My Real Life for a Change

I've decided to go out on a limb and actually write about my life instead of these intangible thoughts. I just got back from spending Christmas in Texas with my parents. I am at home alone while my wife drives back with the three kids in our mini-van. I had to get back for work so I got to take the high road. Just so I don't sound like too much of a cad - it was her idea, well mostly. It's been five years since I have been with my Mom and Dad for Christmas and it is a big deal for my Mom. My sister and her husband managed to make it as well so the gang was all there. The kids had a great time and I was able to relax the way you can only relax when you go home again. Even though I have never lived in the town they are in now it felt just like going back to being a kid with no responsibilities. As a bonus the weather was nice. Santa was very good to the kids and I did all right myself. I appreciate things a lot more these days since it is unlikely I would go out and buy anything frivolous . We aren't exactly poor, but we are definitely on a budget. Which is really why my wife volunteered to drive because there was no way we could justify the expense of five airplane tickets.

While all of that is true it isn't really what I want to be writing about. I want to put down the memories of this trip so that if it takes another five years to make it out there I'll have something to look back at. John was perfect the entire time I was there. He is a very cuddly kid and on the day I had to leave he told me he was going to follow me around and just do everything that I do. It's very hard not to love him - not that I would try. Rebecca was her usual middle child self. Her best present was the time she spent with my Mom painting a wooden stable that she had received as a present from Santa. They spent several hours just the two of them in the kitchen. Painting and talking. Talking and painting. Susan just seems to get older everyday. She got a gameboy from Santa. She was stunned. This is Susan - she put a gameboy on her list for Santa in early November, but later she crossed it out because she thought it would cost too much. She has not asked about Santa, but I think she knows the scoop. I will stick to my guns just like my Mom did. It was always very simple growing up. If you said there was no Santa then no gifts. I still believe.

National Pastime

I am not much of sports fan. I enjoy the occasional baseball game and I try and know who is playing in the Super Bowl. It just doesn't intrigue me. I played a little basketball when I was growing up, but by high school I had figured out I wasn't good enough to play pro so I gave it up. I ran cross country so that I could put something on my college applications and found that I enjoyed running. I have run off and on since then with this last year being a very good running year for me. I don't understand the fascination with watching sports that some men have. I got to spend some time with a very beautiful woman yesterday because her husband had abandoned her to watch football. He is notorious for missing gatherings because of his pigskin passion and often his wife will show up alone. This is not a tale of pining romance I just find it curious that he would want to watch football vs spend time with his own wife. Of course watching football, or sports in general, is just the cliche. I have been known to ignore my wife for equally frivolous activities. Take for instance writing blog entries that no one will ever read.

Polite Conversation

This past year I have discovered that I am the only person willing to admit I am a conservative. There must be a lot of us out there, but everyone I talk to can't believe Bush got reelected and is so disappointed they are thinking of moving to Canada. I am of the opinion that it doesn't matter who is in the White House, but when I vote I want to vote for someone I like. Someone who thinks a little bit like I do. Maybe it is just the people I know, but it seems like all of the liberals I talk to are hypocrites. They are outraged by the state of this country and think the War in IRAQ is an embarrassment. They genuinely seem passionate about this until I ask them what are they doing to change things. Most of them are willing to admit that just voting for Kerry probably isn't going to change the status quo a whole lot. These liberal minded people complain that the government should step in to help people, but they have never volunteered for anything in their lives. Many of them are very well off, but they don't even make contributions to the Democratic party. Not that they should if they really wanted to make a difference. I am sick of talking about politics.

The Real Opiate

It may set the tone poorly for me to begin confessing things so early, but it was the topic I thought of on my way into work this morning. I am addicted to television. It is a purely mental addiction and I have gone cold turkey with pleasant results in the past. I am considering giving up this guilty pleasure once again as I notice it has consumed a great portion of my waking life. It is eating into my sleeping life as well since I often find myself in front of some schlocky movie at 2 in the morning. Usually one I have seen before, but I still stay up until the end. I just can't seem to help it. At times in my life I have embraced my love of TV and I doubt I will ever give it up entirely, but I know I have hit my low when I start watching old Pauly Shore movies - I loathe Pauly Shore. I hope I get TIVO for Christmas.

Day One

Having formerly scoffed at this form of writing I have recently come to enjoy reading a blog called Grape. After commenting on a stranger's blog enough times I decided it was time to go out on my own. I don't have any purpose other than to write more often. I am a little rusty, but in college I wrote volumes of pointless musings in the form of essays, letters and journal entries. It has been a long time since I have managed to keep up any sort of journal. Maybe this format will inspire me. I have learned that after a dry spell it takes me a while to get back up to full writing speed. I am sure my prose will improve again over time. Of course I cannot promise it will get any more interesting.