did my theatre demonstration with Beatrice six minutes ago and i'm still shaking. i think i did well though

- YaYa

My Thoughts - Presidential Aging

Every eight years we get media stories about how the pressure of the Oval Office has aged the President - how  he turned gray & wrinkled as a consequence of the job. While I agree it's a horribly stressful life, that's ridiculous. The fact is most Presidents enter office at the latter stage of middle age, and 8 years on the beach in Bocca would still see their hair gray & their face age considerably. Good grief people, do YOU look the same as you did in 2008?

Wrong Answer Mr. President

Junie and the American Girl Dance

LK needed an American Doll for her dance class. Yeah, I know, right? But knock-offs are allowed and so we picked up a doll from Walmart and delivered it to her in class. If you were in New Berlin last night, you might have seen my wife cuddling with a doll as she drove down National Avenue.

My Hip

After two real good days with the hip, it's nothing but a world of pain this morning. Lisa keeps saying my expectations were too high, and that I'm doing great, but right now I'm in a woe is me/all is lost kind of mood. I'm sure I'm pleasant company.

The Martian

I watched this on Smiely's recommendation (he saw it in the theater with his friend Evan). Great movie. Rent it!

Good News

After physical therapy I stopped and weighed myself at a Dr's office down the road from my house, as I have every week for over a year. I was worried that after 3 weeks of inactivity my weight would soar; in the 2 wks before surgery I'd gained 8 pounds after eating my pain and anxiety. Instead, I've LOST nearly 3 pounds, and am down 66 pounds overall. I'm still a "before picture" and I need to get active again to lose the weight and preserve the hip. But that scale took a lot off my mind today.

The Last Samarai

It completely romanticizes the passing of a brutal and feudalistic culture best left in the dirt, but if you can forgive that it's one hell of a movie. Tom Cruise, as usual, was great.

A Brutal Night

Brutal night with the hip, the start of which coincided with a trip to Office Max for supplies for YaYa's portfolio. If you think the veneer of civilization was thin in Lord of the Flies, you should have heard my response to a sales clerk who merrily suggested I hobble to three different aisles and thus save her the trouble of knowing her own store's layout.

David Bowie

RIP music legend David Bowie. He was as good as advertised.  :(

Get Your Priorities Straight

In America you can rape and kill a woman, then burn her body, and have millions cheer for you based on a half-assed documentary. But hold a football with the laces in on a cold winter's day in Minnesota and the net fills with calls for your death. #ScrewedUpPopulace #Vikings

The Equalizer

More bad parenting on my part,as I let YaYa and LuLu watch, but this was a great (and bloody) movie. Some great camerawork too. I think Denzel might just be the baddest movie hero I've seen yet.

Sucess!

YaYa and I just managed the impossible: we trimmed the nails on all but one of Custard's paws. I think she drew some blood in retribution, but it's telling she trusted us enough to be held in the first place.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I won $4 playing Powerball. That's $949 million less than I expected, and a net loss, but I'll take it.

Kneel Then Meal

Post-Mass dinner of homemade french fries, ground round hamburgers infused with Worcestershire sauce, topped by lettuce, mushrooms, pepper jack cheese, pickles and 1000 island dressing on a butter grilled sesame seed bun.

The Green Inferno

A gruesome movie, but not a bad one. And it led to a lot of discussion about female genital mutilation.

An Update on Lisa's Knee

We just left the hospital after Lisa's MRI on her injured knee from when she fell shoveling snow. They said it would take 35 minutes. It wound up being an hour and a half.

A Hip Setback

I'm back on crutches, having been scolded by the physical therapist for jumping to a cane too early. Truth be told, it is easier on the hip this way. But as a compromise, he said it'd be OK if I just used one crutch.

Amen

A Good Idea of Mine

There should be - if there aren't already - temporary handicap parking permits. The walk from the busy parking structure to the doctor's office just about destroyed me.

Dreams

 These wacky true-to-life dreams that are plaguing me the last couple nights can end now.... My mind feels like it's going to burst! - Lisa

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I had the honor of repaying my Dad for taking me to Empire Strikes Back many moons ago by treating him to SW: The Force Awakens tonight. It was his first time at the Avalon in forty years, and from his reactions he liked both the theater and the film. Love you Pop!

A Flat Tire and Ineffective Service

My luck: blew a tire on the van and unable to change it with the hip. Waiting for roadside assistance.

So I'm stuck with a blown tire off its rim, a spare tire on the ground, and four of five lugnuts off. Just stuck. I look across the street, see an open sign in a crowded auto shop, and call them. They don't send people out as a rule, and are very busy, but I leverage my surgery and by golly they send a guy of normal, red-blooded American size, and he gets the last nut off eezy peezy. "Stripped" my ass. He then put the spare on for me. They charged me for the service, but not much, and I was glad to pay. 

As soon as I got home I called my insurance company and filed a complaint, slipping a little in my language at times, and telling them maybe they shouldn't contract with a company that employs runts to do a physical job. Small people SUCK. They agreed to reimburse me in full for what I paid to the garage, and allegedly will follow up with the service company. It's bigotry really, subconscious or not - someone sees a big strong guy and the level of help provided to them drops precipitously, even if he's (temporarily) crippled. Bulls*it it would have gone down like that if I was an old lady or even a runt of similar size. 

That About Sums it Up Anakin

Cookie Sheet Frisbee

Lisa and I just played Frisbee in the living room with a full cookie sheet. I lost a cookie on the third toss across the room and forfeited the game. #2016Olympics