been practicing them this past few weeks). All told, we had 15 children sing in front of the parish, packing our few choir benches. It went very well.

Saturday

11/19/2016

Our boys were a bit more social than normal today. Trevor was invited to a friend's house for a D&D session that lasted much of the day. Meanwhile, Connor went to see the movie Trolls with one of his friends. Trevor said that he had a great time and really liked his friend's campaign, while Connor came back with a massive soda and a huge smile.

I spent a few hours practicing the guitar today in preparation for tomorrow's children's choir at mass. I am still a little concerned about a couple of the songs (especially the psalm), but I leave it in the hands of God at this point. I then spent even more time trying to save Gotham in Batman: Arkham Knight. The game is playable (not my favorite in the series), but the story is really pushing me forward.

Janelle spent most of the day at work. We picked up Dairy Queen burgers, fries, and cheese curds for dinner, and watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies once we put the little boys in bed. The food was good and the movie was entertaining with some laugh-out-loud moments. I do wish that the last third of the movie was more faithful to its source material as it didn't have the same punch as the rest of it did.

And while there is more that I would like to say on other matters, I think that I will leave this as is tonight. You're welcome.

Popcorn Addiction

11/18/2016

I love popcorn, perhaps too much. One of my favorite things about the Christmas season are when those big tins of various flavors of popcorn go on clearance. I usually get several of them and mix them Chicago-style.

During one D&D session, one of my friends brought in a nearly man-sized bag of popcorn from a local gas station. He set it by me, and later told me that he watched with rapt fascination as I made my way through the bag throughout the day. I was disappointed that he never did it again.

One of the signs that I had made the right move in coming to work at Skyview is that they have a popcorn machine which staff has access to throughout the school day. I usually grab a handful at the start of the day and a small bag when the day is over (usually after my workout). Today, one of the secretaries gave me a [clean] clear trash bag to take the leftover popcorn from the day home. She told me that it just gets thrown out otherwise. My boys loved the treat (there's still a good deal left, but not for lack of trying).

It's the simple things in life ...

Bring on the Snow

11/17/2016

I was happily surprised to see it start snowing on my drive to work. I was even more excited to see the flurries continue through the day. While we only ended up with a light coating by the time it was over, it still makes me happy.

I am, however, a little concerned. At this same point last year, we were in subzero temperatures and had a nice layer of snow (that would later disappear). At least, it's not as bad as Michigan, which started hunting season this week with temperatures warm enough to let the hunters go without jackets.

While our boiler was having a few problems, making this morning a colder experience than I would like, the school's temperature has been far too warm for me to consider wearing my snow sweaters. Perhaps that's the problem: Without the sweaters, how does the snow know that I want it to come here?