Nigh and Nether Story Problem

I have two offices I work from. The nigh office is 15 minutes from home, while the nether office is...X minutes from home. The variable X depends upon many factors.

A. If it is snowy or the roads are icy, add 15-45 minutes.

B. If a fellow driver is negligent or a vehicle fails to operate within the scope of its assigned parameters, add 15-60 minutes.

C. If you leave home by 7:00 AM or later, add 15-20 minutes.

If you leave home by 6:30, typically X = 44 minutes. On the return trip, if you leave between 4-4:20, then X = 45-55 minutes, except with factors A and B, with similar results. Factor D (heretofore not mentioned) includes holidays and Fridays, in which case, you must leave no later than 3:30 in order to maintain the lowest value of X.

Needless to say, I prefer the nigh office. Today I worked from the nigh office. This means I wake with my alarm, and hit snooze about 10-15 times and finally crawl out of bed at 7:30ish, throw on some clothes and walk out the door fifteen minutes later. It's almost like a vacation! Is it apparent that I have been programming like crazy for the past few weeks? What's that? You say it is running over into my writing? That's possible, I suppose...

Super-Spidey-Spectacular!

I know I have mentioned that C is a Superhero. Maybe you didn't believe me. See, here is proof:

• He brought me home chicken noodle soup when I couldn't eat anything


• On the day I thought I was well enough to go in to work, he dropped me off, and then turned around two hours later and took me back home


• When I stayed home, he checked in on me every few hours with a call or text
  
• He was patient with me as I got up several times in the night and didn't complain that I kept waking him up


• He rubbed my back on Weds because I wasn't well enough to go to Yoga.


• While home sick this week, he surprised me with flowers and a nice card, just because, and told me I'd never let him down.


• He helped with the dishes and didn't complain that I have hardly cooked anything for dinner all week.

Surely, now you believe me. What? You doubt still? Okay, then: He didn't say a word when I woke him at midnight to tell him I needed to go suprise a friend for her birthday!

Visions of police lights danced in my head as I drove through the neighborhood with my headlights dead; sneaked onto the porch where the candle won't light, thinking for sure the noise will cause a fright! Positioned the goodies, and ding-ding-ding thrice, then drove off in the night through the still and the ice. One last drive-by with my headlights blacked out, and the presents were gone, without any doubt. Then back to my sweetheart I drove through the night, Happy Birthday, dear friend, may you sleep better tonight.

This morning I received a text. In part it read:
Don'cha know I'm an OLD lady! You bout gave me heart failure!!!

Needless to say, I think she'll remember this birthday. Last night I couldn't sleep, so hid out in the spare bedroom to let C sleep while I looked through every photo of us stored on two of my external hard drives. I watched a video of us at Mesa Verda where we handed off the camera each other while climbing through this very narrow tunnel, and then a video where he pretended to drive his motorcycle in the kitchen while listening to some riding music I composed for him. I thought I'd share a photo of him popping a wheelie on a Ducati. He is fun and crazy, kind, and dependable, and doggonit! People like him! (SNL plug). Shhh. Don't tell, but it's true. I married a real, live superhero!

Your votes are needed!

I've considered re-naming this blog for a LONG time. I didn't even pull out the creative water pistols at the time I made this blog. It was just a half-hearted attempt to join the ranks of social media incognito, and in my infancy, I opted for the ampersand and our initials as a title. Creative, no?

After toying with a variety of words that demonstrate anonymity, such as incog, arcane, or recondite, I finally came up with something that says what I really want to say. For those who do not dabble in computer arts, allow me to elaborate.

Recursion is when something calls or defines itself. You might have experienced recursion by looking into one mirror with another mirror at your back; the image goes on and on. You may have also experienced recursion if you have been on a video or audio conference, and the microphone on the other end pics up your voice and bounces it back so that your speaker picks it up, bouncing it back to the speaker on the other end, and the audio (or video) bounces back and forth endlessly.

I was thinking about C and me, and we really define each other; where one ends, the other begins, and somewhere in between, something great happens. For 2010, we made a commitment to make our marriage EVEN BETTER, so here's to a new decade, and a new beginning in many ways.

Here are a few possible recursion titles, please cast your vote below or offer a suggestion:
A. Recursively Speaking (or Speaking Recursively)
B. C&A, Recursively
C. Recursive Enlightenment
D. (Recursion is a big word. Nobody will get it.)

And on the lighter side, here are a few other options:
E. Insanely Arcane
F. Kawi's Peeps
G. Incog-Neat-O!
H. In Spite of Recondite
I. (Recon-What?)

Twoo Wuv

Have you ever learned how to read a love poem in another language? Somehow, when those words are arranged in a different way, it makes a world of difference.

I love to see successful love. Not the obsessive, strange, or lustful kind, but the enduring, sacrificing, pure kind. Our love story isn't perfect, but it is perfect for me. What defines a successful love? When selfishness and pride are not at the center of the relationship, where intimacy is a sacred ground that is never used to manipulate, objectify, or subjugate, but rather to find peace, joy, and unity. Success is the place where both participants attempt to improve and fortify, rather than excuse and justify, and where arguments and disagreements are the internal catalyst for change, pulling together, and reaching for a higher level, rather than fodder for conversation with family and friends.

Successful love is looking for the best when the best is hard to find, being content with what is going right rather than always looking at what is going wrong. It is loving unconditionally. It's about ending a heated conversation with laughter, rather than tears, because you know that even though what was said was stupid or hurtful, that person really loves you and finds no pleasure in hurting you. It is the moment when you forgive quickly because you realize you were forgiven of that same stupid thing last week and he forgave you without a second thought. It is feeling excited to hear that voice, or see that smile, year after year, decade after decade. It is knowing that when age melts away all of the frosting, you will find that your hearts have been welded together.

Love is learning another language, and letting your heart hear words that you otherwise might not understand. It is recognizing that the person who has spent years living with you just might have some suggestions for improvement. It is welcoming honest communication, so that the truth has no need to hide behind fear.

Successful love is fortifying your marriage when someone attempts to tear it down, and knowing that your hearts are ever changing and growing. It is knowing that you can never let love grow stagnant, because those are the times when hearts wander, searching for something better when the very best is right here. It's looking back over the years and realizing that it just keeps getting better and better.

Successful love is realizing that this is the person who makes up those pieces in you that are missing. Even after many years, you realize that this isn't really the person you married, but instead this is someone who has exceeded your greatest hopes and dreams. This is your eternity.

Thank you, C, for being all I ever hoped and more than I could have ever dreamed!

Old New Friends

Sometimes the best new friends are old friendships, rediscovered.

Disclaimer: Sigh. I added this "Read more" template, but psych. This is just a really short post. I need to fiddle with it, but not at the moment. . .

"Ringing" in the New Year

As a teacher of the 6-7 year olds at Church, I had to hunt down some little rings yesterday. I read my lesson a week ahead of time, but somewhere between Christmas and the New Year, I forgot to purchase the rings. After hunting high and low, and driving a county away, I finally found the rings for my new little class!

This little ring is used to teach children to make good choices. The letters stand for Choose The Right. I guess it is an early introduction to learning the value of integrity, or the ability to make right choices even if nobody else is around. We ALL make dumb choices, but it's fun to hear stories from children who look at their rings and are reminded to choose the right in difficult situations.

We don't believe little children can sin, and because they can't sin, they can't repent. While we encourage and teach them to make good choices at a young age, little children shouldn't feel guilty for things they do wrong, because guilt is an emotion meant to move you toward repentance. Once they are accountable for their actions, then they will learn how to repent. We also don't teach the whole, hellfire and damnation in our church. Repentence is a means for us to move forward and leave the past in the past. We teach a very loving Father in Heaven who wants us to be like Him and that the objective of our lives is to be happy! Making good choices is part of how we build a personal relationship with Him. We don't believe in forcing or manipulating people to do good things, and while we don't support wrong choices, we respect other's agency to make incorrect choices, even if it makes them and others around them unhappy.

There are several possible variations on the "CTR" theme for adults as well. C had the bottom ring custom made years ago when at age 25 he read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it was true. The top right ring I had made that has a special purpose in connection with my Jewish ancestry, but it carries a similar meaning.

While living in Alaska, I once met a fellow who wore a ring similar to the first one shown. I automatically assumed that he must be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As it turned out, a female friend of his bought it for him, and let me tell you, here was a fellow who really lived up to the phrase, "choose the right," even if he did not choose to be a member of my church.

Well, this wasn't really the direction I intended to go with this entry. I meant to discuss how funny it was hunting for these rings, how we had to have them held at the store ahead of time, and how when we arrived, another woman was at the store who lived in the same county I live in and she also drove up to buy these little rings for her four-year old class.

Just a final note on teaching these little ones; last week was my last class with all of my cute little 7-year olds. One little girl made me a card, and one little boy came up after class and gave me a hug. After they left, I shed a few tears while I gathered up my things. It's hard to see them move on, but I am excited to welcome eight new little six-year olds into my class today!

They were watching us like HAWKS!

We both worked on the 31st, and stopped by a healthy salad buffet on our way home. C insisted that I pick our table, and I innocently selected a table across from an elderly couple. While C left to wash his hands, I arranged our plates, and then headed off for a little soup. A few minutes later, C met me next to the soup.

"You had to pick THAT table? They are going to stare at us the WHOLE time!"

I brushed it off, thinking that he was just being a bit paranoid, and reminded him that he had been adamant about me selecting our seat. We sat down, and the couple turned their heads to look at us. What happened next made me feel a bit like I had just entered the Twilight Zone (great movie, by the way). They not only turned their heads to look at us, but they physically shifted their bodies so that they were completely facing us! And they stayed that way THE ENTIRE MEAL, watching us! Ironically, even though they had arrived long before we did, they did not leave until we did, which made our meal feel a bit like we were in a fishbowl.

We did our best to have a nice meal together, but you certainly limit your conversation when two people are intently staring at you. I hope we provided some good entertainment, at least. I glanced their direction once or twice, but they just kept staring. We had a good laugh after the fact, and when they got up to leave, I even smiled and politely nodded to the woman. "Okay, you were right," I said to C. "They DID stare at us the whole time." Touche. Maybe they are in league with the white-clad woman at the Olive Garden, and as part of a secret geriatric society, they vow to avenge wrongs directed at the well-seasoned ilk of society. Stranger things have happened, my friends.

I had this GRAND idea for our New Year's celebration. I am sure you have seen the old, open a wine bottle with a machete trick. No? Well, considering our Mormon no-alcohol status, my mind leaped to the bottles of Martinelli's Cider in the basement. Considering we are sword-deficient (although we have a machete somewhere . . . ) I next thought of the knife my dad gave to me. It's ALMOST as big as a short sword.

I let C do the honors. He gave it a good shake, even though that is NOT recommended. "I really don't think this is going to work." He said, skeptically. Then came the movie-worthy POP! and the top of the bottle shot off somewhere across the yard, hopefully missing the quail hiding out in our blue spruce. Apple juice poured out in splendor, and C took a sip straight from the bottle. It was a glorious success. I KNOW! You are DYING to try it? Okay, okay, here is the trick:

1. find the seam on the bottle
2. firmly hold the bottle almost horizontal to the ground with the seam facing up
3. don't aim the bottle at anything you prize or don't want to get sued for
4. with a large, heavy knife, short sword, machete, or other heavy sword, quickly slide up the seam along the neck and strike right where the lip meets the seam, making sure that the flat part of the knife strikes as much of the lip as possible
5. let some of the contents spill out to remove any glass shards, pour into a glass and check again for shards before serving

And there it is! Five easy steps to make you popular at parties! (if they trust you enough to let you in with a machete).

P.S. In case you were wondering, the knife struck on the tallest part of the bottle. When you get good at this, you can make a straight break at the lip.

One last hurrah for New Year's Day; while I was taking the picture of the knife, I glanced up and saw this prismatic abstraction of our beautiful Christmas tree. We are taking it down tomorrow, so this is a final shot of this beautiful creation gracing our home and adding to the Christmas Spirit.

And Resolutions? Do share, if you will!