Poking Myself In The Eye

I touched my eyeball this morning! Good heavens that freaking hurts. I was surprised as anyone. How do these things happen? Shouldn't we, of all people, be in charge of what our hands are doing? How many times have I rubbed my eye in the 34 years of my existence?! I would imagine that it is something that I would be the best equipped person on the planet to handle. Rubbing my own eye. It's not like you can hire that kind of work out...

"Ah yes, you seem quite capable and you have a fine list of references, but lets do a real world test. hum...Uh. No, no...not quite what I'm looking for. Sorry. Next!"

So there I am in my car driving to work when I just reach up and touch my freaking eyeball.

"Finger, this is the brain..."

"Yea?"

"What the hell are you doing down there!!?"

"What?! I'm doing my job. Lay off me already."

"You've just sent the eye into a frenzy. Looks like the first day of kindergarten down there. We've got tears everywhere!"

"Eyeball here! Yeah, we can't see the road anymore. Thanks alot finger! By the way, thanks so much for the cereal crumbs, that was just dandy!"

"Oh... it did seem a bit moist. That makes sense. The neck must have moved or something."

"Neck here. I have to say I'm dis-a-pointed. Yes...very disappointed. You are the index finger of the right hand. You have been given the lion-share of dexterity in this body and you would think we were still in diapers. You are a disgrace finger."

"Whatever.."

"I hope he goes lefty."

"That's just cold!"

Anyway. It still kinda hurts. Weird when things don't function like they're supposed to. I almost feel like an old person.


The Case For Games: Revisited

I'm a devoted PC gamer, I enjoy them because they stretch the imagination, immerse you in plot, and transport you to another world. Plus they let you repeatedly make bad decisions and blow up crap with stunning graphics and sound!

As far as I'm concerned games are the natural evolution of entrainment media. Consider:

  • Books rescued people from the humdrum boredom of their life, and the harsh realities of the local paper. They allowed for unreal imagination and helped the reader discover the intricacies of their language.

  • Movies were the immersion media of their time, they had the ability to squeeze the vital juice of a book, play or story and portray it in two hours or less. They bombarded viewers with a wonder of sights and sounds they had not experienced previously

  • Television is a vulgar media, like the stupid cousin of movies. Chopping viewing time to minutes and subjecting you to unwanted ads, and weak story lines. Regardless they have managed to bring a small amount of the movie experience home and allow for the serialized story so I will list them here

  • Most people want more. When you see a good movie, read a good book, watch a great series on television, you want to subject yourself to further experiences. Relive the experience with others, and re-capture that joy of not knowing what is going to come next.

  • Video games are the answer. They give you the immersion that you can never have with movies, television, or even books. They allow you to control the choices of your characters. I've been playing PC games for 20 years, and they have grown unbelievably complex in that time but at their core is imagination. You can almost always approach a problem from different angles.

    One of the first games I played was a series called Kings Quest. It blew my mind. You didn't have a clear path. You had to solve a puzzle and reason for the answer. Sometimes you got it and sometimes you died. Before that I has just had an Atari. And while shooting at pixelated blobs was somewhat rewarding, it certainly didn't engage my mind in a story.

    I spend a lot of time playing RPG's (role playing games). As the name suggests, you take the role of a character and use your strengths and weaknesses to guide your interaction with others, and what you can or cannot do. Some characters are strong fighters, some are thieves, and some use magic to accomplish their means. Some good, some evil and you get to decide what you'll be. Consequences. Like a choose-your-adventure book with infinite possibilities.

    Like any good medium creators of RPG's stretch their craft by placing players in space, in suburbia, even in Victorian England. With PC Games you can spend 30-100 hours of gameplay before reaching the end of the story. Most good RPGs have a solid driving story and dozens of side quests. PLus you can play the game over and over with different characters, objectives and even alternate endings. For the money, they're the best entertainment ratio of dollar to hour.

    PC gaming can also be a great social activity. Not every gamer need be an overweight, anti-social, geek (some of us are just lucky that way). I like it when we all get together for a LAN party. This is the time when you find out who your real friends are. Who will you make allies with? Who will be the first attacked? Who can hold out the longest? Who will drug your Mt Dew? The truly cunning will keep up the diplomatic relations all the while caching a deadly arsenal of minions and WMD's.

    "No Carl, I'm with you, man."

    "Then why are you parading an army of heavy tanks into my base!!"

    "About that..."


    I have plenty of male bonding stories that took place while blowing the tar out of a friend’s poorly guarded base. It's not personal, it's gaming.


    I'll leave you with a brief summary of one of my all time favorite RPGs.



    Arcanum is set in a Tolkien style world in the middle of an industrial revolution. The graphics were poor even by 2001's standard but the story captivated me. It pulled me in and wrapped me up in a way that I haven't experienced since. You can pursue magic, learn to build electric lights, steam engines, or Molotov cocktails. Even the game manual is written in the style of the game, as diary excerpts of an anthropologist exploring the countryside. A very immersive game and well worth your time, even a decade later.

    Of course I'm not living in the past. I play through about a game every couple of months I'm always up to try the next game and see how far we can go. I doubt we've even scratched the surface of what is possible.

    John Moves Forward

    John Josephson had an interesting ability. He could stop traffic any time, anywhere. All John had to do was decide to get going and all forward progress would get gone.

    Now as far as John was concerned the roads were always a bear. He had to leave from his house 58 minutes early just to arrive 30 minutes late to work. If he wanted to be on time he would start out with two hours to kill in traffic. Some would go crazy but not John. He never lost his temper, he just endured.

    John also knew for a fact that everyone else was a liar.

    "Not bad out there John," said Ian McCastle. "Twenty minutes to town and back."

    "Unless I go. Then it will be take an hour and forty."

    "Naw, you just always hit the road at the wrong time," Ian countered. " The way you talk it's like the roads are out to get you."

    In fact, Ian was right. The roads actually were out to get John. You see he was gifted. Special. He had a way with cars and they wanted nothing more than to bask in his presence. They longed to show him their affection. When John pulled out on the road, traffic signals turned red, cross walks blinked out of turn and traffic slowed down to encase him, to hold him, to love him. John never lost his temper, he just endured.

    In fact if John had become a mechanic he would have been a millionaire a thousand times over by now. Automobiles would bend to his every whim and whimsy. No suck bolts or nuts. No whining fan belts or tedious alignments. Life would have been magical, near euphoric.

    But cars had never interested John. He can't recall if he'd ever lifted the bonnet or even seen an engine. He wanted nothing to do with cars. John was a middle manager in the vast sea of the accounting department. He was happily working for a firm that sold industrial sink rooters. Cars where not something he cared about. In fact you could say that he despised them. Though he'd never voiced that opinion before.

    To John, cars signified all that was tedious and wrong with modern life. They were the symbol of our overpowered and underused world. John filled up his tank more than the average man. Why own a vehicle that can travel 160 mph and yet the speedometer needle never crests over 30? Why have 8 cylinders when 2 would do fine for idling in traffic?

    To John it was the same mentality as people who bought cheese in enormous blocks because of the great price but only ended up using 1/4 of it before the expiration date. Cars were gas guzzling nuisances that couldn't be avoided. John kept this all to himself. He never lost his temper-

    That is until Monday morning, on March the 23rd. While sitting in his morning rut, staring out across the cow pasture he began to fume. He was thinking of the last 18 years of driving this route. He knew this entire pasture by heart. It was burned into his mind, from years of staring out his windshield. He could recall every detail, every fence post, ever spot on every cow. He'd even named them. Why not, he had nothing else to do?

    "What is wrong with the world?!" John screamed at the top of his lungs to no one in particular. " I HATE traffic! I HATE DRIVING!" At this point John was crazed. He was pounding on his steering wheel and spit was being flung from the corners of his mouth. His face was as red as a beet and he looked like an angry lion caged in cheap business suit.

    "I hate Cars! I hate trucks and buses and motorcycles. I hate mopeds and scooters. I HATE ALL AUTOMOBILES!!"

    This was of course news to the cars. They always imagine John was their friend and returned their affection. The words spread like a shock wave from the epicenter near a cow pasture in the middle of a traffic jam. Johns message resounded through the universe and all understood that the love was not returned. There was no further point in throwing themselves at someone who did not love them back.

    And then, something miraculous happened. The traffic began to move, and for the first time in his life, John moved forward.

    20 Things I Learned From Star Trek

  • Our mission is to seek out new life and new civilizations in order to make them just like us.

  • The Federation comes in peace. But if you provoke us we'll light you up like a warp core!

  • The functionality of any technology is inversely proportional to to it's urgency of need.

  • There is no crime on Earth, there is also no money. It is a very boring place, which is why we're in space, shooting photon torpedoes at other species.

  • Klingons really like prune juice.

  • Ferengis are the species with the clearest motivations. I might not always agree but I always understand.

  • At some time in the future we do away with physics. Therefore we have no relativity and have replaced it with huge explosions in the vacuum of space. Explosions are cooler than relativity anyway.

  • Borgs are more appealing if they're sexy women in a catsuit and spike heels. So much for the role of feminism in the 24th century.

  • Even though we have phasers and disruptors, It always comes down to the punch!

  • Evil always wears a beard.

  • The Federation has no need for currency. Unless you find yourself at a Dabo table, then all Starfleet officers have plenty of gold pressed latinum on hand.

  • Fuses where outlawed in the Federation, because everyone likes sparks on the bridge.

  • When in doubt, reverse the polarity. This might also be the reason we did away with fuses...

  • Jettisoning Warp Cores 101. Right after Polarity Reversal Theory at StarFleet tech academy.

  • You can scan and lock onto life signs, unless you've been issued a communicator badge. Then that becomes the sole tracking device.

  • What happens on Risa stays on Risa

  • The universal translator; does it ever make mistakes? "Oh you want to see Remus!! At ease men..."

  • What was Uhura's job again? Can't we just put that on speaker phone?

  • The holodeck is the most deadly form of Federation entertainment

  • Don't screw with the timeline or you might end up with a whole new Star Trek reality.


  • Lazy Thursday Blues: Caption 30

    I used to do these every Thursday. Anyone still here who remembers them? Here are a couple to get you started...

    It is strong like the bond between man and lobster...

    I don't know how it started but it end with the phrase, "Hold my beer and check this out..."

    Links:

    Garfield Minus Garfield A bit strange and almost completely useless.

    Savage Chickens. Do yourself a favor and check it out...

    "My life" - The Game

    "Good Morning, Commander Shepard"

    "At ease Lieutenant. What's was in this mornings briefing from the council?"

    "Today we've got to organize the warehouse and check on the cable supply for the upcoming network clean up. Then later someone needs to sift through the logs on the mail server and see why sendmail is failing to send low memory alerts and CPU spikes to the group e-mail account."

    "Did Joker put you up to this?"

    "No sir!"

    "Seriously? That's the assignment?"

    "Yes sir! Then you have a 30min break for lunch at 12:15 with a turkey sandwich, baked Doritios and some 'me' time with your latest Grisham paperback."

    "This is the worst video game I've ever been in..."

    My life would make a lousy game. I'm sorry to say but most peoples lives would.

    "Okay, You've almost got the kids ready for school. Now you need to navigate the local highways while singing along to a Raffi hit parade..."

    In fact even people that have exciting lives probably only have excitement for short bursts of time. I doubt that cops, military or even heads of state sustain more than 15 to 20% of excitement on any given day. Paperwork, stake outs, international flights, and even restroom visits are not great additions to a gaming storyline. Real life would make a lousy game. Even the Sims, sitting in a pile of their own filth, ordering pizza delivery, are more exciting than you are! How does that sit with you?

    Video games, like movies need excitement intrigue and loads of plot twists, not boring mundane duties. When is the last time Jack Bauer ever took a leak? But that's life. We have to take showers, brush our teeth, listen to commercials instead of music, sit in mindless meeting and wait for 34 minutes at the Great Clips with nothing to read but Entertainment Weekly. None of that would be a good seller for a video game!

    Player 1 - READY?
    The foreign dignitary is visiting from the former Eastern Bloc country of Estonia. Your job for the next 3 hours will be sitting at your computer filling out his itinerary. You will also have to complete the I-G87 and P-923 forms in triplicate and check for any error or grievous misspellings that might provoke an international incident!

    Right now there is an editor out there reading this post and pumping her arm in excitement at the anticipation of this games release.

    For the rest of us, we'll just have to endure with the high action escapes from reality that are littering the shelves of video game retailers across the planet. Unless of course you'd rather pitch birds with a slingshot...

    iMac? Say It's Not So!

    So I just got a new work laptop. My old laptop was purchased in 2004 and routed to me in June of 2005. It has been a faithful companion with a simple and stable Windows XP OS. I have kept it clean of temporary files, viruses and any bloat-ware.

    In return it has dutifully connected to any and all network devices I have thrown it's way. Email, routers, Interwebing or whatever I needed. But the said truth is, as more and more software cram down more and more updates, the poor little fellow is lagging behind. Lets face it 1.66 Ghz isn't what it use to be. So I was delighted to hear that after 6 years I would be getting an upgrade. Oh that new upgrade smell...



    At this point all of you regular readers just had your eyeballs pop out of your sockets! Sorry bout that.

    We'll wait a moment for you to begin stuffing them back and begin the proper application of lubrication. Okay. Let's have another look. See, all is right in the world, it's a Dell.

    The fact of the matter is I cannot stand Windows 7. No... I HaTE iT! Hate isn't even strong enough. What's worse than hate? Despise? I would go so far to say despise or even "if it were possible to order a fatwā against an operating system I would have no regrets in putting forth that measure and following through on it."

    Yeah, so lots and lots. It's a very annoying, overly needy and just generally a piss poor attempt at an OS. It is intrusive, overbearing and stubborn. Like having a clone of me inside my computer. Only this prick doesn't agree with one thing I have to say.

    I say, "Please stop asking me every two seconds if I want to allow an application to open when you know that I just clicked on 'Open'."

    Windows 7 says, "Are you sure? This might decrease security!"

    I say, "Please don't group all my open windows in the taskbar so I can't actually see what is running."

    Windows 7 says, "Sorry that's a new feature that cannot be disabled."

    To which I responded, "AHHHHH!!!!"

    Then I started foaming and the mouth and bashing my head on my desk. When I awoke, hours later, I felt much calmer and I made up my mind (what little of it I had left) that if I in fact disliked this new Windows SO MUCH, would I rather have an OS X desktop overlay on my Windows 7 computer so that I wasn't required to interact with the vile substance that is Windows 7? Maybe, that would be better for my sanity, my skull and my office furniture.

    I figure if it's going to try and be as annoying as a Mac at least it should have the simple GUI of a Mac. I mean, why be annoying, ugly and complicated? At least it can be pretty and simple. Heck 2 out of 3 isn't so bad. So my new Mac disguise is actually pretty cool. It's like having all the convenience of OS X with none of the cost or shame of actually having to own an Apple product. For me? A total win win!

    A Sunday Afternoon

    To quote a friend: "Do you know what my favorite thing about moving is? Nothing!"

    A friend had solicited volunteers in helping them move. Personaly I've always enjoyed the process. What could be better than a giant puzzle game? You get the fun of lifting heavy objects, the stimulation of finding the best course of action in navigating hallways, stairs or other obstacles plus the exercise and banter with your mates. I would almost call it fun. Not roller coaster, gaming or movie theater fun but certainly more fun than sitting at home wondering what to do with your Sunday afternoon.

    So when I got the opportunity to help I said, "Count me in!"

    I had helped them move into this house about eight years ago. I recalled it being a really good move. It had it all, flight of stairs with a bend and narrow landings, loads of heavy items and lots of "from the hip engineering" to get things from A to B. Serious moving mojo was required.

    Back then my group of friends were all newly married couples and moving weekends were pretty common place for us. I've moved a lot of people and I've always had plenty of support from friends during our moves. After a while we all got used to what was a good move and a bad move.

    When moving a friend there are a few things you want to find out up front. Questions like:

    "Do you have any particle board furniture that you are hoping to preserve?"
    "Have you already packed everything in boxes?"
    "Including all the items in your kitchen cabinets?"
    "Does your TV weigh more that a VW Super Beetle?"
    "How many boxes of books do you have?"
    "Will there be pizza?"
    Or the big one... "Do you have a piano?"

    This question should actually be number one on that list. Turns out on Sunday the answer was "Yes, but it's already been moved."

    So... as far as I'm concerned it was one of the easiest moves I've ever helped out on. In fact we only needed to take one load of items to a local mini storage. Super simple. We loaded up the refrigerator in my truck and only had to remove one gate from it's hinges. The friend I was helping was a well trained packer and had zero trouble finding room for all his items. In fact he did so well, he had plenty of room to spare. It was like watching a live action Tetris game with realistic grunting and sweating.

    All in all I think we only spent two hours there. Afterwards my brother-in-law and I hung out at my place. We played video games, ate tater tots and watched Sci-Fi. Oh and I even scored a 19" monitor that was going to be tossed out. Pretty close to the perfect Sunday afternoon ever!

    Mind Boggling

    So I met him. Yes him;the statistical improbability of the universe. Sure it was hard to believe at first but I suppose sooner or later someone would meet him or at least we would all hear a report on his condition. It just so happens I chatted with him, the one guy left in the United States of America who has not seen Star Wars.

    I was flabbergasted. Of course I responded to him in an understanding way,

    "So I said, 'Use the force!' Ha ha!!"
    "What?"
    "You know... Use the force Luke!"
    "..."
    "Star Wars?"
    "Oh....I've never seen Star Wars."
    "Seriously!? What have you been doing for the last 34 years, living under flipping a rock!?"

    Look I believe that there are people out there who have the ability to stand on their own behind, or even kiss it, but the odds of running into them are extremely low. In my mind this is the closest movie to a boyhood right of passage that has ever existed. Sure there are lots of iconic and memorable films out there, but when is the last one that actually change your outlook on the world? Every man I've ever met has had a secret fantasy that some old codger would find him one day, hand him a laser sword and explain he was the last person in the galaxy with the ability to save the universe from total destruction.

    I saw Return of the Jedi in a dirty LA theater with my father and sister. I was six years old and it changed my life! We later rented the other two to help my young mind grow and learn! Star Wars wasn't about Luke, it was about all of us. It was about rising past your preconceptions of the physical world to grasp at something beyond your understanding. You get to save the princess, yell at droids, shoot down enemy ships and kick some remote butt with your flipping eyes shut!

    How is that sort of elation not worthy a measly few hours of your life?

    I wasn't talking to some 85 year old man either. This guy is in his late 20's. I can only imagine his reasoning. Maybe this poor clot believes that because it was filmed in the 1970's it's not worth his time. That's like saying no one had a great book written before the Kindle was invented. Idiocy. Or maybe he just watches Oprah and reality TV, I can only begin to fathom the listing for his Tivo.

    Plus how many times has someone made a reference that he missed. I mean, how many Star Wars lines have just become part of the lexicon?

    "I got a bad feeling about this..."
    "No, I am your father."
    "We're all fine here now. How are you?"
    "Use the Force!"

    And so many others. I could easily have a conversation with my friends using nothing but Star Wars quotes and we would all understand every word of it!

    "Is there any more pizza?"
    "These aren't the Driods you're looking for.."
    "Last piece eh?"

    I would say it should be required viewing for any American male, only that somehow betrays it. See, Star Wars just is. No one should have to be 'forced' to see it. In fact you should feel an empty spot inside you. You should be drawn to it like thirst draws you to water or how hunger drives you to get Taco Bell at 2AM. Star Wars is required by the male body for survival. In fact for your flesh not to yearn for it is wrong, scary and downright unnatural.

    Beware The Walrus

    I cannot begin to imagine that this sign is legit. Regardless it makes me laugh.


    Of course I'm not taking any chances, and have begun to prepare for the invasion...

    Holding Back The Tide




    Why do we sometimes wait to go pee,
    Instead of setting our caged liquids free?

    Why do we sit for a couple beats later,
    Ignoring our urges to which we should cater?

    Why do we squirm in our seats in denial,
    Of the river inside that should flow like the Nile?

    Why do we walk by a restroom and think,
    I can hold back the dam right up to the brink?

    Why do we wait till our bladders are bursting,
    To finish a task for which our organs are thirsting?

    Why can't we just say, "Excuse me all please,
    I have a strong pressure I'm needing to ease?"

    Once in the restroom your body's past ready,
    You dance a small jig to hold yourself steady

    Then we flee to toilet to spill off your excess,
    And finally be rid of those toxic possess

    Then once you have purged you feel so elated,
    And wonder inside, "Why should I have waited?"

    "I'll not do that again." we resolve with our pride,
    Yet next you're squirming, still holding back the tide.

    Peter P. Brown 2011

    Stretching

    I used to write a 500 word post everyday, at part of this blog. I thought in the beginning that it was super simple. I could always find something to crank out and wax ridiculous about. Afterwards I would go back and tweak it, fix any errors I could find and do my best to be slightly witty or at least abnormal. If that post wasn't the best at least you knew there would be one tomorrow.

    In fact I used to keep a scrap of paper in my pocket during the day, so if an idea popped into my head I would write it down and recall it for later. It would just be a phrase, like, 'Who invited the geek to the party?' or 'the bees are walking on the ground.' Just something to remind me of an idea I had or even to start a new one. Even made a post from my unused ones. The first year I cranked out almost 200 posts.

    After a while the ideas just seemed to dry up. I think that's because I let them. Typing everyday was like stretching. It forced me to write and create and imagine. Not typing and focusing so hard on the next funny idea was like a torn muscle.

    "I can't run today. I torn a muscle. I'm out for a few..."
    "Did you stretch first?"

    Okay. I have to admit, the exercise metaphor is pretty weak. I know nothing about running. I never run. Well, unless I'm being chased. Even then I'd stop after a bit and just be done with it!

    "This sucks. I'd rather die then have to deal with all this puffing and sweating."
    "I'm not here to kill you."
    "You're not?"
    "No! I'm an insurance sal-. Hey I thought you said you were done with running"

    Insurance salesman get a bad rap, that's only because they're all a bunch of money hungry slimeballs...

    As I look back on my post sometimes I wonder if I've thought of everything possible to write about. Clearly not! There are always things that affect our lives and rarely do those things happen without some amount of humor! At least in my life. My life is one big laughing stock!

    So, I'm going to try stretching a bit and see where it takes me. The truth is I really do enjoy blogging, whether or not it is still in vogue. At the very least you'll have something to read. As to that something being worth your time... I have no idea!

    Birthday Giveaway Results!

    The Giveaway is complete. Thanks to everyone for playing!

    Last night about 8 O'clock or so I had Patricia pull the names out of my dirty baseball cap. Check out pictures on the Facebook page!

    The first runner up was Mr. M! And will get to choose a pin or magnet from one of my cafepress shops.

    Allergy to Nature
    Battle of Wits
    Beg for Bacon
    Broadsword
    Extra Spicy
    Flees from Bees
    Fueled by Caffeine
    Geek Love
    I Heart
    Monday
    Crazy
    Not Albino
    Over Caffeinated
    Power Corrputs
    Remote
    Road Game
    Running Tool
    Skydive
    Sleepy Work
    Laundry
    Sushi Girl
    Syadmin Magic
    Wood Mangler


    The Grand prize went to Tina!

    I'll be sending her out the Juniper bush pen



    Thanks again for playing. And hopefully I'll do another one of these in the future. They are a lot of fun!

    Birthday Giveaway!

    Today is my 34th Birthday and I'm celebrating like a Hobbit. You get the gift!! That's right I'm giving away another pen. This one is awesome!! ONLY 2 Days Left!!

    It is made from juniper bush. Recall this post? Juniper Roots



    All you have to do, is post a comment below. Tell me you want the pen, what color your hair is or why you think my feet smell like rotten cheese. Whatever. No restrictions. (Even wives of empolyess can enter...)

    Like Kludge Spot on Facebook and you get a second entry in the drawing. I'll also be giving away an item from my cafepress store for the runner up!



    The Game Rules:

  • 1. No vulgarity. I reserve the right to delete any comment. This will remove you from the contest.

  • 2. Wining. I will randomly draw the wining name from a hat on Sunday August 14th of all caption entries. The winner will be contacted Sunday evening via email, and announced Monday August 15th

  • 3. United States for free shipping. If you live elsewhere and don't mind pitching in the extra cost for international shipping {about $8 I think} I'll totally ship it to you)

  • 4. Contact. I need a way to let you know you've won the prize. And I'll need your shipping address to send it to you. So sign up with blogger, or OpenID, or something that I can contact you with. Otherwise I'll move on to another contestant.

  • 5. Have Fun!
  • Surviving Summer

    When I was kid, summer was magical. It was a time when teachers had lost their controlling grip and my parents cared little for my whereabouts or even showed much concern for my bedtime. Summer for me was long days spent by the pool and the familiar smell of my fathers BBQ. I recall birthday parties, long bike rides with friends and a total freedom that was unparalleled for any other time of the year. In short my parents let me loose on the world and required little of me. The exception was being home for supper and bed, unless of course I could find a willing friend to shelter me for the night.

    Summer was awesome.

    None of these memories come close to the last nine weeks of parental bliss that we have endured at the mercy of a hyperactive five year and a stubborn seven year old stuck in the rut of summertime blues. My eldest daughter was born with Down Syndrome. As such our lives tend to play out a little differently than we had planned. Since the seven year old cannot talk yet, and is still a bit unsteady on her feet, outings are a bit of a struggle. It is near impossible to even go to supermarket alone, let alone for a walk or even to the park. So while I'm at work Patricia tries to get through summer.

    I presume my parents felt the same way during summer. A couple of kid loafing around the house for three months with nothing to do. I don't recall any issue, but again I had a sibling and we did a pretty good job of keeping each other busy. Either by spending time in the pool, inventing concoctions in the kitchen or exploring the backyard with the imagination of child. Hannah doesn't have a playmate. In fact Alexis would rather whack her sister on the head with whatever large implement she could find than play anything with her.

    In Alexis's defense, after 9 weeks of non-stop Hannah, she might be justified.

    We did manage to get in a good number of summer fun activities, including a family day out to an amusement park. We went down to Gilroy Gardens, which is about 3 hours away from us. It was a blast. The youngest ran around and went on rides until the parked forced us out the door! We rode roller coasters, drove fake cars and waited in line for hours with plenty of thread worn parents. It was a hoot and everyone seems to have a genuinely good time. Even Patricia and I.

    The next morning while sitting at the breakfast table Hannah asked, "Where are we going today?!!"

    One more week till school starts, one more week till school starts....

    Star Wars Fans



    If she doesn't understand this level of love dude, you're better off without her...