Sea Sick

Today was a rather blustery day! I know, I sound like I'm narrating A. A. Milne's, WINNIE THE POOH. But that's not it at all. If you could imagine yourself out on a local lake, with gusts of 35 - 40 mph, white caps lapping up over the edge of your dinghy, not only would you be in peril, but probably launching up any groceries consumed beforehand! It was so windy today ..... (can I get a, 'How windy was it'?), it was so windy, when I lifted the toilet seat today, the water in the bowl was moving back and forth. So the question that crosses my mind is, "If my commode is indoors, and the gale force winds are outdoors, and my house is withstanding said winds, why is the water in the bowl white capping"? Do I have any friends out there who are plumbers/part time meteorologists? How about sailors/ meteorologists? Plumbers/ sailors? There has to be a logical explanation. I feel a government grant is in my near future to study this phenomenon.

Hibernation

So most of yesterday was spent cleaning up the yard, putting away the patio furniture, cleaning out gutters, and picking up leaves. There was only one small thing I didn't have time for, but I might catch that today. But that brings to close another outdoor season for me. Somewhat of a sad day, but winter WILL come, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It's about time to turn into an old grizzly bear and suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, plus put on my winter coat, and hibernate. I guess I've got another month of football before it gets real depressing. Hopefully by then, I'll have just a couple of months of bearlike attitude for my family to endure, and then it will all be better. In the meantime, make sure I have plenty of seasonal food and drink, chocked full of calories, to help keep my weight up during the frigid months. Another important thing to remember, don't wake a sleeping grizzly, at least until end of March/beginning of April. Then you can poke me with a stick:)

Facial Hair

This is usually a very disturbing topic for women, but men can have some real fun with it. I am a fan of facial hair, and I'm not a fan of facial hair. It looks good on some people (always men), but not all guys (including myself) look good with a lot scruff. I have no problem growing a beard. It comes in fast and furious! My drawback is, it itches so bad you would swear I need a flea dip. I haven't grown a full beard since before I was married. I had it for about a month and a half, and during that time it was pure torture. Besides the constant scratching, a woman asked me if I was Iranian. That's the last thing I wanted to deal with, was a hostile, pro-US lynch mob, stringing me up by my toes because I'm able to grow facial hair. So my one and only experience with a beard was not a positive one. Since then, I've gone probably four or five days at a time without shaving, and its definitely bristly enough to scrub the leftovers off your iron pans. Another observation I've made over the years, when I let me beard go for a few more hours than I should have, there's quite a bit of gray coming in along my jawline. I'm normally not a vain person, but my gray beard definitely makes me look older than I really am, or am willing to admit:) I still like to incorporate some strategically placed facial hair for the personal affect it has on my self image. I don't like to have the latest trend, but I have my own style, which conforms to really nobody, but me individually. I think mutton chops are amazingly creative, but I insist on toning it down quite a bit, and am OK with just some nicely defined sideburns. I like the idea of a soul patch (the little spot of hair just under the bottom lip), but sometimes I'm a bit self conscious, thinking this probably looks like a middle aged guy trying too hard to look cool, when it may come off as kind of creepy. Occasionally, I let grow for a couple of days before I get the weed whacker out, and it comes off. A mustache by itself is totally out of the question! Tom Selleck, and every 1980's porn star, were the only ones to pull this off successfully. Not sure if 'successfully' is the right word, but you know what I mean. The quandary I find myself in though, is the extremely clean feeling I have after taking the time to actually shave. The smooth skin with no steel wool growing out of your face, is a very pleasing feeling, and I've been clean shaven for so many years now. I'm pretty sure the authorities, and my family, would put out a missing persons bulletin on me if I chose to grow a beard again. To top that off, somebody's going to mistake me for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's brother.

Gamer

On last night's news, they aired a segment on a new Monopoly game board. They broke tradition, and went circular along with an electronic device in the middle, to keep track of everyone's property and cash. The premise is still the same, but just a 21st century update. That got me thinking about playing when I was a kid, and also the times I've played with my kids. Why is it that game is so much fun? We used to play when there was a snow day from school, or a rainy day during the summer, or at night while staying over at someone's house. Definitely a good filler of time, and most enjoyable. Then it got me thinking of all the other other games we played. Remember Trouble, with the popper and dice in the middle? There was Sorry, Clue, Chinese Checkers, Life, and I'm sure I'm leaving a few out. These games have proven and continue to prove to be a success. It seems kids only want to play video games these days, but I guarantee they will thoroughly enjoy themselves if they partook in board games. The interaction with other people, rather than the video game, is one of the most important features of the game. You can see why they push 'family game night'. The benefits are far reaching and lasting. So after that little bit on the news last night, I was thinking of calling my cousin, Keith, and seeing if he would like to get together for a marathon game of Risk. Quite possibly the best game ever made.

What's That Smell?

It's a scientific fact that certain smells, scents, or odors can trigger responses in the human brain. Smells are a very powerful tool used against us powerless humans. It can take us back to a very memorable moment, good or bad. Provided our olfactory system works correctly, I'm sure we all have familiar scents that immediately transport us to a certain time, and place, where we initially encountered such pleasurable aromas. Most of my favorites came from my grandparent's kitchen. Regardless if anything was cooking, there was a constant faint lingering of garlic. You sensed it the very moment you walked in the front door. Another delightful aroma actually comes from two different sources - the smell of roasting peppers! As a youngster, we occasionally stopped by grandma & grandpa's house for Sunday dinner ( 3 out of 4 Sundays a month ). Summer time meant the whole family was going to occasionally be rewarded with the combination of sazitsa and peppers! The smell of Grandma roasting the peppers in the oven was divine, and if you timed it just right, she frequently had to open the broiler to turn them, and you would catch a blast of the roasted happiness going on there. The second time happened in New Mexico. I happened to be visiting Dad during the month of Sept./Oct., which happens to be chile harvest season. I recall, standing at a farmer's market, waiting in line to purchase half a bushel of roasted green chiles, and the constant waft of the peppers tumbling in the roaster and giving off their lovely fragrance. I can picture it like it happened yesterday. So this evening, I found myself standing at the BBQ grill, carrying on the family ritual of roasting the last harvest of green peppers from a friend's garden, and just thoroughly enjoying the experience, even though I was actually working. Meanwhile, my wife is inside preparing dinner. Moments earlier, she just pulled fresh baked homemade dinner rolls out of the oven ( can you smell it? ), followed by the browning of some bacon and garlic, that was eventually going to accompany some type of tomato product, to thus become tomato gravy over rice. Yeah baby! The aroma therapy was a nice way to wind down from the day.

Bad Form

That's actually a quote from the movie, "Hook". But lately, that quote seems to apply to the decisions I've made concerning business. First, I chose to do work for a contractor, who was somewhat slow in paying, but had always paid his tile bill. Then he landed this hair brain idea to make a jump in the size and quality of home to build, likely driven by greed. He had always built a pretty nice home, but he was impatient with the progress his company was making, and thought this $850,000 home would not only show the housing market he's the real deal, but if he sold it, that would propel his company financially. It backfired, then crashed and burned. I had no choice but to put a lien on the home, because his tile bill was approaching the $14,000 mark, and that was too big a hit for a small fry like me to absorb. Well, I recently received a letter, stating the house was entering into foreclosure, and Great Western Bank, whom the loan is through, will be putting it on the market for public auction, and will be the first bidder at whatever the balance of the loan is. If the bank actually gets the house at auction, my lien is null and void, and someone just received a top notch tile job, compliments of Kevin. You're welcome. Didn't see that one coming! The next issue, I should have nipped in the bud much earlier, but I was fearful I needed the extra help. I hired a tilesetter who has a fair amount of talent, but is a social menace. First of all, the title 'tilesetter' usually means the individual was too dumb, lazy, or a combination of both, to get an education, and since the trade has NO set standards like it did 25 - 30 years ago, the lowest forms of mankind have found a way to make fairly decent money, for less than desirable craftsmanship. I'm not a believer in evolution, but the tile trade, as a whole, could make a strong statement otherwise. So the guy I hired has this unique quality of saying and doing things, to make the people around him very uncomfortable. He's very self centered, and any conversation will eventually be manipulated toward him, and he will elaborate with some story, or phrase, that would leave you feeling violated. After warning him several dozen times to keep his mouth shut, and just set tile, I finally got the last warning I would ever receive from one of the best builders I've ever worked for. I took that information, processed it, and acted upon it. So this week finds me short handed on help, but the complaints about this guy are history. It's sad, because I thought he was just a diamond in the rough, and working for me, and the quality type people I surround myself with, I could somehow mold him into a top notch craftsman. Bad form Kevin! My wife once said, "When people show you how they are... believe them". So, a couple of unfortunate mistakes on my part, now I just need to learn from them.