The Back Of The Bus

I love my son! Its interesting seeing him and the different ways he is like me. Yesterday I took my son to get his hair cut. Because my wife needed the car for work, we would have to take the bus. This was a big deal for AJ. He rarely rides but the bus and really likes this idea of it (don't know if he actually likes the bus or just being able to sing the wheels on the bus song on the bus).

So we get on and because i'm paying and AJ is two and a half, he is already running to a seat and i'm upfront paying. My son goes to the very back of the bus and sits among 6 very grumpy looking black guys. I don't want to be stereotypical but i think you know who i'm talking about. They just don't look very friendly. Really, no one on the bus looks friendly. This does not deter my son. He very quickly proceeds to say Hi to everyone one of the guys on the bus, not stopping until they answer and smile back. So, there we were, now 7 black guys and my little light-skinned boy all smiling in the back of the bus. That's my son.

I felt that this story should go here cause its something i'm NOW finally more comfortable with. Going into whatever group of people and being myself. Smiling and being friendly and comfortable with me no matter what other people may look or act like. I pray that i will be able to encourage my son to keep doing the same thing. To not be afraid of anyone and to acknowledge them and wait to see them smile. Imagine, if he keeps that, what HE would be like when HE'S 30.

GRIEF!

I may have bitten off more than i can chew! Good thing i don't have 365! This list is long and i am struggling to do it but i'm not losing hope! I'm actually working on a few things (Russian words for conversation...but GRIEF...Russian is a hard language!) so i'm not completely slacking!

Today i'm supposed to buy a suit so...if that happens, it will be blogged!

Mow your name in grass

Darn you Deanna!

This was my first task with my new (used) lawn mower. If you can tell, my grass is at a pretty ridiculous height. We sometimes lose AJ in it, not to mention all the dog toys!

I mowed my name and then had to climb up on my roof so you can read my name. My housemates were a little nervous seeing me on the roof in my flip flops (i can do almost EVERYTHING in flip flops) and told me not to die.

Once down and feeling ready to tackle the grass, my lawn mower wouldn't start! It took 30 min of me pulling and prodding and poking. But it eventually worked, until it died 2/3's of the way.

Purge Cd Collection

Its been a slow start. Earlier this week, our router died so we didn't have any Internet at home. Also, I took my work teens to cirque du soleil, getting home around 1 am ( by the way , Kooza is a great show...a little on the dirty side but great!) So, on the 1st I purged my cd collection.

I have emptied 69 cd's out of my cd cases. Some were in real need to being tossed. My cd's have survived ( or not ) many trips to Belize and the sand and dirt in a cd player, not to mention my own carelessness. These were easy to get rid off.

Then there were the others. The cds that have memories and dreams attached which have been let go of or need to be let go of. Janet Jackson's the Velvet Rope is most likely the best example of this. I have always wanted to be a background dancer or singer performer and this is largely in part of seeing janet jackson performer for her first time on the American Music Awards. Letting the cd go (and grief, writing this is making me regret my decision!) was sort of like deciding to let go of old dreams and getting ready for my next stage of life. I now have a wife and two kids and my dreams have now morphed into family dreams.

I'm still thinking all this through though...i mean...if janet jackson were to call and say she need a background dancer for her next tour...yeah...i would consider! : )

The List

Here it is everyone; the list! Thank you to all of you who have contributed. Some of the ideas are awesome and some a little concerning. I have put your intials next to the ones you have contributed. Okay...enough talk, here is what i've got to do before i turn 30! a week of Martha Stewart recipes (KW) audition for community theatre (DS) bake cookies for your neighbors (KW) be on time to work, or early (KW) beat your father-in-law at tennis (RJ) buy a suit and tie (RJ) buy the next person in line a coffee etc (KW) Call an emergency meeting at work and turn it into a party (RJ) Carol in the Super mall (PW) change the oil in your car (DL) compliment as many people as possible today (DS) compose a song (DS) Cook a foreign dish you have never prepared before (JK) cook a gourmet meal (DS) create a youtube video (DS) decorate your car for Christmas (DL) deliver a singing telegram (DL) Do 100 push ups w/ out stopping (PW) do a mini-triathlon (pick your own distances) (DL) do a standing back flip (PW) Do a study on the Rock of Gibraltar and report it to a coworker (NS) document a day in your life in photos -1 every 3 hours (RJ) Donate something to the library (RJ) Dont repeat the same color for one whole week in your clothing (maybe underwear and shoes dont count) (AP) eat one pound of cake (PW) Email your grandfather (Tony) once a month and send pics (DP) Experiment with your facial hair (JK) extend your personal underwater breath-holding record by 30 seconds (DL) Find an object, observe it and think of it in terms of its color, shape, through time, its use, its parts, as a whole, its place in the community, its use, its purpose, etc (AP) Find one thing everyday that you really love about yourself (AP) Find out about and say a prayer for the Adivasi people. (NS) Find out where OshKosh, Timbuktu, and Kalamazoo are located. (NS) for one day, ask every new person you meet for an autograph (DL) Forgive your father (DP) get a doctor's physical exam (RJ) get acupuncture (DL) get in a car with a full tank of gas and drive until you run out (DS) get something published: book, article, poem, song, letter to the editor, whatever - see your name in print (DL) get/watch/sing the sing-along version of Mamma Mia! (DL) gigantic. gummy. bears. (http://www.pimpthatsnack.com/project/366/3) (DL) Give $20 worth of food to a foodbank/church to feed a needy family once a month (DP) Give some time to the South Sound Dream Center.(NS) Go a day without dancing or singing (KW) go geocaching (DL) go in a corn/hedge maze/labyrinth (DL) go in one of those ginormous plastic hamster balls (DL) go skinny dipping or streaking in a public place (PW) go to a hot yoga class (DS) go to a poetry bar (DS) go to an improv show (RJ) Go to Farmers Market in Olympia (RJ) go to the library/bookstore cookbook section, close your eyes, open a book randomly >> make that recipe (DL) go to the troll under the bridge in Seattle or the gum wall or both (DS) Grow long dreadlocks (JK) Guess what is at 46 degrees West Longitude, 20 degrees South Lattitude, Watch a film about this place. (NS) have a wine tasting party (DS) Hike through a state park you have yet to visit (JK) host a themed party (RJ) Learn 3 words of Russian and use in conversation (RJ) Learn a Kermit the Frog monologue, and give your best adaptation. (NS) Learn a Latin dance (DP) learn how to say "I love you" in 10 different languages (DS) learn kung fu (PW) Learn the “Shema Yisrael” in Hebrew. (NS) Learn the names of 10 Northwest tribal peoples. (NS) learn to find constellations - other than the dippers (DL) learn to make something new out of origami - preferably something cool, like a penguin (DL) Learn to spin/throw a pizza (RJ) Learn to whistle. Whistle a joyful song unto the LORD. (NS) learn to write your name in kanji (DL) make (and eat) green eggs and ham (DL) z(RJ) make a foreign recipe (KW) make a Jacob's Ladder toy (DL) make a lip sync video (why do I think you've done this before?) (DL) Make a mini traveling museum of things you find around you (eg in nature) and show it to people (i can tell you more if you like). Have little signs saying what each thing is like in a real gallery. Your displays can be cut out cereal boxes, shoe boxes, bottles, etc (AP) make a pie crust from scratch (DL) Make a plan and do it (eg, to explore your neighborhood, gain 1 pound, etc) (AP) make a quillow (RJ) make a Robert Sabuda pop-up card (http://www.wikihow.com/Category:Pop-Up-Cards) (DL) make a sleeveface picture (like this: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/04/captivating-examples-of-sleeveface-photography/) (DL) Make up an extraordinary origin story for an ordinary object (eg a tree, a piece of wood) (AP) make your own Mr. Potato Head - with a potato (DL) memorize a passage of scripture (RJ) mow your name in the lawn (OR plant your name in seeds - longer wait for the pay-off photo though) (DL) never watch Harry Potter again (PW) paint a picture (RJ) perform a monologue (RJ) Plant and grow corn (EJ) Play a Kazoo Duet with someone of your choosing at a special occasion. (NS) Play an instrument everyday (actual or one you made) (AP) play frisbee in the dark (DL) play water basketball without touching the bottom of the pool with your feet (KW) prepare a bunch of hot chocolate, give it out to the homeless (DS) Purge your CD collection of any old or scratched cds (EJ) Randomly give some one 20$ (PW) Read a book a month (EJ) Read one Dallas Willard book (PW) read ZERO magazines for one month (PW) recreate a masterpiece with sidewalk chalk (DL) ride a unicycle (DL) ride bike to work, hitch hike to work (PW) run a mile in under 6 minutes (PW) See a play (RJ) send a paper letter to your mother - on a day other than Mother's Day or her birthday (DL) send an email to your future self (http://www.futureme.org/index.php) (DL) sew a pair of pajama pants (RJ) shave a design into your hair (RJ) shave all of the hair on your body (DS) shave your eyebrows (PW) shoot a gun (PW) sleep outdoors (RJ) Speak to teenagers at the bus station (EJ) spend 30 minutes doing absolutley NOTHING (PW) spend a day in silence (RJ) spend an entire half day watching bloody gory man movies (PW) start reading the Bible at 8am - read until 8pm - see how far you get and what God shows you. (DS) take a fencing class (the kind with an epee) (DL) take a massage class (DS) take a vow of silence for 24 hours (DS) Take a yoga class (RJ) Take an aerial acrobatics class (EJ) Make Ice Cream (EJ) Take two others and feed the homeless. (NS) take your/a couch to a park for the day, people-watch through a frame (like a tv) (DL) tape your thumbs to your palms for a whole day (DL) teach Aj something new (KW) teach someone about your culture (RJ) Tell 12 people about Jesus (PW) Tell everyone in your immediate family your most treasured memory with them (DP) throw a silent party (DL) track down the Mr. Men book that best describes you as a child (DL) Try every class at the Auburn YMCA (EJ) Try playing a new sport for the first time (JK) Try to get to know someone on my side of the family in Trinidad (DP) use a metal detector to hunt for treasure (DL) Visit a close but local town you have yet to explore (JK) Visit Pat and Kay in Moses lake (PW) visit the wonderful and family-friendly city of Calgary, Alberta! ;) (DL) volunteer @ a community garden (KW) wash the outside of your windows (DL) watch a foreign film without subtitles (RJ) wear a child's sticker on your forhead all day (KW) Wear a diaper for a few hours (EJ) wear a superman cape for a day(DL) Wear a Thong for a day (EJ) Wear suspenders for a day (EJ) witness to a sales person (KW) write a family guidebook for your neighbourhood/frequent places - favorite restaurants, best walks, etc (DL) write a letter to your elected representative about an issue you feel strongly about (DL) write a love letter in pig latin - and read it out loud without laughing (DL) write a play (DS) Write an original Haiku, and get it translated into Japanese characters. (NS) Write an original limerick, and recite it for three people. (NS) write and illustrate a children's book (DS) Write in your new blog at least 1/wk (AP) write letters to your children for when they turn 18 or for Ren and children for after you die (DS) write love letters to every one you love (DS) Write one page every week of a story you will one day read to AJ and Brooklyn (AP) Write to me at least every two weeks (i know i'm being selfish) (AP) looks like i'm going to be busy! (so you don't have to count, its 163...i'm a little short for a year!) Peace!