I'm Still Here

Yes, I'm still here. It's been so long, so many days and months have passed by. I sit now at my computer at my desk, in the bedroom of my condo in North Natomas. Another long day of soccer has concluded. One tie, one loss. My feet are sore from the travels. Connor is playing Roblox with friends online down the hall. 

He says, "Hey Garen, you know what would be sad?" But never finishes the thought. Kids get so easily distracted.

I just finished reading The Book Thief. The latest novel to pass before my eyes. I had watched the movie before, several years in the past. It was good. Thought provoking. Emotional. A story about an infamous time in the history of humanity, one that some people fear is at risk of repeating itself now. A time of Germany, in the era of World War II. With authoritarian government and the persecution of certain groups of people whose only crime was that they existed.

The book is better. Isn't it always though?

It's about a girl, torn from one life and put into another, who has to live through such terrible times and see such terrible things unfolding. And yet finds beauty in words, which she comes to hate at the end as they seem to be nothing but a representation of the evil known as man. And then her world explodes. The story is told from the point of death - the spirit who collects the souls of those who are no more. His final thought, as narrator of the story, is this: "I am haunted by humans". I hope that doesn't ruin the ending for anyone.

The girl, too, begins to write, and not just read. She writes the story of her life. Her autobiography. It saves her life, quite literally. But of course it reminds me of this blog here, the story - sort of - of my life. More of a list of random observations and a narrative of some things that have happened, here and there. An exercise in writing and preserving one's own history. Much more clumsy than her story, but I suppose it works. 

And so now, here I write again. I see I never put a picture to the last entry, from Christmas Eve, which was posted from my phone as were sailing around the Hawaiian Islands. Gently rolling. Up and down. Our last big adventure, before the holidays ended once more and school and work and soccer resumed. I guess I will go put a picture to it now. And maybe find one for this one. But which one?

I have, just last week, turned 50. Not a lot of pomp and circumstance to celebrate the milestone. I went to San Francisco with a woman I've been seeing. It was a fun day. A picture from that day would be nice. It was spring break from Sac State. That's over now too. And Connor's comes up soon, and once again our holidays are separated. 

I am no longer in my upper-mid-forties. It hasn't truly sunk in yet. I suppose that's because I've never quite felt my age. Well, sometimes, I do feel old. But mostly I feel so much younger than I am. I wonder how long that will last. 

Well, anyways, I'm still here.

You should read The Book Thief. You really should.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the cruise ship, most creatures were stirring. Including me and Connor. I mean hey, we're on vacation and it's only 9pm.

It really doesn't feel like Christmas Eve, but it is! Here we are! I mean we've been on a cruise ship bobbing up and down across the Pacific Ocean since December 18, so what do we know? The days all blur together when you're at sea.

One of the guest performers made a joke tonight that if you don't celebrate the holidays, then Happy Taco Tuesday. For a second I thought, it's not Tuesday, it's Monday. But no, it is Tuesday.

That's how screwed up we are.

But it IS Christmas Eve and Santa came to the ship and took a photo with everyone individually and every kid got a wrapped present (a little 8" plushie of a snow leopard). So that was a nice touch. With cookies and milk and hot cocoa as a bonus.

I mean it was a slightly disorganized mess of people and lines of people but they got through everyone and I still made the 7:30pm show. So kudos for that. I'd hate to have to stay up to catch the 9.30pm show…

But now it's time for the children (and me) to be nestled all snug in our beds. And tomorrow morning we'll be in our third Hawaiian port of call, Nawiliwili!

Also it will be Christmas. And apparently, Wednesday.

Just One Night

So again I see some number of months have passed since I last posted on here. Honestly I think I need someone to prod me with a stick, saying, "write...write...write". Or something. But I don't want to dwell too much on the past and neglect the accomplishment of the last week. We finally went and did something I've been threatening to do for a number of years: we went camping.

Not like the camping we used to do as a kid, when we'd take off for a whole week and subject ourselves to pit toilets and washing up by using water from a bucket that was heated over the fire in a big black kettle. No, no, nothing like that. Well, the pit toilets were the same.  But this was just one night, and we didn't bother to wash up. A quick little getaway to satisfy the guilt of not having done it the last few years, although every year Connor has stated that he wanted to go camping.

So this was just a quick getaway to the Indian Springs campground, a little place up off of I-80, about 10 miles east of Blue Canyon. One of those random places I've never been to and never heard of, save by seeing the little signs on the freeway that indicate that there's camping at the next exit. I always wondered what camping was like at those places when I was younger, whenever I saw those little pictures of tents along the road. And, well, now I know. And it was pretty there! Sure, you could constantly hear the dull roar of traffic from the freeway not 200 yards away. But it was full of trees and, in short order, became full of memories.

A more pictorial account can be found here.

Oddly enough, the first critter we saw was a fairly long snake, slithering up along the driver's side of my car in our campsite. I don't believe I'd ever seen a snake whilst camping, not that I can recall anyway. On the bike trails along the American River, sure. But never camping. Usually it's mostly birds and squirrels. And we saw those, too. No bears or deer or anything like that.

And we did all of the camping things - cooking dinner on the old propane camp stove from the 1980s (burgers and Mac & cheese), roasting marshmallows on the fire for s'mores after it got dark. Well, as it was starting to get darker, anyway. It gets dark too late. Who can wait up that long?? It's past my bedtime. And we pitched a tent and played card games and read and slept in sleeping bags and urinated on trees. You know, all the normal 'guy' stuff. I'm happy to report that I wasn't particularly sore after sleeping on the ground again. That was a concern I had had in advance. Granted, my sleeping bag was on top of another sleeping bag which was on top of a blanket which was on top of another blanket, but I'm calling it a victory still. And yes, I brought pillows from home.

The next morning we made pancakes and packed up and left early to do a little hike before heading home. In the end, it was probably good that it was just one night, because frankly if we stayed another night, Connor would have been bored out of his mind. Though I suspect he would have loved another night of doing s'mores. 

In the end, I'm glad we finally fitted this into our lives. Every summer, time just seems to fly by and get filled up with all manner of other distractions. As if our lives were a Pac Man and time was nothing more than those little white pellets getting gobbled up. Blip blip blip. What with only having Connor every other week, and my work and his soccer and the musical I conduct each year...well the summers are just too short and end too quickly.

They're also too hot, but that's another story for another time.

It's About Time

It's been pointed out to me recently that it's been over two months since my last post on here. So, here I am, guilt posting at 9:30pm on a Thursday evening. Welcome back! I guess that so much has happened in the last two months that I could go on and on in an epic post verging on the precipice of short story status. Except my befuddled brain doesn't remember most of what happened in the last two months. Not off the top of my head, anyway. But that's why God invented photographs!

This one was taken at Marshall Gold Discovery State Park on March 30. I don't quite remember if that is the exact proper name of the park, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now, so I'm going to assume it's correct as stated.

Anyways, Connor had a field trip with his school here earlier this semester, so we took a day trip right before my birthday to go explore and have him show me around. I think, really, he just wanted to go gold panning again. And we did that, but we also walked around and saw different exhibits, the blacksmith shop (where he got to go behind the lines and work a bit one on one with the blacksmith), the historic church and Marshall's cabin, and had a nice sit down picnic lunch. And Connor got to sit in the exact same bench where he had lunch with his school mates. Fun times.

And then before that, of course, I took a spring break trip to Vegas. Did I really not blog about that? What a slacker. I guess I last wrote in anticipation of this trip. It was a good trip! A chance to get reacquainted with the party capitol I had been been so long in visiting. Not that I'm any sort of party person. I mean really, Vegas is almost wasted on me. Almost. But I had a good time, sampled drinks and food at varying establishments, visited a plethora of resort hotels and saw a couple of shows along the way, including a comedy club and a *gasp* topless cabaret show. And I even visited the infamous neon sign museum which is way, way off the strip beyond the Fremont Street Experience even. An explorer, I am. But it was fun, and I wouldn't mind going back again soon, just to get away and see some more shows. And eat and drink and eat and drink.

Oh and also...I think I lost about $40 in the slots. Such is life.

Did I do anything else these past two months? I admit I've now sunken to the level of being too lazy to check my pictures even. Well they're always there, ready for the picking at any time. Mostly I've been busy with work and soccer. April is the month for concerts at Sac State, and this year hasn't disappointed, with about 42 concerts and two festivals, including four tomorrow with the second festival happening this Saturday. I imagine it's about time to start seriously thinking about summer plans. Not doing a big cruise this summer, instead saving it for the winter (Christmas and New Year's in Hawaii!). But a camping trip, some day hikes, trips to the Aquatic Center when it gets too hot t tolerate, these are all things that are a good bet for this summer.

Oh and I'll be waving a stick at a bunch of thespians in the Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento's production of Ruddigore in August. More on that later. Already planning future posts!

And of course with Connor, he'll be busy doing soccer as well. That....never ends.

But with only a few weeks of school left, time should start to open up more so I can find more time to write here! Or binge watch Cougartown, which is what I'm secretly doing while typing this. I mean it doesn't have to be that show, it's just an example... 

Well hey, whatever comes up in the next few weeks or months, at least this post is finally here. 

 

Party Time?

So I heard the best quote on a show I've been watching this evening on Hulu: "We're at the age where the best part about going out is going home." Oh. My. God. That's so true! I mean I was never the going out type of person, it was never my vibe. No clubs. No parties. No loud stuffy spaces where it's hard to breathe and harder to talk. And yes, it is SO nice to get home after being out. Introverts live for the next opportunity to unwind and decompress.

And this picture wasn't me going out, it was an early morning walk on the way to work in a light smattering of rain. I'm at home now of course, relaxing on my bed. It's after 7pm after all. Another day done! I just threw this picture in here because it was the last picture I took of myself.

But in the spirit of the booming club scene that's bombarding me on the TV right now, I booked for myself a little pre-birthday present: a trip to Vegas! I haven't been to Vegas in...13 years? I think. It's been awhile anyway. I'm sure it will be unrecognizable since places like that seem to change so much. Actually the Super Bowl last weekend took place there...and I didn't recognize the prominent sites they were showing on TV. I get to play tourist and take lots of pictures with my phone!

I haven't even been on an airplane since 2017. Even that will be an adventure. Good thing it's just a short, rather ordinary flight. So yes, I'm going to Sin City so I can...probably go to be bed by 10pm and wake up early and enjoy a morning walk while taking in the architectural sites of the posh resorts. But I'll also probably take in a comedy show. And maybe...a Vegas-style cabaret show. Ooooh. That's about as much partying as I can take - a regulated, ticketed, 90-minute sit-in-your-seat-and-have-a-laugh-with-a-drink-or-two type of event.

And, sure, I might put $20 into a slot machine along the way. Who knows? Maybe I'll win big. Or at least enough to cover a meal or two.

But hey, it's Vegas. Anything can happen, right? Well, technically I suppose it's true...but I know myself. All too well. I'm predictable! But hey, it will be a nice getaway next month. And it's nice to treat yourself a little once in awhile. To mix things up. Enjoy a change of pace. This will be during Sac State's spring break, and honestly I've never been one to go out on spring breaks either. But I don't have Connor that well, which isn't always the case, and there's no really events happening at work that week, so...sometimes the stars just align. 

And airfare was on sale, $107 after fees round trip. Not bad, not bad. Yeah...I had to talk myself into it. But it's booked! It's happening! Two nights at the Circus Circus on the Strip. And I am looking forward to it. My own personal party!

The Super Bowl

Well, today was Super Bowl Sunday, the day where Americans across the planet go ape-shit watching abnormally oversized grow men chase a little brown oblong ball up and down a grass field while trying to knock the crap out of one another in the most sportsman-like way possible. This year there was the added bonus of an implied drinking game - which I'm sure millions engaged in - wherein you were required to take a drink every time Taylor Swift was shown on TV. Fortunately this only led to people getting drunk towards the end of the game, which was ultimately won in overtime by the Kansas City Swifties. I might have made up that drinking game part. But it wouldn't surprise me if it was a thing.

Fortunately I am immune to most of this societal ritual, save the over ingesting of food and beverages and the dutiful watching of the famous Super Bowl commercials, which this year featured an enormous amount of celebrity cameos. Good job, dunking donuts and Matt Damon. And also State Farm and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. And Daniel Levy and homes.com. And so many more. Those were the true Super Bowl highlights! 

This was only the second NFL game I watched this season, the first being the playoff game two weeks ago when the 49ers won to get them into the Super Bowl.

In any case, it was a good sporting event, and at least entertaining. I wish I could say the same for the halftime show, which as in other recent years was a hyped live mini-concert featuring some famous artist (Usher) whom I...don't listen to. It's OK, the shows aren't made for people like me. They don't grab me, they mostly bore me, and I neither recognize nor understand any of the songs. I mean honestly, I couldn't name one song that was performed, or tell you what any of them was about. I'm not even entirely sure how many songs were performed. There were some other folks performing too...whom I also don't know. I think Alicia Keys was one of them. I'll just go back to listening to my music on my iPhone and ignore Billboard. Anyways.

I'm too old and too removed from the popular culture of today's society to be able to appreciate any of this. But I suppose that's okay. There comes a time when us old folks have to waddle aside and make room for the younger generations. I think that time came some years ago...

And yes, I save a crap ton of money by not investing in the live attendance of these types of events. For any sport, really. I mean I saw that Ticketmaster had some resale tickets available for today's even in the $6000 range. Who would blow money like that? That's more than the cost of taking my son on a 16-day Hawaiian cruise, which we're doing at the end of this year. So, one person attending a four-hour game or two people going on a 16-day cruise which includes all the food you care to eat and is cheaper. It's no contest.

And tomorrow morning we have to get back to the reality of our daily lives, and all of this will be forgotten until next season, when everyone starts talking about what happened last season. And like most things in our lives, it just keeps repeating over and over again. Feeling fulfilled, anyone? Maybe you should forget professional sports and book a cruise.