End of an Era

What Now?

On Monday, March 22, I turn in my part time stay-at-home Dad status for full time employee. I've been working toward this change for the better part of three years, and to finally have it has made life that much sweeter!

While I look forward with great excitement and anticipation I am grateful for the time I did get to spend as a part time SAHD. Those are days I will always treasure and look back with great fondness. So many dads feel lucky if they get to spend just a couple hours a week with their kids. I was truly blessed to get to spend so much time with mine, and I hope they felt the same way. I know that when I am sitting in my office I will look back and greatly miss those days.

This blog will always remind me of those days and how I got to share my experience, feelings and thoughts with the rest of the world (or at least the two to three dozen folks who stopped by to read my drivel). But, like all good things this too must come to an end. Since I will now be spending a great amount of my day at work, I want to make sure that when I am home I am HOME and spending my time with the people that mean the most too me, my always supportive wife and my wonderful kids. I don't want to sit in front of my computer writing things for strangers to read when I could be living in real time with my real family. Now please don't take these words as some kind of rant, they are not meant to be. After keeping this blog and reading so many others I do feel they serve a great purpose, both for the reader and writer. I have learned a lot from my fellow bloggers and I hope I have helped my readers a little too. It's just time for me to hang it up for a while and get back to reality.

I would never say never, and maybe after I get into a groove and find I do have some time to come back I will, so maybe you should check for whatnowdad every six months or so, just in case.

It has been fun, and I have enjoyed it. I wish you all the very best in life, and urge you to enjoy every second of it. We only go around this rock once so make it count.

For the last time (for now), peace out everybody!

GAME CHANGER

WHAT NOW?

Yesterday it happened.

Three weeks after my interview.

I thought the worst when I got the call.

I didn't know what to think when she offered me the job.

We spent all last night talking it over.

I woke up one hour before I needed to get out of bed thinking about it.

We talked more about it this morning.

I called her back to trying to raise the salary.

I then accepted the job.

Again, I didn't know what to think.

I called my parents to give them the good news.

B called her family to do the same.

By mid morning it hit me.....

And I have been smiling ever since.

Today is a happy day!

More later.............

Training Tuesday - The agony of da-feet

What Now?

If you are old like me and loved watching the Wide World of Sports you remember the opening of the show with "the thrill of victory" and "the agony of defeat" lines. I remember clearly the ski jumper taking a huge digger and crashing hard for defeat. Funny how I can't remember what the clip was for victory. Anyway, while watching some Olympic ski jumping my daughter asked me if the jumpers ever crash? I took her to the computer right away and youtubed that clip. Man, did that dude "F" himself up or what. Well, my post is not about that, but more my own agony.

Last year, just before I was set to run my first ever half marathon I got a bad case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot. I pulled out of the race and stopped running for a couple of months. When I started up again in December the foot felt great and I was back on track. I set out my goals for 2010 and number one on my list was to run another half marathon set for March 6. Everything has been going great until my long run 8 days ago. The next day I felt something in my right foot that sure felt like the beginning of plantar fasciitis. So, I started the healing routine again: ice, stretch, rolling my foot over a tennis ball, ibuprofen and no running all week.

Sunday, feeling great, I took off for my 10 mile long run. About mile 7 my foot starts to hurt, but not enough to get me to stop. I make it through the run OK, but that night my foot really started to hurt. For the past couple of days I have been in real pain. This sucks. I am 11 days away from finally running my first half marathon and I’m looking another DNS in the face. I really don’t want to pull out of it, but I also don’t want to make things worse and threaten the rest of my racing year.

B suggested I see the LMP-C IMT (integrated manual therapy) she sees for some intense sports therapy massage. This guy puts her through the ringer, but if he can get me to run on the 6th I’ll take the pain. The only real issue I have is HE IS A GUY and I have a long standing rule against having a male massage therapist…but I want to run that damn half, so I am breaking my rule this once. I just hope "it does not move" like it did for George on Seinfeld.

Here's to my journey into a new frontier.

Peace out!

Media Monday - 9, not a bad movie...even with dolls

What Now?

I am a sci fi geek. If it's in this genre you can bet I will watch it, and most likely enjoy it. When I saw the trailer for Tim Burton's "9" I thought I had found the exception. It looked more like a Saturday morning cartoon on some teeny bopper cable channel than a movie that I would enjoy. But, it went on the Netflix queue, somewhere near the button of the list, with little hope of making it to the mail slot.

Sometime I forget about the queue and am surprised when a movie comes that I was not expecting. And if it's a movie I'm not thrilled about to begin with there is a good chance it's opened, put back, re-sealed and put in the send slot. I decided to give this movie a try instead, and what I saw was not too bad at all, not great, but not bad.

The premise is the old "man vs. machine" storyline but it takes place after machines have won. What is left from man are these robot dolls, each with their own personality and feelings. The movie opens with the main robodoll, 9, trying to figure out what he is, where he is, and what else is around him. What he finds is a tribe of robodolls all hiding away from the last remaining machines, trying to survive, but not much else. 9 challenges their belief system when one of their own gets taken alive by one of the machines. He recruits some others to help him save their stolen friend, and in the process they learn a great deal about themselves and each other. When the "master" machine is awaken to cause more chaos, this band of friends join together to stop it, and save themselves in the process. It's not really until the end of the movie that their purpose on earth is reveled to the movie watcher, and because of that you could find yourself wondering what the hell this movie is all about anyway.

There are some nice action scenes and the story is pretty well told, but if you are on the fence when it comes to science fiction movies this won't do much for ya. It's not my favorite Tim Burton movie, but I would give it a 2.75 out of 5 whatnows....not good enough for a full 3, but better than average.

That's all I got, take care and peace out!

Priorities, priorities

What Now?

I am a sucky blogger, not all the time, just lately really. I do have excuses, plenty of them. First off, my flat lining career has shown signs of life in the past couple of weeks. It's not enough for me to think things will go back to "Shangri-La" like my family had it a few years back, but it's nice to see things picking up again and the income is a welcome surprise.

Another item keeping me away from the blogosphere is the morning long interview I had last week for a new job, and new career path. While the actual interview only took a couple of hours, it has occupied a great deal of space inside my head. If I am offered this job there are so many things to think about. If I take this job the entire structure of my family life will change. The thing my wife I need to figure out is does this change life for the better or not? Every career change I have taken has forced my wife to change, either her job, or our location, or both. At this stage of the game it's really important we make the right decision for our family. The toughest part is just waiting to find out if we even have a decision to make. Until then it continues rent space in my head, of which there is not much room to spare.

Besides these two big events, it just seems life is getting busier and busier. Basketball for our 8-year old has started and I'm coaching again. There seem to be more school activities than ever and my wife and I are always trying to volunteer for them. It also seems like more than ever the members of our immediate family have their own mini-crisis going on, which we hear about daily and bear some of the stress that goes along with them.

So, in the grand scheme of things this little old blog of mine has taken a back seat, but I think that is OK. Life will continue to move, and most of the time if you don't move with it you get left behind and struggling to catch back up. I do like writing my blog posts, and hearing from some of the nice folks that read what I write, but until I start getting paid for this little hobby it will remain a low priority for me.

OK, let's do a quick rundown for the time I've missed:

Media Monday - I haven't seen any movies lately, but do have Four Christmases and 9 at home from Netflix waiting to be watched. when I finally get to them I'll let you know what I think.

Training Tuesday - My first ever half-marathon is less than a month away and I feel very ready. I will never run these races fast, but I should finish with a respectable time and feel good doing it. You can't really ask for more than that.

Wisdom Wednesday - "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately, and it really does help.

Random Thoughts Thursday - The last two winters here where I live have been brutal with the snow and cold. This winter is a mild as ever, and I see the storms the East Coast is getting and I kinda miss it.

Friday Family - Like I mentioned above our 8-year old has started basketball again. Last year was her first time playing organized basketball and she was OK individually but we had a stellar team that went undefeated. This year our team is struggling, but our girl is the star (she dropped 20 points last night). It's hard for me as the coach not to get overly excited for her without showing favoritism...but inside I am loving watching her kick ass!

That's all folks...take care and peace out!

Tuesday Training - When life gets in the way

What Now?

Today was a crazy, crazy day. At the crack ass of dawn my wife left for a work trip. She doesn't travel all that much, but when she does I become Dad and Mom (not to mention I miss her like crazy!).

So, at 6:15 I get out of bed, into the shower and down the stairs to prepare for the day. The girls came down shortly after and the morning ritual was on. Eat, dress, brush (teeth and hair), make lunches, pack backpacks, put the dog away and hit the road for school drop off. After I drop off the kids I drive over to the home office of my new part time job to drop off my time slip. I then head to my office and work both my "full-time" job and part-time job until 3pm. At 3pm I pick-up the girls from school and we head home to do homework and practice piano.

We then head back out the door for my daughter's basketball game at 5pm. After the game my parents wanted to treat us to dinner at the new restaurant in town, but after hearing the wait was going to be an hour we head over to Arby's (god, fast food...my body just can't take that stuff anymore). We get home a little after 7pm and start up the nighttime routine. Bath time, put on jammies, brush (again teeth and hair), read a book and lights off. Whoa, I made it and nobody got hurt!

So, my grand plan was to workout after the kids fall asleep. After a non-stop day, a belly full of fast food, and my training partner out of town my motivation is just not there. It's funny that just a couple of years ago I could justify not working out on a lot less excuses than that, but these days I feel like a total lazy ass if I miss a day of training. I feel heavier, less energetic, moody, and just a little part of me feels disappointed. But, like every other parent trying to keep all their dogs on the leash, I have to remind myself that sometimes life just gets in the way of working out. Sure I could have gotten up with my wife this morning and got it done. I could have left my office early and got it done. I could have sat my kids in front of the TV when we got home from school and got it done. I could get off this computer right now and get it done. But I'm not going to, and that is OK, and I have to remind myself of that.

I am so happy that at this point of my life I get a little disappointed when I don't workout, instead of overjoyed when I do. I am as healthy as I have every been, and doing things I never thought possible. If a day or two goes by without a workout getting down it won't be my downfall, it won't be my end game, it will just be life getting in the way. Until I start drawing a paycheck for my athletic pursuits it will always be that way, and I am OK with that! I do know one thing...I'm getting up early tomorrow to get my run in, and I'm looking forward to that!

Take care and peace out!

Media Monday - The Hangover left me floored

What Now?

Up until this weekend I am pretty sure that my wife and I were the only people left in the world who had not seen The Hangover. We both heard from countless friends and family that not only was The Hangover a must see movie, but it was one of the funniest in the history of film.

Well, finally after weeks of waiting the Netflix gods answered our prayers and sent us this movie. After we tucked the kids in bed, waiting the necessary 15 minuets until they stopped coming into our room complaining of a belly ache or other ailment that was keeping them awake, we snuck downstairs, grabbed a glass of wine, popped in the movie and waited for the hilarity to come.

And come it did. Now, I don't know if I'm ready to put this movie in the class of Old School and Wedding Crashers, but I will say this was one damn funny movie. How can you go wrong with this storyline...four guys in Vegas to celebrate a friends upcoming wedding. I mean come on, this movie could do no wrong. Throw in a Mike Tyson cameo and you have comedy gold I tell ya.

What was great about this movie is you never actually see the night of male stupidity in action, but the next day when the boys, all a little "hungover" try to piece the evening together in order to find their missing friend, the groom. Each new piece of the puzzle is revealed, and as the story builds so does the funny. I just about peed myself when the "lucky charm" jumps out of the trunk of the car and beats the shit out of all the guys with a tire iron (if you've seen the movie you know the scene, if not just know there is full frontal nudity involved, and not the good kind!)

The cast is equal to the story as well. You have the good looking trouble maker played by Bradley Cooper, who I have to admit is a very handsome fella..if you like that kinda thing. The poor sap friend with the bitch-from-hell girlfriend played by Ed Helms (also know as the Nard Dog from The Office). The misfit soon-t0-be brother-in-law invited as a friendly family gesture played by Zack Galifanakis (I have never heard of this guy before, but he steals the show in my opinion) and of course the reluctant and missing groom played by Justin Bartha. It's great to see a comedy with relatively fresh faces. Don't get me wrong, I can watch Vince Vaughn, either Olson brother and Seth Rogan until the cows come home, but it's nice to see some other actors shine.

The one thing my wife and I could not stop talking about is how "rough" they made these guys look the day after. I mean really, if this movie wins any awards it should be for make-up, because it was spot on. We've all been there, and you can just feel their pain when they wake up the next morning. It made me stop drinking my glass of wine about half way through.

So, overall I gotta give this movie 4 out of 5 what nows. If you like comedy and are not too easily offended you must see this movie, oh...I almost forgot, you already did see it. Well now you can talk about it in front of me without giving anything away. And always remember "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Except for herpes. That shit'll come back with you."

Take care and peace out!