I am not technically allowed to take half-days like that. My boss is just wildly disconnected from what is actually happening in the office and no one ratted me out.
Didn't dive into the alternative takes. Forgot I had a divorce party. And I was the only man there.
It sounds like it could've been bad, but it was lovely. The divorce was amicable and this group of eight are all highly educated, so the conversation was fascinating. Ranging from Me Too to how do atheists fill the natural desire for ritual.
If you dug The Raid movies, check out The Night Comes for Us on Netflix. It's an Indonesian gangster movie with fight scenes so elaborate and violent that even this horror movie nerd was grimacing and covering his eyes.
It started from a conversation about a bar mitzvah that we had all just attended. We talked a bit about things like birthdays and (jesus-less) Christmas. But came around to Come the Freak On (Home's version of crappitystock). We've been doing it every couple of years for two decades. It is an all day immersive experience. And as our kids become old enough to join, they get welcomed by the rock and roll elders (and encouraged to join in).
Do y'all have any activities that you suppose scratch similar itches that religious folks use their rituals for? Connecting to the universe. Connecting to humanity. etc.
We struggle with that, tbh. We tried joining the Elks Lodge, but ours skewed old. It was like getting drunk with aunts and uncles you don't know well, so we quit. We've done some Cub Scouts, but that almost has to be your hobby to make it work.
We had a network of friends we were tight with for about two years and that was fantastic. But then both the single moms got new boyfriends and disappeared into New Relationship Land and the other family's kid had some psychological issues. Those were tricky, but we would have hung in there with them... they're like family. But they hunkered down into family cocoon mode to help their kid get right. I don't begrudge them, but it's been hard without our old friends.
We tried the Unitarian church, but they went way past being chill into being scattershot and weird. The first time Simon and I went to their kids group, they asked me if I would take it over. I was like, "Uh, you've known me eight minutes."
We've made some new friends of late, a Muslim family in our neighborhood/scout pack. They're fun and really kind. But they're also halal vegetarians who don't drink, so that puts us outside of our normal "Drinks and barbecue for everyone!" entertaining mindset.
I think another thing that makes for social disconnect in 2018 is the rapidly accelerating dispersement of family. It was a little easier when my cousin was still alive here in town.
The boys enjoyed the toy/game show. The kid from school S____ took with us was nice. Kind of an exact dupe of his spazzy sense of humor. I think they're legit buds now.
I made a recipe I'd found online for "Mississippi Roast," basically beef chuck roast rubbed with ranch/dill/paprika, topped with peperoncini and then slow cooked. I added a half a can of beer to make sure it had enough moisture. Ended up with a yummy spicy thing about halfway between pot roast and Chicago style Italian beef. It was pretty tasty.
That is great about S____ bud. That is so incredibly important.
Through middle school E___ has had basically one buddy (beyond school hours), but I always got the feeling he wasn't quite up to E___'s level. Now that he's on the HS marching band, he's getting a lot more invitations to parties and hang-outs, often with older kids. I can see his anxiety shrinking and his confidence coming back. It's great.
Ahhh nice. Just found out that A____ was chosen as pianist for his school jazz band. He was lead pianist for the "jazz ensemble" last year, which is sort of like musical junior varsity. "jazz band" are all the best players and they swing hard.
I wish little S. had an interest in playing music. She likes listening to music, but whenever I try to push her (but not too hard) into learning to play an instrument, she's not interested.
However, she loves drawing. But I have trouble persuading her to take to it in a more formalized manner: I've proposed classes, both online and "real" classes, but she doesn't like that kind of discipline. Maybe she'll get more deeply into it when she's older. In the meantime, I try to get out of the way, I don't want to spoil her fun.
I thought the last two eps of Doctor Who were pretty terrific. I liked the partition of India episode a lot. I am sort of getting antsy wondering when the new showrunners will bust out an actually scary (by the standard of Who being a "scary" show for kids anyway) monster/villain, though.
I like that the 13th Doctor is an open, welcoming person with real moral clarity. I didn't realize how tired I was of the Doctor being an inscrutable prick until we got 13 and she was anything but.
My friend in Dallas who has the new girlfriend finally called me. Unprompted, he apologized to me for not calling in so long. People keep telling me that eventually I’m going to meet somebody and yada yada yada...but that’s really not something I’m even thinking about. I remember being fairly content being single before I hooked up with my ex. Right now my goal is to be in that space again.
It seems very foreign to me. I'm a serial monogamist. I haven't been in my own space/head since I was in my early 20s. It's probably not the healthiest thing in the world. I worry about landing there against my choosing and not knowing how to operate.
So Trump is going to continue to support Saudi Arabia even though everyone in the world knows Prince WTF was behind offing Khashoggi. The US is Bizarro World.
I'm referring to to the dystopian/horror film series in which a upon coming to power in the US, a conservative totalitarian government institutes an annual "holiday" called The Purge, consisting of a 12 hour span during which all crime, including murder is legal.
Comments
Mostly just enjoyable stripped down recognizable versions, but there are some that come off with a noticeably different vibe.
Will be diving into the alternate takes tonight.
It sounds like it could've been bad, but it was lovely. The divorce was amicable and this group of eight are all highly educated, so the conversation was fascinating. Ranging from Me Too to how do atheists fill the natural desire for ritual.
We had a network of friends we were tight with for about two years and that was fantastic. But then both the single moms got new boyfriends and disappeared into New Relationship Land and the other family's kid had some psychological issues. Those were tricky, but we would have hung in there with them... they're like family. But they hunkered down into family cocoon mode to help their kid get right. I don't begrudge them, but it's been hard without our old friends.
We tried the Unitarian church, but they went way past being chill into being scattershot and weird. The first time Simon and I went to their kids group, they asked me if I would take it over. I was like, "Uh, you've known me eight minutes."
We've made some new friends of late, a Muslim family in our neighborhood/scout pack. They're fun and really kind. But they're also halal vegetarians who don't drink, so that puts us outside of our normal "Drinks and barbecue for everyone!" entertaining mindset.
I think another thing that makes for social disconnect in 2018 is the rapidly accelerating dispersement of family. It was a little easier when my cousin was still alive here in town.
After a two week hiatus caused by stupid ass marching band, I'll have my dudes this weekend!
Don't have a plan, but greatly looking forward to catching up.
I made a recipe I'd found online for "Mississippi Roast," basically beef chuck roast rubbed with ranch/dill/paprika, topped with peperoncini and then slow cooked. I added a half a can of beer to make sure it had enough moisture. Ended up with a yummy spicy thing about halfway between pot roast and Chicago style Italian beef. It was pretty tasty.
Through middle school E___ has had basically one buddy (beyond school hours), but I always got the feeling he wasn't quite up to E___'s level. Now that he's on the HS marching band, he's getting a lot more invitations to parties and hang-outs, often with older kids. I can see his anxiety shrinking and his confidence coming back. It's great.
She finally found a recipe for Italian Stew that looked good. But realized too late the it took 3 hours to make.
So we had pizza and wings. (didn't really mind that).
There've been some good ones along the way, but this one feels like we'll be referencing it in the future.
However, she loves drawing. But I have trouble persuading her to take to it in a more formalized manner: I've proposed classes, both online and "real" classes, but she doesn't like that kind of discipline. Maybe she'll get more deeply into it when she's older. In the meantime, I try to get out of the way, I don't want to spoil her fun.
I like that the 13th Doctor is an open, welcoming person with real moral clarity. I didn't realize how tired I was of the Doctor being an inscrutable prick until we got 13 and she was anything but.
Congrats on A____ making jazz band.
It seems very foreign to me. I'm a serial monogamist. I haven't been in my own space/head since I was in my early 20s. It's probably not the healthiest thing in the world. I worry about landing there against my choosing and not knowing how to operate.
Babies? Sure. You get a 6 month guilt free zone for babies.
I'm referring to to the dystopian/horror film series in which a upon coming to power in the US, a conservative totalitarian government institutes an annual "holiday" called The Purge, consisting of a 12 hour span during which all crime, including murder is legal.