Giving Thanks And What Not

Well November was a blur and now it's December. Is this just an after effect of getting older? Time flies whether you having fun or not? Is this how it's going to be? I'd just like to know now. It will make wearing uncomfortable shoes a little more bearable. But what am I saying? I only wear comfortable shoes!

So anyway, dear diary, in no particular order, events of November included:

-- Uninstalling the garden and putting all the yard crap away for the winter. There's a certain satisfaction in doing that -- all my Normans lined up in the shed, the hoses hung, bird bath stowed -- mixed with sadness, because I'm starting to not so much hate winter, but regard it with a narrowed eyed tolerance. Hatred cannot be far behind.



-- New glasses. Two pairs, which I thought would be less painful with flexible spending dollars, but it wasn't. It would be nice to be rich enough not to care that one fucking pair of glasses costs over $800. They are hard to love at that price. Is that how parents feel about high maintenance children?


-- My karate class guys getting me hooked on Saturday night MMA fights. Is it wrong to hate football but enjoy mixed martial arts cage fighting -- a.k.a. human cock fighting? Seriously, I'm rearranging my social schedule to make the next match. Last time we went, Odie was watching the same fights in Florida. It was the first time I REALLY wanted texting.


-- Thanksgiving. Just me and the parentals, two pies, sweet potato casserole and some bird. Chicken to be exact, and that's OK. I made a pumpkin cream cheese pie that turned into two pies, the last of which I finally finished off this week.

The surprise inside the pie -- cheesecake!




-- Knobs. Knobs, knobs, knobs. Did you know if you google "cabinet knobs" you will get no less than 90,000 different options on literally thousands of web sites? Who knew this was such a hot business. After over 10 years of hating my knobless kitchen cabinets, I decided to drill holes into their pristine fronts and install some knobage. Handles might have looked a little better, but I know my limits. Not that crooked cabinet handles wouldn't have blended into this hovel I call a house, but I still think it would have bugged me. Anyway, it seemed like I could get them a little cheaper online, plus skip the sales tax, so a simple purchase turned into yet another OCD ordeal, the conclusion of which has not yet...er...concluded. It only took me about a month to pick ones I liked in my price range (did you know there cabinet knobs that cost OVER $100? Each?). The before/after vision is not as dramatic as I had hoped, but I'm still loving the enhanced efficiency.

Before...


After




I just ordered some new drawer handles for the downstairs bathroom, because I am on a roll.

-- Not picking my battles. Petty bullshit at work is trying my patience. Knowing one should pick one's battles or step back to look at things from a rational point of view is easier said than done. Just sayin'. Especially when I KNOW in my heart of hearts that I'm right. If it weren't for the paycheck and insurance, I'd stir shit up. But right now I'm playing the game...and it's REALLY HARD!!

-- Getting sick. It's getting old.


-- Bo kata!! I don't have a vid of me doing this one, but I'm happy happy happy that I've learned this whole darn thing. Finally. It was one of my major goals to get far enough along in this class (minus the 15-year break!) to learn weapons katas, and here I am. My favorite bo kata (Urashi No Kun -- also known as the never ending kata) is yet to come though. These little dances of death are, of course, against multiple opponents, but still, the first time I saw this one performed, I thought, "Daaaang...walk softly indeed, grasshopper."

OK, back to nose blowing. I still have more napping to do, and it's getting on towards dinner time. See what I mean? Time is FLYING by!