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The Land of the Weird

Mowing

6/20/2018

I mowed for the first time this year today. The grass was not long enough to warrant any mowing before we left, but became an Alaskan jungle while I was gone. I felt terrible for my electric mower as I slogged my way through the brush.

This became an all-day affair. Not only was the mowing slow-going in itself, I had to keep stopping as I waited for my mower's batteries to charge. Normally, a charge lasts long enough on one battery for the other battery to get a full charge, but that was not the case today. The thick grass required all the energy my mower could throw at it.

Thankfully, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. The rain that had been predicted earlier never arrived. There was enough cloud cover to keep my skin from turning to lobster-red. Best of all, the temperature rose to just a bit over seventy degrees with a comfortable breeze blowing.

According to my Fitbit, I put in 20,000 steps today, walking over 9 miles. Oddly, I feel it the most in the palms of my hands. As Connor and Rowen learned today (at their request) pushing the mower is not as easy as it looks.

Recovery

6/19/2018

We landed in Anchorage at about 10:30 last night (Alaska time) to find that one of our bags had been mistagged and was likely still in Seattle. We spent a little bit of time with friends, before taking to the road. Despite driving through the midnight hours, the twilight made the drive rather light. Although there was almost no traffic, we did get stopped at five different construction locations until pilot cars could lead us through. Thus we didn't get home until after 2 am. Needless to say, we've been pretty tired today.

We got the call from Alaska Airlines that our bag had been identified, shipped up to Anchorage, and would be a the airfield in Kenai by 1 pm through Ravn Air. However, when we arrived, the staff couldn't find it. They said that it might have been delayed and that we should call after the next flight landed (in a couple hours). We did, but our bag was not on that flight. We called again after the next flight arrived, and when the bag still was not found we called Alaska Airlines again. They called Ravn, who then discovered that our bag had arrived on the 1 pm flight but had been set aside from the other luggage in a special location.

Thankfully, we had today to recover.

Flying

6/18/2018

I've done more flying in the past three years than I have through the rest of my life put together. I wish I could say that it has gotten easier for me, but this last flight was one of the worst for me. I didn't think that I was that congested, but my ears told me otherwise. Chewing gum only made my jaw sore as both ears were screeching in agony. At one point it sounded like someone had ripped a needle across an old vinyl record that was attached to the speaker system from Back to the Future. After that moment, I couldn't hear out of my left ear for the remainder of the day.

Ironically, I used to want to be a pilot. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were both pilots. All of the early astronauts were pilots. Especially considering my passion for space and its exploration, becoming a pilot seemed to be a logical extension. Considering some of my experiences, I'm glad I chose a different path.

The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (also, Father's Day)

6/17/2018

I am going to skip over my normal Sunday post of commenting on today's mass other to say that the sermon made some good points about the roles of fathers in our lives. Instead, I wanted to briefly mention that this was one of the best Father's Days that I have had. It started with Janelle and I picking up the newly wedded Mauers and bringing them to church (an event noted by the pastor).

The day only got better from there. As I still have much to do, the short of it is that we spent most of the day with both the Marks and the McKnight families at my sister Jennifer's wonderful lake cottage. It was a great time and the perfect cap to what has been a fantastic visit!

Again, hopefully people who were there had a better presence of mind to take pictures than I did.

Katrina's Wedding (June 16, 2018)

6/16/2018

There is so much to post here, and I still do not have the time to do it justice. The wedding was amazing! The bride was beautiful! The groom was handsome! Both were nervous and yet kept their poise. The wedding party was gorgeous and the wedding was an amazing success. Even the little goofs (such as a ring-bearer with an itchy leg) only made the event more memorable.

The reception was equally amazing! The decorations, food, and fellowship were the best that one could hope for. The dance floor was usually filled with young children showing their moves (Rowen later confided "I didn't show ALL of my moves.") and enthusiastic dancers of all ages joining in. My only real regret was that I could not divide myself so that I could be in many places at once.

There are so many people to thank for their help, for their encouragement, for their well-wishes, for their presence, and ... well, for being a part of this amazing couple's lives! More pictures will certainly be shown by those who were there, but here were some of the very few that I took:

It's Been a While

6/15/2018

I woke up at about five this morning to find that I was in a "cold euphoria." For those unfamiliar with the idea, some people--such as myself--hit a stage in an illness when all seems right with the world. Usually, any headaches or other pains are only felt as though from a distance. Instead, one simply feels content and at the same time very aware.

As I have not been sick in over a year, and because these "euphoria" do not come with every bout of illness, I had actually started to wonder if I would ever feel this sort of feeling again. Ironically, it was only a couple of weeks ago that I was consciously considering this when someone posted on my original blog on the subject (by far my most popular post). It's nice to know that it's still a possibility.

It also seems quite appropriate to have it now considering that Katrina's wedding is tomorrow. What better time to enter into a state of joyful contentment? The great news is that either I will still be in this state tomorrow or the illness will be completely over (as the euphoria only comes at the tale end of an infection's stay).

Regardless, I need to get more rest. Tomorrow is certainly a big day!

Sick Day

6/14/2018

To quote Han Solo, "I feel terrible." Granted, I wasn't just tortured by a Sith Lord, but I have been fighting off some sort of virus for the past week, and it really caught up to me today. I've been sniffley, sneezy, coughy, achy, with a stuffy head, zero energy, and a low grade fever (99.9 just a minute or two ago) all day. I spent a good deal of time sleeping. Meanwhile, Janelle, my daughters, and others were setting up the hall for Katrina's wedding reception.

I'd like to think that I'm getting better, especially since the wedding is in less than 41 hours. I'm also hoping that this virus ends with me and especially does not spread to either Connor or Rowen before we have to fly back to Alaska next Tuesday. Hopefully, a good night's sleep will help.

Speaking of viruses, I've been called from numbers around the nation today that have all left the same voicemail (a scam about my car's warranty ending). There's nothing like finally getting to sleep after a bout of coughing just to have a robocall start buzzing next to me. I didn't think that I could hate that abuse of technology more than I already did until today.

On a positive note, I saw and loved "The Greatest Showman." It felt like a tamer version of "Moulin Rouge," but that's a good thing in my book. It's nice to have a modern musical that I am happy to watch with my kids. I really hope that it more than makes up the money for its production despite the critics trying to tank its opening weekend. Honestly, the critics and I have not been in much agreement as of late. I'm glad in this case as it was nice to have an enjoyable movie to watch when I'm feeling so poor.

I hope to be better tomorrow.

Fun with Cousins

6/13/2018

Today, the boys and I traveled up to my sister Kate's house. One of the highlights for the boys is her in-ground swimming pool. Although the water was cold, I knew that the boys would want to go in (even Rowen who was earlier saying that he didn't want to swim). They had fun playing games with their cousins both in and out of the pool.

I still have fond memories of the short summer vacations that I spent with various cousins. Like this vacation with the boys, the time seems short, but they also pack a lot into each visit they've had. There are only three different places for them to go to spend time with their various cousins--each place having its own advantages and activities.

It certainly seems that they are building fond memories that they will cherish as they get older.

Lincoln Friends

6/12/2018

It became a tradition for me when I taught at Lincoln to go out to lunch with my coworkers during the half days, especially during final exams. One of our favorite places to eat was La Fuente. It has amazing food and good prices. My favorite dish to have there was arroz con pollo--which is exactly as advertised: Mexican rice with grilled chicken, covered in queso.

As I knew I would be down in Michigan during Lincoln's finals week, I reached out to my former coworkers to see if anyone was willing to join me. Based on the response online, I was only expecting a few people to be there, certainly not the dozen who greeted me. I honestly had to work to keep my composure.

Certainly, the hardest part of leaving Lincoln was leaving such a great group of people. Seeing my friends reminded me of all of the good times that we had. Honestly, had you told me a year before my move that I was going to leave these wonderful people, I would have said you were crazy.

Walking into that restaurant today was like walking back in time. During my time there, it was as though three years had not passed. My real regret is that the lunch had to come to an end. It is difficult every time I have to say goodbye to my friends not knowing when, or even if, I will see them again.

Test Drives

6/11/2018

As Janelle and I had a little bit of free time together today and are several of nearby dealerships in the area, we decided to check out and test drive two of the main contenders for our next vehicle: the Honda Pilot and the Kia Sorento. Both of them are top ranked SUVs by several ranking websites, with the Sorento taking 2nd (or 3rd if you count a hybrid) and the Pilot taking 4th (5th) in the 2018 Consumers Reports on SUVs of this size.

The advantage of the Kia Sorento is that it is initially cheaper and there are a couple of great offers on pricing and APR as well as it being consistently rated as one of the more dependable SUVs. However, the Honda Pilot was the clear front-runner in the test drive (which surprised both of us as we are not big fans of Honda). It is considerably more spacious in the interior and the layout of its controls were more intuitive (probably because we have been driving my parents' Honda Civics these past few weeks). Its sticker price is higher, but the Kia (which I really wanted to like) had the fatal flaw (at least, based on Janelle's comments) of an annoying and loud sound for its turn signal. As an interesting note, the Pilot is also advertised as the only SUV completely built in the U.S.

We still haven't personally examined the Toyota Highlander which is the highest rated in many lists the drive to Ann Arbor was a bit too far for Janelle today. I don't know if we will get a chance to while we are down here, but we might want to before we make a final decision.

I also had a chance to test drive a VR (virtual reality) setup for the first time today. I am really impressed by the technology; however, I do not know if I am ready for it yet. I was having mild motion sickness issues even on the stationary immersion videos. I can at least understand the hype that it has been receiving these past few years.

The Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

6/10/2018

Today, Jesus finds that the people who knew Him while growing up are the ones least interested in hearing His message. His message is a difficult one to take. "Love your enemies"? "Turn the other cheek"? "Give more than is expected"? All of these ideas go against our sinful instincts. However, it is probably even harder to hear from a person whom you saw growing up.

No doubt, Jesus was the odd kid. Little is said about His childhood, but even the fact that His family spent some time in Egypt as refugees before settling in Nazareth would have set Him apart. Suddenly, there He is, telling people to approach the world in these wild, even crazy, ways. We discover that they don't like that at all.

Sometimes we are dismissive of new ideas, especially new ideas from people whom we have dealt with as children. It's difficult enough to change our world views, let alone to have those annoying neighbor kids be the ones to show us that we need to. Sometimes, to open our minds to new ideas, we need to open our hearts to people as well.

Replacing the Minivan

6/9/2018

Just a few days before leaving for Michigan, the anti-lock braking system in our minivan shut down. The vehicle can still be driven without it, and replacing it will cost about $1,000 (this doesn't count the $100+ that it took to check it and tell us that). On top of this, there is a gasket that will eventually need repair, and Janelle believes that the transmission is starting to go. I was hoping to wait another year before getting another vehicle as that is when our payments on the Prius end, but it looks like we will need to get a new vehicle this year--this summer even.

As Janelle does not like the Prius (which I love), she will be the primary driver of whatever vehicle we get. As such, she wants a vehicle that has good ground clearance, sits her higher off the ground than a car, yet can still fit in our garage. She also wants either four wheel drive or all wheel drive to help with winter driving. My requirement, which has really been hammered home this trip, is that the vehicle be able to seat at least seven people (preferably in comfort). It would also be nice if the vehicle had some towing capacity and its interior could modify for different storing needs.

Regrettably, Janelle has an unnatural prejudice against minivans (for which I have an unnatural preference). As this is going to be primarily her car, that means minivans are probably out. We spent a little while today looking up different possibilities. Due to her sister's good experience with Volkswagen, Janelle is leaning in that direction (Atlas). However, we also read some good reviews about a Kia (Sorento) that fits the description and is more affordable. I've had good experience with Toyota (Highlander--which friends have had a problem with--or Sienna--yes, I know it's a minivan, but it has all wheel drive). Unfortunately, Janelle and I have already had a poor experience with the only dealership in Alaska to sell Volkswagen, Kia, or Toyota; so we've also been looking at Honda (Pilot) and Nissan (Pathfinder).

Have you noticed a lack of "American" vehicles on the list? Yeah, me too. The only dependable (i.e. won't start falling apart before the payments are finished) ones we've researched have been WAY out of our price range.

Disney's Star Wars

6/8/2018

Despite my love of nearly all things Star Wars, even I acknowledge that the movies are only at about a 50% hit rate. I think that in some ways they are a victim of their own success. The first two movies were so far beyond anything that had been done up to that point that they left an impossibly high bar for any other movies to follow. This is why there have been so few successful Star Wars (sorry for the pun) clones. Return of the Jedi mostly cleared the bar, but it was a close thing.

For all the problems that the prequels had, they were still decent movies with some amazing scenes. Unfortunately, they had their downsides too (the biggest one being that Lucas did not use the script I sent him for the second prequel). This put Disney into an interesting position. Both the high and the low bars had been set, and for the most part the Disney movies have made it between them.

Each of the movies has had its share of problems, but each of them have been good as well. Perhaps the Force Awakens was too derivative, but it has moments that made me feel like a kid again. Maybe Rogue One's ending was a bit dark, but it really gave a feel for the desperation that the Rebellion was in leading up to the first movie. Sure, The Last Jedi didn't go in the direction I wanted it to go, but there were some amazing performances there. And although the Solo movie did not put forth any real shocking revelations (other than one that requires reading the comics or watching the cartoon Rebels to fully understand), it was still an entertaining story that brought to light many of the pieces that made our lovable scoundrel so amazing (including why Billy Dee kept mispronouncing Han's name).

Basically, while I hope that Disney can still set a new bar for greatness in its Star Wars movies, I am at least grateful to live in a time when so many interesting stories are being told.

Changes

6/7/2018

It's strange, coming back to a place I know so well to visit. In many ways, it feels like I never left. In others the changes can be downright jarring. This evening, I went to the end of year choir picnic, and although there were some new faces, I felt just like I had been with them rather than up in Alaska these past three years. The drive there, however, was filled with (cramped) two-way streets where one-way streets had once dominated.

Some of the changes I have noticed--such as the reclining seats at the Jackson 10 Theater--have been for the better. Others--such as the sudden appearance of stink bugs (and in large numbers)--are not as welcome and actually a bit concerning. It almost feels like I've arrived in an alternate universe that is only slightly removed from our own, with minor changes that give it away.

The same has been true for the people with whom I have reconnected. In many ways, it feels like I never left them and things are just as they were three years ago. In others, those slight differences--nephews and nieces who are a bit taller, some people with more gray in their hair or less hair overall, etc.--remind me of how much time has past.