The weekend is upon us and I am thankful. I started back to working out full-time this week to begin preparations for triathlon season, a mere 3 months away. I don't know when my 1st race will be but it is typically some time in late March to early April, so I have plenty of time. I went to spin classes 3x, ran 2x and lifted 3x. I hope to run once this weekend and that will be plenty.
We are keeping the big kids this weekend and I am looking forward to seeing them again. (It has only been since last weekend and we have talked on the phone a couple of times but I miss them during the week.)
Miyo is adjusting nicely to her new job, although she is working very late and we do not get to spend as much time together in the evenings as I would like. But she is happy and the job is challenging, and that's important, too.
Saturday night is date night and that should be fun. We are going to a casual dinner then to see Wideawake @ Antone's. Haven't seen them in a while so I hope it's a good show. I'm sure that we'll stop in at the Lounge and see what's going on there, too. Have to have a shot or 2 w/Danny Boy, our favorite bartender in Austin.
Hope everyone has a good weekend! Thanks for sticking with this, if you are paying attention!
Friday, December 02, 2005
Thursday, December 01, 2005
If it's Thursday, this must be Belgium...
I know that's not the name of the movie, or quote, or whatever, but I didn't really have a clever title for this post so that's what you get.
The wife is feeling better, getting over strep, which is making life in the house better. I am really looking forward to this weekend. Saturday night is date night and we are going to dinner and to see Wideawake, a local Austin band that is quite good. (Check out wideawake.com to listen to their music and learn about the band.)
Haven't figured out dinner plans yet but I've got time for that.
I'm amazed daily by my youngest sons and the way that they tackle problems. Shortly before bed last night, Ryan wanted to eat candy. Repeated denials from Mom & I prompted him to get it on his own. I don't know how or when but I discovered that he had found a stash of blowpops when he came to the trash to throw away a wrapper. A quick glance at the table found that he had 5 of them open and ready to eat! Good thing we caught that in time!
I just discovered Half Nekkid Thursday and am quite amused by this. I may have to begin participating soon. I have some pics that would qualify.
Anyway, that's about it for now.
The wife is feeling better, getting over strep, which is making life in the house better. I am really looking forward to this weekend. Saturday night is date night and we are going to dinner and to see Wideawake, a local Austin band that is quite good. (Check out wideawake.com to listen to their music and learn about the band.)
Haven't figured out dinner plans yet but I've got time for that.
I'm amazed daily by my youngest sons and the way that they tackle problems. Shortly before bed last night, Ryan wanted to eat candy. Repeated denials from Mom & I prompted him to get it on his own. I don't know how or when but I discovered that he had found a stash of blowpops when he came to the trash to throw away a wrapper. A quick glance at the table found that he had 5 of them open and ready to eat! Good thing we caught that in time!
I just discovered Half Nekkid Thursday and am quite amused by this. I may have to begin participating soon. I have some pics that would qualify.
Anyway, that's about it for now.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Toothpaste & Television
My 2 youngest sons, Hiro & Ryan, have autism. I am fortunate that both boys have a high level of emotional capacity and attachment to my wife and I and both are intelligent in their own ways. Last night, I learned a valuable lesson from Ryan, our youngest.
Ryan has a fascination with smearing various substances on the TV screen. The telltale sign that this is occurring is when it gets very quiet in his room and you can hear the Dora DVD but not hear Ryan jumping or laughing or getting into other mischief. Last night was one of those nights.
Miyo came home sick and went straight to bed @ about 6:30 PM and slept all night. That left the boys and I to a night of pseudo-batchelorhood (if that's a word!) Hiro and I were playing downstairs and I was trying to keep him awake as it was about 8:30 PM and he was getting sleepy. I wanted him to stay up until about 9:00 PM because he would not sleep all night if he fell asleep before then.
About that time, I noticed that it was too quiet upstairs. I went up to check on Ryan and discovered that he had taken the toothpaste from his older brothers' bathroom and smeared it all over the TV screen, the dresser, his hands and his hair. (Toothpaste, in a crunch, would make a good, very stiff, hair gel. Another lesson learned.) After spending 20 minutes cleaning the room, you could see Dora and Boots again. Ryan would have none of letting me take down the spikes in his hair, so that was comical to see this morning, but at least his hands and the mess in the room was clean.
This was apparently stressful for him as he fell asleep shortly thereafter. When I went down to check on Hiro, he had decided that the day had been long enough for him as well, so he fell asleep. After picking up it was time for me to reflect on the day and head to bed myself.
The lesson of the day is that silence is not always golden but will typically produce a lesson learned that had not been considered before. One more thing, toothpaste makes a pretty good cleaning agent and, depending on the type used, can leave a fresh sent behind.
Ryan has a fascination with smearing various substances on the TV screen. The telltale sign that this is occurring is when it gets very quiet in his room and you can hear the Dora DVD but not hear Ryan jumping or laughing or getting into other mischief. Last night was one of those nights.
Miyo came home sick and went straight to bed @ about 6:30 PM and slept all night. That left the boys and I to a night of pseudo-batchelorhood (if that's a word!) Hiro and I were playing downstairs and I was trying to keep him awake as it was about 8:30 PM and he was getting sleepy. I wanted him to stay up until about 9:00 PM because he would not sleep all night if he fell asleep before then.
About that time, I noticed that it was too quiet upstairs. I went up to check on Ryan and discovered that he had taken the toothpaste from his older brothers' bathroom and smeared it all over the TV screen, the dresser, his hands and his hair. (Toothpaste, in a crunch, would make a good, very stiff, hair gel. Another lesson learned.) After spending 20 minutes cleaning the room, you could see Dora and Boots again. Ryan would have none of letting me take down the spikes in his hair, so that was comical to see this morning, but at least his hands and the mess in the room was clean.
This was apparently stressful for him as he fell asleep shortly thereafter. When I went down to check on Hiro, he had decided that the day had been long enough for him as well, so he fell asleep. After picking up it was time for me to reflect on the day and head to bed myself.
The lesson of the day is that silence is not always golden but will typically produce a lesson learned that had not been considered before. One more thing, toothpaste makes a pretty good cleaning agent and, depending on the type used, can leave a fresh sent behind.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Communication Skills
I wish I was better able to communicate with people. I find that, sometimes, it is easier for me to be in a shell than to open up and talk to people. Unfortunately, that occurs during interactions with my wife during stressful times. The net effect of this is that I allow myself to be placed in situations that are not healthy for me, my wife or our relationship. I am working to overcome this but it is a challenging task.
Often I find myself losing track of conversations and drifting off to thoughts of everything and nothing at the same time when I should be paying attention to the conversation that I am having. It typically has a detrimental impact on the conversation as I am not participating at the level that I should. I try to listen actively and ask questions to make sure that I am staying engaged and catching all the key parts that I should but even that becomes difficult.
It is most difficult for my wife to handle and I am very proud of her for putting up with me and all the baggage that I have. I can't imagine what life would be like without her. Thanks Love!
Often I find myself losing track of conversations and drifting off to thoughts of everything and nothing at the same time when I should be paying attention to the conversation that I am having. It typically has a detrimental impact on the conversation as I am not participating at the level that I should. I try to listen actively and ask questions to make sure that I am staying engaged and catching all the key parts that I should but even that becomes difficult.
It is most difficult for my wife to handle and I am very proud of her for putting up with me and all the baggage that I have. I can't imagine what life would be like without her. Thanks Love!
Monday, November 28, 2005
#1
Welcome to my "Fountain of Useless Information." Hopefully, you'll find something of value and use here. The title comes from a saying that I use often referring to my ability to retain alot of information that provides sometimes little value but more fun.
I have a wife, 4 beautiful sons and a love of outdoor sports. I have been a triathlete for about 6 years (this is my 6th season coming up) and really enjoy pushing my body.
Two of my sons have autism, which has lead me to learn a great deal about the disorder, its treatment and the often puzzling ways that government works. I'll talk more about that in later posts.
That's all for now. Hope you enjoy my ramblings...
-George
I have a wife, 4 beautiful sons and a love of outdoor sports. I have been a triathlete for about 6 years (this is my 6th season coming up) and really enjoy pushing my body.
Two of my sons have autism, which has lead me to learn a great deal about the disorder, its treatment and the often puzzling ways that government works. I'll talk more about that in later posts.
That's all for now. Hope you enjoy my ramblings...
-George
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