I once Heimliched a koala.

Believe it or not, but a variation of that sentence used to be my default password to lot of stuff. Where did that come from? Tom Cruise once did a Letterman Top Ten list, and I think it was number five. Also on that list, and I give Cruise credit for reading it and being a good sport for as much heat as he takes for Scientology and mental health, was, “I believe all emotional and psychological disorders can be cured with Vicks VapoRub.”

I only had one job lead last week despite submitting over 50 applications. This employer had me take an assessment test that supposedly measured how I go about solving a problem and what type of chemistry I might bring to a team. It was comprised of four sections, each timed for ten minutes. I can’t remember what I scored on all sections, just three of them. One said I scored in the top two percentile, the other the top six, and the other the top twenty-fourth. Let’s just say, anytime I have had to take a test to advance my career, I never performed well enough to advance. That’s one reason why I never became an officer in the military despite a college degree, and why I never became a stockbroker despite majoring in finance and earning an MBA. That proved true once again with this test, as they were no longer interested in me as a candidate after taking their assessment test.

The music minister at my current church is well accomplished. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting and Organ Performance from the University of North Texas, and 30+ years of experience successfully conducting choirs and directing music programs both in schools and churches in DFW and Boston. He has participated in national and international performance and service tours, including the United States, England, Ireland, China, Australia, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and the Virgin Islands. He’s in his 50s and was concerned he was having some heart issues, so his cardiologist scheduled him to take an exercise stress test last week. During the test, he had a massive heart attack. He’s since been in the ICU and isn’t expected to recover. I don’t know much about the details other than that, and his mother just got into town.

I had lunch recently with a woman from one of the dating apps I’ve been messaging recently. As I’m sure most people do, I did a little background checking before the date, to be on the safe side. I’m sure most folks aren’t aware how easy it is to find information about them regarding the way they phrase certain things on their profile. Most of the time, I can either find their LinkedIn or Facebook profile. During lunch, this woman shared two things that didn’t match up with things she had on those profiles. But then again, I should give her the benefit of the doubt; maybe she simply forgot the number of kids she really has.

This weekend was full of watching movies. It started with the new Superman, which BoyGeeding and I enjoyed. I used to have high and certain expectations when it comes to movies like these, but now, I just want to be entertained and appreciate that particular director’s concept of the character. There will never be another Christopher Reeve, and Zack Snyder had his particular grittier take, so you work with the hand you are dealt. This frame of thinking all started when the fourth Indiana Jones came out, and I realized nothing was going to beat what was solidified in my childhood, so it was best I change my approach and expectations.

I saw that the Anthony Hopkins Hitchcock film with Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson was about to leave Netflix, so I fit that in. It was better than expected, and I’d recommend it.

I have a friend who’s interested in sovereign citizen YouTube videos. If you are unfamiliar with the sovereign citizens movement, they might most likely take the stance that they don’t have to pay certain taxes or follow some government rules because they believe those laws don’t apply to them personally. Members often hold the view that they can “opt out” of some or all aspects of government authority, especially regarding taxes, licenses, and the legal system. There’s a new movie called Sovereign that he wanted to see, based on real events, and it was only showing in one local theater. In the movie, Nick Offerman stars as Jerry Kane, a debt eliminator and Sovereign Citizen speaker who is teaching his son, Joseph (Jacob Tremblay), how the movement operates. The film’s core focus is on their dynamic, and the events leading up to a tragic standoff that puts them in conflict with police chief John Bouchart (Dennis Quaid). While it’s not a feel-good movie, it’s a damn good movie.

Other than the first ten minutes, I watched Brandon Lee’s The Crow for the first time. Why has it taken me so long? My mom forbade me from ever watching it. Why? Because as soon as my father finished watching that movie in May 1994, he went to get a drink of water in the kitchen and fell to the floor because his heart stopped beating. That was three days before my high school graduation. He had a pacemaker put in, and I got four borrowed years. Granted, it was playing in the background as I was applying for jobs, so I wasn’t really watching it with any intent or attention; it just happened to be on. It’s a film already soaked in death and grief, so it’s no wonder that my mom stamped it as cursed. To her, it was like that movie conjured something. She was trying to protect me in her own scared, wounded way. There’s a part of me that feels I dishonored her by watching it after all these years. I shared that with a friend, and he said he didn’t think I dishonored her. If anything, he said, watching it now was a quiet, brave kind of closure. I didn’t light candles and chant in Latin or anything, I just turned to a movie I’ve been avoiding my whole adult life, and he thought that was huge.

After every presidential election, there’s usually one book the following year the comes out about the election that stands out above the rest. This year’s book is 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. I’ve downloaded a sample onto my Kindle and I’m really enjoying it. As a lover of presidential history, I have a real appreciation for this stuff, and I’m very picky about the authors I choose to read. Speaking of which, I saw that David Gergen died. Gergen worked in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He wrote a book about his experiences that I really enjoyed. There were two photos in the book that stood out, and I wish I could find them. He’s at the center of each surrounded by four U.S. presidents. That’s gotta be rare, for a person to have a picture with two different sets of four U.S. presidents. No one else but him and those men. I’d say pretty rare, and pretty impressive. I really enjoyed reading about his perspective on working for presidents of both political parties. Talk about some insight. I can’t remember, but I think I actually wrote him a letter after reading the book to see if he would answer a question I had. I’ve done it with other authors, though usually with an email, and a few times I’ve been lucky enough that they have replied.

I found a new discount website for tech stuff: www.plug.tech.com. They were selling a first-generation Google Pixel watch for $39, not bad for a watch that debuted on October 13, 2022, for $329.99. I’m a longtime Google Fi subscriber and a loyal user of the Pixel phone. Granted, I don’t need a new watch, but for $40, I figured, why not? Maybe it will encourage me to be more active. So, I pulled the trigger and became a new customer of Plug.tech. So, I thought it was a little funny that just before they sent me a confirmation email of my purchase, there was an email from them saying they missed me.

So, I thought I’d share the discount code in case any of you find something you like. And no, I’m not getting any special kickback or incentive for sharing this with you.