Stream of blah-ciousness

I haven’t posted in a while. Been busy as usual, and didn’t have a theme to really sink my teeth into. But in the interest of keeping things going and perhaps inspiring a flood of posts after this…I present a stream of consciousness.

• Once upon a time I did stand up comedy. This was before Seinfeld, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I quickly discovered that although I could write comedy, performing it was another matter entirely. I quit after about a year and a half. Did plenty of shows, but never got to the part where it began to pay. Now I have the urge to write comedy again. I have no desire to perform (although I think I could do it better today than then), but I would like to write. Maybe I can use this space for some of that…hmmmmmm?
• I have a new hobby, home brewing. I like beer, craft beer, high quality beer, not the stuff you buy in 30 paks of cans from 7-11. I mean expensive beer snob beers that come from breweries that even we beer snobs never heard of. So the next step was to brew my own. Armed with my $150 starter kit I brewed my first batch, a pale ale. It took a ½ day to cook up, 3 weeks to ferment, and 4 weeks of bottle conditioning before it was ready to share. That last part explains my motivation. The biggest kick of home brewing is the feedback you get from those you share it with. I’ve since brewed two more batches, a dark brown ale that’s bottle conditioning right now (ready to drink for 4^th of July). And a hefeweizen that I cooked up this weekend and is in primary fermentation. I’ve already decided that batch 4 will be an IPA, even though I’m not a huge fan of IPAs. As hobbies go it’s not too expensive. My out of pocket cost for a 5 gallon batch is about $45 for ingredients & energy costs (lots of time on the gas stove). The next step would be to try all grain brewing. That would require a bunch of new equipment, and a greater time investment. For now I’ll be content to be the best extract brewer I can be.
• I am thoroughly distracted by thoughts of my vacation that will not happen until November. I-am-torturing-myself! Maybe the solution is to take some time off during the dog days of summer. I could use it to see a movie without talking animals (ask any parent of a young child), go to the gym, and get reacquainted with my long suffering mountain bike. And nap, take lots of naps…
• LOST ends this Sunday. My Wife and I have watched this show from the beginning. Before the house was over run with boys, we would sit in the living room with our dinner of kraut dogs and ponder the many mysteries & puzzles that made up this show. But after Sunday it will be all over. So now I’m on the hunt for a new favorite show. And I had better find one soon, and it better be one my Wife can enjoy too because I am driving her up the wall with all the Top Gear reruns on the DVR.

Lose It! Update

After about 5 weeks using Lose It! my weight loss as of this morning is: 12 pounds. I've adjusted my daily calories allowed downward twice and I think I'm at a level that works for me. More later...

I'm a Dad

This week we celebrated the 18th birthday of our “Nephew”. Technically he is our Foster Child. My wife has known him and his family since he was born, I only for the last 7 years. Four years ago, on Easter Sunday he moved in with us. The circumstances are not something to air out here, but let’s just say things reached a point that his safety was in danger and he needed somewhere to go. We contacted CPS, and started the whole process of becoming his permanent legal guardians. The alternative would have been the Foster Care system, but would have meant being with yet more strangers. At least this way he was with his Aunty he had always known. He was one of these good natured kids that had been put into a bad situation, left with little to no guidance or discipline, and as you can bet he fell in with some not too good for him kids. It was never all easy or all hard. We really gave him the chance to be the kinda person he was at his core, but we also were there to rein him in when those not so good impulses came calling. He went from Special Ed & failing grades to the Honor Roll and the rank of Officer in NJROTC. He was accepted to UH Manoa and will be studying Japanese in the fall. At his birthday dinner we presented him his class ring. He was so surprised to get it. He had designed it, and turned in the order & deposit, but figured it would be a nice dream and the beginning of another broken promise like so many before. Although that ring represented his work in school and his coming graduation, in it I believe, he saw the opportunity that came with moving in with our family. And it hit him, emotions…gratitude for what he’s been given, remorse for putting us through the usual teenage trials, and finally happiness that things worked out the way they had.

He’ll be staying with us until the Fall when he moves into the dorm at UH. His younger brother (who moved in with us 3 years ago) will take his room for his own, no doubt a relief, since he’s been sharing a typically small bedroom with our 4 year old son. Although he’ll be at school and his brother occupying “his” room, there will no doubt be a messy pile of stuff in the corner to remind us he’s part of the household too.

Our legal commitment to him is over, but as I told him, I regard him as my son as much as any of our boys, and always will (cue the theme for 60’s TV show My Three Sons).

His younger brother and I also had a great heart to heart talk about school, girls, & friends. He is often the closed book “I don’t know” type. This time he opened up. I shut up & listened. And I think he realized that Uncle isn’t the fire breathing dragon he always though I was. I’m hoping the communication stays more open like this.

And finally, my son, 4 ½. The other morning as we were getting ready for work & school. He grabs me and gives me a hug and says “Daddy, you’re my best-est friend”. I thanked him and asked “But what about Mommy?” He said “oh yeah, Mommy too”. I than asked the same about his two cousins and Tutu, and he proclaimed them his “best-est friends” too. Then I asked if our dog Lani-Girl was one too and he said “ahhh, noooo”. So I’m happy to know I out rank the dog.

Go read this now

Look to the left, there are links there to pages I think are worth a look. One in particular is really on a burn lately and should be required reading for music fans. So stop reading this, click on this and get schooled by the awesomeness that is Darren on He's A Whore.

Aloha Friday Recommendation

Lose it! App for iPhone & iPod Touch

Quiz time. What fits in your pocket, has a powerful database, and can help you loose the weight you’ve fought so hard to loose? It’s an app called “Lose it!”. Not only is it easy to use and effective, but it’s also free!

I’m half way though a weight loss fight for life, and I plateaued a while back and couldn’t get back to losing weight again. I tried a bunch of strategies to no avail. I even got so discouraged I back slid for a while. Then I was reminded of “food journaling”. You think you are watching how much you eat? Really? Write it all down (honestly) and you’ll be surprised. I could never get myself to keep a food journal…just not a way that worked for me, writing in a notebook. Then I stumbled upon this app. The price was right (free) so I gave it a try. You start by inputing some information like your age, weight, height, and target weight. It calculates your allowed calories based on your weight loss goal. My iPod Touch is my constant companion, and this allowed me to keep the daily notations of food & exercise. In fact, seeing how daily calories are calculated (and reduced by exercise) made me more mindful of getting in my workouts. I found myself getting to the gym and avoiding those extra snacks, all in the name of keeping the daily calorie counts on target. So after two weeks here’s my result…a 5.4 pound weight loss. Plateau no more! I’m on the right track now. I can not recommend this weight loss tool any more highly. Want help losing weight? Get this now.

Three shots to the psyche…

This past week has not been a good one to be my friend. First my cousin Frankie passed away after a long fight against cancer. The cancer was from the agent orange he came into contact with during the Vietnam War. The same war that shaped him and greatly influenced his entire life after. The Army helped him discover his talent for learning languages, which he used as a soldier, and then as a business man in Asia. He spend a large part of his life in Asia, doing deals and creating among other things a feature film in the Philippines, Olongapo . He most recently self published a book about his Vietnam experience. Cousin Frankie lived like no other man I’ve known. He packed at least three regular lives into his one.

After hearing about my cousin I got the bug to try and reconnect with an old friend who moved from Hawaii some years back. Bud Cerio was introduced to me by my very good friend Josephine. Bud was a incredibly talented guitar player and just as incredibly cool. Bud was as talented as his stature...and his stature was large. I took guitar lesson from him for nearly 3 years. A lesson with Bud was not the structured thing of a regimented learning program. Bud would ask me what I wanted to learn to play. He would listen to it, and before I knew it I was playing it. Sometimes he would suggest something to make me stretch and learn something new. But each 30 minute lesson turned into an up to 2 hour jam or exploration of life, music, or anything happening in our lives. Gracious, talented, & very, very humble. I felt a real sadness when my Google search uncovered this piece .

Finally, as I scanned the newspaper yesterday I found a obituary of my old Hawaii Bicycling League colleague Frank Denton. We both served on the HBL board during an especially difficult time (not that any time has been easy). Frank had a can do attitude, and would always have a suggestion seasoned with a solid business man’s flair. After our time on the board, I would frequently run into him at the bank. We’d chat and discuss HBL and our businesses. I hadn’t seen Frank since I relocated my business to Kalihi last year. Perhaps Frank will join John Kelly for a bike ride in the great beyond, Frank on a touring bike and John on his triathlon rig. A memorial is scheduled for tomorrow at Murphy’s.

Time on this blue marble is short. Even if you have a faith that there is a life after this turn on the mortal spiral…leaving it and seeing friends & family leave it is sad and can shake you up. Nothing here is permanent. Nothing here is permanent…maybe it’s time to act with that knowledge.

Plum tuckered out...

I'm spent. Burnt. Exhausted. Fried. A crispy critter.

Or just plain tired.

I'm usually dealing with some sort of fatigue, but today I'm tired in a way I can't remember feeling. I have been hitting it hard as usual. And I'll admit I'm at a personal best on the stress front (not in the good way). I have three more long days ahead, then another hectic Sunday. And the caffeine isn't doing it for me either. Having trouble concentrating on work.

I need some time off.

Ummmm, not soon...