Category: Misc

My kids, they kick

We took the plunge this week and signed up for karate–all of us. Well, three of us so far (we may have to drag Bob to class kicking and screaming, but we’ll get him there).

Andrew took some karate when he was five or so. We stopped for various reasons (the school closed, he started other activities, and so on). But recently, he’s wanted to get back into it. Kyra’s wanted to try it. And–little known fact–I took tae kwon do for about four years when I was in college.

So today we all earned our white belts. Kyra was so excited she was quivering. But wow. I haven’t done so many round kicks in … twenty years. (Gah. Yes. I did the math on that one then immediately wished I hadn’t.)

Our instructor says that for me and Andrew it might actually be harder initially because of muscle memory. We know how to do the moves with precision and power and wear ourselves out faster.

Uh, yeah. He’s right. At least in my case.

In non-kicking news, Andrew got an A- on his paper (a comma splice, a few misspellings–it runs in the family). But the teacher’s comment was:

You have a great writing voice!

Sniff. I’m so proud.

When life hands you lemons … or an early snowfall

Here’s one thing you can do:

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After getting completely soaked, they came inside, drank hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, and played board games. It felt a lot like December instead of October. I’m hoping for a few nice days before Halloween since we haven’t made our annual Halloween movie yet.

Now that’s *really* scary

If you thought our mad, mad, mad monster party was scary (see post below), you haven’t even experienced scary yet. 

Our backyard this morning.

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I know. It’s not even the middle of October. Do you think if we pretend it isn’t there, it will simply go away?

In any event, we’re all prepared for a day of mini-hibernation. We have hot chocolate. We have creamy potato soup. We have two kinds of pudding cake. If we’re feeling up to it, maybe we’ll peek out tomorrow.

My own private Narnia

They’re doing some trail improvement where I normally take my weekend morning walks, so I’ve taken an alternate route around that, which is neither here nor there, except: I’ve discovered Narnia in my own backyard.

Behold:

lamppost

It’s a lamppost! In the middle of nowhere! I love it!

Actually, there used to be a house here, not that you can tell (except for the lamppost, of course). At one point, people were living there. Then it was boarded up. Then, overnight (almost), if vanished. (Eminent domain, perhaps? Magic? We may never know.)

But someone, a closet Narnia fan maybe, left behind the lamppost.

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I’m hoping they don’t take the lamppost away. I’d hate to lose the Narnia in my own backyard.

Persona(s)lly speaking

This is fun. From the Personas web site:

Personas is a component of the Metropath(ologies) exhibit, currently on display until Sept 09 at the MIT Museum by the Sociable Media Group from the MIT Media Lab. It uses sophisticated natural language processing and the Internet to create a data portrait of one’s aggregated online identity. In short, Personas shows you how the Internet sees you.

Naturally I had to find out how the internet sees me. Click on the thumbnail to see the image.  charitysnet

See that big orange bar? Actually, it’s the biggest bar, and it’s books. Personally, I think the labels should match the bars, making books into BOOOOOOKS!!!!! I’m not sure where the yellow bar (sports) is coming from. The rest, except for religion, makes sense. (Religion? Have I ever talked about religion? I doubt it.)

Give it a try!

The Wii generation

Yes, we’ve finally succumbed and bought a Wii yesterday. So far, the kids love it. Andrew worked up enough of a sweat that he had to change from jeans into shorts. Miss B (which is Kyra’s Mii avatar name too) is exceptionally good at Wii bowling and … wait for it … boxing.

Andrew’s created enough avatars (Miis) to field his own baseball team (another game included with purchase). They both love how interactive it is and it’s fun just to watch them.

We went to Game Stop yesterday evening to scout out what else was available for the Wii. While Bob and Andrew scoured the pre-owned games, Miss B discovered a moth. She chased it all through the store, determined to capture it and set it free. She was on its trail right up until it flew behind the cash register desk.

A few moments later, she came up to me, shoulders slumped, head bowed.

“Mommy,” she said, “they killed the moth.”

Yes, that’s right. The sales guys behind the register desk killed the moth. Dudes, didn’t you notice the little girl following it throughout your store? It’s not a video game and you don’t get points for killing it.

We left without buying anything.

Okay, so we had no intention of spending more money yesterday; we were just window shopping. Still.

We’re seriously considering Wii Fit. If you already have a robust workout routine, I’m not sure it would do that much. But it looks fun and a way to get started–with plenty of activities for kids with cabin fever come mid-winter.

So, that’s our Wii news. Anyone else have one? Have any good game suggestions?

When blue is a good thing

Simply because I haven’t done a blogthings quiz in like forever:


You Are Ocean Blue

 


You’re both warm and practical. You’re very driven, but you’re also very well rounded.

You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

Sure, I’ll take it.

What’s funny is, way back in the day, when I was applying for an ROTC scholarship (told you it was way back), I had to get letters of recommendation. Since I was already attending UW-Madison, I had the option of meeting with a dean. After a chat, he/she would write a letter.

Well, not everyone on campus or in the administration was supportive of ROTC on campus. Who did I end up speaking to? Yes, the dean who was most vocal about this issue. Because I’m lucky that way.

He also didn’t like the CIA recruiting on campus either, but neither did a lot of people. Once, some protesters were digging graves on the ROTC lawn–no, I’m not making this up–then heard the CIA was across campus. So they up and left, graves half dug. It was very surreal.

Anyway, I don’t know his feelings going into this meeting, but it’s pretty clear after about thirty seconds. He essentially told me his position, that he probably wouldn’t write me a letter, but I the opportunity to change his mind by telling him why I wanted to join the military and what good could come from that.

Words came out of my mouth. This I know. What those words were? You got me. I don’t remember a thing I said. I remember it was a beautful spring day outside his office window. I remember we were on Bascom Hill. I remember sweating.

When I was done, he stared at me for a moment, then said, “That was incredibly diplomatic. After the military, you might consider the foreign service.”

And dude, check it. He wrote me a great letter of recommendation.

And I’m sure there’s a moral tucked away in all this, somewhere, but I don’t know what it is.