Today’s haiku for you was written in the early afternoon… so the answer to the question at the end is definitely no. In case you were wondering.
Bad night’s sleep last night.
I’m feeling like crap today.
Is it bed time yet?
Category: Generic
Growth
Daily writing prompt
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
You want one? How about I give you two? Maybe even two and a half? I’m crazy like that. Also, the stuff that I give you today also happen to be things that I’ve written about in daily prompts very recently so… yeah. Repetition is good for growth and shit. I don’t know, whatever.
First, we travel back in time to the 20th century. The early 1990’s saw a certain tall red head dropping out of college. A dumb ass move, for sure, but at the time it was the only move that made sense to me. A job followed, then a year in a tech school, followed by a failure to get a job in that field, followed by a crap job in a warehouse. That’s when we get to the point of the decision that helped me learn and grow. I was making like $8.00/hour working in a retail chain’s warehouse as the guy in charge of customer returns and I just got fed up and decided to give college another try. This time I wouldn’t be a music major, this time I would take classes that might actually lead to a job someday. Going back to school was the big decision, but a secondary decision was to rig my classes so that I started from as close to the lowest level math subject that my new school would allow me to take. My primary hang up the first time through college was my shitty math skills, and the second time around I was going to major in a study that leaned heavily on math. I put myself into the lowest level course I could and basically started from scratch. It totally paid off. By the time I was through the mathematical pipeline I was acing high level courses and it felt great.
The second growth worthy decision happened on May 20, 2008. Jen and I were in the little postage stamp sized back yard at the duplex we were renting, cooking dinner on our gas grill. I reached a point where I just couldn’t stand waiting anymore and I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said yes. Best. Decision. Ever. That lead to me learning how to be a husband, learning how to be a better human, learning how to be an adult, learning how to be a step father, learning how to be really happy, and basically learning how to be me at my best. Like I said, best decision ever.
The extra bonus decision is the choice to pursue weight loss surgery. I don’t know how much actual learning and growing have come from it. That’s probably a question for future Rob to ponder. It’s been two years (almost) but I will need more time to pass before I can pin down exactly what the differences are, apart from the number on the scale of course. That and the sizes on my clothes.
So there you go, folks. Two plus answers to the question of the day. No surprises here. Hope you all have a good Wednesday, unless you are reading this at some point in the future, in which case here’s hoping you’re having a good whatever weekday it happens to be on your timeline. Good day.
Keep Out
Is there a place in the world that I don’t want to visit? I guess so, but even those places I would give a try if the opportunity arose.
For example: I don’t like cold weather. Therefore my desire to visit the Arctic or the Antarctic is exceptionally low. Low enough to effectively be zero. However, if someone said to me, I need you to go to the North Pole and do something interesting… I’d go. Yeah, I would go. Same with the top of Mt Everest. I don’t want to go, but if the opportunity came up I would.
Where are some others… the rural American south? Yeah. No thanks. Big cities in the south.. yeah, let’s go. Outside of the big cities? Naw, I’ll pass.
Most of the mid-western US? I’ll pass. They don’t call ’em fly over states for nothing. I guess my attraction to big cities would bring me to agree to go to any big city on Earth. Name a big city on any continent and I’ll give it a try. Name a jungle with no civilization where there’s a good chance some big animal will eat me? Yeah, let’s give that one a miss.
So that sums it up, I guess. There are places I would choose to avoid, but if someone made an offer to bring me to one of those places? I’d probably go. I guess from a travelin’ perspective (how’s that for a future album title?) I am pretty easy to please. I’ll go pretty much anywhere.
Positive Stuff
I have a ton of meetings today so writing time is going to be hard to come by. In that case, this one is going to be short and sweet and probably sillier than it should be.
Want to hear something positive that a family member has done for me recently? As in over the last two days?
I mention gastric bypass surgery on this blog all the time, and how one of the restrictions is never having sugar again. If I eat more than a little sugar I’ll get sick for hours and I would like to avoid that forever if I can. I am therefore a sugar free red head for life.
On Saturday, my beloved bride Jen did something nice for me straight out of the blue. Is it nice or positive? You can be the judge, but for me it was both. Super nice, and super positive. Positivity to the maximum.
She baked me a sugar free cake. A sugar free chocolate cake with sugar free white frosting, to be precise. How sweet is that (pun intended, even if it is artificial)? She baked it Saturday night, frosted it Sunday morning, and then I had a small piece on Sunday evening when I got home from band practice. It was delicious. It was the sweetest thing (again, pun artificially intended). Like I said, positivity to the utmost extent.
Thank you, sweetie. Thank you so much. I love you.
Here is another quick example of positivity. First, when Jen and I started dating in 2007 her two kids, six year old Bellana and four year old Harry, accepted me. That might be the best example of positivity that has ever happened. Furthermore, when Jen and I got married in 2009 they accepted me into their family officially. Again, can you think of anything more positive than that? I love them both so much, and I am eternally grateful for their kindness across all of the days I have been a part of their lives, but especially for those two moments of exceptional positivity. Thank you both. I love you.
One more. In honor of my father’s birthday, here’s one from my parents. They worked together to conceive me, birth me (yes, my mother did all of the work in that regard), and raise me to be someone who isn’t a total asshole… though I guess the jury is still out on that one. Thanks, mom and dad. I love you both.
Okay, that was a little longer than I thought it would be. Back to work, meetings boy!
Happy Patriots Day
The cats want to wish everyone in Massachusetts a happy Patriots Day, aka Marathon Monday, aka my dad’s birthday!
The Border Cafe
My favorite restaurant doesn’t exist anymore. The franchise does but my favorite location does not. It was The Border Cafe in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. I am not sure if I remember the timeline right or not. They had a fire in the kitchen and had to close down. Then during the pandemic (I think) they gave up the effort and shut down for good. There is still a branch in Burlington, MA which was the one I had been going to almost exclusively for years even though I preferred Cambridge, and I think there is still one in Saugus, MA too. There were a couple in New Jersey somewhere with the same menu and decor but a different name.
We started going back when I was in my early 20’s. Harvard Square is generally THE place to be, and The Border Cafe had the best food and the best vibe. Their buffalo chicken sauce is to die for, really. Unfortunately, Cambridge is kind of a pain to drive to if you don’t live in metro Boston, so when the Burlington branch opened (much, much closer to home and really easy to get to) we sort of planted our flag there. It was never as good, but it was definitely good enough.
When Jen and I started dating we took the kids there. Neither of them liked it, and little four year old Harry actually felt sick afterwards. Jen and I still went pretty often but never with the kids. Also, we haven’t been there since the Pandemic. Four years. Now, having written this, I am kinda jonesing for their boneless buffalo chicken.
10 Years from Now
I don’t like playing this sort of thought game. I never know what to say. I don’t do the whole seeing the future thing. My answer is always pretty much the same. Things are good today. If things were the same, more or less, 10 years from now then that would be pretty sweet.
It would be nice if the kids lived closer to us. It would be nice if I were a step or two higher up the company management chain. It would be nice if Jen and I could travel more. It would be nice if Jen and I had more time to spend together. It would be nice if I had more time (and energy) for music. I’ll be approaching retirement age, but I won’t be anywhere near being able to retire. It would be nice if that were starting to change.
Those are real life thoughts. The fun thoughts are the fantasy thoughts. Where do I see myself in 10 years? Living in a huge house with my wife, spending our way through a billion dollars worth of lottery winnings. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan for the future, right?
Peanuts
I had this grand plan to grow peanuts in the back yard. I researched how to do it and made a list of all of the things I would need to make it happen.
Now that it’s Spring, it’s time to do it…
And I think I have decided not to bother.
There is no way the rodents living in the woods behind our house would let a plant like a peanut plant slip past their stomachs. Anything I try to grow out there is going to get eaten by one critter or another.
Yeah… I think the peanut plan is kaput.
The home made sugar free ice cream plan though… that mofo is still on. Just you watch.
Haiku for You #177
I was so happy to see the temperature start to go up a little that I more or less forgot about the constant rain we had through the entire Spring, Summer, and Fall last year. Crud.
The weather warms up,
And the rain starts a fallin’.
New England climate.
Make Your Happy, Happy
Five things… I can do that. In fact, I will give you six because one of the things I want to include is no longer what you’d call an everyday thing. So five things and a bonus… and “everyday things” might be a bit of a gigantic understatement in one case, but I am including it anyway.
- Jen. When I say that the word, “everyday” might be an understatement, this is what I am referring to. Jen is not an “everyday thing”. Jen is more like a miracle that I get to experience every day. See the difference? I hope so, because it is massive. Jen makes my world go around. Jen is my universe. Jen is the love of my life. Basically Jen is the source of everything that matters. Happiness? You bet your ass she brings me happiness. She brings me all the happiness.
- Bellana and Harry. They don’t live with us anymore. I don’t hear from them everyday. Therefore we have to consider this one sort of a bonus entry on the list. They are my step kids and they bring me happiness everyday, I just don’t see them everyday. See the difference? I can’t write a list of things that make me happy without including them though, so while they are number two on the list, they are sort of a bonus. I love them completely and just knowing they are out there in the wilds of Vermont fills me to the bursting point with happiness.
- Music. Now we’re getting to actual everyday things. I listen to at least a little bit of music every day. Even if it’s just a song here and there, or maybe something that comes up on my YouTube suggestions and I give a quick listen to. It doesn’t have to be hours at a time listening to album after album or whatever, though I suspect we’ll get some of that today at work. Playing music, listening to music, writing music, recording music, talking about music, thinking about music… all of it.
- A good story. It could be a book, or a TV show, or a movie, or a website, or a news article, or a chat with a friend or family member. I just enjoy a good story.
- Going for a drive. I don’t do this one every day, and sometimes (like today in the pouring deluge of rain) it’s less enjoyable than others, but I do love going for a nice drive. The enjoyment level is often tied to the destination, but any drive is a good drive.
- Cats! Robin, Lily, the late great Miss Patches, the late great Fluffy Puffy P, the late great Floyd, Buddy, all of my friends cats, all of my family’s cats. Cats make me happy. You might be able to tell from all the cat pictures I post around here. I do enjoy a good cat.
And there you have it, folks. Five plus one things that make me happy. Hopefully you will have a few things make you happy today too. It is Friday, after all. Enjoy yourselves.
Inside the Red Head's Head 