The Plague's got me!

Ugh, I hate being sick.

Aside from a few hypochondriacs, most people don't like being sick. You're tired, weak, nose running, coughing all over the place. And gods help you if the digestive system gets hit. Eww.

Often I'm a little under the weather. Surely some of it has to do with carrying a little more than my fair share of weight around, in addition to the lack of exercise and sedentary job. But through out the sniffles and coughs I usually am missing one thing. The fever.

I don't know how many times I've asked Sasha to feel my head and she says all good. Then I grab the thermometer and it agrees with her assessment. Until this past Thursday.

99.7

Friday morning

101.3

Saturday morning

100.2

How annoying! I feel like utter crap, just want to sleep all day long and don't even have the desire to play games. [gasp!]

However, I have discovered several good ploys to be "active" with the kids, without having to spend much energy. But still, this sucks.

It makes me extra grateful for Sasha (who's currently spending a little, much deserved, time out of the house with out the kids) for taking care of them and me as well.

No, I am not getting pampered. But she has cleaned up my dishes and is primary on the kids these past couple of days. And that is the miracle of family.

We all need a support system, and a family does all of that. Sometimes I feel that we Americans push kids out of the house too quickly. Or worst yet, absolve them of responsibilities that we might have had ourselves.

In the past days of snow, Marcus has often come out to help me shovel. He grabs his kids size, long-handled spade and goes to town. I leave him a patch to work on while I clear the rest of the driveway. It's fun and something to do with his dad and I really enjoy it, too.

And then later I went over to my mom's place to uncover her car, which was rather buried on the east side of Milwaukee. Something I haven't done nearly enough, but it was very satisfying to help her out.

It's the family support system, and sometime it really works well.

Now I'm going to go off and fight sleep a little longer.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Life - Oh precious life

A friend recently posted on Facebook the question, "If you could go back and do it all over, what would you change? And you can't say you'd change nothing!" That friend does not have children, and children make a hard stop in one's timeline. I would never, ever want to go back to a time before Marcus was born.

Because I do not want to even conceive of him never being a part of my life. And three years is not much time to find an item to change. And whenever you think something is a good idea to make different, the movies always tell you there are consequences.

The 1998 movie, Sliding Doors, stars Gwyneth Paltrow and shows how whether she catches a train or not lead her life in two entirely different directions. Who knows how often that happens in the real world, but we've all stood on the cusp of those decisions.

- My father could have died in a studio fire where he lived, if he had been there the night it burned to the ground. I would completely lost contact with that side of the family if he hadn't dodged that one.

- I could have stayed in Minneapolis, after a impulse to leave Milwaukee struck me. Nearly happened, but fate and my complete lack of planning brought me back. (Special thanks to C.R. for telling me to buy a round trip bus ticket.)

And the big winner is:
When I graduated college, I took the lazy route. After seeing my good friend sending out hundreds of resumes trying to find the right job, I decided to take a week off, then go to Manpower and get working right away while I tried to find a "good" job.

They hired me on the spot to work for them, and that's the week I started working with Sasha.

If I had decided to pursue a radio/TV job, or traveled to Japan to teach English, I would have lost so much. I cannot begin to consider any past choices beyond something like, "I should never have bought that Balterspace CD."

And while I don't think it would have had an impact on the rest of my life, fixing the mistake of my 2nd worst impulse buy ever, would have robbed me of a kind of fun story.

In my life I've made a lot of choices, 40 years of existence will do that to most everyone. And I would never change a single thing before the birth of Marcus. Things are too fragile to mess with that at all.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Force of Will

One of the things that really strikes me as a parent is how precious "alone time" is. I love my video games, my scifi/geek movies, my gaming stuff, but I love my family more - so they take priority and that is right.

But when I get those couple of hours, man do I want to sink my teeth into some PS3 game that's been sitting around for a while and lose hours to it. If there's an active book, it gets devoured in the wee-hours in the space of a week, two if it's really big.

But then there are moments when the two come together. And those are great.

Marcus loves swordfighting. So getting that 20 minutes of running around the house with Nerf swords is a proud papa-geek moment. Especially watching him learn/imitate "moves" like spinning around for no good reason and grabbing my blade so he can swing away freely. Pure awesome.

Alya may not like the fighting, but she loves the story. Tonight the three of us watched Star Wars Episode One - The Phantom Menance. (Sasha was off at the annual xmas cookie exchange.) Marcus was not interested for most of the middle of the movie. But he got a kick out of the good action sequences. Alya paid attention throughout most of the movie. She wanted to know who Anakin was (they've both watched a lot of Clone Wars) and thought that Obi Wan looked funny. And Queen Amidala confused her so much, that I paused the movie to try and explain what was going on. She really wanted to know what was going on.

My squirrel is also the one who like to play Peggle on the computer - but wants someone in the room with her. Alya really "gets" computers and can use a mouse and a touch pad with great ease. Marcus, well he was kind of hitting the keys a lot today, just to try and get something to happen. The two of them may play like a couple of peas in a pod, but they are quite different.

And each day they impress me more.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Late Night Ramblin'

I'm going to open with what should be the closing. Because it's the most important thing about this post.

Typical BSer house evening ends with me moving Alya out of our bed and into hers. Tonight, when that happened, she woke up a bit to check she had the correct woobie in the bed (bear, not pink) and I confirmed that it was indeed the correct one. Satisfied, she curled up and went back to sleep as I placed the important stuffed animals next to her. As I walked out I said, "Good night, Squirrel." and closed the door.

Often I don't speak when putting either kid in bed, but Alya had already pulled a response on woobie, so I knew it wouldn't hurt the sleep process.

That little verbalization choked me up a bit because I'm thinking that to them both every night, and eventually I won't be tucking these small ones into bed. And they mean the world to me. Everything else I've done, does not come to this level.

Which leaves the question, "What next?"

---

I started reading The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks a day ago. The main character is a game player. Like someone who is a professional chess player, only with as many games as he likes and that's all he does. Only he's at a crisis point because he's bored. What's next in his path because he has played and beaten just about everything.

Meanwhile, my world of games has been odd. My board games are getting dustier. Magic cards are floating around all over the place, but a change would be needed to really hone my skills on that one. I have many miniature games in foam trays, needing assembly, paint and a chance to fight on the battlefield. But there's no gaming passion. Nothing that pulls my attention constantly like a mongrel on a bone.

While sitting on the basement step, I couldn't help but see my stack of Japanese language instruction loaded on a shelf. It defines me, but the motivation is no longer present. Perhaps I should be clearing that all off and resign that goal for now. Like the guitar in the close, learning either would be a major growth undertaking, but both are also previous paths that were never finished.

---

The final item of the evening - a year book from Pius XI High School. 1988 to be precise.

At Manpower I walk through the building and know about 1/4 to 1/3 of the people. Not personally, but recognize them either through my own times there or through Sasha's work.

That ratio is much lower in my yearbook. Then again my class had well over 400 students in it and I was never a true social butterfly.

Things that kept cropping up in the words written by others, "I didn't really know you until this year." "You're funny and strange." "Sorry I hit you in the head with a pen." Okay, that last one not so much. Some of the words written triggered a small bit of sadness. Relationships unexplored. Relationships explored and ruined at a latter time. Friendships that were acquired a little too late in the game to be able to maintain. Or distances, written by one as "We are going our separate ways in search of... A PARTY", creating that gulf making the connect difficult to maintain.

But no regret.

High school (and soon college) is half a life away for me now. While knowing where people are today (thank Facebook) is neat, that's over 20 years ago. I've got too much future going on to keep living in the past. (Although a few ghosts do loom from time to time.)

---

There's a song out now called, "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros that has really grabbed my ears. I was playing it for the kids on the drive to their daycare, and during the speaking portion (listen to the song, it's that good) I talked to Alya and Marcus about what was happening that day and night and how I love them both so very much.

The line from the song that sticks is, "Home is where ever I'm with you." So when I went to Manpower Saturday where Sasha was putting in extra hours, Alya told her, "I'm happy to be home." Sasha was a little puzzled and asked if home was Manpower. "No, home is when we're all together."

That's my squirrel.

And that's my "What's next?" for the next 20 years of my life.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Fun Fair and Parents and Memory

Today's big adventure was the Brown Deer Grade School Fun Fair. It was held in the middle school which is only three minutes away, so Sasha thought it would be great to take the kids - and I agreed.

The only Fun Fair I remember is one that was held at St. Robert's over in Shorewood. And I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever. It was like State Fair, but without all the creepy guys! Well even my 30+ year old memory couldn't stack up to what they did at the Brown Deer event.

They had three different rooms of games, each aimed at a slightly different age range. It helped the little ones keep from getting trampled by the big kids, which was very wise. Alya really enjoyed the Duck Pond game, while Marcus got a kick out of the fishing game in the smallest kids room. While the library had bowling setup in the shelves and a football toss as well. And the gym had a bounce castle, bake sale, and quarter-a-ticket raffle.

In fact, the quarter was the over arching theme. Twenty-five cents got a play at any of the games, a ticket for the raffle, and two snagged a bag of popcorn. Cheap fun that all went toward helping the school raise money for lots of extra activities.

In addition, Alya completely chomped down on cotton candy - we'll have to watch out for that in the future. Alya's exact words after Sasha took a small piece were, "Actually, I'm going to eat the rest of this." Lots of sugar lead to a big nap for the squirrel when the crash came, which would have been better if Marcus napped as well. But our little man just couldn't settle down. I suspect the cat nap he took on my shoulder at the Fun Fair was just enough to keep him from completely going down.

Looking forward to next year, as this was a way cool event!

***

One thing that came to mind tonight while doing dishes (and which also led to this posting) was my relationship with my friend's parents.

It's odd because as a kid you think it's nice and easy to call your friend's parents "Mom" and "Dad". Although, I will admit that I preferred not to use any name at all, because I didn't get that comfortable with most parent. But then there the exceptions.

An early memory is sitting at the kitchen table at Eric Lenz's house on Newhall eating pizza. Eric's Mom had set us up for lunch and it was a simple meal, but it was so cool. This was an event that happened frequently, but that house was in some ways a larger constant than my own. Oh, did I mention that I was either six or seven at the time?

But at any rate, Eric's Mom, Barbara, took me in probably more often than I can remember, but that is probably part of the reason why I could call her Mom, although I probably didn't do it very often.

Heh. I still remember the Ziggy cartoon that was taped up in the kitchen. Ziggy was walking his pet duck and a construction worker was yelling, "Duck!" to which Ziggy replied, "Don't worry, he's friendly." Naturally, he didn't see the wrecking ball headed straight toward him.

***

The other friend's mom that was on that same level was David C's Mom. Now this jumps from First Grade to Junior Year of high school, but she was a parent that was not only there for all of David's friends, but just was the awesome of mom-hood.

While sleepovers were a thing of the past by the time I met Beverly C, she was "Mom" pretty much out the gate. Admittedly, part of this came from the fact that in high school we travelled in packs and I was late to joining this group, but while I wasn't spending the night, there were several dinners at David's house and it often was the meeting point where activites would begin.

Meals were a little more formal in high school, but that kitchen will always be remembered as a place where I was welcome as more than just one of Dack's friends. And Beverly really made it another home for me.

***

"But, Jon," you might ask, "Were there any extra Dad's in your childhood?"

The closest would be Peter Santi's father, Joseph. I really didn't spend a lot of time with him, but the one trip I took to EAA fly-in in Oshkosh just sticks in my head. I just felt a part of this family trip - although it was very much like a fishing trip with the guys, but without the beer - and the invite was very welcome.

And it kind of helps that the only other time I had been to the EAA fly-in was with my own father.

***

Alya and Marcus already have had sleepovers at several family member's houses without us, but family parents are not the same as friend's parents. I don't know if I would ever be referred to as "Dad", although I'm sure Sasha will be called "Mom" by some of the kids' friends. Whether it happens or not, I'll be fine with it.

But I had best figure out something, becuase "Mr. BSer" doesn't quite have the ring I'm looking for.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Adventure Awaits!

In the old arcade game, Dragon's Lair, the attract mode would describe how fantastic of a game it was and wrap up with, "Play Dragon's Lair - Your adventure awaits!" Naturally, this phrase stuck with me.

But who'd of thought that a nature walk would turn into a genuine adventure?

Sasha had taken the kids into Brown Deer Park for a walk through the woods before, and this time we all went for the hike. We walked on logs, picked up sticks, climbed hills, interfered with disc golf games, and Alya had her first outdoor bathroom experience. Standard stuff for a walk in the woods.

Then our trail met this bridge:

True adventure!

And that kind of changed things. Alya was a little scared to cross it. I was nervous that some of the boards were weak. And the gaps were large enough that either of the kids could have fit through and there was some water under that bridge. A thrilling crossing, indeed.

Yes, we made it without incident. Yeah, it probably wasn't a big deal. But we still didn't take that route back.

Instead, we follow a trail that would "complete" the circuit and bring us out on the other side. Except that pesky stream the bridge had crossed was still around and still containing water. So this trail sort of gave up the ghost at a bend in the stream. No bridge in sight, nor stones to make an attempt at keeping dry.

It all kind of reminded me of Blair Witch Project. But neither Sasha, nor I are that stupid.

So she slowly herded the kids in the direction there "should" be a bridge, while I scouted ahead to make sure it was there.

I scampered along the stream bed, trying to spot our way out when I think I see salvation - a golf cart bridge that was perhaps 30 yards away. And then I saw what lay between us and the way out. The stream had forked, and this fork was cutting off the way out.

As I got closer, I could see the bed of the fork did not have any obvious water, but the question of mud remained. So I grabbed a nearby stick and started prodding the leaf covered bed. It was soft in spots, but otherwise dry enough.

However, when we had regrouped to cross it together, Alya balked and didn't want to walk along it. Maybe my speech about how to cross these things made it a little scary, but it was another experience that she didn't want to do along. So she was held and Marcus carried, and we made it across the bridge, out of the woods, and into the clear blue sky.

With two tired little children who couldn't bear to walk anymore.



We found adventure and triumphed. And it was good.

***

So, I've been really bad about blogging lately, and a lot has been going on with the family.

Alya had her 3rd birthday party, which was a three day celebration filled with cakes, princess outfits, and a few presents too. Good times for the little squirrel.

Sasha also had her birthday, which was a celebration that started after her brother's birthday party the day previous and ran off to a round of golf and a trip to Elegant Farmer for fall goodies.

And I went with Alya on a Pumpkin Farm trip with her school. Lots of fun for her and I, even if I forgot the rule of "Don't let the kids pick a pumpkin they can't carry."

Since all of this was neglected, I'm going to cheat for the following week.

Starting after this post on Sunday, there will be a picture (or two) and a short blog entry every day this week. Really. I mean it. I'm doing it right after I publish this one.

So come back and see the BSer thought of the day. I will not promise a big week wrap-up at the end, but the thought is nice.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Take a good hard look, 'cause we're sailin' on a boat!

Ah, Labor Day.

Since we do not have kids in school proper yet, it is merely the end of a season and an extended weekend. But we made the most of it, that's for certain.

The picture above, was taken Sunday morning on a lake near East Troy, WI. Sasha's Aunt Debi and Uncle Neal have a house there that they opened up to the entire Fuller family for Labor Day weekend. So we scheduled a time (the Fuller family is that big) and got ready to go.

But that's not the beginning of the story.

---

Sometimes life gets a little funny. Not funny "ha-ha", but funny "strange". I saw some new friends leave the immediate part of my life, and saw a bunch of old friends that I haven't seen in quite a while. This wasn't an "Out with the new, in with the old" plan - I didn't have much say beyond attending events, but it was weird.

The Battiste's (Ben and Jen) left Milwaukee this past Tuesday for Germany, as Ben was just posted there by the US Army. They've been a part of my gaming life for the past year, and have come over for get togethers as well. They had an hasta la vista (my term, not theirs) dinner on Thursday, but with Alya still under the weather, BSer representation was limited to me and Marcus walking into California Pizza Kitchen to say "Farewell" and wave a bag of burgers from Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Very brief, which is a bummer but thanks to the internet, contact need not be lost.

But in with the old! In this case, it was a Friday wedding for a co-worker friend of Sasha and I. It was a nifty ceremony, and a nice dinner, but the highlights for us were.... Conversations with Peter and Ann Marie, a couple that we used to get together with during my previous stint at Manpower. They had since moved out to Colorado and we had not really kept in touch beyond Facebook.

Then throw in a bunch of dancing (the wedding trifecta - Electric Slide, Cha-Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle - back to back to back) and it being a date night as my Mom watched the kids all added up to a fantastic evening.

And that lead to the next day and a lake house party!

---



This is what vacation living is all about.

Now I know I kind of lead up to this being the meat of the post. A Saturday through Sunday stay at one of the nicest homes I've ever stayed in, but the events were so laid back that in some ways there's not much to tell.

We all were able to chill out and enjoy the day. Alya and Marcus loved running around on the grass and hanging out on the pier watching the lake. We've been told our children are very mellow, and they certainly know how to take it easy.

Saturday's antics included, a big group bath for all the little (read under 5 years old) cousins in a large, whirlpool tub. Highlights include little cousin Devon (18 mo.) standing up to show how he can pee in the water. -Bath reset!- And the "swim off" between Alya and cousin Jack (4). Each of them were trying to out do the other. Very fun for all that were involved.

This bath time was followed up with a nice outside fire with around ten family that had lots of sparks and some roasting of marshmallows, which then became smores. Alya and Marcus shared a rocking bench for a brief stint until it was impossible to ignore bedtime any longer.

And both of them slept solidly through the night. Which was good because Alya took the top bunk in a room with two of her second cousins who were probably worried they would have middle of the night wakes ups. Instead, they were serenaded by Alya's morning song, which is a quite gentle way to be woken up.

Once we were all moving (and none too hurriedly, mind) the BSers and the Ratajczyks (Jenni and her two sons Jack and Devon) went out on the pontoon boat for a slow ride around the lake. A somewhat calm cruise - kids fine, water skiers a little less calm - that let us see the sailboats get out for the weekly race - probably the last of the season. We even tried to feed the fish, but they weren't that interested in tortilla chips.

Then we came back to shore - had a little lunch - and then the kids ended up taking a 3 hour nap! That's the kind of chillin' I'm talkin' about. Heck, I even grabbed 20 minutes for myself.

By the time we got home, the sun had set, our bodies were tired, and our day wasn't over.

Yep, Holly came by to watch the kids while Sasha and I went out for a second wedding of the weekend.

---

Wai-ken married Maggie this past weekend in a small ceremony at the Hotel Metro in downtown Milwaukee. Sasha and I managed to show up late to the reception thanks to a bonus trip up and down in the hotel elevators.

Anyway, I've know Wai since the fifth grade and we've been trying to get together a few times a year at minimum - plus lunches at El Farol. But also at the reception was two friends from high school (Chris and Mike) and one from the first grade! (Hey Eric!)

Since we were coming in at the tail end of a long day for everyone, we only got to chat a little bit, but it was good to actually talk with these guys that I hadn't seen in several years.

But one of the odd things that I came away with was that we all have changed. But sometimes it's hard to shake the memory of how things were, compared to where we're at now. I am fairly certain that I'm a different person now, and so are they. It's both interesting and a little sad that we don't know the changes we've all gone through.

But that is the nature of life, unless you keep your friends to a minimum, it is impossible to keep up with everyone. Lives change, we cross paths or journey together only to part at some point. And one can hope to meet up again and have things return to that level of comfort you once had.

A funny thing about meeting these friends again, I could find a parallel for each one in my current batch of "newer" friends. Maybe it's a gamer thing (and all of them were/are gamers) but it's like a group cannot abide with two people of the same personality type - but we're drawn to people who share a type of personality we've known in the past. Very strange.

---


Morning... BSer style

After all the crazy events, Monday was the calm we all needed.

Sasha, which help from the kids, put together a really nice breakfast. Then she mowed the lawn while I did house clean up and kid watching.

This was followed by another long nap by the kids and Sasha, which I did not partake in.

Then the evening was a gathering with Peter and Ann Marie (remember them?) and some of their friends, including my old boss from Manpower. It was a great, relaxing evening. Peter took the role of Grill Master to heart and whipped up some good sources of protein. Ann Marie took care of the logistics behind the scenes and we and another couple with their nearly-two-year-old waxed and relaxed.

It was a fine way to wrap up the weekend and a time of nostalgia, remembering days when we were in the same city and could visit more often. I guess we have a very good reason to see Colorado now.

---

Now if I was better at this kind of stuff, I'd re-read the post tomorrow before putting it up, but I'm not that kind of guy. It's late, I'm rambling, and I'm missing some of my friends.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Slow blogging does not mean slow times....

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long, but these days are just flying by.

Summer as a kid was a time of freedom. Do what you want, stay up as late as you can, cause a little trouble and have a few adventures.

Summer as a single adult was kind of just-another-season. Sure there were events that only happened in the summer, but it was generally just a tick on the calendar.

Summer as a couple, especially married, changed things slightly. Double the family gatherings, and those happened more often in the summer months.

Summer with kids, it's their freedom not yours. And it comes from the sun.

This is what found me and Alya in the park at 8:30 PM this evening.

The little squirrel fought and fought taking a nap today. And she really needed it. Marcus took a too short nap so he was in a state as well. Eventually, Alya gave up and too a nap on the floor - at 5 PM. Not good when we're trying to shoot for an early bed time.

Sasha made an excellent dinner, which we enjoyed while Alya slept. However, Marcus was drifting off while eating his dinner, so we thought "going down early!"

How wrong we were.

Alya woke up on the floor in a horrible foul mood. Meanwhile, Marcus fought going to bed like nobody's business.

And this is where it gets interesting.

I go ahead and take Marcus for a walk, while Alya takes herself into the bathroom closing the door.

And locking it.

Five minutes pass and my cell phone rings - it's Sasha asking how to get the door unlocked, as she and Alya can't get it open. I try to talk her through it, but something really seems to be wrong with the door, so Marcus and I rush home.

The door is seriously locked. And the release on the outside of the door isn't working at all. Alya's being very brave in the bathroom - and we're both so proud of her - as I'm getting a hammer and screwdriver and eventually tin snips to get the door unlocked and my little squirrel free.

Eventually, the cutting works things free enough that a few strikes with a screwdriver and a twist opens the lock - and breaks it in the process. The family is reunited and joyful.

But it doesn't end there.

See, Marcus had one screwdriver and then Alya grabbed the other. Now I would trust Alya with a screwdriver, but Marcus most certainly not. But take one away and the other must go too. With two overtired children, no good could come of this.

Much screaming, wailing, and thrashing of limbs (thanks Marcus) lead to the entire family piling into the car and listening to the children's classic album "Peter, Paul and Mommy" by Peter, Paul and Mary.

This results in Marcus falling asleep, but Alya just isn't going down. Late naps are the bane of any parent's life.

As we pull into the driveway, Alya asks about going to the park - which was the original enticement. So, Sasha takes Marcus into the house, and I go and take Alya to the park. At 8:30 PM.

Daddy paranoia sets a few ground rules as we head into Brown Deer Park.

"We're only staying a little while as the park is closing soon."
"Only a little bit of time on the swings and a few trips down the slide." "And the monkey bars?" "And the monkey bars."
"If Daddy says 'We have to go now.' that means we must leave right away because it is dangerous. Understand?" "Okay."

We got out of the car and headed over to the playground, which was partially blocked from the road by a truck and I saw three figures hanging out on the swings. But the voices carried over where that of young college girls talking grades and sports. Whew.

Alya had fun. She got time on the swings - with around 5 or 6 underdogs. Three trips down the slide. And a couple monkey bar runs - which consists of me holding her as she grabs the rungs. All wrapped up with howling at the moon. (Three quarters full is good enough for us.)

And then back home. Safe and sound and ready for bed.

Kind of.

See, as I finish up this last bit, Sasha's currently reading Alya some bedtime stories.

Yeah, late naps are really a pain.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Black Leather and Blue Jeans

Yeah, it's been quite a while since the last update, but I hope that people enjoyed the pictures that went up over the week after Easter.

Some news from the BSer family, we no longer have a mini-van. Yep, the Honda Odyssey has returned to the dealership. We are now proud owners of a Honda CR-V. Black exterior with a tan leather interior, it's been a fun vehicle to return to the garage.

While Marcus isn't that impressed, Alya loves "her" new car. I don't know quite when it became her car, but the CR-V is Alya's car and the Accord is Momma's car. Kind of leaves me as the chauffeur, but I can deal with that.

But that brings me to the subject of this evening's blog. Clothes can make the man, or at the very least influence the attitude. Pius had a no jeans policy when I went to high school and that did have some impact on attitude.

When I work from home, I am not the kind of guy who can sit in his sweat pants and be all grubby. Clean, perhaps even a shave, just to keep the attitude in the right place when I get working.

So when I throw on my black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans the attitude is slightly shifter. A touch more arrogant. A little more sass.

This feeling had been amplified each time I climbed into the Accord to head off somewhere on my own. Low to the ground, with a feeling of imaginary power (only 4-cylinders) Jon is feeling the "driving way".

Something that the Odyssey never generated, and the new CR-V doesn't provide either. However, the previous CR-V (which was technically my car) did grant that sensation.

There is no real answer as to where this feeling came from. I've always enjoyed driving, and have occasionally thought that I could be a good race driver. While not a NASCAR fan in any shape, I do love a good racing video game.

This does raise a little concern, as 40 is rapidly approaching and will I start looking at a sporty little fun vehicle.... Nah, who am I kidding.

---

On a different note, if you're on Facebook, check out the video Sasha posted a few days ago. Marcus got into finger painting this past Sunday. However, I don't think that paper is his favorite medium.



Be seeing you,

Jon

Facebook lists

So there's a thing going around Facebook right now. The idea is that you write a list of 25 "random" things about yourself to share, and then "tag" people who you would want to write the list back.

While I was getting ready to put my list up, I realized there are a lot of people I'd like to share the list with, so I don't want to make a bazillion tags and instead just put it up here to share with everyone. (and write run on sentences, too)

Therefore, you will now get to see 25 semi-random tidbits about myself. Some are obvious, some are silly. But it should be a little fun, right?

Be seeing you,

Jon

25 Random Things - a BSer list

1. I love games of all kinds - board, video, sports, party, casino - but am not a fan of gambling. Stakes might make a game "interesting" but I know that the house always wins. Oh, and my luck really sucks when money's on the line.

2. I love my family more than games. This is an important statement that some people who are gamers don't understand.

3. My children amaze me on a daily basis. They are the best thing I've done with my life.

4. Science was my thing until the end high school when it was revealed to me that was not the case. I'm not the geek people think I am.

5. Movies and television are a shared experience for me. If no one I know watches a show, I probably won't watch it either.

6. In the early 90s a tv was only used for movies and video games. I got cable only to record Babylon 5 when TNT picked up the fifth season. Now the only time I watch a live broadcast is for BBC America World News in the morning. Everything else resides on the DVR.

7. Originally I believed I had a fear of heights, but now I know it's a fear of falling. Huge difference.

8. My desire to learn Japanese began in 1984 when my high school offered it and I was done with Spanish. 25 years later and my skill with both languages is atrocious.

9. Personal goal - visit each continent. I only have three thus far, and Asia is kind of iffy since I only went to Japan.

10. If someone tried to force me to choose between music and games I'd tell them to stuff themselves. Both are a very central part of me.

11. Instruments I have attempted to learn in chronological order: Recorder, Violin, Trombone, Guitar, Flute, Violin, Piano. Never buckled down on any of them. I still have some ability with the guitar, but my best instrument remains my voice.

12. People tell me I have a good radio voice. So now I'm working on a podcast to see if it's true.

13. Lactose intolerance kicked in late for me. Which means I know the joys of an unfettered Special from the Pig N' Whistle - three scoops of custard, hot fudge, bananas and chopped peanuts.

14. Growing up I wanted to be six feet tall. I stopped growing at five feet, eleven and a half inches. Go figure.

15. While in college performed in a children's theater production of Babar. I was the waiter, the priest, and the salesman. No spoken lines, but I did get paid.

16. I have always been into video games, but did not own the first Nintendo system (NES) until much later in life. And I don't own a single NES cartridge.

17. One of the best things my mom pushed on me was learning to swim. While I don't have any swimming "accomplishments", getting into the water is not a problem for me. Just don't try to make me dive.

18. Jethro Tull is one of my favorite bands, but when I saw them in concert I didn't know their biggest hits like Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, or even Too Old to Rock N' Roll. I just loved the album Songs from the Wood. Yes, it's slightly more obscure.

19. In 15 years of car ownership, I only had two cars that were "mine". The first car, which was a Ford Escort. And a Honda CRV. The rest have been "family" cars.

20. Roller coasters are awesome. I miss the G-Force that was at Six Flags Great America back in the day. My favorite at the park now is Raging Bull.

21. In 3rd grade I was a wimp and started getting bullied by a kid in another class. When the kids in my class found out, the girls all comforted me while the boys went over to deal with the bully. That is what happens when you are not Hispanic and mess with a Hispanic class. The bully was no longer a problem for me, and I learned a lot about the Hispanic concept of family.

22. I have pulled all-nighters for various reasons, but in the past few years it's only been when I have a book that I just can't put down. For me, the last 100 pages is "I'm near the end. I will finish this before going to sleep."

23. I still have no idea how I'll handle video games with the kids. Since they are so prominent, it will be hard to maintain a good schedule. At least I don't get into the morally questionable games.

24. Urban over rural every time. Tokyo and Paris both gave me a thrill that I've never felt outside a city. Don't know if I would be able to live in either place though.

25. Sometimes I have to flip a coin to make a decision. I don't always abide by the result of the flip, but it brings into focus what I really want.

Long time, No blog

Yeah, yeah, it's been over a week. Holy cats, occasionally time puts the pedal down and I completely get caught up in the rest of life to blog about it.

This time, there hasn't been anything really momentous to mark the time. We had our first real weekend where not much was going on.

I had a big Rock Band night Saturday evening over at my friends Scott and Sara's place. Nice to (pretend) rock out without worries of waking the kids. The two liter of Diet Coke with Lime and the single liter of Bacardi Rum helped to loosen up the drumming skills hiding under this 38 year old skin. Lots of fun.

Sunday, my mom came by to spend time with the kids. We're always very grateful when she comes by. Alya and Marcus love her so much and Sasha and I get a break as well. Fun times.

Speaking of fun times, Saturday also had Marcus come down with a case of Pink Eye! Fortunately, we caught it really early so he didn't suffer much discomfort. In fact, it's pretty much gone. Shame Alya had it come on strong this morning. My poor little squirrel. We finally found a medicine that she doesn't enjoy taking. Eye drops and kids are a rough combination.

Just a quick little update, as things are quiet right now. Except for Axel Rose singing Paradise City on the tv behind me. It's on the PS3, which is calling me for reckless driving in a fictional city named Paradise City. Shame the mute button didn't work at that moment. Silly television.

Earlier I did watch about 20 minutes of an odd Japanese movie called Zebraman. While I won't go into the story, one thing I noticed about stopping a movie and returning to it later, my mind begins working on the plot and sees where things are going. Kind of a bummer, since it slightly spoils watching the movie.

Unless I'm wrong. In which case it's really cool.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Why isn't Jon sleeping?

Hey all, it's bar time in Milwaukee and I'm not sleeping right now. This is kind of a bad thing as the kids will be waking up in about four hours....

But they had a great time today, as Sasha, her mom (Susan), and Holly had their cookie bake-a-thon today. At least seven varieties of Christmas cookie were baked today and all of them are delicious. In fact, they pretty much were dinner for me tonight.

Anyway, the kids got to play with both grandmas as my mom came by as well. Plus they danced to Christmas songs that Holly and Susan played on the piano. Alya has that spinin' and wavin' down. Marcus just has the beat.

His rhythm skills were really showing when a bunch of my friends came over to play Rock Band on the PS3. Fun times for all of us, but Marcus thought that the drums were best and he held onto a drumstick for most of the time he was in the basement with us.

Unfortunately, that was at 11 PM.

Marcus has two teeth coming in right now, so for the past three nights he has woken up between 10:30 and 11 PM, not going down for at least an hour. I can only hope that these new teeth finish cutting soon.

Okay, that was enough to clear the mind and enable sleep.

Take care everyone and have a safe weekend.

I'm going to have a yummy one, that's for certain.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Hello, I must be going

Two hours were scheduled. We took nearly four. And yet, "Hello, I must be going" seems appropriate in many ways.

Saturday was a mini-reunion of friends that graduated from Pius XI High School. Many of us brought spouses, a few didn't make it, and it was a positive time. But a Groucho Marx song fits the bill since it has been many moons since many of us had spoken last.

I am part of the class of 1988, so the starting point for some of these folk is twenty years. Mind, there were people that I had seen since then, but in the time we had on this post-Thanksgiving weekend there wasn't a chance to truly catch up on where we had been. Instead it was a little bit of falling into old habits from long ago.

One of the neat habits from that time was that it was okay to be in each others personal space. Some of us exhibited that tendency again. We fell into certain grooves or patterns that were probably odd for spouses to see.

But we were all different. Heidi and Sue were two people that I never talked to much at Pius or post-Pius. But we all have younger kids, so we shared and chatted more than I can recall doing before. And that had more meaning than perhaps the idle prattle of teenagers.

Meg probably has a more interesting life than many, having become a citizen of Germany. But beyond the odd story about William Shatner and a little chat about her sister, Jane (who couldn't make it) I never got to ask those question about what life is like now. Again, Hello I must be going.

Adam and Tanya are a couple of friends that I was happy to see again. And I'm ashamed to admit that I never took the time to talk to Tanya when I worked for the same company as her for three years. Adam and I got the chance to do a little family recap, which is good. Better is that we both agreed to make it a point to meet up again. After all, we're all in the same city so there's no reason not to do so. It's a good thing.

Colleen and I didn't talk too much either, but I was happy to see her and know that she has a family that's doing well. It'd be the right moment to make a crack about her husband being a Bears fan, if I cared about football that much.

David was there to make a liar out of me. But since we see each other far more frequently, it was not a problem at all. Besides you cannot begrudge the person that takes you home, right?

Yet even with seeing David a couple times a month, we still ended up talking well into the evening after the reunion wrapped up. And after six hours of conversation, I felt like we were honestly up to date with each others lives.

Ann did most of the work in putting this event together, and she deserves major props for making this happen. It takes a caring spirit to start a process for getting old friends together, and that quite possibly isn't appreciated enough these days.

Some event stick in the mind as "historic" or "monumental". This one falls into that mental drawer labeled, "What took you so long".

Be seeing you,

Jon

Groucho Marx - Hello, I must be going

Connected - Well? Too?

Recently I have been making connections to people a lot more than I ever have before. Email has always been a staple connection. Work has introduced me to productive internet messaging (IM). One side of the family has an email discussion list that sees consistent use. Sasha is on Facebook and now I am too. And this blog is a way of connecting to people as well.

But is it too much?

With my gamer friends, email is the primary method of communication. Sometimes I feel that the person on the other end is annoyed that I interrupted them or even that I used the phone when a text message or an email would have been just fine.

To me, it's reinforcing that bubble of isolation that this time of "communication" is rapidly constricting.

Back in my high school days, I was on the phone constantly. Whether it was arranging plans for the evening, chatting about some movie that we just saw, or just plain talking, I did it a lot. Hours at a time. Well into the wee hours on some occasions.

This was generally because most of my friends were across town, so just swinging by was not an option. And the lack of a car never helped either. So the phone was my connection to my friends.

And now that doesn't really exist.

Certainly, a lot has changed in 20 years that is not technology related. Time is a lot more precious and there isn't enough of it to spend an hour on the phone when there's work to be done. And work keeps those late nights to a minimum.

Once I had my own phone line/place (the two switched a lot in the college years) my line was to tell people to call at anytime if they want to talk. One in the morning was just as acceptable as early evening. And I truly meant it.

If I got a phone call at 1 A.M. tonight, I know I'd be very grouchy for reasons ranging from "Did you wake the kids?" to "I have to wake up in five hours, what do you want?" Neither of those response are positive or welcoming, but that my life is like now.

But how does one really establish a connection?

Face to face is the best way to do that. Then all forms of communication are available and open. Voice is only a small portion and this text is even worse. You have to guess my tone and emotion based on these mere words. Hardly a way to really connect.

Maybe we should break free from our isolation bubbles and start meeting people in real life instead of on the web. Perhaps that would help keep us from actually becoming isolated.

Then again, I am writing a blog which is the equivalent of shouting to the aether. So what do I know.

Be seeing you,

Jon

PS - If you feel that disconnection, call a friend tonight and get some of that connection reestablished. I'm going to try it myself.