I love Dancing With The Stars because it is a show that I can watch with my 90 year-old Mom and the only time I get embarrassed is when she says she would like to take Rocco out behind the barn.
For me the show isn't about dancing what I look for when I watch the show is as follows:
1. Are they having fun?
2. Do they show respect to their partner?
3. Are they working hard?
4. Do they respect the show that they agreed to go on?
What I saw this week was that while the women seemed to be better dancers the men seemed to be having more fun.
I became a real fan of Rocco this week. I'd love to have a beer with him. Wouldn't mine cruising for women with him, I would be happy with his leftovers. Rocco has a reputation in the cooking industry as having a temper, Karina has a reputation in the dancing world as having a temper. Neither showed it this week on Dancing With The Stars. Rocco was very charming and showed a lot of respect toward Karina. Karina seemed subdued by his charm. OK, maybe his Monday night dance wasn't the best but he has no performance background and was dancing with an injured partner. The dude also takes criticism well and works hard. He also is having a ball and it shows. His Tuesday night dance was great. I'm looking for really good things to come from this duo.
The other men that I thought were having a ball were Warren Sapp, Ted McGinley, Maruice Greene & Jeffrey Ross. Before I comment on them some of the women first:
Brook Burke can really dance. She surprised me the most. I love the way Derek treats her and how he teaches her. Right now she may be my favorite to win. The problem that I see is the way the judges grade could hurt her. When the judges score they don't really compare the stars to other stars, they grade the stars against themsleves. That means the lower scores that stay on have an advantage because they will be scored against a lower bar than the higher scorers. Brook set her bar high this week and it could hurt her.
I admire Toni Braxton for giving it her all despited heart troubles. Alec is a good partner for her. She also set her bar high but I am guessing will remain on the show for a long time.
Misty May-Treanor was kind of a disappointment but she works really hard and has a very good teacher in Max. I am betting by the end of the show she will be one of the best!
Susan Lucci was bad one night great the next. Like Len says, she will do well in ballroom bad in Latin. Her fan base will keep her on.
Kim Kardashian is nicer than I thought she would be, however, she should have been on of the two to go home this week. She just doesn't have it and while she seems to work hard at it she doesn't seem to translate what she learned to the dance floor.
I admire Cloris Leachman. I thought she danced well the first night but terrible the second night. I also thought after her dance Monday night she was way over the top! I thought she should have been sent packing this week. I hope her dancing improves and she learns to subdue her personality for the benefit of the show.
On to the Guys.
Warren Sapp. What a surprise. Big boys can move. Of course he has my favorite partner, Kym Johnson. I met her at the first tour and that woman has a smile that could light up any city at night! After watching Warren move and his exhurbance I think he may stick around for a while.
Ted McGinley was fun. He worked hard. He danced well. He shouldn't have been sent home.
Maurice Greene is really fun. If Cheryl can temper down his free spirit he has a shot at the final four.
Cody Linely. Wish I would have been that poised at 18. He has good moves and has youth as an advantage.
Lance Bass did well but he should have, he has a performance background. I think that gives him an advantage.
Last but not least Jeffrey Ross. When I heard another comedian would be on I kind of was disappointed after recalling Adam Corella. Corella was rude, not funny, and showed no respect to his partner. Ross was just the opposite. He has my kind of humor. He was very kind and respectful towards Edyta. He danced not bad the first night. I was glad they let him do his second dance on the results show and it was a decent dance. I kind of wish he hadn't of been eliminated.
Have a great day all!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Week 3 - A Major Life Moment
Subtitled, "I Freaking Did it!"
Just a reminder that the class is held at the home building of Comedy Sportz where they do their actual weekly performances on Friday and Saturday night. Complete with stage lights and elevated stage.
Week 3 of the comedy class was story telling. The instructor wanted us to see how much harder it was to be on stage alone then it was to be on stage with a team. We got some new class members last night so there were twenty-four in attendance, twenty-six counting the two instructors. After some warm-up exercises came the real challenge. Each one of us had to get on stage and talk for one minute on a subject that we were given as we were walking up to the stage. As you all know I am taking this class to get over shyness, gain confidence, have fun and learn new things. As you also know getting up in front of any size audience is about as much fun for me as a date with Lorena Bobbitt would be. Do you folks know how long sixty freaking seconds is? If you don't try this with a spouse or friend, give them a subject and tell them to talk on that subject for one minute or better yet have them give you a subject and you try talking for sixty seconds on that subject!
Just as I was looking at the door and planning my escape out of the Comedy Sportz building before my name was called, my name was called. What subject did I get? Hopefully I would get Internet dating, I could have probably done that, or maybe caring for a parent, could have done that. Nope my subject was hobbies. You didn't stand on stage. You sat in a chair while talking. When I got up there, the lights were absolutely blinding. I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe, almost passed out, don't remember one darn word I said, don't know if the audience laughed, but the bottom line is I did it! I really thought I bombed. When I went back to my chair in the audience the guy next to me just said "classic." I was certain he meant classic screwup. After class when I was leaving one of the teachers stopped me and said "you killed me, I just couldn't stop laughing." "I killed you?" "Yes, it was so real". He was also the time keeper. This is the first time in my life that I have been up in front of an audience of twenty some people. The first time. I didn't die. I didn't pass out. Maybe I didn't bomb afterall?
Later in the class we divided up into teams of eight. Each team had to go up on stage. There was a referee. The class chose a title of a story. The referee pointed to one of the eight in the team whom started the story, then as soon as the ref pointed to someone else that person continued the story, as soon as the ref pointed to someone else the person talking, he or sheimmediately had to quit talking. Sometimes you got several sentences out, sometimes you got one word out. The eight of you had to complete a three chapter story on the fly. What was amazing about this is when I was on the stage with seven other people I was not a bit nervous. Nada. The teacher even used me as an example. Right before I was pointed at the person talking asked a question, I continued, "Yes" and then went on. The teacher said that was the right answer, that you never use "no" in improv because no is a story stopper. Whenever a question is asked the right answer is always yes. By the way the title of the story for our group was "She went into the woods," We took Hansel and Gretle all the way from the woods to using coupons to buy toothpaste and a tooth brush at Walmart. I can honestly tell you that being on the stage with eight is so much easier then being up there alone.
I will save telling about the game that was like musical chairs but without the music for a day when my mind draws a blank and I have nothing to blog about.
On another note before class Mom, sis, my brother-in-law, and I went to dinner at Rose's Deli in Sherwood. Wonders of wonders is that they didn't order what I did so the pressure was off! Also sis absolutely loved the cologne, she liked both Azzaro Legend and Chrome. Said women would love it because it was pleasing, subtle, and sexy! Maybe I should take some trips to the produce sections this weekend!
I'm not really sure I'm looking forward to next week. Next week it is mime. Communicating without words. That scares me almost as much as getting up in front of an audience does. I do know that despite my fears I will go to class, that I will participate, and I will be better for it.
Thank you all for your encouragement and support!
Just a reminder that the class is held at the home building of Comedy Sportz where they do their actual weekly performances on Friday and Saturday night. Complete with stage lights and elevated stage.
Week 3 of the comedy class was story telling. The instructor wanted us to see how much harder it was to be on stage alone then it was to be on stage with a team. We got some new class members last night so there were twenty-four in attendance, twenty-six counting the two instructors. After some warm-up exercises came the real challenge. Each one of us had to get on stage and talk for one minute on a subject that we were given as we were walking up to the stage. As you all know I am taking this class to get over shyness, gain confidence, have fun and learn new things. As you also know getting up in front of any size audience is about as much fun for me as a date with Lorena Bobbitt would be. Do you folks know how long sixty freaking seconds is? If you don't try this with a spouse or friend, give them a subject and tell them to talk on that subject for one minute or better yet have them give you a subject and you try talking for sixty seconds on that subject!
Just as I was looking at the door and planning my escape out of the Comedy Sportz building before my name was called, my name was called. What subject did I get? Hopefully I would get Internet dating, I could have probably done that, or maybe caring for a parent, could have done that. Nope my subject was hobbies. You didn't stand on stage. You sat in a chair while talking. When I got up there, the lights were absolutely blinding. I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe, almost passed out, don't remember one darn word I said, don't know if the audience laughed, but the bottom line is I did it! I really thought I bombed. When I went back to my chair in the audience the guy next to me just said "classic." I was certain he meant classic screwup. After class when I was leaving one of the teachers stopped me and said "you killed me, I just couldn't stop laughing." "I killed you?" "Yes, it was so real". He was also the time keeper. This is the first time in my life that I have been up in front of an audience of twenty some people. The first time. I didn't die. I didn't pass out. Maybe I didn't bomb afterall?
Later in the class we divided up into teams of eight. Each team had to go up on stage. There was a referee. The class chose a title of a story. The referee pointed to one of the eight in the team whom started the story, then as soon as the ref pointed to someone else that person continued the story, as soon as the ref pointed to someone else the person talking, he or sheimmediately had to quit talking. Sometimes you got several sentences out, sometimes you got one word out. The eight of you had to complete a three chapter story on the fly. What was amazing about this is when I was on the stage with seven other people I was not a bit nervous. Nada. The teacher even used me as an example. Right before I was pointed at the person talking asked a question, I continued, "Yes" and then went on. The teacher said that was the right answer, that you never use "no" in improv because no is a story stopper. Whenever a question is asked the right answer is always yes. By the way the title of the story for our group was "She went into the woods," We took Hansel and Gretle all the way from the woods to using coupons to buy toothpaste and a tooth brush at Walmart. I can honestly tell you that being on the stage with eight is so much easier then being up there alone.
I will save telling about the game that was like musical chairs but without the music for a day when my mind draws a blank and I have nothing to blog about.
On another note before class Mom, sis, my brother-in-law, and I went to dinner at Rose's Deli in Sherwood. Wonders of wonders is that they didn't order what I did so the pressure was off! Also sis absolutely loved the cologne, she liked both Azzaro Legend and Chrome. Said women would love it because it was pleasing, subtle, and sexy! Maybe I should take some trips to the produce sections this weekend!
I'm not really sure I'm looking forward to next week. Next week it is mime. Communicating without words. That scares me almost as much as getting up in front of an audience does. I do know that despite my fears I will go to class, that I will participate, and I will be better for it.
Thank you all for your encouragement and support!
Monday, September 22, 2008
A Sign Of The Times
My friend Al and I went to the Nike Shareholder meeting this morning. This is the third Nike Shareholder meeting for Al and the second time I've been with him. The first meeting that Al went to was several years ago at the Nike Campus in Beaverton, Oregon. That is the one where he went alone. He said there were a few thousand there and they gave out really nice gift bags that included T-shirts and other wear. They also had several Olympic athletes there. The second shareholder meething that Al went to he took me along and it was five or six years ago at the Oregon Convention Center, there were at least two or three thousand in attendance, they gave out gift bags but according to Al not as nice as the gift bags they gave out at the first meeting that he went to, and as Al reminded me today it was John McEnroe not Jimmy Conners that was there. Today there were barely three hundred people there, they gave out no gift bags and there was not a single athlete there. Al had hoped Michael Phelps would be there but as I suspected he wasn't. The last Nike Shareholder meeting that I was at was almost two hours long but today's meeting lasted barely a half of an hour. I attribute this to the economic times we are under right now. The kind of questions that were asked of Phil Knight by the shareholders confirmed this. Of the about ten questions that the shareholders asked Knight four of them were about CEO and executive pay. Knight patiently asnwered the questions. I think Nike really downsized their shareholder meeting because they didn't want to offend the shareholders with any kind of extravagance.
Still it was a very fun morning. I had never been at the Nike Campus before and it was absolutely beautiful. The meeting was in the Tiger Woods Center. They had a lot of Woods' items throughout the building. They also had a nice little breakfast buffet put out for those of us that came to the meeting a little early. Normally I don't do buffets because of germs but Nike was so clean you could have eaten off of the floor. So I had a nice little breakfast, then went into the meeting, and listened to Knight talk for a bit.
I almost made a really bad fashion mistake. I used to wear Nike shoes but a couple of years ago when I was going through the bone cancer scare the doctor strongly suggested that I be fit for special shoes with orthopodic inserts for the left foot. I followed his advise but the speciality medical footwear company that I went to uses New Balance because they are a little cheaper and the inserts are darn expensive to begin with. The total cost that I paid for the shoes with the insert? $370. While I was waiting for Al to pick me up I looked down and had the New Balance Shoes on! I quickly changed to a pair of dress shoes. Whew, I might have been escorted out of there in handcuffs!
Have a great day everyone!!
Still it was a very fun morning. I had never been at the Nike Campus before and it was absolutely beautiful. The meeting was in the Tiger Woods Center. They had a lot of Woods' items throughout the building. They also had a nice little breakfast buffet put out for those of us that came to the meeting a little early. Normally I don't do buffets because of germs but Nike was so clean you could have eaten off of the floor. So I had a nice little breakfast, then went into the meeting, and listened to Knight talk for a bit.
I almost made a really bad fashion mistake. I used to wear Nike shoes but a couple of years ago when I was going through the bone cancer scare the doctor strongly suggested that I be fit for special shoes with orthopodic inserts for the left foot. I followed his advise but the speciality medical footwear company that I went to uses New Balance because they are a little cheaper and the inserts are darn expensive to begin with. The total cost that I paid for the shoes with the insert? $370. While I was waiting for Al to pick me up I looked down and had the New Balance Shoes on! I quickly changed to a pair of dress shoes. Whew, I might have been escorted out of there in handcuffs!
Have a great day everyone!!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Only In Oregon
Hello Everyone
Had to have an extra key made for Mom's house so I went to McCann's Pharmacy in King City, Oregon which is near Mom's house. While waiting for the key to be made I was reading the bulletin board for different events in the community. Saw an advertisement for a Farmers' Market in Tigard, Oregon the neighboring community to King City. Now usually weekend Farmers' Markets are held in downtown portions of the little cities around Oregon or they are held in parks. Nope not Tigard's Farmers' Market. Know where the City of Tigard, Oregon Farmers' Market is held? In the parking lot of Young's Funeral Home. Only in Oregon. I guess you could say that the Tigard Farmers' Market is a place people are dying to get into.
Sister and her husband are arriving from Utah tonight to put the finishing touches on Mom's remodel and to help with the move of Mom to home. Even though our politics are so different I love my sister a lot because she gives so much. She told me anytime I want to travel let her know and they would be up here on a day's notice. Bless her heart.
I do have one concern about their visit. When sis and her husband are here we go out for dinner a lot with Mom. My sister and mom won't order until I do. They want to know what I am going to have and then order the exact same thing I do! Brother-in-law is on his own, he always orders the most expensive thing on the menu but sis and Mom, no they wait for me. I've tried waiting until last to order but sis and Mom outwait me. So when I order I have to make sure I order not only something healthy for me but also something healthy for my mom and my sis! Such Pressure! Hmmm wonder what they would do if I only ordered a drink. Any suggestions out there on how I handle this tense situation?
Have a great weekend everyone!
Had to have an extra key made for Mom's house so I went to McCann's Pharmacy in King City, Oregon which is near Mom's house. While waiting for the key to be made I was reading the bulletin board for different events in the community. Saw an advertisement for a Farmers' Market in Tigard, Oregon the neighboring community to King City. Now usually weekend Farmers' Markets are held in downtown portions of the little cities around Oregon or they are held in parks. Nope not Tigard's Farmers' Market. Know where the City of Tigard, Oregon Farmers' Market is held? In the parking lot of Young's Funeral Home. Only in Oregon. I guess you could say that the Tigard Farmers' Market is a place people are dying to get into.
Sister and her husband are arriving from Utah tonight to put the finishing touches on Mom's remodel and to help with the move of Mom to home. Even though our politics are so different I love my sister a lot because she gives so much. She told me anytime I want to travel let her know and they would be up here on a day's notice. Bless her heart.
I do have one concern about their visit. When sis and her husband are here we go out for dinner a lot with Mom. My sister and mom won't order until I do. They want to know what I am going to have and then order the exact same thing I do! Brother-in-law is on his own, he always orders the most expensive thing on the menu but sis and Mom, no they wait for me. I've tried waiting until last to order but sis and Mom outwait me. So when I order I have to make sure I order not only something healthy for me but also something healthy for my mom and my sis! Such Pressure! Hmmm wonder what they would do if I only ordered a drink. Any suggestions out there on how I handle this tense situation?
Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Nike, Sherwood's Big Story, & It Wasn't Me
This coming Monday I've been invited by a friend to the Nike Shareholder's meeting. My friend thinks Michael Phelps might be there but I have my doubts. The last time I went to a Nike Shareholder meeting it was at The Oregonian Convention Center in downtown Portland and Jimmy Connors was there. You didn't really get close to Jimmy, you just heard him speak. This year the shareholder meeting is at the Nike Campus in Beaverton. I've never been there so am looking forward to that. If Michael Phelps is there chances are we won't get to meet him, just hear him speak. Still it should be a fun morning!
The big story in Sherwood, Oregon today is the number of coyote sightings. Just recently a high school student was followed home from school by two coyotes. The Sherwood Police chief has given the city police officers orders to shoot the coyotes on sight. The officers will use high powered rifles that they carry in the police cruisters. I'm not sure how I feel about this except I don't own a gun and never will, I believe hunting will be a sport when the animals are armed and can shoot back. I'm also worried about the safey of the citizens since high power rifles can fire quite a distance and if the police miss their intended target it could hit someone a mile or more away. The policy also drew immediate criticism from Bob Sallinger, conservation director for the the Audubon Society of Portland who called the policy "draconian" and "over the top. The Audubon Society of Portland also so says most contacts with coyotes present a minimal risk to people. Sallinger later goes on to say "Even if you kill some coyotes, they will fill back in very quickly and ultimately, it may make the situation worse." I have yet to see a coyote but now I am going to be on the lookout for them on my morning walks!
In today's Oregonian in The Edge Column was the following:
"A guy walks into the a bar, sees a beautiful woman sitting alone, so he takes the seat next to her. A minute goes by, then he turns to her and says "huge penquins." The woman turns to him, "Pardon me?". The guy looks at her and says, "I'm just trying to break the ice."
Now I want you all to know I wasn't being quoted.
A couple of other things from The Edge Column:
What is blue and white and if it fell out of a tree and hit you it would kill you?" A fridge in a Wrangler jacket.
Where did Noah keep his bees? In the ark hives.
Enough lame jokes for the day. May this be a great day for you!!
The big story in Sherwood, Oregon today is the number of coyote sightings. Just recently a high school student was followed home from school by two coyotes. The Sherwood Police chief has given the city police officers orders to shoot the coyotes on sight. The officers will use high powered rifles that they carry in the police cruisters. I'm not sure how I feel about this except I don't own a gun and never will, I believe hunting will be a sport when the animals are armed and can shoot back. I'm also worried about the safey of the citizens since high power rifles can fire quite a distance and if the police miss their intended target it could hit someone a mile or more away. The policy also drew immediate criticism from Bob Sallinger, conservation director for the the Audubon Society of Portland who called the policy "draconian" and "over the top. The Audubon Society of Portland also so says most contacts with coyotes present a minimal risk to people. Sallinger later goes on to say "Even if you kill some coyotes, they will fill back in very quickly and ultimately, it may make the situation worse." I have yet to see a coyote but now I am going to be on the lookout for them on my morning walks!
In today's Oregonian in The Edge Column was the following:
"A guy walks into the a bar, sees a beautiful woman sitting alone, so he takes the seat next to her. A minute goes by, then he turns to her and says "huge penquins." The woman turns to him, "Pardon me?". The guy looks at her and says, "I'm just trying to break the ice."
Now I want you all to know I wasn't being quoted.
A couple of other things from The Edge Column:
What is blue and white and if it fell out of a tree and hit you it would kill you?" A fridge in a Wrangler jacket.
Where did Noah keep his bees? In the ark hives.
Enough lame jokes for the day. May this be a great day for you!!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Latest.
Good morning everyone, not much to write about but I try to post something at least every other day even if my mind is drawing a blank which it seems to be today. I am making this family matters day.
Mom is moving home October 1st. I think she is making a huge mistake but am I backing off. The agreement that I made with her is that I am going to continue to have my life and if I want to take off and travel I am going to do it. She has agreed to this. For almost a year now I've felt a strong pull towards the Los Angeles area and really want to visit there to check out real estate while the market is down, see what the job market is like compared to Portland, contact some old friends that I haven't seen in years, see some relatives, and just take a week to two vacation that I haven't been able to take for a few years. I'm not sure when I will take the trip but definitely before of the end of the year. Mom is really aware of how mentally healthier I am since she has been in a assisted living and she wants to me to stay that way. What she doesn't see is how mentally healthier she is since she has been at The Springs. Even my brother notices a difference in her attitude when he calls her. Whenever he calls she is upbeat and happy which leads to him calling more. When she was home and brother called she was depressed and negative which lead to him not calling. Everyone sees the happiness but mom, inclduing her friends at The Springs. We have had a lot of quality time since she has been at The Springs so she knows now I will still be a huge part of her life but that when I am free to have mine it is healthier for me, now if she would she see how better off she is too.
My nephew lost his job in a plant closing a few months ago. He lives in Eugene, a citty about two hours from Portland. We just got some good news that he was offered a job in the Portland area. He was also offered a job in Wyoming. With a couple of kids in high school the timing of a move to Wyoming would probably not have been the best for his family so he accepted the job in the Portland area. He may even live with my Mom for a while. He would like to keep his kids in the same high school until they graduate. He could live with mom during the week, keep his house and then travel home to wife and kids on the weekend. I'm excited for my nephew for going through a new phase in his life.
My brother if your remember tore the ACL in his left leg playing tennis. He had never had a serious injury before. We were all worried about whether or not he would follow the doctors orders and stay off of the leg until he was healed. Patience has never been his strong suit. Well, wonders of wonders my brother did everything the doctor said and was off cructches in six weeks instead of ten. He is wearing a boot but the doctor expects that to be off in a couple of weeks and he will be back to normal walking within three months of the injury instead of the year they had anticipated. I'm so proud of him!
Although not family but like family my Houston friend Shirley that was in the wake of IKE posted an update here, http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/prayers-needed.html She is doing fine and thanks everyone for their prayers!
What is going on in your life, with your family, the parent you care for, you? Inquiring minds want to know.
Mom is moving home October 1st. I think she is making a huge mistake but am I backing off. The agreement that I made with her is that I am going to continue to have my life and if I want to take off and travel I am going to do it. She has agreed to this. For almost a year now I've felt a strong pull towards the Los Angeles area and really want to visit there to check out real estate while the market is down, see what the job market is like compared to Portland, contact some old friends that I haven't seen in years, see some relatives, and just take a week to two vacation that I haven't been able to take for a few years. I'm not sure when I will take the trip but definitely before of the end of the year. Mom is really aware of how mentally healthier I am since she has been in a assisted living and she wants to me to stay that way. What she doesn't see is how mentally healthier she is since she has been at The Springs. Even my brother notices a difference in her attitude when he calls her. Whenever he calls she is upbeat and happy which leads to him calling more. When she was home and brother called she was depressed and negative which lead to him not calling. Everyone sees the happiness but mom, inclduing her friends at The Springs. We have had a lot of quality time since she has been at The Springs so she knows now I will still be a huge part of her life but that when I am free to have mine it is healthier for me, now if she would she see how better off she is too.
My nephew lost his job in a plant closing a few months ago. He lives in Eugene, a citty about two hours from Portland. We just got some good news that he was offered a job in the Portland area. He was also offered a job in Wyoming. With a couple of kids in high school the timing of a move to Wyoming would probably not have been the best for his family so he accepted the job in the Portland area. He may even live with my Mom for a while. He would like to keep his kids in the same high school until they graduate. He could live with mom during the week, keep his house and then travel home to wife and kids on the weekend. I'm excited for my nephew for going through a new phase in his life.
My brother if your remember tore the ACL in his left leg playing tennis. He had never had a serious injury before. We were all worried about whether or not he would follow the doctors orders and stay off of the leg until he was healed. Patience has never been his strong suit. Well, wonders of wonders my brother did everything the doctor said and was off cructches in six weeks instead of ten. He is wearing a boot but the doctor expects that to be off in a couple of weeks and he will be back to normal walking within three months of the injury instead of the year they had anticipated. I'm so proud of him!
Although not family but like family my Houston friend Shirley that was in the wake of IKE posted an update here, http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/prayers-needed.html She is doing fine and thanks everyone for their prayers!
What is going on in your life, with your family, the parent you care for, you? Inquiring minds want to know.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Week 2 - Team Building & Playing Hurt
Playing hurt is a sports term and if your team is depending on you, you play hurt. You just can't back out of games for little knicks and sore muscles. Team depends on you, you play hurt. There is, however, a fine line between playing hurt to help the team and being so hurt that you hurt the team by playing. Last night I played hurt. There were times when I helped the team and times when I should have sat on the sidelines. A couple of hours before the class I was over at Mom's helping the remodelers and took a nasty spill. I pulled a couple of muscles on the left side right above the ribs and on the back of my left leg. However, nothing was keeping from that class so I went. Ouch.
Week two was all about communication and team building. Two things absolutely essential to improv. The exercises are going to be hard to explain but I hope I can give a good idea of what they were.
The first was "tied in knots ." This is a human knot. There were twenty-one in class last night, nine dropped out or weren't willing to play hurt. The class was divided in to two teams, one of eleven and one of ten. I was in the group of eleven. The teams form a small circle. Then you grab arms of other members of the circle, the trick is you can't grab the arms of either person next to you. You are grabbing the arms of the person two down or across from you. Imagine a major game of twister where everyone ends up in weird postions except everyone is standing. Then the game starts. The goal is to unravel into a perfect circle where you are holding the hands of the person next to you. In order to unravel you have to really communicate with each other, work together on who should unravel first, sometimes you might have to jump (physically step through outheld hands) through some hoops, and sometimes you might have to go back to the position you were first in. Our group did great. We formed a perfect circle within ten minutes. The other team took twice as long. We had great chemistry and amazing listening skills. What is neat about this game is everyone has to give up control, if one person takes control it is doomed to fail. Like the other team. Teamwork, listening, communication are good things to learn in life as well as improv.
The next two excercises had to do with the socks because they were fall into the river exercises and the smaller area you had with your feet the better chance you had to succeed. Almost everyone in class kept their shoes on. The first exercise was called "chocolate river". The chocolate in the river was poison. If you fell into the river you died. Fifteen class members were chosen, I was one. The room is roped off into quite a large area (river). Then you are given about twenty pices of tile. The goal is to use the tiles to get all fifteen members of the team from one shore to the other shore without losing someone. You basically have to form a line. You can stand on a tile but if any part of your foot isn't on the tile you fall into the river and die. The first person sets a tile down and then puts both his feet on the first tile, he then sets a second tile in front of him and puts one foot on the second tile, so he has one foot on the second tile, and one foot on the first tile, the next person puts his foot on the first, tile, and keeps his foot on the shore until a third tile is put down and person one moves his foot to the third tile, the second person moves his foot to the next tile and so on. You really have to communicate with everyone in line because with one foot on one tile and one foot on another tile it is imposible to turn around and see what is happening. It is also easy to lose balance when you have on foot on one tile and one foot on another so you have to put your hand on the person in front of you to both let him/her know you are there and ready to proceed so the next person can get off the shore. Fourteen of the fifteen made it safely, we only lost one person. This was a great exercise, teaches you to give up control, depend on others, coummunicate, plan with the group (we devised a plan together before starting), and teaches you teamwork.
The last exercise was Lassie and Timmie. You divided in to teams of two. A small area of the room is roped off. Several tiles are placed in the middle and up and down the roped off area. This time the goal is not to step on the tiles. The roped off area is a river, the tiles are loose rocks that if you step on them you fall into the river and die. One of the two members is Timmie, in peril and needing to be saved, who stands at the far end of the river. The other member is Lassie whose job it is to save Timmie. The trick is Lassie is blindfolded. The other trick is that you only have sixty seconds to go from one side to the other. Timme instructs the blindfolded Lassie where to stand and step until he gets all the way to Timmie's side and saves him. In this exercise the failure rate is extremely high and according to the instructor it is rare for one team to make it all the way across to save Timmie, let alone the six that we had. Unfortunately, when I was Timmie Lassie stepped on a tile and died. When I was Lassie, I stepped on a tile and died. This exercise was to teach trust and failure as a team. When you bomb in improv. you bomb as a team. When you bomb in standup you bomb alone. The standup being much harder and much harder to recover from.
It was a fun but painful class. I can hardly wait until week 3, when the focus will be on story telling!
This is how I dressed for the class last night. I wanted to show the posters, readers, my Mom, my sister, and my sister-in-law that I am quite capable of dressing myself. In order to be a rebel I used the day cologne for the night class.
Hope this will be a great day for all of you!
Week two was all about communication and team building. Two things absolutely essential to improv. The exercises are going to be hard to explain but I hope I can give a good idea of what they were.
The first was "tied in knots ." This is a human knot. There were twenty-one in class last night, nine dropped out or weren't willing to play hurt. The class was divided in to two teams, one of eleven and one of ten. I was in the group of eleven. The teams form a small circle. Then you grab arms of other members of the circle, the trick is you can't grab the arms of either person next to you. You are grabbing the arms of the person two down or across from you. Imagine a major game of twister where everyone ends up in weird postions except everyone is standing. Then the game starts. The goal is to unravel into a perfect circle where you are holding the hands of the person next to you. In order to unravel you have to really communicate with each other, work together on who should unravel first, sometimes you might have to jump (physically step through outheld hands) through some hoops, and sometimes you might have to go back to the position you were first in. Our group did great. We formed a perfect circle within ten minutes. The other team took twice as long. We had great chemistry and amazing listening skills. What is neat about this game is everyone has to give up control, if one person takes control it is doomed to fail. Like the other team. Teamwork, listening, communication are good things to learn in life as well as improv.
The next two excercises had to do with the socks because they were fall into the river exercises and the smaller area you had with your feet the better chance you had to succeed. Almost everyone in class kept their shoes on. The first exercise was called "chocolate river". The chocolate in the river was poison. If you fell into the river you died. Fifteen class members were chosen, I was one. The room is roped off into quite a large area (river). Then you are given about twenty pices of tile. The goal is to use the tiles to get all fifteen members of the team from one shore to the other shore without losing someone. You basically have to form a line. You can stand on a tile but if any part of your foot isn't on the tile you fall into the river and die. The first person sets a tile down and then puts both his feet on the first tile, he then sets a second tile in front of him and puts one foot on the second tile, so he has one foot on the second tile, and one foot on the first tile, the next person puts his foot on the first, tile, and keeps his foot on the shore until a third tile is put down and person one moves his foot to the third tile, the second person moves his foot to the next tile and so on. You really have to communicate with everyone in line because with one foot on one tile and one foot on another tile it is imposible to turn around and see what is happening. It is also easy to lose balance when you have on foot on one tile and one foot on another so you have to put your hand on the person in front of you to both let him/her know you are there and ready to proceed so the next person can get off the shore. Fourteen of the fifteen made it safely, we only lost one person. This was a great exercise, teaches you to give up control, depend on others, coummunicate, plan with the group (we devised a plan together before starting), and teaches you teamwork.
The last exercise was Lassie and Timmie. You divided in to teams of two. A small area of the room is roped off. Several tiles are placed in the middle and up and down the roped off area. This time the goal is not to step on the tiles. The roped off area is a river, the tiles are loose rocks that if you step on them you fall into the river and die. One of the two members is Timmie, in peril and needing to be saved, who stands at the far end of the river. The other member is Lassie whose job it is to save Timmie. The trick is Lassie is blindfolded. The other trick is that you only have sixty seconds to go from one side to the other. Timme instructs the blindfolded Lassie where to stand and step until he gets all the way to Timmie's side and saves him. In this exercise the failure rate is extremely high and according to the instructor it is rare for one team to make it all the way across to save Timmie, let alone the six that we had. Unfortunately, when I was Timmie Lassie stepped on a tile and died. When I was Lassie, I stepped on a tile and died. This exercise was to teach trust and failure as a team. When you bomb in improv. you bomb as a team. When you bomb in standup you bomb alone. The standup being much harder and much harder to recover from.
It was a fun but painful class. I can hardly wait until week 3, when the focus will be on story telling!
This is how I dressed for the class last night. I wanted to show the posters, readers, my Mom, my sister, and my sister-in-law that I am quite capable of dressing myself. In order to be a rebel I used the day cologne for the night class.
Hope this will be a great day for all of you!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Week Behind, The Week Ahead.
Thia has really been a good week at times and a tough week at times. The tough times were the reminder of 9-11 and then some tense moments with caregiving. Those kind of moments that all of us that are caring for an elderly parent go through when you say to yourself "I just can't do this anymore." Of course then you suck it up and continue to do it. Most of the tense moments are from watching mom's memory decline and be reminded of having to watch dad go through the same thing. I really don't want to watch a second parent going through memory loss but there really is little other choice. I did start doing memory exercises with mom and those seem to be helping.
On to the good, I had a nice breakfast this morning with two friends, Ted, whom I've talked about before and another friend, Doug. Doug is in charge of purchasing medical equipment for a hospital association here in the Portland area. He is a really nice man. His daughter is a freshman in college on a music scholarship and his son is a junior in high school. Doug is your ultimate good dad and husband. I really enjoyed both Ted and Doug this morning. We covered a lot of ground and both were not surprised that I did well in the comedy class, especially Ted, whom said "you can do anything, I've always thought you would be the ideal comic." I appreciated the support.
Tomorrow will be a long day ending with the joy of the class that I am so looking forward to. The day will start out with me picking up Mom at 7:30 a.m. for an appointment with her eye doctor at 8:15 and the eye appointment will be followed by her eye glass fitting. By the time we get back to Mom's assisted living center it will be about 11 or so. After dropping mom off I will head home and do my walk. I usually walk really early in the morning but won't have time with the early doctor's appointment. The walk usually takes about an hour.
The afternoon will be filled with reading, writing, driving range, and maybe some blogging. Then at a bout 6 I will take off for The Pearl District in downtown Portland for what I know will be the highlight of my week! Class two of the comedy class. Last week we were instructed to wear clean socks to this week's class! Now that really kind of sparks my curiousity. Does that mean most the class will be conducted without shoes? Does that mean during the class there will be an exercise where will smell each other's feet? And just who doesn't wear clean socks anyway? My socks are always clean! Of course there will be a full report on the blog about the class and clean socks!
The rest of the week will include a return visit of my sister and her husband. However, this time they will stay at mom's instead of with me. They are coming back to finish off the remodeling of mom's house. They want the house to be in prime shape when mom moves home.
What are your plans for the week?
Hope this is a great week for all of you!!
On to the good, I had a nice breakfast this morning with two friends, Ted, whom I've talked about before and another friend, Doug. Doug is in charge of purchasing medical equipment for a hospital association here in the Portland area. He is a really nice man. His daughter is a freshman in college on a music scholarship and his son is a junior in high school. Doug is your ultimate good dad and husband. I really enjoyed both Ted and Doug this morning. We covered a lot of ground and both were not surprised that I did well in the comedy class, especially Ted, whom said "you can do anything, I've always thought you would be the ideal comic." I appreciated the support.
Tomorrow will be a long day ending with the joy of the class that I am so looking forward to. The day will start out with me picking up Mom at 7:30 a.m. for an appointment with her eye doctor at 8:15 and the eye appointment will be followed by her eye glass fitting. By the time we get back to Mom's assisted living center it will be about 11 or so. After dropping mom off I will head home and do my walk. I usually walk really early in the morning but won't have time with the early doctor's appointment. The walk usually takes about an hour.
The afternoon will be filled with reading, writing, driving range, and maybe some blogging. Then at a bout 6 I will take off for The Pearl District in downtown Portland for what I know will be the highlight of my week! Class two of the comedy class. Last week we were instructed to wear clean socks to this week's class! Now that really kind of sparks my curiousity. Does that mean most the class will be conducted without shoes? Does that mean during the class there will be an exercise where will smell each other's feet? And just who doesn't wear clean socks anyway? My socks are always clean! Of course there will be a full report on the blog about the class and clean socks!
The rest of the week will include a return visit of my sister and her husband. However, this time they will stay at mom's instead of with me. They are coming back to finish off the remodeling of mom's house. They want the house to be in prime shape when mom moves home.
What are your plans for the week?
Hope this is a great week for all of you!!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Prayers Needed.
For all of those in the path of IKE. It struck home this morning when I got an email from my friend Shirley who lives in Houston with her husband and two cats. I haven't been able to sleep since, I am so worried about them. If you remember the wallet story,
http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2008/03/wallet-story.html Shirley is the friend that drove me back to Denver from Boulder because she trusted my instincts. I know a lot of you also know Shirley and some, like me, have also met her husband, Stan. In addition we have at least two regular posters that live in Texas, Symply and Kaye. Please send good thoughts, good vibes, prayers, anything you can muster for Shirley, her family, her pets, Symply, Kaye, and all those in the wake of IKE. Here is Shirley's chilling email:
Hi,
It's about 5:20 a.m. and we have had little sleep. The downtown area of Houston has received some of the biggest winds and it is totally frightening. We are 1 mile from downtown. We went to bed at 10 and the major storm rolled in after midnight. It sounds like a freight train and our house shudders at times. We finally got up at 3. The wind was out of the northwest for a while and has now shifted to the west. Since that time we have experienced water coming in around windows and under doors. The power of the rain blowing horizontally is just awful. We still have power by some miracle although the lights have gone off and on quickly at times. We doubt our sons do. They live amid trees and regular poles providing power. We have underground power and, so far, we are holding on. Downtown still has power too. We still have many hours to go as the winds shift. The eye came just east of downtown so we have been given no relief. This will go on until 6 this afternoon. It is such a huge, broad, storm. They say that if you hear something that sounds like a freight train, get into a closet. Well, all night it has sounded like a freight train. We are weary and scared. We believe our house will hold up ok but the leaks and water coming in on the carpet and wood floor is really disturbing. I've run out of spare towels and I had a ton to start with. The cats are totally freaked so we shut them into the guest bedroom because Foxy kept opening the shutters to look outside to see what all of that racket is. Zachary just kept running around with his tail down. He'd jump every time a huge gust occurred. The metal weather stripping around doors is acting like a reed in a woodwind instrument and all of the doors are creating a micabre concert.
I'll sign off for now. Keep praying for Houston. Over 2 million are now without power and it may be weeks getting it restored, according to the t.v. reporters. One of my friends in Baton Rouge, LA, lost power in Gustav 14 days ago and still does not have power. That is dreadful.
Love to all,
Shirley
http://thedahnreport.blogspot.com/2008/03/wallet-story.html Shirley is the friend that drove me back to Denver from Boulder because she trusted my instincts. I know a lot of you also know Shirley and some, like me, have also met her husband, Stan. In addition we have at least two regular posters that live in Texas, Symply and Kaye. Please send good thoughts, good vibes, prayers, anything you can muster for Shirley, her family, her pets, Symply, Kaye, and all those in the wake of IKE. Here is Shirley's chilling email:
Hi,
It's about 5:20 a.m. and we have had little sleep. The downtown area of Houston has received some of the biggest winds and it is totally frightening. We are 1 mile from downtown. We went to bed at 10 and the major storm rolled in after midnight. It sounds like a freight train and our house shudders at times. We finally got up at 3. The wind was out of the northwest for a while and has now shifted to the west. Since that time we have experienced water coming in around windows and under doors. The power of the rain blowing horizontally is just awful. We still have power by some miracle although the lights have gone off and on quickly at times. We doubt our sons do. They live amid trees and regular poles providing power. We have underground power and, so far, we are holding on. Downtown still has power too. We still have many hours to go as the winds shift. The eye came just east of downtown so we have been given no relief. This will go on until 6 this afternoon. It is such a huge, broad, storm. They say that if you hear something that sounds like a freight train, get into a closet. Well, all night it has sounded like a freight train. We are weary and scared. We believe our house will hold up ok but the leaks and water coming in on the carpet and wood floor is really disturbing. I've run out of spare towels and I had a ton to start with. The cats are totally freaked so we shut them into the guest bedroom because Foxy kept opening the shutters to look outside to see what all of that racket is. Zachary just kept running around with his tail down. He'd jump every time a huge gust occurred. The metal weather stripping around doors is acting like a reed in a woodwind instrument and all of the doors are creating a micabre concert.
I'll sign off for now. Keep praying for Houston. Over 2 million are now without power and it may be weeks getting it restored, according to the t.v. reporters. One of my friends in Baton Rouge, LA, lost power in Gustav 14 days ago and still does not have power. That is dreadful.
Love to all,
Shirley
Friday, September 12, 2008
Blog Block, Tell No One, and an Unusual Household Story
Blog Block is a form of writers block and it is what I have been having lately. My life has stalemated with no new ideas to write about. What I usually do when I have Blog Block is do a movie review and that is what I am doing today, reviewing the French film, Ne le dis à personne , Tell No One. Another thing I did to cure Blog Block is to walk around my townhouse looking for unusual stories to write about and could find but one. The unusual story relates to the sculpture pictured. When I was in my own practice a young man came into my office and said he would like to have a return done but didn't have any money. I asked him what his occupation was and he was an artist. I said "OK, I'll do your return in exchange for you making me something." The return was a really easy return and would have cost him no more than a couple of hundred bucks. . He had gone to something like ten accountants before coming into my office and all of them siad no money, no return. I took a chance. He made me the above sculpture as payment for that return, a sculpture that I've been offered as much as a thousand dollars for. It does often pay to be nice, doesn't it?
Tell No One is a really good film based on a novel by the American author, Harlan Coban. The French film is directed by Guillaume Canet, the script being written by Canet and Phillip Lefebvre and stars Francois Cluzet. Cluzet stars as a doctor, Alex Beck, who has slowly been putting his life back together after his wife Margot was murdered by a serial killer. Eight years later Alex is doing well until he receives an email that appears to be from Margot with a video clip that shows his wife alive and well. The email includes a message that they are both being watched. This was a great movie, five footballs. One Football for the amazing story line. One football for the twist and turns that keep you on the edge of you seat. One football for Cluzet. One football for Kristin Scott Thomas who plays the wife of Alex's sister. One football for the music. If you don't mind subtitles this is a really good film to go see!
Hope this is a great day and agreat weekend for all of you.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
9-11
The photograph to the left greets people as they come in the front door of my townhouse. This was given to me by my sister before 9-11. I've kept and moved it to its current location in memory of 9-11.
This is the first time that the anniversary of 9-11 has arrived since I started the blog and I really don't see how I can go without commenting on it. There were two events in 2001 that changed my life forever and they are somewhat related. I know where a lot of this group was on 9-11-2001, they were either in London or on their way to London. The CompuServe Womens' Issues group held their annual offline meeting in London that year. I was supposed to go but had to cancel when my dad had a stroke and I was needed here. What a lot of you may not remember is that my original reservations were to fly from Portland to New York and then on to London and the date of the flight was 9-11. Had dad not had his stroke I would have either been in or on my way to New York on that tragic day.
After dad's stroke in 2001 Mom was usually in good enough health to stay with dad alone at nights. I did the daytime caregiving. I remember the events of the 10th and 11th like they were yesterday. On the 10th my mom told me that she had the feeling that something major was going to happen and she didn't want to stay alone with dad that night. Over the years we all have learned to listen to mom's premonitions because they are right a good percentage of the time. As an example, when I had that car accident mom and dad were on the way to the accident site before anyone told them of the accident because she just *knew* I was hurt. So on the 10th I listened to Mom and stayed overnight at my parents house. On the 11th I woke up at 5 and went home to feed my cat, turned on the TV. I was stunned. After hugging and petting Katie, I turned around and went back to my parents house and woke up my mom. Later dad tried to get up on his own and fell. It would be the first of many falls for dad. Mom and I got dad up made sure he was OK, took him to the living room, put him in his lift chair, and we all watched the tragic unfoldings.
I can't help but think about how those two events in 2001 have resulted in the country's life parallaling mine. Dad's stroke was the beginning of a lot of tough years for me, 9-11 was the beginning of a lot of tough years for the country. For me there were many trips to the hospital with dad, sometimes trips to the hospital with mom with her two heart attacks and her two strokes, there was a heart scare for me, a cancer scare for me, the death of Katie after seventeen years of faithful companionship, the death of my dad after a liftetime of faithfulness and sometimes I ended up with the caregiving of two parents at the same time. For the country there were two wars, a failed economy, changes in leadership positions and so on.
However, I feel 2008 is a new beginning for both the country and myself. The economy is showing signs of life with the value of the dollar increasing, the real estate market downturn seems to be slowing, the monthly death toll in Iraq is decreasing and there is an exciting election where both candidates are talking change. For myself, my fitness goals are close, I'm the healthiest I've ever been, I'm mentally the happiest I've ever been, I am challenging myself more then I ever have (comedy class) and I am more open then I have ever been to adding a love to my life. I'm excited for both myself and my country.
I am going to close with two things in memory of 9-11-2001, one is a suggestion that you hug or shake hands with a stranger today and the other is to repeat my favorite verse:
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
A peace that is meant to be.
With God as our Father,
Brothers all are we.
Let us live with each other
In peace and harmony.
Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now.
With every breath that I take,
Let this be my solemn vow….
To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace and harmony.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Sy Miller
Jill Jackson
Where were you on 9-11? How did it change you?
Hugs to all!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
If You Aren't Afraid of Failure
You can be successful at anything. That is the way the class started. Good advise in life or in comedy classes. The first question the instructor asked was “how many of you are apprehensive about being here." Half of the class raised their hands. He said we accomplished one goal already by just showing up because they always have several people that register and then don’t show up for the class. Some even pay for the class in advance and still don’t show up.
The first statement and the first question really put me at ease. There were about thirty in the class evenly divided among men and women and across all ages. This class was really for me. A standup class wouldn’t have fit my style near as much as an improv class does. Standup is a scripted routine where you are basically on your own. Much harder and more frigthening. Improv is quick thinking, involving teamwork, responsive humor, unscripted and often laughs result when you aren’t trying to be funny. That is me in a nutshell, quick thinking, responsive humor, and funnier when I am being serious. This class was made for me. As nervous as I was before hand I am now thinking after this eight week class I will take the advance class. After one class I am already confident enough to think about a standup class at some point just to learn something new.
During most of the class we did exercises to help with your memory, concentration, quick thinking, timing etc. To say I had so much fun would be an understatement. Here are three of the ten exercises that we did:
Divide into groups of three. Sit three chairs next to each other. The person in the middle pulls down a photograph from an imaginary album to describe to the person on the left, the person on the left asks you questions about the photograph, while the person on the right every ten to fifteen seconds will give you a math problem to solve. Positions are switched so everyone gets their chance in the middle. I started in the middle and pulled a picture of my mom from the album:
Me: This is my 92 year-old mom she has a mind as sharp as a tack, reads three books a week.
Herb on the left: Does she live with you?
Stuart on the right: what is 9 plus 11
Me: 20. No she still has her own home but currently is in assisted living. She will be going home.
October .
Herb: I imagine being 92 she has some physical ailments.
Stuart: 5 x 9
Me: 45, Yes she does.
This exercise is to improve your concentration while being interrupted. In Improv when on stage you are interrupted and have to continue.
The next exercise was to improve listening skills because in really good improv you have to really listen to what is going on around you. You are paired up sitting directly across from your partner. One of you starts with a sentence. The second person responds with a sentence starting with the last letter of the sentence that he just said.
Carter: Why did you take this class?
Me. Shyness, to get over shyness.
Carter: Seems like a really good reason, I took the class because my roommate took the class and had so much fun doing it.
Me: That is great, have you lived in Oregon a long time?
Carter: Ever since last November, I moved here from Indiana.
Me: Amazing. Welcome to Oregon.
Another exercise was to improve your memory and to help you with remembering names. The group stands in a circle. You are to describe yourself in one word and the word has to begin with the first letter in your name and you must use some type of a body motion to go along with the word. As soon as you are done the next person repeats what the person just said, then describes him/herself then passes to the third person who has to repeat every name and body motion up to the point. Example.
Pat: Personable Pat (holding his hand out in a handshaking motion)
Julie: Pointing at Pat, Personable Pat (holding her hand out in a handshaking motion), Jaguar
Julie (making cat motions with her hand).
Bill: Pointing to Pat, Personable Pat (Holding out hand in handshaking motion), pointing to Julie “Jaguar Julie (making cat motions with his hand), Bashful Bill (covering his face with both hands)
And so on. If you are twentieth person, which I was, nineteen damn motions and names are really hard. I did better with the names then the motions. The cool thing is since teamwork is important in improv so if you forget then the whole class helps you. Also with all exercises during the night if you goof up it was group hug time.
I CAN HARDLY WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK!
The day is on the left, the night is on the right. Which one did I use? I couldn't decide so the day on my left side, the night on my right side.
Kaye requested a picture of my outfit for the night so even though I wanted to wait until I met my goal and I am still twelve pounds away but here is the picture of me in the outfit that my sister bought.
THANKS EVERYONE AND MAY THIS BE A GREAT DAY FOR YOU ALL!
Monday, September 8, 2008
I'm Off
To the class. I didn't cancel, first big step. Made the check out and will give it to them tonight.
I'm having dinner on the way down so have to take off now and will give a full report tomorrow afternoon including if I wore the day or night cologne!
Thank you all for your support! Wish me luck!
I'm having dinner on the way down so have to take off now and will give a full report tomorrow afternoon including if I wore the day or night cologne!
Thank you all for your support! Wish me luck!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The Transformation is Beginning & I'm Scared
The first class isn't until Monday night but I have resdiscovered my ability to obsessively worry about events days, weeks, and sometimes months in advance.
I was really fine until the sister event. I don't really need to shop for clothes. Groceries, suits, cars, shoes definitely but daily wear no. That is because my Mom, sister, and sister-in-law like to dress me. Usually when they buy me clothes it means 1) It is my birthday, 2) It is Christmas, 3) There is a special event coming up or 4) It is a statement (That leisure suit is nice but do you really think it is still in style? Nice Nehru jacket but maybe you should try something different.)
Sister and her husband left here Thursday morning. I didn't really worry about the guest room because sis always leaves things spotless so I didn't check out the guest room until Friday morning. On the bed was a nice new pair of slacks with a nice note (actually it was an order). "Thank you for allowing us to stay with you, here are slacks to wear to your class Monday night" OK, it isn't my birthday, it isn't Christmas, since I gave the leisure suit and the Nehru jacket to Goodwill a couple of months ago it isn't a statement, that means sis is considering the class a special event. Oh, Oh. I immediately went into special event mode, got a haircut, took a picture of the slacks and headed out to Macy's. Stopped by the men's scents counter and the really nice lady there connected me with not one but two bottles of new high quality cologne. One for day. One for night. I didn't really know that there were different colognes for night and day but it is amazing what you can learn when you throw yourself on the mercy of a woman. Azzaro Chrome for day. Azzaro Legend for night. I'm not sure it is good stuff because I put some on and stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Nobody attacked me but the bearded lady from the circus did say hi. After the cologne purchase I took the picture of the slacks and went up to the men clothes section and again begged a woman to help me. Got a really nice shirt that she said went with the slacks. OK, I just need some new shoes to go with the studly outfit. Get those tomorrow.
Part of special event mode is to obsessively worry. I've gotten so good at worrying that I can tell you the exact number of hours that I will be sweating. It is approxmiately sixty hours until the class starts. Sleep equals sixteen hours. Today I am going to a French film, Tell No One. I chose that because it is playing only at one theater and it is in downtown Portland. With travel time and movie time that is five hours. Then two hours a day on the blog. One hour listening to a podcast. Brunch with Ted Sunday morning five hours, we have a lot to say. Taking mom to lunch and shopping, four hours. Reading the daily newspaper, an hour a day. Walking is an hour a day. The driving range is also an hour a day. That leaves fourteen hours of worry and sweat.
Any suggestions what I can do during those fourteen hours to take my mind off of future events? I would really prefer that you don't suggest skydiving or a body wax but other than that I am open for suggestions.
I was really fine until the sister event. I don't really need to shop for clothes. Groceries, suits, cars, shoes definitely but daily wear no. That is because my Mom, sister, and sister-in-law like to dress me. Usually when they buy me clothes it means 1) It is my birthday, 2) It is Christmas, 3) There is a special event coming up or 4) It is a statement (That leisure suit is nice but do you really think it is still in style? Nice Nehru jacket but maybe you should try something different.)
Sister and her husband left here Thursday morning. I didn't really worry about the guest room because sis always leaves things spotless so I didn't check out the guest room until Friday morning. On the bed was a nice new pair of slacks with a nice note (actually it was an order). "Thank you for allowing us to stay with you, here are slacks to wear to your class Monday night" OK, it isn't my birthday, it isn't Christmas, since I gave the leisure suit and the Nehru jacket to Goodwill a couple of months ago it isn't a statement, that means sis is considering the class a special event. Oh, Oh. I immediately went into special event mode, got a haircut, took a picture of the slacks and headed out to Macy's. Stopped by the men's scents counter and the really nice lady there connected me with not one but two bottles of new high quality cologne. One for day. One for night. I didn't really know that there were different colognes for night and day but it is amazing what you can learn when you throw yourself on the mercy of a woman. Azzaro Chrome for day. Azzaro Legend for night. I'm not sure it is good stuff because I put some on and stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Nobody attacked me but the bearded lady from the circus did say hi. After the cologne purchase I took the picture of the slacks and went up to the men clothes section and again begged a woman to help me. Got a really nice shirt that she said went with the slacks. OK, I just need some new shoes to go with the studly outfit. Get those tomorrow.
Part of special event mode is to obsessively worry. I've gotten so good at worrying that I can tell you the exact number of hours that I will be sweating. It is approxmiately sixty hours until the class starts. Sleep equals sixteen hours. Today I am going to a French film, Tell No One. I chose that because it is playing only at one theater and it is in downtown Portland. With travel time and movie time that is five hours. Then two hours a day on the blog. One hour listening to a podcast. Brunch with Ted Sunday morning five hours, we have a lot to say. Taking mom to lunch and shopping, four hours. Reading the daily newspaper, an hour a day. Walking is an hour a day. The driving range is also an hour a day. That leaves fourteen hours of worry and sweat.
Any suggestions what I can do during those fourteen hours to take my mind off of future events? I would really prefer that you don't suggest skydiving or a body wax but other than that I am open for suggestions.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Laughter
I think we all need to laugh more so I am declaring today joke day on the blog. Post jokes here. Who knows you may catch me in a week moment and I may give a prize for the best jokes. They can be groan jokes like:
Do you know how to make a Swiss Roll? Push him down the Alps.
Or they can be from a comedy routine of one of your favorite comedians. Like from Larry the Cable Guy, these are curtesy of Kaye:
1.) On the other hand, you have different fingers.
2.) 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
3.) He who laughs last, thinks slowest
4.) Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
5.) Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
6.) How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
Do you know how to make a Swiss Roll? Push him down the Alps.
Or they can be from a comedy routine of one of your favorite comedians. Like from Larry the Cable Guy, these are curtesy of Kaye:
1.) On the other hand, you have different fingers.
2.) 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
3.) He who laughs last, thinks slowest
4.) Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
5.) Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
6.) How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
Or it can be a bumper sticker that you saw like the following:
Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
And what about personal stories? Surely you have had funny things that have happened to you in your life. Now is the time to share them.
OK, it is your turn to make us laugh and maybe win a prize!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Labor Day, Encore Careers, Beginnings, Endings.
First, the facts
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday. Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and compared to the May 1 Labour Day celebrations in most countries; parades, speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key, although events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office, especially in election years. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events.
Now The Reality.
When when we were growing up Labor Day was both an end and a beginning. It was an end of summer. The end of pickup baseball games, trips to Disneyland, San Francisco, Yellowstone or just plain camping. The end of play. It was also a beginning, the beginning of a new school year where you connected with old friends and met new ones.
I was thinking a lot of beginnings and ends today when I first got up and then in the paper was an article titled "When 'Encore Careers' Call. It was all about people in their forties, fifties, sixties, and even seventies ending life long careers and going back to community college to learn new ones. According to a statistic in the article one-sixth of students taking credit classes are over forty. This is really striking. Read this really fun and informative article here:
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday. Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and compared to the May 1 Labour Day celebrations in most countries; parades, speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key, although events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office, especially in election years. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events.
Now The Reality.
When when we were growing up Labor Day was both an end and a beginning. It was an end of summer. The end of pickup baseball games, trips to Disneyland, San Francisco, Yellowstone or just plain camping. The end of play. It was also a beginning, the beginning of a new school year where you connected with old friends and met new ones.
I was thinking a lot of beginnings and ends today when I first got up and then in the paper was an article titled "When 'Encore Careers' Call. It was all about people in their forties, fifties, sixties, and even seventies ending life long careers and going back to community college to learn new ones. According to a statistic in the article one-sixth of students taking credit classes are over forty. This is really striking. Read this really fun and informative article here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1220055906320310.xml&coll=7
Thinking about my own life I've decided there are several beginnings and ends. The comedy class that I have already talked to much about and will bore you to death with the next eight weeks is certainly a beginning of a new phase of life. It will also, hopefully, be an ending, an end to excuriating shyness which could lead to new beginnings in other areas of my life.
Since we talk about caregiving I can see some beginnings and endings in caregiving. With dad each day was like a new beginning because we never really knew what man we would get or where he would be. Some days he would be in the here and now, some days he would be in his childhood. I always viewed it as tragic but maybe if I had viewed each day as a new beginning I could have handled it better.
With Mom, most days seem the same. While she reads two books a week, plays bridge, bingo, etc. she seems mostly maintaing as oppossed to beginning something new. She seems mostly waiting for the end, the real end. Makes me wonder if I can direct her towards something new to learn. Maybe I can get her to take up painting again.
The question of the day is what do you see ending in your life if not now, in the near future, and what do you see beginning if not now, in the near future. Also what do you see beginning and ending in the elderly parent that you are caring for?
Wishing you all happy endings and challenging beginnings!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Question of The Day
My favorite posts are the ones that are interactive and the ones where I get to learn more about you.
A couple of things first. I have gone from being scared about the comedy class to being excited about it because of the positive feedback I am getting and sometimes the feedback comes from the least expected source. My sister told my mom she thought it was a great idea, quoting sis to mom "this could be a new career for him, he is really funny." I'm not looking for a new career just more confidence. The weird thing is that the support from all of you here, from family, and friends has already given me more confidence. So part of the goal has been met just by thinking about the class! Thank you all for that.
Tomorrow mom and I are going to church. The minister that we have had for several years is embarking on a new career and tomorrow will be his last Sunday. We want to support him in his new endeavor, say good bye, and wish him luck.
Today it is football city. A friend invited me to the Portland State vs. Western Oregon football game at 1 today. Of course we have to go early to experience the tailgating! Should make for a fun day.
Now the question of the day. Let say you are sitting home quietly enjoying the evening and the phone rings. The regular speaker for church, book club, women's club, Rotary Club, etc. has canceled their appearance on one day's notice and they have asked you to fill in. What would you give your speech/sermon on? Mine would be one of two, Never Give Up or Love Yourself.
OK, your turn.
May you love yourself today!
A couple of things first. I have gone from being scared about the comedy class to being excited about it because of the positive feedback I am getting and sometimes the feedback comes from the least expected source. My sister told my mom she thought it was a great idea, quoting sis to mom "this could be a new career for him, he is really funny." I'm not looking for a new career just more confidence. The weird thing is that the support from all of you here, from family, and friends has already given me more confidence. So part of the goal has been met just by thinking about the class! Thank you all for that.
Tomorrow mom and I are going to church. The minister that we have had for several years is embarking on a new career and tomorrow will be his last Sunday. We want to support him in his new endeavor, say good bye, and wish him luck.
Today it is football city. A friend invited me to the Portland State vs. Western Oregon football game at 1 today. Of course we have to go early to experience the tailgating! Should make for a fun day.
Now the question of the day. Let say you are sitting home quietly enjoying the evening and the phone rings. The regular speaker for church, book club, women's club, Rotary Club, etc. has canceled their appearance on one day's notice and they have asked you to fill in. What would you give your speech/sermon on? Mine would be one of two, Never Give Up or Love Yourself.
OK, your turn.
May you love yourself today!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Waiver, Epitaths, and Who Will Succeed Me?
I registered for the comedy class and they sent me a waiver to sign. It looks like this class may be dangerous and I may not survive all eight weeks of it alive.
http://www.comedysportz.com/portland/waiver_form.pdf
Of course since I want to take the class I am going to sign the waiver. However, since it may be a killer class it brings up several questions.
What do you think my epitath should be? (Maybe "he died laughing")
What one phrase would you use for an epitath that would either define you or your life?
And if I don't survive the class which one of you would like to take over my blog and keep it going? Maybe a relay team with each one of you taking a week, that way the blog could keep going for a few weeks after my demise.
The waiver has me contemplating so many things!
May this be a great day for all of you!
http://www.comedysportz.com/portland/waiver_form.pdf
Of course since I want to take the class I am going to sign the waiver. However, since it may be a killer class it brings up several questions.
What do you think my epitath should be? (Maybe "he died laughing")
What one phrase would you use for an epitath that would either define you or your life?
And if I don't survive the class which one of you would like to take over my blog and keep it going? Maybe a relay team with each one of you taking a week, that way the blog could keep going for a few weeks after my demise.
The waiver has me contemplating so many things!
May this be a great day for all of you!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Handicapping Dancing With The Stars 7.
In the order of first eliminated.
All Pro Football player Warren Sapp and my favorite Kym Johnson (met her at a tour)
Comedian Jeffrey Ross and the body Edyta Sliwinska
81 year-old actress Gloris Leachman and Corky Ballas (Mark's dad)
Ted McGinley, Happy Days Actor, and new pro Inna Brayer
Reality actress and despicable human being Kim Kardashian and pro Mark Ballas
Singer Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer. Pat you should remember the new pro, Lacey, she was a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance.
Susan Lucci , 61, All My Children Actress and pr o Tony Dovolani.
Model, hostess Brook Burke and Derek Hough.
Pop Singer Toni Braxton and Alex Mazo
Freguent Top Chef guest judge Rocco DiSpirito
Cody Linley, 18, of Hannah Montana and Julianne Hough
Olympic Medalist once deemed the fastest man in the world, Maurice Greene and pro
Cheryl Burke.
And the winner is:
Olympic medalist and volley ball star Misty May-Treanor and pro Makism Cherkovsky
I reserve the right to update my picks after each week.
So what does everyone else think?
All Pro Football player Warren Sapp and my favorite Kym Johnson (met her at a tour)
Comedian Jeffrey Ross and the body Edyta Sliwinska
81 year-old actress Gloris Leachman and Corky Ballas (Mark's dad)
Ted McGinley, Happy Days Actor, and new pro Inna Brayer
Reality actress and despicable human being Kim Kardashian and pro Mark Ballas
Singer Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer. Pat you should remember the new pro, Lacey, she was a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance.
Susan Lucci , 61, All My Children Actress and pr o Tony Dovolani.
Model, hostess Brook Burke and Derek Hough.
Pop Singer Toni Braxton and Alex Mazo
Freguent Top Chef guest judge Rocco DiSpirito
Cody Linley, 18, of Hannah Montana and Julianne Hough
Olympic Medalist once deemed the fastest man in the world, Maurice Greene and pro
Cheryl Burke.
And the winner is:
Olympic medalist and volley ball star Misty May-Treanor and pro Makism Cherkovsky
I reserve the right to update my picks after each week.
So what does everyone else think?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Who Inspires You?
I made the comment that generally throughout my life that women inspired me and men disappointed me. Sure there were some exceptions to that rule, my dad, the dean of men in high school who trusted me completely without any strings attached, and the doctor that stood faithfully beside me during the eight year recovery. However, generally there never has been a truer statement about my life.
Here is part of a message Lady Dr posted in response to my claim:
Interesting, your comment that, generally,women have inspired and men disappointed. With a couple of exceptions, I've found just the opposite. Men have inspired and even "pushed" me to test and try and explore, while women have often discouraged or explained (sometimes at length) why it "couldn't be."As I say, there have been exceptions, CJ certainly being one and some of the S16 group, but by and large it's been men who've provided me motivation and support. I don't think this is the place to get into that -- you have plenty of response! -- but it might be an interesting issue to explore in the future, do you think? I mean, are you and I "strange" or have others found the same to be true. Not that we can have a balanced discussion, since we don't seem to have other guys here... and that raises another interesting question of "how come?" You can't be the only intelligent, sensitive man on the earth who's capable of communication, can you? Then again...
OK two questions everyone. When you look at your life, then and now, who inspires you the most men or women? Why don't you think there are more men posting on this blog?
I'm looking forward to your answers.
Here is part of a message Lady Dr posted in response to my claim:
Interesting, your comment that, generally,women have inspired and men disappointed. With a couple of exceptions, I've found just the opposite. Men have inspired and even "pushed" me to test and try and explore, while women have often discouraged or explained (sometimes at length) why it "couldn't be."As I say, there have been exceptions, CJ certainly being one and some of the S16 group, but by and large it's been men who've provided me motivation and support. I don't think this is the place to get into that -- you have plenty of response! -- but it might be an interesting issue to explore in the future, do you think? I mean, are you and I "strange" or have others found the same to be true. Not that we can have a balanced discussion, since we don't seem to have other guys here... and that raises another interesting question of "how come?" You can't be the only intelligent, sensitive man on the earth who's capable of communication, can you? Then again...
OK two questions everyone. When you look at your life, then and now, who inspires you the most men or women? Why don't you think there are more men posting on this blog?
I'm looking forward to your answers.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Should I Go Out of My Comfort Zone?
I apologize in advance for the length of this post but I am going to ask your help in me making what very well could be a life changing decision and you deserve all the facts before giving me that help.
The last time I went out of my comfort zone I started this blog. What some of you might not know is that I am an extremely private person that has a very difficult time talking about his emotions. That is why I started the blog, to learn how to put my emotions out there, to improve my writing skills, to meet new people, and to get some feedback. Letting go of my privacy issues on some days has been really difficult but when I've done it, it has been really rewarding. Although the blog is out of my comfort zone it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. All of you have taught me that sharing my feelings won't get me killed, quite the contrary it will result in support of some wonderful women out there. Mary, Mary Z, Lady DR, Dona, Lisa, Kaye, Bev, Sian, Kim, Janet, Pat, Ellen, Symply, Snugpug, Shirley, and numerous others have been a treasure to have here. I cannot tell you how much you have helped me and how much of a better man I am for knowing each and everyone of you. Going out of my comfort zone worked once, can it twice? And on a much larger scale?
I've been thinking a lot about my life and I have come to the conclusion that women inspire me and men usually disappoint me (Dad being the exception). I am thinking about going way outside of my comfort zone because once again two women have inspired me. The words of one woman that I know and the actions of a woman I don't know, have never met, and probably will never meet have inspired me to the point that I am seriously considering doing something completely outside of my comfort zone. At the end of this post I want you all to tell me should I stretch the limit of my pysche or find another venue a little less outside my comfort zone?
Mary when I asked what I could do to make my blog better you posted a comment that has had a huge impact on me. That comment was that in person that I was one of the funniest men that you know. That comment made me feel great and is a big part of me seriously considering taking comedy classes. I truly would rather have all ten fingers and ten toes amputated then ever get in front of an audience but you have a least given me the strength to consider it.
Now the woman that I don't know, have never met, and probably will never meet used to be a co-hostess of a radio show and now is a co-hostess of a podcast. I'm not doing names because I just think it could be perceived as unethical that I might be using her name to build up my blog traffic. That isn't and never will be me. I love the podcasts, it is five women hosting a tri-weekly podcast. The podcasts are often informative and more often very funny. Here is a link to their podcasts, http://www.satellitesisters.com/audio.html. One of their funniest segments is called The Lab Rats, where two of the hostesses test consumer products. Here is a link to that segment of the show, http://www.satellitesisters.com/labrats.html.
I started listening to them on the radio last October. I've learned something from all five of the hostesses but I gravitated towards one because she is so open about her life and her life seems to be the most like mine. A wicked self-depreciating sense of humor, somewhat insecure, and seemingly not much direction in her life. Like the female me. She mentioned on one of her podcasts in late March that she was taking comedy classes. Watching from afar her transformation from then to now has been really an eye opener for me. Here is her final exam, her own standup gig.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1740031522
What I see in that video is a self-confident woman that knows exactly what she wants. I think she has the level of talent that she will eventually be a pretty well known comic.
Combining Mary's words with the above lady's transformation has lead me to really think about how I can obtain what I want in life. When I walk into an IRS audit I walk in with the attitude that my client is in the best hands that they could possibly be in and when I leave that room I will leave it with the auditor's respect and the client's loyalty. I want that kind of confidence in my social life. I've come to the conclusion that if I want someone in my life there is a better chance if I ask someone for a date. I just have to get to the point that if I ask someone there is no way they can say no.
Which brings me to the class that I am thinking about taking. Here is a link with some information about it http://www.portlandcomedy.com/workshops/index.html
I'm not looking for a new career. I'm not looking for a new venue to express myself. I'm looking to be a better and more confident person. I'm also looking for more direction in my life. Maybe improve my creativity and writing. Can this class do it for me?
Starting this blog was like jumping off a three foot cliff, taking a comedy class is like jumping out of an airplane at 20,000 feet. What will you all think of me if I sign up for the class then after two weeks drop out in a pool of sweat?
The blog is now in your hands. This one time I'm not asking for kindness and niceness, I want brutal honesty. If you think this is one of the stupidiest ideas that I've ever considered and completely wrong for me by all means say so.
The last time I went out of my comfort zone I started this blog. What some of you might not know is that I am an extremely private person that has a very difficult time talking about his emotions. That is why I started the blog, to learn how to put my emotions out there, to improve my writing skills, to meet new people, and to get some feedback. Letting go of my privacy issues on some days has been really difficult but when I've done it, it has been really rewarding. Although the blog is out of my comfort zone it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. All of you have taught me that sharing my feelings won't get me killed, quite the contrary it will result in support of some wonderful women out there. Mary, Mary Z, Lady DR, Dona, Lisa, Kaye, Bev, Sian, Kim, Janet, Pat, Ellen, Symply, Snugpug, Shirley, and numerous others have been a treasure to have here. I cannot tell you how much you have helped me and how much of a better man I am for knowing each and everyone of you. Going out of my comfort zone worked once, can it twice? And on a much larger scale?
I've been thinking a lot about my life and I have come to the conclusion that women inspire me and men usually disappoint me (Dad being the exception). I am thinking about going way outside of my comfort zone because once again two women have inspired me. The words of one woman that I know and the actions of a woman I don't know, have never met, and probably will never meet have inspired me to the point that I am seriously considering doing something completely outside of my comfort zone. At the end of this post I want you all to tell me should I stretch the limit of my pysche or find another venue a little less outside my comfort zone?
Mary when I asked what I could do to make my blog better you posted a comment that has had a huge impact on me. That comment was that in person that I was one of the funniest men that you know. That comment made me feel great and is a big part of me seriously considering taking comedy classes. I truly would rather have all ten fingers and ten toes amputated then ever get in front of an audience but you have a least given me the strength to consider it.
Now the woman that I don't know, have never met, and probably will never meet used to be a co-hostess of a radio show and now is a co-hostess of a podcast. I'm not doing names because I just think it could be perceived as unethical that I might be using her name to build up my blog traffic. That isn't and never will be me. I love the podcasts, it is five women hosting a tri-weekly podcast. The podcasts are often informative and more often very funny. Here is a link to their podcasts, http://www.satellitesisters.com/audio.html. One of their funniest segments is called The Lab Rats, where two of the hostesses test consumer products. Here is a link to that segment of the show, http://www.satellitesisters.com/labrats.html.
I started listening to them on the radio last October. I've learned something from all five of the hostesses but I gravitated towards one because she is so open about her life and her life seems to be the most like mine. A wicked self-depreciating sense of humor, somewhat insecure, and seemingly not much direction in her life. Like the female me. She mentioned on one of her podcasts in late March that she was taking comedy classes. Watching from afar her transformation from then to now has been really an eye opener for me. Here is her final exam, her own standup gig.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1740031522
What I see in that video is a self-confident woman that knows exactly what she wants. I think she has the level of talent that she will eventually be a pretty well known comic.
Combining Mary's words with the above lady's transformation has lead me to really think about how I can obtain what I want in life. When I walk into an IRS audit I walk in with the attitude that my client is in the best hands that they could possibly be in and when I leave that room I will leave it with the auditor's respect and the client's loyalty. I want that kind of confidence in my social life. I've come to the conclusion that if I want someone in my life there is a better chance if I ask someone for a date. I just have to get to the point that if I ask someone there is no way they can say no.
Which brings me to the class that I am thinking about taking. Here is a link with some information about it http://www.portlandcomedy.com/workshops/index.html
I'm not looking for a new career. I'm not looking for a new venue to express myself. I'm looking to be a better and more confident person. I'm also looking for more direction in my life. Maybe improve my creativity and writing. Can this class do it for me?
Starting this blog was like jumping off a three foot cliff, taking a comedy class is like jumping out of an airplane at 20,000 feet. What will you all think of me if I sign up for the class then after two weeks drop out in a pool of sweat?
The blog is now in your hands. This one time I'm not asking for kindness and niceness, I want brutal honesty. If you think this is one of the stupidiest ideas that I've ever considered and completely wrong for me by all means say so.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Busy But Boring
Life has been pretty busy with a lot of company and a lot of meetings so there really hasn't been a lot to write about the past few days. Today I am just posting miscellaneous items about the week that was.
Here was an article in yesterday's The Oregonian about the company that owns the assisted living center where mother is at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/debt_weighs_down_assisted_livi.html
I don't agree with the representative of Sun West as I think their financial straits has affected the care of residents. It shows up in several ways. One is the diet. The diet they now have is a terrible diet for anyone let alone senior citizens. I have a hunch the diet is the way it is because of cost cutting. It also shows up in staff turnover. They don't pay well and don't have any benefits so as soon as a better job comes along the residential aides are gone. It also shows up in the facility being short staffed. I am hoping that now the financial straits of the company is out in the open that the publicity will force them to at least improve their diet options.
I was at mom's facility a couple of times last week for meals. One expected, one unexpected. I am learning that senior citizens are really recycled college students living in a dorm with all the social clashes that the college dorm had. At the facility where mom is at they have the main building which is where the assisted living portion of the facility is. Outside of the building they have cottages which are independent living. The insiders get three meals a day, the cottages get one meal a day. Mom has become friends with a couple that live in the cottage and they always sit together for lunch. At dinner mom sits with a different couple. Both couples are very nice but I found out somewhat territorial. When I had lunch with mom on Monday we sat with the cottage couple. Wow did the dinner couple ever get hurt and upset that I didn't sit with them. So in order of peace in the world and assisted living centers, I went out to dinner at mom's the next night and sat with the dinner couple. Whew, tragedy avoided.
Wednesday we met with the guy that is going to remodel mom's house. That took a couple of hours. I really like what is going to be done because it is basically going to turn a somewhat unusable den into a third bedroom. I'm kind of excited about it and so is mom.
Yesterday my nephew, my brother's son, and his wife visited mom and I. My nephew is the one that I have kind of become a surrogate dad to. They live a couple of hours from here in a city, Eugene, that is the home of the University of Oregon. The reason they are here is that my nephew has a job interview today. The plant that he worked at for twenty years as an engineer in Eugene closed and left over 200 people unemployed. My nephew has already interviewed in Wyoming and was offered a job there. He hasn't really decided whether or not he wants to move so decided to explore one opportunity in Portland before making a decision. Your prayers and good thoughts or welcome.
Which brings us to my brother. Your prayers and good thoughts certainly helped him. Remember he tore the ligaments in his leg playing tennis and was to be on crutches for more than ten weeks. He had never had a serious injury before so we were concerned he would get bored and reinjure himself. Didn't happen. He went to the doctor Monday. Bro has been doing everything the doctor has said to do and it has paid off. After just six weeks he is "boot only" which means he is off of crutches in just six short weeks. Way to go folks!!
In a future blog post I may be asking you to help keep from doing something really stupid that I am seriously considering doing unless of course you don't think it is stupid and encourage me to do it then I will be really confused! I am not sure when that post will be as I have to really reconcile what I am considering doing in my own mind. Stay tuned.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Here was an article in yesterday's The Oregonian about the company that owns the assisted living center where mother is at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/debt_weighs_down_assisted_livi.html
I don't agree with the representative of Sun West as I think their financial straits has affected the care of residents. It shows up in several ways. One is the diet. The diet they now have is a terrible diet for anyone let alone senior citizens. I have a hunch the diet is the way it is because of cost cutting. It also shows up in staff turnover. They don't pay well and don't have any benefits so as soon as a better job comes along the residential aides are gone. It also shows up in the facility being short staffed. I am hoping that now the financial straits of the company is out in the open that the publicity will force them to at least improve their diet options.
I was at mom's facility a couple of times last week for meals. One expected, one unexpected. I am learning that senior citizens are really recycled college students living in a dorm with all the social clashes that the college dorm had. At the facility where mom is at they have the main building which is where the assisted living portion of the facility is. Outside of the building they have cottages which are independent living. The insiders get three meals a day, the cottages get one meal a day. Mom has become friends with a couple that live in the cottage and they always sit together for lunch. At dinner mom sits with a different couple. Both couples are very nice but I found out somewhat territorial. When I had lunch with mom on Monday we sat with the cottage couple. Wow did the dinner couple ever get hurt and upset that I didn't sit with them. So in order of peace in the world and assisted living centers, I went out to dinner at mom's the next night and sat with the dinner couple. Whew, tragedy avoided.
Wednesday we met with the guy that is going to remodel mom's house. That took a couple of hours. I really like what is going to be done because it is basically going to turn a somewhat unusable den into a third bedroom. I'm kind of excited about it and so is mom.
Yesterday my nephew, my brother's son, and his wife visited mom and I. My nephew is the one that I have kind of become a surrogate dad to. They live a couple of hours from here in a city, Eugene, that is the home of the University of Oregon. The reason they are here is that my nephew has a job interview today. The plant that he worked at for twenty years as an engineer in Eugene closed and left over 200 people unemployed. My nephew has already interviewed in Wyoming and was offered a job there. He hasn't really decided whether or not he wants to move so decided to explore one opportunity in Portland before making a decision. Your prayers and good thoughts or welcome.
Which brings us to my brother. Your prayers and good thoughts certainly helped him. Remember he tore the ligaments in his leg playing tennis and was to be on crutches for more than ten weeks. He had never had a serious injury before so we were concerned he would get bored and reinjure himself. Didn't happen. He went to the doctor Monday. Bro has been doing everything the doctor has said to do and it has paid off. After just six weeks he is "boot only" which means he is off of crutches in just six short weeks. Way to go folks!!
In a future blog post I may be asking you to help keep from doing something really stupid that I am seriously considering doing unless of course you don't think it is stupid and encourage me to do it then I will be really confused! I am not sure when that post will be as I have to really reconcile what I am considering doing in my own mind. Stay tuned.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pictures of Some Things In The Trunk
Hi everyone. In the trunk was an envelope with stuff that was my Great Grandfather and my Great Grandmother's stuff. My Great Grandfather was a stage coach driver in the South Dakota territories. During his stint as a stage coach driver he became friends with Sitting Bull. There were letters between the two in the trunk. Great Grandfather visited Sitting Bull when Sitting Bull was in jail. While in jail Sitting Bull made a purse for my Great Grandfather. I have that purse in a safe deposit box. Some of you have already seen a picture of the purse but I am adding the purse picture to the pictures of the stuff found in the trunk because it fits in so well.
Ok here we go.
This is a picture of my Great Grandmother's going to church purse. During those days the purse
was worn around and dangled from the wrist:
This is the picture of the purse made by Sitting Bull for my Greatn Grandfather. It was authincated by the Native American Museum in South Dakota as his work. It is completely hand made. Isn't it beautiful?
I thought about holding a contest where you would guess what some of this stuff was but then I thought nobody would know. This is a boot buttoner. Great Grandfather used it to button their boots:
This is Great Grandfather's shaver:
Anyone know what this is? It is a Great Grandfather's letter opener:
These are my Great Grandmother's reading glasses:
Ok here we go.
This is a picture of my Great Grandmother's going to church purse. During those days the purse
was worn around and dangled from the wrist:
This is the picture of the purse made by Sitting Bull for my Greatn Grandfather. It was authincated by the Native American Museum in South Dakota as his work. It is completely hand made. Isn't it beautiful?
I thought about holding a contest where you would guess what some of this stuff was but then I thought nobody would know. This is a boot buttoner. Great Grandfather used it to button their boots:
This is a pen. Really a quill. Great Grandfather used it in his duties as a stage coach driver to sign for documents he picked up to deliver:
This is Great Grandfather's shaver:
Anyone know what this is? It is a Great Grandfather's letter opener:
These are my Great Grandmother's reading glasses:
May this be a day of finding treasures for you.
He Really Loved Her
First, Mom has decided to stay in assisted living until October 15. Then unless things change with her health she will move home. This will give us time to remodel her house and also in a month the picture will be clearer about what is up with sister and her house.
Second, as you all know every Friday we have be going to mom's house and going through things to either throw away, give to a relative, or to give to goodwill. Friday we came across this trunk that turned out to be a gold mine. Tomorrow you get pictures of treasures, today you get emotion because some of the things we found were quite touching. If you stick with me the title of the post will become very clear at the end of this post.
Besides letters from Sitting Bull to my great grandfather in the trunk there were letters from mom's students telling her what a great teacher she was and how she had impacted them. After some hurtful statements from my sister during the phone call deciding what to do about mom's move this was like a miracle drug to change Mom's emotions from sad to happy. There were also many letters from the three of us kids to mom and dad telling them what great parents they were. This was a very good timing find.
When I was in high school my brother's best friend was Ronnie H.. My brother and him were the backfield on the football team. They helped form the best team that our high school had in years. The paper referred to them as "the dynamic duo". I played but not often, I have good athletic skills but you needed great skills to play on that team. The coach was always lecturing my brother and Ronnie, "if either one of you had Bill's drive or will to win or Bill had your talent there never would be anyone to set the records you could accomplish." Of course those kind of statements didn't help me. It lead to brother and Ronnie torturing and making insane fun of me on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. So naturally I didn't think Ronnie liked me and I didn't really like him. In the trunk was a letter from Ronnie to my parents. It was when I was recovering from the car accident. It was an eye opener, here is part of it "I know Bill will recover fully. He has such strong emotional character. I've watched him in life in general and in sports competitions. He never makes a big deal of it but he always gets the job done." The kid that made a career out of making fun of me had such a good opinion of me. What an eye opener, you just never know do you?
Now about the real treasure that was in the trunk. There was a letter in it from my dad to my mom's mom telling her that mom was on the train heading home and that she took the news that her dad wasn't going to live like the amazing woman he knew she was. There were also letters from my dad to my mom. Love letters. Heart piercing love letters. Emotions I never thought my dad had. Funny, warm, but most of all very romantic. Those letters left no doubt that my dad loved mom and loved her exclusively. They did bring many tears to my eyes. Many people have said I am like my dad and I always took it as a compliment, it is even more of a compliment now. Just as an example of how dad loved mom I am going to end with a proverb that dad ended some of his letters to mom with. "A great lover doesn't romance a different woman every night, a great lover romances one woman for a lifetime." Then dad would had "you are that woman for me." How romantic is that?
Tomorrow you get pictures. May this be a romantic day for all of you.
Second, as you all know every Friday we have be going to mom's house and going through things to either throw away, give to a relative, or to give to goodwill. Friday we came across this trunk that turned out to be a gold mine. Tomorrow you get pictures of treasures, today you get emotion because some of the things we found were quite touching. If you stick with me the title of the post will become very clear at the end of this post.
Besides letters from Sitting Bull to my great grandfather in the trunk there were letters from mom's students telling her what a great teacher she was and how she had impacted them. After some hurtful statements from my sister during the phone call deciding what to do about mom's move this was like a miracle drug to change Mom's emotions from sad to happy. There were also many letters from the three of us kids to mom and dad telling them what great parents they were. This was a very good timing find.
When I was in high school my brother's best friend was Ronnie H.. My brother and him were the backfield on the football team. They helped form the best team that our high school had in years. The paper referred to them as "the dynamic duo". I played but not often, I have good athletic skills but you needed great skills to play on that team. The coach was always lecturing my brother and Ronnie, "if either one of you had Bill's drive or will to win or Bill had your talent there never would be anyone to set the records you could accomplish." Of course those kind of statements didn't help me. It lead to brother and Ronnie torturing and making insane fun of me on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. So naturally I didn't think Ronnie liked me and I didn't really like him. In the trunk was a letter from Ronnie to my parents. It was when I was recovering from the car accident. It was an eye opener, here is part of it "I know Bill will recover fully. He has such strong emotional character. I've watched him in life in general and in sports competitions. He never makes a big deal of it but he always gets the job done." The kid that made a career out of making fun of me had such a good opinion of me. What an eye opener, you just never know do you?
Now about the real treasure that was in the trunk. There was a letter in it from my dad to my mom's mom telling her that mom was on the train heading home and that she took the news that her dad wasn't going to live like the amazing woman he knew she was. There were also letters from my dad to my mom. Love letters. Heart piercing love letters. Emotions I never thought my dad had. Funny, warm, but most of all very romantic. Those letters left no doubt that my dad loved mom and loved her exclusively. They did bring many tears to my eyes. Many people have said I am like my dad and I always took it as a compliment, it is even more of a compliment now. Just as an example of how dad loved mom I am going to end with a proverb that dad ended some of his letters to mom with. "A great lover doesn't romance a different woman every night, a great lover romances one woman for a lifetime." Then dad would had "you are that woman for me." How romantic is that?
Tomorrow you get pictures. May this be a romantic day for all of you.
Friday, August 15, 2008
No Pain, No Gain
Most of you know about the accident that left my left foot partially paralyzed. It doesn't keep me from doing things it just makes it harder for me to do those things. I can dance, but with limited movement in the foot it makes it harder for me to dance than those with normal movement in their foot. I can run but again with limited movement, it makes it harder for me to run than the normal dudes.
Another problem is sometimes with limited circulation there will be blisters or sores on the foot that have to be surgically removed. I usally have it done twice a year. It is an out patient surgery and really doesn't take very long but it keeps me inactive for a day. After the office visit I am requested by the doctor to stay off of my foot for 24 hours and to use a cane for a day to take the weight off. After the 24 hours I am back to the way I was before. So that is where I was yesterday. Sitting in an easy chair finishing the Harlen Coban novel and hobbling around my house.
At the doctor yesterday I got some absolutely amazing news. Good news. I have always had feeling in the left foot but that feeling is mostly pain, not really severe pain more like a minor toothache. In the past two months that pain has intensified. Some days really intense mind blowing pain. Before the procedure/surgery yesterday I brought it up with the doctor. It turns out that the pain is a great thing. After all these years the nerves are starting to regenerate and I am getting both more feeling and more movement in the foot!! It will never be a 100% but the doctor thinks it may get up to as much as 80% from about the 40% it is now. The doctor has no idea why the nerves started to regenerate, it could be all the walking, it could be the weight loss, or it simply could be a miracle. I really don't care why, I am just happy about this. I've never felt better about pain! I am so excited I can hardly type this. I did want to share this with my friends here. Thank you all for being a part of my life!
May miracles happen for you today!
Another problem is sometimes with limited circulation there will be blisters or sores on the foot that have to be surgically removed. I usally have it done twice a year. It is an out patient surgery and really doesn't take very long but it keeps me inactive for a day. After the office visit I am requested by the doctor to stay off of my foot for 24 hours and to use a cane for a day to take the weight off. After the 24 hours I am back to the way I was before. So that is where I was yesterday. Sitting in an easy chair finishing the Harlen Coban novel and hobbling around my house.
At the doctor yesterday I got some absolutely amazing news. Good news. I have always had feeling in the left foot but that feeling is mostly pain, not really severe pain more like a minor toothache. In the past two months that pain has intensified. Some days really intense mind blowing pain. Before the procedure/surgery yesterday I brought it up with the doctor. It turns out that the pain is a great thing. After all these years the nerves are starting to regenerate and I am getting both more feeling and more movement in the foot!! It will never be a 100% but the doctor thinks it may get up to as much as 80% from about the 40% it is now. The doctor has no idea why the nerves started to regenerate, it could be all the walking, it could be the weight loss, or it simply could be a miracle. I really don't care why, I am just happy about this. I've never felt better about pain! I am so excited I can hardly type this. I did want to share this with my friends here. Thank you all for being a part of my life!
May miracles happen for you today!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Miscellaneous Notes
Not much going on in the Dahn household today except for a pretty important meeting tonight which I will report on later in this entry but first a couple of miscellaneous notes.
For those of you caring for elderly parents you might want to visit the following web sites:
http://www.visitingangels.com/
http://eldercare.com/
Both offer a ton of support and suggestions and even provide information on how you can get a break from caregiving.
For the Dancing With The Stars fans the latest rumors have Tom Selleck and Toni Braxton competing on the show. Lance Bass is still in but won't be dancing with a man. Dan Quayle is out.
Now about the meeting tonight. Mom and I are meeting with a caregiver to see if she will be available for when mom goes home. We have another caregiver hiding in the wings that has committed to help mom going home. We really need three to take the caregiving burden off of me. Mom is now wavering between going home and staying where she is at. My sister suggested she wait another month before making the decision. I like the idea of mom waiting a month before deciding what to do for several reasons, of course some of them selfish. I like waiting because I've adjusted to mom being in assited living and my life seems more full this way. That is the selfish reason. The unselfish reason is if mom really wanted to go home she would have given her thirty day notice by now and the fact that hasn't tells me she is having second thoughts. The other reason for waiting is Sis is trying to sell her house in Salt Lake City and if they do so her and her husband will move here for the winter. That takes away a need for one caregiver and also relieves my burden. Sis feels she will know more about the house selling in thirty days and if mom waits thirty days to give her notice there may be more information for mom to make the right decision. The bad thing about waiting thirty days is the caregiver we have hiding in the wings needs a job and won't wait that long to be hired. OK, here are the choices:
Mom gives her notice on the 15th of August and moves home the 15th of September.
Mom delays making a decision for a month and then decides what she wants to do.
OK, everyone both mom and I need some guidance. Please pray for us to receive that guidance or for those that don't prayer muster up are you good vibes that an answer presents itself to us.
May this be a great day for all of you.
For those of you caring for elderly parents you might want to visit the following web sites:
http://www.visitingangels.com/
http://eldercare.com/
Both offer a ton of support and suggestions and even provide information on how you can get a break from caregiving.
For the Dancing With The Stars fans the latest rumors have Tom Selleck and Toni Braxton competing on the show. Lance Bass is still in but won't be dancing with a man. Dan Quayle is out.
Now about the meeting tonight. Mom and I are meeting with a caregiver to see if she will be available for when mom goes home. We have another caregiver hiding in the wings that has committed to help mom going home. We really need three to take the caregiving burden off of me. Mom is now wavering between going home and staying where she is at. My sister suggested she wait another month before making the decision. I like the idea of mom waiting a month before deciding what to do for several reasons, of course some of them selfish. I like waiting because I've adjusted to mom being in assited living and my life seems more full this way. That is the selfish reason. The unselfish reason is if mom really wanted to go home she would have given her thirty day notice by now and the fact that hasn't tells me she is having second thoughts. The other reason for waiting is Sis is trying to sell her house in Salt Lake City and if they do so her and her husband will move here for the winter. That takes away a need for one caregiver and also relieves my burden. Sis feels she will know more about the house selling in thirty days and if mom waits thirty days to give her notice there may be more information for mom to make the right decision. The bad thing about waiting thirty days is the caregiver we have hiding in the wings needs a job and won't wait that long to be hired. OK, here are the choices:
Mom gives her notice on the 15th of August and moves home the 15th of September.
Mom delays making a decision for a month and then decides what she wants to do.
OK, everyone both mom and I need some guidance. Please pray for us to receive that guidance or for those that don't prayer muster up are you good vibes that an answer presents itself to us.
May this be a great day for all of you.
Monday, August 11, 2008
John Edwards
Used to be my hero. I wanted to be like him. Now I all I see is a despicable human being. As someone who has represented clients through divorces brought on by affairs I can respect no man that would cause that kind of pain to his family and to have an affair when his wife and children needed his support the most just makes him a person that has to improve to be a bottom feeder.
How hard can it be for a married man to say to a woman "You are an attractive lady but I am married to the woman I love and would never do anything to endanger the love we have between us. So thanks but no thanks." Why don't men in power have the backbone to support their wives in a loving and caring way?
There are men that don't have affairs. My dad was married to my mom for over sixty years. He never had an affair. I know this because the week he died when we were saying our good byes to each other he told me that in sixty years he never cheated on mom because he never found a woman he loved as much as her or a woman as good as her. He told me he treasured every moment with her. He said his one wish for me was to find a woman that I loved as much as he loved mom to share my life with. He told me that if I did find that woman never to cheat on her because cheating was stealing.
That is what both John Edwards and the woman that he had an affair with did, they stole from Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards family. They stole time and support that rightfully belonged to Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards children.
Now John Edwards wants forgivenes. He isn't getting mine.
How hard can it be for a married man to say to a woman "You are an attractive lady but I am married to the woman I love and would never do anything to endanger the love we have between us. So thanks but no thanks." Why don't men in power have the backbone to support their wives in a loving and caring way?
There are men that don't have affairs. My dad was married to my mom for over sixty years. He never had an affair. I know this because the week he died when we were saying our good byes to each other he told me that in sixty years he never cheated on mom because he never found a woman he loved as much as her or a woman as good as her. He told me he treasured every moment with her. He said his one wish for me was to find a woman that I loved as much as he loved mom to share my life with. He told me that if I did find that woman never to cheat on her because cheating was stealing.
That is what both John Edwards and the woman that he had an affair with did, they stole from Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards family. They stole time and support that rightfully belonged to Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards children.
Now John Edwards wants forgivenes. He isn't getting mine.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Kaye's Jewelry
When we were getting to know each other some of you expressed an interest in seeing Kaye's Creations. I was really struck by the beauty of her work. She is really creative! Isn't this stuff beautiful?
Friday, August 8, 2008
Success Is Hard To Live Up To
After the great response and how much fun we had with getting to know each other it is going to be hard to come up with new posts that even come close to the success of the last one. Questioning whether or not I can live up to the success of the last post helped me to come up with some questions for all of you. Following along with the theme of getting to know each other here are a list of questions:
1. What do you fear most success or failure?
I have had my share of both so really don't fear either. What I do know that is that I am a lot more successful at things if someone tells me I can't do something. Then I feel the need to prove them wrong and usually do.
2. Since all the posters here are women I am really curious as to what you look for in a man and if what you look for in a man is different if you are looking for a man for a long term relationship or a short term relationship?
What I look for in a woman isn't looks. You can lose weight, educate yourself, get a new hairstyle, what you can't do is change the basic character. What I look for in a woman is a sense of humor, similiar values, and that they like me. If they enjoy being with me that takes the pressure off and I can be more myself.
3. If you could choose the perfect career for you what career would you choose?
Mine would be motivational speaker. Which is weird because standing up in front of an audience and speaking scares the heck out of me.
4. This one is specifically for Pat. Where you happy with the winner of So You Think You Can Dance?
I was.
5. Of course the often asked question is next. What would you do if you won the lottery?
I would start a foundation named after my mom and dad whose main focus would be threefold:
A. Breast cancer research. B. Funds to give to the elderly that couldn't afford their own caregivers. C. Organ transplants.
Of course I would set aside a lot of funds to have one heck of a good time. Travel more.
Your turn.
1. What do you fear most success or failure?
I have had my share of both so really don't fear either. What I do know that is that I am a lot more successful at things if someone tells me I can't do something. Then I feel the need to prove them wrong and usually do.
2. Since all the posters here are women I am really curious as to what you look for in a man and if what you look for in a man is different if you are looking for a man for a long term relationship or a short term relationship?
What I look for in a woman isn't looks. You can lose weight, educate yourself, get a new hairstyle, what you can't do is change the basic character. What I look for in a woman is a sense of humor, similiar values, and that they like me. If they enjoy being with me that takes the pressure off and I can be more myself.
3. If you could choose the perfect career for you what career would you choose?
Mine would be motivational speaker. Which is weird because standing up in front of an audience and speaking scares the heck out of me.
4. This one is specifically for Pat. Where you happy with the winner of So You Think You Can Dance?
I was.
5. Of course the often asked question is next. What would you do if you won the lottery?
I would start a foundation named after my mom and dad whose main focus would be threefold:
A. Breast cancer research. B. Funds to give to the elderly that couldn't afford their own caregivers. C. Organ transplants.
Of course I would set aside a lot of funds to have one heck of a good time. Travel more.
Your turn.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
SSA, Swing Vote, and Who Are You?
Here is the link to the second in a series of two articles about social security disability as being reported on by The Oregonion:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1217724908140440.xml&coll=7
Not much to report on in the Dahn household this week. Golf is getting better. Weights are helping my arms getting stronger. Now within 12 pounds of my goal. Still single and looking for the love of my life. Mom has definitely decided to move home in September. We are interviewing caregivers today. I am hoping we find enough so that I can have some freedom.
Went to the movie SWING VOTE starring Kevin Costner. It wasn't that great of a movie but kept you entertained for a couple of hours. Hated the ending. Not rating it yet because I just honestly don't know how I feel about it. Probably two footballs. One for child actress Madeline Carroll who was just great in this and one for the secret service agent that protects her. They were really the stars of the movie.
Ok, if you are interested in letting people know who you are I would love it if the posters and/or readers posted a little bio of themselves. You can post whatever you want nothing is required, location where you post from if you want, occupation or ex occupation if you want. Nothing is required, it isn't even required to post anything but I'm guessing everyone would like to get to know each other.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1217724908140440.xml&coll=7
Not much to report on in the Dahn household this week. Golf is getting better. Weights are helping my arms getting stronger. Now within 12 pounds of my goal. Still single and looking for the love of my life. Mom has definitely decided to move home in September. We are interviewing caregivers today. I am hoping we find enough so that I can have some freedom.
Went to the movie SWING VOTE starring Kevin Costner. It wasn't that great of a movie but kept you entertained for a couple of hours. Hated the ending. Not rating it yet because I just honestly don't know how I feel about it. Probably two footballs. One for child actress Madeline Carroll who was just great in this and one for the secret service agent that protects her. They were really the stars of the movie.
Ok, if you are interested in letting people know who you are I would love it if the posters and/or readers posted a little bio of themselves. You can post whatever you want nothing is required, location where you post from if you want, occupation or ex occupation if you want. Nothing is required, it isn't even required to post anything but I'm guessing everyone would like to get to know each other.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Blog, Government At Work, & Reality TV Rumors
My blog was down for about 24 hours from Friday to Saturday but it magically got fixed late Saturday afternoon. Thank goodness.
For those of you dealing with the care of elderly parents please, please read the comments to my post "Updates", Kaye R, Pat, Lady Dr gave some marvelous and very helpful posts about the emotions that those of us that have the responsibility of elderly relatives have. It is one of the better group of comments since I started the blog!
For an interesting article about Social Security Disability go to this link here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1217564703119820.xml&coll=7
It is so tragic that people that truly need disability are being lumped in with those trying to scam the system. Any comments about the article?
Some DANCING WITH THE STARS rumors. The cast will be announced August 25th on Good Morning America and the show will start September 22. Those rumored to be on are: Kell Pickler, Kim Kardashian, Ex VP Dan Quayle, and Lance Bass. There is also a another rumor out there that Bass will be paired with a male dancer.
According to the NY Post Sesason Five of TOP CHEF will be in New York with the constestants staying in Brooklyn. The date of the start of the show wasn't stated in the article but I would guess it to be September 10 or September 17.
May this be a great day for all of you.
For those of you dealing with the care of elderly parents please, please read the comments to my post "Updates", Kaye R, Pat, Lady Dr gave some marvelous and very helpful posts about the emotions that those of us that have the responsibility of elderly relatives have. It is one of the better group of comments since I started the blog!
For an interesting article about Social Security Disability go to this link here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1217564703119820.xml&coll=7
It is so tragic that people that truly need disability are being lumped in with those trying to scam the system. Any comments about the article?
Some DANCING WITH THE STARS rumors. The cast will be announced August 25th on Good Morning America and the show will start September 22. Those rumored to be on are: Kell Pickler, Kim Kardashian, Ex VP Dan Quayle, and Lance Bass. There is also a another rumor out there that Bass will be paired with a male dancer.
According to the NY Post Sesason Five of TOP CHEF will be in New York with the constestants staying in Brooklyn. The date of the start of the show wasn't stated in the article but I would guess it to be September 10 or September 17.
May this be a great day for all of you.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Updates
Not a lot to say today so thought I would update the readers and posters on various subjects.
Golf - improving daily. Birds don't fly away and people no longer look for shelter when they see me with golf clubs.
Dating - I did muster up enough courage to talk to a lady in the produce section of the grocery store the other day. She was 92.
Fitness - I bought some weights to add that to my regimen. I want to strengthen up my arms. Still walking four miles a day, the golf range every other day, cleaning house daily, and now the weights. I did break 200 yesterday and am eagerly looking forward to making my goal of 185. When I get there I am getting some new pictures taken and will let you vote on which one to put on my profile. At some point when I look decent in a bathing suit I am going to take adult swimming lessons. One, I always wanted to learn to swim correctly and two, that could be a good way to meet someone.
Mom - This is the second Friday in our weekly Fridays of going to mom's house to clean it out and get it ready for sale. Since a lot of you have the responsibility of caring for elderly parents I am wondering if you also have what I call elevator emotions and if your elderly parent gets to be negative a lot. Does the negativity wear you out? The elevator emotions for me are going back and forth between it is nice to feel needed and damn I wish I had my own life so I could travel or insert your own word here. Sometimes I have those conflicting emotions within a five minute period of time. In addition mom tends to be negative and that just wears me out. I try very hard to keep her positive but it usually ends up with me being brought down instead of her being brought up. Do you think negativity is a product of aging? Of seeing your life ending? Of not being able to do the things you used to do? Or is a product of personality and it depends on the person? I am really curious as to what you all think.
Off to the golf range and then to pick up Mom for a day at the beach. Well not the beach, her home.
Golf - improving daily. Birds don't fly away and people no longer look for shelter when they see me with golf clubs.
Dating - I did muster up enough courage to talk to a lady in the produce section of the grocery store the other day. She was 92.
Fitness - I bought some weights to add that to my regimen. I want to strengthen up my arms. Still walking four miles a day, the golf range every other day, cleaning house daily, and now the weights. I did break 200 yesterday and am eagerly looking forward to making my goal of 185. When I get there I am getting some new pictures taken and will let you vote on which one to put on my profile. At some point when I look decent in a bathing suit I am going to take adult swimming lessons. One, I always wanted to learn to swim correctly and two, that could be a good way to meet someone.
Mom - This is the second Friday in our weekly Fridays of going to mom's house to clean it out and get it ready for sale. Since a lot of you have the responsibility of caring for elderly parents I am wondering if you also have what I call elevator emotions and if your elderly parent gets to be negative a lot. Does the negativity wear you out? The elevator emotions for me are going back and forth between it is nice to feel needed and damn I wish I had my own life so I could travel or insert your own word here. Sometimes I have those conflicting emotions within a five minute period of time. In addition mom tends to be negative and that just wears me out. I try very hard to keep her positive but it usually ends up with me being brought down instead of her being brought up. Do you think negativity is a product of aging? Of seeing your life ending? Of not being able to do the things you used to do? Or is a product of personality and it depends on the person? I am really curious as to what you all think.
Off to the golf range and then to pick up Mom for a day at the beach. Well not the beach, her home.
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