Minnawaii

I love summer. Now that it is here, i feel better. I know, some of you are thinking rain and tornadoes do not constitute summer, but when you live with 6 months of snow, it does. It reminds me of when I use to live on Oahu. Those were great years of sun year round, with the occasional rainy months, but even then, the sun would show up for a couple hours in the day. Rain was never and issue there, if anything it was welcomed... unlike here.

The bad thing about rain in Minnesota during the summer is the loss of motor skills people experience. I mean that literally. People wrestle with common sense when they are handling a car in rain, and worse yet, hail. Example... my wife and I were driving to her work on I-394 when it started to rain, and soon small bits of hail came as well. That's when the white knuckling started. Everyone starts to hit the brakes at random times, and i don't mean gently, i mean full on slam, FOR NO REASON. Merging was no longer an option for those already on the interstate. If its raining, YOUR NOT ALLOWED ON! I could not understand these people. It was starting to stress me out, mainly because Karen was late getting to work and so she was doing some NASCAR driving of her own. Then it happened. People started slamming on their brakes to stop. I thought it must have been a terrible accident from the awesome defensive driving everyone was doing. No, no it wasn't. It was the most unbelievable display if ignorance i have seen in a while. People had stopped ON the interstate under an overpass because of the pea sized hail. ON the interstate. And the reason they stopped was because they had expensive cars. Really, REALLY? Because you own an expensive car, that gives you the right to come to a dead stop ON the interstate to protect YOUR car over anybody else. Never mind that there are hundreds of cars behind you coming at 60 miles per hour (or more). Never mind there are Others with expensive cars behind you. Never mind that the welfare of others are at hand. At least you know you will not be making an insurance claim on this day. As if that wasn't bad enough, the thing that really capped it for me was that there was more then one person that decided this was a good idea. On a three lane interstate (five including the shoulders) there were a total of about ten individuals, or more if there were passengers, that came to the conclusion that this was feasible and legal. U-N-R-E-A-L. These PEOPLE, who are clearly a waste of good skin, are still out there with their licenses, so be warned. Rain+Minnesotans= anarchy driving.

So there it is. If you are not from here, and you want to visit in the summer, your biggest fear is going to be driving in the rain on the Interstate. Other then that... its a lot like Hawaii. Sort of.

Paul Sills

Some of you may know, and a lot of you may not, but Paul Sills died yesterday at the age of 80. He was the the legendary improvisational director and teacher who co-founded the Compass Players in Chicago and was the founding director of Chicago's Second City. He guided many of the famous performers that people know today such as Alan Arkin, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley, and more. He is considered a guru of improvisation. LA TIMES ARTICLE.

I never had the opportunity to work with him, although it would have been an honor. The man is a legend and inspiration to directors, coaches, and performers in the world of improvisational theater.

Here is to you Paul. You may be gone, but your work will be remembered forever.

Cheers to the Teen

Teenagers. They have their unique way about them.

In the scheme of things, I have to say that i have a pretty good teenager on my hands. He doesn't do illegal activities (that i know of), illegal drugs (that i know of), or everything that is asked of him (that... i know). Therefore, this makes him a good teenager in two ways. By either just being good in my perspective, or being good in that he is so extremely clever, that he can hide the bad from me. I don't think that's the case, but i am willing to realize that for every new generation, they find a new way.

My major frustration with my teenager is one that haunts many parents. That is self responsibility. I know that teens have a lot on their mind. Video games, eating, sleep, cell phones, hair in new places, the possibility of sex. I am sure all of this and more keeps them bogged down. So bogged down, that the tasks asked of them seem to be annoying and burdensome. Some examples... clean room, good grades, general upkeep and hygiene. I know, its a huge list that is daunting. Don't get me wrong, i am sure that i had issues with these things when i was a teen... wait, no, no i didn't. But then i probably wasn't a normal teen. Having grown up in the military, i believe clean room, good grades and hygiene were always a main goal and expectation... at the age of 6.

My teen enjoys circles. Its nothing he has ever declared, but i am sure that it must be something he takes great pride in, because we find ourselves going in them on a regular basis. "____ your _____ please" is a common phrase in the house. Example- clean your room please...work on your homework please... pick up your clothes please... put away your dishes please... pick up your dog poop please... and so on. I hear these phrases so much that i feel like i am using a mental Spirograph. At times i think that this is just the normality of raising a teenager, but at other times, I think something is seriously wrong with him. The reason i think this is because he has been given an easy formula. Do these minimal things without being asked and you will get what you want. How hard can that be? How hard can it be to make this important to your existence if it makes things good? Apparently very hard.

I don't like the idea that he gets grounded or loses his phone privileges, because it usually makes it more difficult for us, the parents. Problem is, these things get his attention and that is always a challenge when it comes to teens. Holding their attention. I feel like i give him a lot of room and fairness when it comes to these expectations, but as my father use to say "give him an inch, and he takes a foot". I think there is something to that. I believe that it is the job of a teen to push their boundaries, be angry at the obvious, and feel their parents are uncool( no matter how cool they really are. I blog for crying out loud, that's cool). I just hope that with the big 16 coming up, that something in the aging process helps even him out. I know this can not be some kind of genetic laziness, that there has to be something in there that wants to feel a high level of self worth.

Summer is around the corner, and i would much rather have him enjoying it then having to spend the majority of it at home. Lets hope he can pull it together and meet the expectations put upon him. I don't know if he realizes how much we love him and appreciate him, but then most teens don't. In his eyes, were the bad guys, not loving parents trying to guide him into a great man. So lets raise our glasses and put a toast to a unique teen who is pretty good, with some focus problems, so that he may have a great summer... and in turn, so will I.

Black Ominous Cloud

Soooo tired.

I don't know that I would ever wish to go back to my college days, but the one thing I would really enjoy having back is the ability to stay up all night and not feeling like a truck full of tar hit me the next morning. Add stress to the mix and it is a truck with tar and concrete. Ugh.

The past handful of days have been less then...desirable. My black cloud that is tethered to me is showing no sign of moving on to reveal the sun.

Word came back on the KIA. Its dead, gone, shot, finito. Turns out the timing belt broke, causing the engine to basically destroy itself. I guess in the fine print of the warranty, you are suppose to have the timing belt "checked" before 60,000 miles. If you don't, you void your warranty and you end up with a collection of parts. Upon research in Google, there have been many, many cases of this happening. I cant believe someone hasn't put a class action lawsuit together on this. I mean, they are basically saying that their timing belt will break before or near 60,000 miles. What car company knows that they are going to have car issues, and then stiffs you on covering that issue if you so much as get your oil changed somewhere other then a KIA dealership??????? What a bunch of crap. Maybe this is the next Fox 9 News Investigative Report?? Someone want to make that call?

On other cloudy driven news. I was up for a job that I went through three interviews for. I felt pretty solid about it, but as it turns out, my instincts are lying to me. Apparently there is another candidate out there that must be more witty then me. Bye bye benefits and the security of a non-temp job.

Moving forward. Creditors are starting to close in for the kill like vultures, and it seems like I am getting fines from the city of MNPLS left and right on our other properties. Come on people, the body isn't even cold yet.

On top of that, it feels like i can not relate to the people i care about and love because of all of this strife. It just feels like it is either the topic at hand or standing in the way of genuine communication or even something that is just more important. I want to extend an apology to anyone this is affecting. Hopefully it will see an upswing at some point, and we can relate once again on a healthy level.

Now is about the time you hope that a witness protection agent walks into your life, tells you that you have to take your family and move to a beautiful island in the pacific and live under a different name. Your finances will be taken care of, and by the way, you will be running the only improvisation theater that provides massages on the island, and it makes buckets and buckets of bananas. (this island does not have a formal currency yet) That will work.

Waiting... and no agent. Okay, back to the Black Cloud.

Need AIR

Busy week. So here it is.
Monday started out stressful, as it was suppose to be the last day of my temp job with Wells Fargo. At the last minute we were told we would be moved to another dept. Much relief, as the stress started rising of a possible lack of employment for another unknown period of time. I am still trying avidly to get back to design, but it is slow going when you give 8 hours of your day to WF and then have children to come home to. I will just keep plugging and hope that things take for the right turn. Anyway, the week has been full of training for the new dept.

Monday was also a great game of softball with the Skirt Turtles, and a foot race that was inspiring. I have to mention that the support we got from Owen and Aidan was awesome. Thanks boys. It inspired me to get a skinned knee, two hits, and third place(foot race).

The money situation is still as bad as ever, so the hunt for a second job has begun. I'm speaking of Karen of course, as i have the part time job of improv. I know it isn't what she wanted to stack on an already difficult schedule, but we are finding it necessary. Hopefully her current job can get back to more regular clients so that she dosen't have to have the second job for long. Massages have taken a turn for the worst, as we are in this "non-recession".

The week also had me visiting with the neurologist who after a grumpy morning had me for a patient. She seemed to be upset that i couldn't take the earlier appointment in the week and was being short with me. I'm sorry i couldn't accommodate your well paid position time frame, and that being i was the patient, i couldn't possibly have something more important to do. Anyway, nothing was found, and so i have been set back in the pasture to continue my existence.

The kicker for that morning I had my appointment, was that the KIA took a crap. I was halfway down the block when i was going to second gear, and then it happened. It sounded like I ran over a can of soda and then... nothing. It was dead. Best i could figure, either the clutch or the transmission decided to give up. It got towed, so we will find out soon. Thanks to the ten year warranty KIA offers, this situation may not be as bad as expected. Oh sweet KIA, may the car gods go easy on your diagnosis.

Date night was at the movies with Indiana Jones. All i can say is ugh. What a disappointment. That many years, and that is what they came up with. And I am being generous.

Lots of improv this week. Six Ring went great with a huge turn out. SR's shows were mixed in with the AA convention. That meant the performers had a seven mile walk to the cabaret. Good stuff though, and a strong performance by The Outtakes.

This was a truly boring blog. I promise to have more opinion later.

Quickie

Just in case anyone was keeping score, i visited with the neurologist today. They found all my tests to be normal, and found nothing of concern. At this point, i am considered "healthy for my age". I wasn't sure how to take that, but the good news out weighed the awkward comment.

Carry on.

Hommage

Well, it is here. Indiana Jones makes his return. Everyone is talking about, and they should be. I remember seeing the first film in the theater when i was a kid and being mesmerized by it. I thought Harrison Ford was a god. First came Han Solo, next was Indiana Jones, and then Rick Deckard(Blade Runner). Could one man exude so much coolness in so many characters? Clearly that answer is yes. ( I know, I know, Hollywood Homicide-he is human, he is allowed one mistake.) And I wanted to be that man. Suave, aloof, thrill seeking, worldly(or spacely), awkward around women, and just plain cool. Well, I think i managed awkwardness.

So here it is, movie number four in the series. Twenty years later. Lets see if the coolness holds, and if so, maybe i still have a chance.

Here's to you Harrison. I don't know how you do it, but I'm sure it has something to do with the quote... "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go." Cue music. Don da donnn da....