Heart Song
Soaring
Everything was kind of muffled. Nasty head cold turned into both ears becoming infected. The anti-biotics are helping but all of the pollen in the air is making the process seem longer and a little bit confusing. Am I still sick? Or is it now just about having bad allergies?
Who really cares… it all feels bad.
Last Friday night I thought about going up to Starbucks and drawing for a little while but my ears … blech. I needed to go to the store instead. So I popped some DayQuil, pulled on a sweatshirt over my t-shirt, baseball cap, wore flip-flops and jeans … jumped in the car for .6 miles and headed in to the store.
I felt like a total middle aged bachelor on a Friday night. All I cared about was getting some kettle corn popcorn, diet 7-up and … whatever else was on my mental grocery list. Buying groceries and renting the movie Precious … those were my big Friday night plans.
I walked in the door and went to get a buggy and I noticed someone had left a two gallon jug of milk in one of them stacked several deep. Not only did someone forget that jug of milk, someone else had shoved more carts in line without even noticing. I dug the jug out and took it up to customer service.
The Best Kayaking Trip Ever – A Survivor’s Story (Republished)
I wrote this on May 20th of 2007 on a previous version of my blog. It is one of my favorite stories. Enjoy!
***Heads up: This is the longest blog post I think I may have ever written. Go grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and pull up a chair. It’s a long story***
The Benevolent Trainer (TBT… I haven’t asked him if I can call him by his first name here or not yet) and I share the same birthday. I am eight years older than him but we were both born on May 14th. This year we decided to do something in honor of our birthdays. We both love to kayak but we had not ever gone kayaking together. We had planned to but it hadn’t worked out to date so we wanted to correct that delay and enjoy a nice day on the river.TBT was kind enough to stake out all the different kayaking places in central Florida and he was specifically looking for scenery, challenge and not to far out from Orlando. Where I go, Rainbow River, is pretty far north of Orlando. He even borrowed a two seater kayak and a Lincoln Navigator from a couple he knows, Mr. & Mrs. C. They were very kind to extend the use of their resources and we felt truly blessed. TBT thought it would be fun to explore The Black River. We got to the drop point and we were surprised to see that no one else was there. As we untied the two seater kayak, love bugs swarmed the car we were in and got all inside the interior. Every May the love bugs (don’t know their real scientific name) swarm over Central Florida. They are EVERYWHERE and annoying. They are nasty to clean up and really do a mess up your car when you drive. Even so, we went down to the water and instead of The Black River, it was more like The Black Trickle.
We only went down 50 yards or so and back. In that short span we:
* had to lay completely backwards into the kayak as we tried to clear the first obstruction of fallen trees.
* crashed through the second obstruction of fallen trees and brush. There were only the top branches of the trees coming up through the plane of water so we had to go through them, not around or under.
* Five paddle strokes later we were going under a bridge that was being expanded. The pile driver thing started up right about then. It was excruciatingly loud.
* We pressed forward and had to clear two more man made obstructions, one on each side of the bridge. The water in between was nasty and stagnate.
* After clearing those we went about 3 paddle strokes to the next trash filled obstruction. It was huge and there was no getting through it… and we got stuck in the Florida muck.
* Frustrated, I jumped out of the kayak to pull us out and sank in the muck up to around mid thigh level.
* The only true thing about the black river was that the water was black. I was NOT a happy camper and told TBT so. We turned back and had to go back through all of that just to get back to the car.
Oh there is more … so much more …
I See Bluebirds Whisper
Had to get my eyes dilated today. It’s been a few years and now that I am over forty … gotta’ be more consistent with these type of things.
My eye doc said, “Your eyes look fantastic. They are really really really healthy and they are really really really nearsighted.”
I really really really love my eye doc.
Some of my facebook friends were worried about me driving the mile from my appointment to home. I took this picture to show them how I got home safely: Bionic sun-shades.
After looking at this picture, don’t you agree that some seriously random super human capability should be attributed to these shade roll-ups? The “I see whispering bluebirds” title was my contribution to the amazing abilities of these bionic shades.
I know, not that funny but … come on … my eyes are dilated.
The other thing I discovered today is the brightness adjustment thing on my monitor(s) … I don’t like waiting for the dilation stuff to wear off.
Astounding Night In Massachusetts
UPDATES Added at the end of the post after the jump.
Considering the fun we had last week about American Idol I just can’t bring myself to turn off Fox News watching the election results coming in from Massachusetts. As I am typing this they haven’t call the race but Brown is ahead by 7. Twitter, or at least my stream, has lit up with updates, speculations and joking.
I will update this post as the night moves on.
What do you think about this election to fill this Senate seat in Massachusetts? Is it a Health care referendum? A blaring warning to the Democrats for the ‘10 election cycle? A referendum on Obama?
2009 OUT! Come On In 2010 – Some Favorites
So, it’s a little late in the day to be posting this but … I am determined to get it done before Midnight! (it is a long post, most of it and a video after the jump.)
Favorite Movie – Avatar
Hands down. I know that most of my conservative brethren break out in hives over the movie as being liberal propaganda … all I know is , it was a great, simple, epic story with amazing artwork and technological advances. It is a historic moment in movie making history and liberal ideology infused or not … I know what I believe and I know I believe this was one of the best movies ever made.
Favorite Song – Pocketful of Sunshine
Pocketful of Sunshine is a song by Natasha Bedingfield. It was released in 2008 but it remained my consistent most played song on my iPhone. I love it. It is a great song and reminds me of my prayer journal time with the Lord. It helped inspire me to go back to handwriting my prayer journal. Also, Kim Hill did an amazing job singing this song at our Exodus conference last summer.
Deep Cleaning Literally and Spiritually
I need a weekend too relax from the weekend! Started Saturday afternoon cleaning the house. And to me there are three types of clean:
- Bachelor Clean
- Behind the Ears Clean
- And Clean Clean Clean
I think “bachelor clean” speaks for itself. You all know that most single men live like bears in a cave. If there is a single person who lives in a dive it is usually a guy.
Is that sexist? I’m right though aren’t I?
Pink Glove Dance – AWESOME Video for Breast Cancer Awareness
I actually got choked up by the end of this. It’s a beautiful expression of support, joy, fun, creativity, everyday people doing extraordinary things. I have to say this is probably my favorite viral (social media) video of the year.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw&feature=player_embedded]
Snapshot 1990 – Scared Co-Worker, Leather Ball Cap and MPD Photographer
Shortly after moving to Texas in 1989 I figured out I didn’t like working in my Aunt’s screen printing shop (where I got the T-shirt I am wearing in the picture) so I started working for a telemarketing company. This photo was taken within the first two weeks of my being there. It was on a Saturday (why we were allowed to wear t-shirts) and yes, my t-shirt sleeves are rolled up and yes that is a leather ball cap on my head. Oh and yes, those are Sally Jesse Raphael type glasses.
I know I know ::: shrug shoulders :::
There wasn’t anything “post-gay” about me that day … but this photo does prove that having fashion sense is not a universal innate genetic trait among gay identified men.
Hercules Needs Prayer, Wolverine and Glastonbury Festival – Gym Update With Friday Misc.
Lookitme with another gym update this week. It’s the first time I saw Hercules since going back. He was fun to catch up with and said he was glad to see me back at the gym. I may not of hired him as a trainer but he’s a cool guy to be friends with at the gym.
I asked him how he was doing. If you are a regular reader you know that Hercules broke his leg in spectacular fashion. Well, his broken knee bone is going a little too far with the healing process and is growing longer than it should and pressing into his other bones.
Speaking of random excruciating bouts of sharp pain.
I finally watched Wolverine and it was completely mindless action flick. There was very little talking, lots of explosions, running, flipping, burning, cool special effects, sword fighting and awesome mutants. And you know, as silly as Will.I.Am can be … he did pretty good playing one of the characters.
My favorite was the diamond skin chick. She was … priceless ::: bah dah dum! :::
Now I am watching an English band I didn’t catch the name of at the Glastonbury Festival. It’s a replay of this year’s festival on the Palladia channel which has become my new favorite channel on cable.
So, while I am waiting on the arctic blast to arrive (the high is only going to be in the upper seventies tomorrow and then only 70! on Sunday) I am having a fun relaxing evening and praying you are too.
I Fell Off The Krystal Wagon – A Gym Update
I fell off the wagon a few months ago. Life got busy, I thought I was being too legalistic, I had some success in bouncing back … and then … I traveled here … I traveled there … ::: sigh ::: and there was that stupid Krystals sign with the arrow pointing thataway –>. I swore I’d never go back … and I hardly EVER crave … them. But that day, it just all came together …
It was the #*@! Krystals in the Atlanta airport. #*@! KRYSTALS! UGH!
#*@! = dern tootin’ (literally)
Whoever thought that feeding Krystals a bajillion people in a hurry to catch a plane, isn’t a very thoughtful person. Don’t understand why? Two words … AIRPLANE VENTILATION.
’nuff said?
But you know I ate me some … with cheese even.
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