Golf, Part 0001

So, I finally got my butt to the golf course after nearly a two year absence. I played pretty much exactly how I thought I would. I have a very good naturally swing, so my ball striking (insert joke here), was fairly good as long as I didn't overswing. I had a little trouble figuring out the correct club to use, any shot that required finesse was very rusty, and I didn't putt well at all.

I overdid it and played two balls for 18 holes, which didn't help my score at all, I should have just played one ball, so fatigue and concentration were factors. So it sounds bad, but really I played very well. I shot 37/45=82 on the first ball and 45/42=87 on the second. I had one birdie and 13 pars, and hit 16/36 greens in regulation. I was +3 on putts with no one putts.

I golfed at Eagle Hills in Papillion. It is owned by the city of Papillion, and they have a funny deal where they get retirees to volunteer to work out there for free golf. So the course is fairly well teeming, crawling, littered with old guys, many ex military who are always seeming to watch you. It's kind of creepy.

Come back to me...

I have added a new line to my prayers which is right in line with recovery, it says "Lord help me, because I have a problem with _____". It's not really hard for me to fill in the blank there. While I was praying this yesterday morning, I was basically asking/begging for help with something, I don't remember what (LOL), and I heard His voice in my head "come back to me".

"Come back to me"

I like to say "if you used to be close to God, and you don't feel that way anymore, guess who moved?"

I have.

Sheesh, you gotta teach a puppy EVERYTHING

much thanks to spanky for letting me steal this picture

As a proud SIU grad...

Hot news from the SIU campus... Is it about the basketball team? The academics? Some new discovery?

Attack Deer!

thanks to yougetalife for this one, good picture/caption combo too

I don't gotta do nothin'...

This was/is the week I've been most looking forward too. Yes this is my fifth seven days off since I started my new schedule, but I knew the other four would not quite be as fulfilling. The first was just getting used to it, the second surgery, the third surgery recovery, and the fourth visiting mom in Chicago. This one has nothing going on at all. I have an errand to run tomorrow. I am going to Spanky & Mae's tomorrow night. The Friday dance and Lindy in the Park. That is all.

So if you want to find me. I am goofing off. Thanks.

Shaken, not stirred

The following things do not mix well where I live, however they do provide great mirth for my neighbors who were sitting on their back deck and watching the whole thing unfold.

1. A cat on the hunt.
2. A small snake.
3. A house with an open back door.
4. A frantic, chasing pet/home owner.
   

All survived.

Chicago Trip

Okay, so I made it under the 72 hour self imposed limit, barely...

naturally as soon as I went to walk somewhere, it started a downpour, a couple of shots of the rain here as I walked to Navy Pier.


Outside Navy Pier, same as the "poem" shot from last week.


A herd of seagulls.


This one is of a lighthouse and the calm water before it, I like the water colors.


A stained glass interpretation of Mucha's "The Four Seasons", on display at Navy Pier's Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, and also on display in Spanky & Mae's bathroom, although not in stained glass.


Some shots of the indoor garden...


... and on the children's stage... PIRATES!


My favorite fountain in Chicago.


An obligatory shot for Mae.


The view from my friend Jen's office.


Baseball heaven, okay, if they won, it would be heaven, but it's sure not Iowa.


Some shots from millennium Park in Chicago.


Could I see your tourist visa's please?


Buckingham Fountain.


evidently, not everyone got the memo about how stupid these things are.


The building on the left is where I used to work, and I used to live in the third of the four identical buildings on the right.

Yes, I know my mom is no where to be seen, she forbade me from taking her picture.

Back home safe

I got home about 1/2 hour ago, washed myself, then some clothes, and I'm headed for a nap to make sure I can dance all night... one word about dancing tonight... hydration.

Pictures and commentary will follow within 72 hours.

Front doors galore

I find myself in the middle of a Corvette rally, all speeding. I feel fairly ticket proof at this moment.

**edit: the really funny part of this is about three miles down the road there was a Illinois state trooper helping a guy with a flat tire. He sees this line of Corvettes go by speeding, and he gets out into the middle of the lane and starts pointing and shaking his finger at them one by one as they drove by... and yes, he had authorization to use excessive force while apprehending the Blues Brothers.

Hi! I'm Venche Jr

In my never ending quest to be just like my hero, Venche, I found the same spot she and Julie stood in. When does imitation become less like flattery, and more like stalking?

Buckingham Fountain

Probably my favorite people watching spot on this planet.

Good Morning

This is the bandstand at Millennium Park. I am eating lemon poppy seed bread, angling the camera poorly to avoid reflected sunlight, and mmm, did I mention the lemon poppy seed bread?

As alone as I want to be...

I sit alone at the end of Navy Pier.
The rain softly falls around my feet
my umbrella sheltering the rest of me.
No movement or sound but the screeching of gulls.
Peace within a mile of a million people.

Lunch with Jen & Hal

After much consternation, because she moved offices, Hal and I found Jen and had lunch at an English pub. The food and company were great... The weather not so much.

On the train...

I am on the train now, heading downtown. My mom didn't come with me, but my stepfather are going to meet me and we will have lunch with my friend Jen. It takes about 90 minutes on the train to get downtown.

How you get woken from a nap at Mom's house.

I made it to my mom's house, in just over seven hours. She seemed genuinely surprised. I immediately fell asleep once I got here, and mom went out with her friends. This is how I got woken up from my nap, taken from the right side of my face.

Dance & Work, and other babbling...

I am planning my work weekends around dancing. I sleep on Thursday early. Try to get a nap before dancing Friday night. Stay as late as I can. Then sleep on Saturday early. So far so good. I also managed to take my lunch break at Lindy in the Park. I was there for about :30min, maybe seven to nine songs, but it was nice even if I was a little uncomfortable until I could get in the shower after work. I'll have to figure something non-sweaty out if I am going to keep going the whole season on my work Sundays.

"So, I am fantasizing about my upcoming trip to Chicago..." no wait, that isn't me, that was someone else who said that. In any case, I am going to surprise mom on Tuesday by showing up at her doorstep as a late Mother's Day present. Nope, no chance she'll read this and ruin the surprise. My plan: I called her today (Mother's Day) and said "Happy Mother's Day, did you get the package?", she said no, of course, because there is no package. Tomorrow (Monday) I will call her and ask the same thing. Then Tuesday I will do the same thing from her doorstep. My step-father knows, so there won't be any of me getting there and them not being there. I'll stay downtown on Wednesday or Thursday, and come back on Friday in time for the dance. Kevin will be watching the house. I am trying to get hold of some Chicago dancers to find out when / where I can dance on Wednesday or Thursday.

I am paid for Cowtown Jamborama. Okay, so the web site banner isn't working really well right now, so I can't add it to the top of my blog but look for it soon!

The Multilingual Department of Redundancy Department

Said to me by the cashier at Moe's "...would you like some queso cheese with your chips?" Perhaps I should have gotten some pollo chicken and some bean frijoles with a cerveza beer to right along with my chips.

I wonder if my los gatos cats would like to have some?

How to panic yourself in three easy steps...

A story from last weekend:

Step 1: Give roommate the following directions to to a Cinco De Mayo party at NoRealYou's place "...go to 31st Avenue and Leavenworth, and then walk through back yards until you find it..."

Step 2: Have your roommate NOT come home.

Step 3: Panic! then search the local Omaha news web sites for a story about a shooting, stabbing, or other violent ending for said roommate.

Optional Step 4: Have a happy ending.

Surgery Update 000B - or boogers on steroids

Okay. So the surgery recovery looks like it really will take weeks instead of days. I feel good in general, but there is still some background nose pain and trouble breathing... maybe trouble is the wrong word, more like effort.

On the upside, I had another one of those boogers on steroids come out of my nose on the way home today, this one was about the size of the last knuckle on my thumb, but only half as thick. It wasn't nearly as colorful as the last one, but tastier, with a nice crunch.

**update** oops make that **disgusting update**
my nose is leaking a light brown fluid now.

The first step to admitting there is a problem is having one

Okay, so I've not been the happiest of campers lately. I admit it. As it seems to work with me, just admitting it takes all of the fun right out of it. Many thanks to the coworker today who just let me whine. It wasn't a big whining session all I said was something like "...after all the years and progress I've made, you'd think I'd be able to avoid a stupid depression by now..." it was that easy. I feel like a weight is off of my shoulders, and it's time to straighten up and fly right.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Okay, so I have seven triggers for migraines that I am aware of:

1. Eating chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
   
2. Eating foods with MSG.
3. Having a cold head while I am sleeping, I pretty much wear a night cap or hoodie all the time.
   
4. Seasonal allergies.
5. Motion sickness, in particular, anything where the motion is simulated.
   
6. Becoming dehydrated.
7. Excessive exertion / no sleep.

Probably 1, 2, & 4 are all the same sort of thing.

So, lets see how I did for the 24 hours from 7pm Friday to 7pm on Saturday.

1. Yep. Ate several chocolatey treats at Spanky & Mae's house.
2. Sure enough. Went out for Chinese food with Spanky & Viv.
3. Nope. I slept with my hat on all night.
4. Yes. Spent morning and early afternoon on Saturday cutting grass, trimming trees, and planting flowers.
5. Check. Watched Spanky play Tomb Raider: Legends on the big screen for a couple hours.
6. That too. I danced all night Friday and then all the yard work on Saturday probably left me a little short of liquids.
7. Okay here. Danced on Friday, then stayed out late, and then up early to work in the yard.

Well now, that's quite a score 6/7! I bet you can guess how I felt the following 24 hours from 7pm on Saturday until 7pm on Sunday. Yuck! When will I learn? One of them is probably okay, two or three is going to hurt, but six?!?! obvious insanity.

Ouch.

Anonymity, or Oops v0002

Okay, so I'm on my 4th or 5th day with no phone. This is a struggle, but not for the obvious reasons.

Well, yes, part of it is for the obvious reasons, it is irritating to not have a phone. I hate just 'showing up' at someone's house unannounced, no matter how okay it is with them, there are always plans that can be coordinated, and people to worry about. I'd like to have a phone for that.

The other problem is the deeper problem. I like it. I can be such a loner, no matter how unhealthy it is for me mentally. There are times when I could just clam up, become a hermit, and sit in my house and disappear to the world. This appears to be one of them. I've actually been struggling with this for most of the year, but it has really come to a head now with no phone.

The way I have been combating it is with the phone, or going out to lunch with people... and not all that well. Kevin has been a real godsend, because I am forced to interact with someone with decent mental capacity.

So, what is the problem with this? Many people live productive lives as 'hermits', interacting with society only when they need to.

The conflict, which should be obvious to anyone who has seen me dance, talk in crowd, or just generally interact with people, is that being a hermit is a minor part of my personality, a large minority perhaps, but still I love being around people... and it could easily be a learned behavior, not an inherent one.

So that's what is up inside my head.

Stupid Dreams

Yesterday I had an absurdly stupid wake up. I was dreaming along just fine when I used a combination of words in a sentence that was so non-sensical it woke me up. I can't remember what it was I said, otherwise it would be a much funnier story.

Today was a different story. The gist of the dream is this, there is a communist country along the Danube and in a certain city, the town council unanimously voted to flood the Danube with a new damn and then sell all of the new riverfront property to themselves. The flooding took place immediately, and hundreds of beautiful homes and priceless artworks (not to mention cars and businesses) began to be buried under the water. I am a photographer for a magazine sent into the area to get as many pictures of the disappearing town as I can before it was gone. I woke up quite angry, and have yet to simmer down.

I would love to go on a "Beckyrant" and tie this into some current event, but I have had this dream before, so instead I am just aimlessly mad.

Oops

I couldn't figure out why no one was calling or texting me for the 24 hours or so... I got it now. My phone has been turned off for you know, non-payment. I didn't quite think I was this far behind, but this isn't a battle I am going to win. So, until at least next Friday, you'll have to e-mail me if you want to talk to me. Sorry.