DaughterGeeding contacted me yesterday to inform me she has also tested positive for COVID. I’m sure her mother will test positive in a few days. My daughter also told me her mother was out shopping. If we were still a couple, I would have advised her against going out in public since everyone else in the household is infected, but then again, she would consider that controlling.
For our trip, we flew into Reagan National. but were flying out of Dulles. It was the best fare I could find. Since we landed after midnight, all the car rental agencies would be closed at Reagan. So, since we would leave from Dulles, I decided to rent a car at Dulles and took an Uber to get there. It would have been much easier if we departed from Reagan National, since it was closer to our hotel and not a half-hour away. I would have rather rented a car from there. So, I thought it was funny that our return flight out of Dulles got cancelled and American Airlines taxied us back to Reagan National for a newly scheduled flight. I’m not sure why I didn’t receive a text alert about the flight cancellation.
Since we were near Dulles, I thought we should take advantage of what’s nearby, which was the Smithsonian Air and Space hanger were we got to see two of my favorite pieces of engineering, the SR-71 Blackbird and the Space Shuttle.
It just dawned on me that the last four places I took the kids, the meteor impact crater in Arizona, the observatory at Northern Arizona University, the Grand Canyon, and the Air and Space Museum, are all nerdy educational things. I hope that doesn’t hurt my factor as a cool dad.
In case you ever wanted to see how fragile and exposed those styrofoam thermal panels are which doomed one shuttle, here you go. Click to biggify.
Here’s an up-close image of a space suit. You’ll notice the instrumentation letters and numbers are backwards are reversed, and that’s done so they can be read easier from the astronaut’s perspective..
I took this photo because it made me think of a story my father told me. His military career started in the Navy. One of his first jobs was to put on propellers. But it wasn’t as easy as you’d think, because you had to calibrate the spinning so that the machine gun would shoot between spins and wouldn’t shoot off the flying mechanism. From that day, I always tried to look at things from stuff you wouldn’t ordinarily think about. I always enjoyed telling my ex stuff like that because she never had the honor of meeting my father and it was important for me to let her know the kind of man that he was and the life that he lived. I always wondered if she was truly interested in him or was just being polite, it was hard to tell. Now, I have to have the paradigm shift that she’s no longer worthy. At least I can let my kids know the man their grandfather was. As they sing in Hamilton, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” I wonder what, if any, stories my children will tell others about me. You are only truly forgotten when someone says your name for the last time.
When I saw this, I automatically started to think about legendary football games. My kids’ first thoughts were of Duff Man.
I scheduled a walking tour of Arlington National Cemetary for mid-afternoon that Monday. My plan for us was to arrive an hour early. But that didn’t work out because the state police closed off the main entrance. I pulled to the side of the road and several others who booked the tour also arrived via Uber. But none of us were getting inside, or could meet at our rendezvous point. We ended up parking at the Pentagon (that just feels odd to type) and walking over only to be 90-minutes late. Thankfully, we received a refund. And, I’m grateful the kids got to see the two most important things at the cemetery, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown and JFK’s grave.
Per my tracking device, I took over 21,000 steps that day. That’s a whole lot for me.
The kids never experienced room service before, so that was our dinner plans and they thought it was the neatest thing. Of course, the Ritz does a great job of presentation.
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, July 12, 2022
The good news: I had a phenomenal time with BoyGeeding and DaughterGeeding in Washington DC.
The bad news: I tested positive for COVID on Saturday, the day after we returned. I didn’t feel any symptoms until the evening we returned. From that aspect, the timing of it worked out for my benefit, but I hope I didn’t infect any others. I took two tests just to rule out a false-positive. Despite being vaxed and double-boosted, it still got me. DaughterGeeding tested negative, but BoyGeeding also tested positive.
Duing the summer, I have a week-on/week-off possession schedule regarding our children. The swap happens on Sunday evenings. As soon as I found out the COVID-19 test results on Saturday, I did the responsible thing and communicated them through our court-mandated messaging app. Since BoyGeeding is also positive and DaughterGeeding is exposed, In terms of what to do with the kids, I thought the most reasonable, logical, and rational thing to do is for me to keep the kids for five days and return them after a negative test result, per the CDC. But, when dealing with an ex-spouse, you have to set your expectations to a low level you never imagined, and be prepared for them to demand the least reasonable, logical, and rational thing. And, thankfully, I did, because that’s exactly what happened. No matter what, she didn’t want me to have an additional time with them, even if it meant I’d swap or exchange days for the ones they were forced to stay with me. However, she was nice enough to reach out and see if she could pick up and drop off anything for me.
I’m glad when the government first made tests free by mail I requested four of them. They sure came in handy and it was nice having them on hand and not having to track them down.
As you can see, DaughterGeeding administered the tests. Yes, her brother allowed and trusted her to stick that swap far up both nostrils.
As for symptoms, my largest complaint is coughing up phlegm because it hurts like a mutha. I’m using Mucinex to help alleviate that problem. I still have my senses of taste and smell, but other than headaches and body aches, I tire easily and quickly.
My appetite sure hasn’t been affected.
I really think DogGeedingII has COVID-19 as well. He’s never been this sick or eaten and drunk so little.
One of the best decisions I ever made was to get a massage the day before the trip. It took care of any stiffness I had in my back and my back felt great the entire week. However, during our first night in DC, I could feel a sharp pain developing in my right hip. It got so bad, by the time I woke up, I could no longer walk unassisted and had to buy a cane to get around for the first two days. Just to be on the safe side, I had it checked out to rule out a blood clot. If something were to happen, I have some great friends and coworkers in the area. The first day of the trip was the one in which we took the most steps, over 21,000. Most of that was at Arlington National Cemetary. Yup, I hobbled all around that beautiful vast area on a cane. Thankfully, I only needed the cane for another day and a half.
I suppose one of the best surprises was that most of the monuments were bigger and grander than the kids expected, which surprised me. In the world they live in, in which their attention is being fought for every second, I thought they would be unimpressed seeing the real thing, but it was the exact opposite.
It was a bit strange to see all the greenery there, and all the dried yellow and brown vegetation here.
I’d blog more if I wasn’t so tired.
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Monday, July 11, 2022
Sometimes I’m really in awe of modern transportation. It’s crazy to think I can wake up in Texas and then in a matter of hours be at coastal state. This makes me think of an old Louis CK joke. I know he has a bad reputation, but when it comes to commercial flying, he makes a great point.
I was on an airplane and there was high speed internet. That’s the newest thing I know that exists. And I’m sitting there and they go ‘open up your laptops you can go on the internet,’ and it’s fast, and I’m watching YouTube clips, I’m in an airplane! And then it breaks down, and they apologize that the internet’s not working, and the guy next to me goes ‘ugh, this is bullshit.’ Like how quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only like 10 seconds ago!
Flying is the worst one because people come back from flights and they’re telling you their story, and it’s like a horror story. They act like their flight was a cattle car in the 40s in Germany. They’re like, ‘it was the worst day of my life! First of all, we didn’t board for like 20 minutes and then they made us sit there on the runway for 40 minutes! We had to sit there!’ Oh really? What happened next? Did you FLY in the AIR incredibly like a BIRD? Did you partake in the miracle of human flight, you non-contributing zero?! … You’re sitting in a chair in the SKY! Here’s the thing: people say there’s delays. Delays? Really? New York to California in 5 hours. That used to take 30 years! And a bunch of you would die on the way there, and have babies… you’d be a whole different group of people by the time you got there. Now, you watch a movie, you take a dump, and you’re home!”
I’m using Google Travel for the first time, and I’m pretty impressed. Basically, you put your itinerary on there, the date, time and location (confirmation codes, personal notes) of where you’ll be. But what I think is cool is that it calculates the time and distance (walking or driving) between places, so you know when to wrap up what you are doing to leave. Check out the circled items below.
The kids were at their grandparents’ last weekend. Yet, I still got to FaceTime with them for half an hour on Saturday. My ex’s best friend was there and surprisingly came to one of their screens to say hello to me. I thought that was a very noble thing to do. I’ve always admired her integrity.
Thankfully, we’ve had zero trouble at the airports.
This display caught my attention in our hotel lobby.
I’m sure with each vacation, I’ll get used to not having the “family” moments I envisioned because of the divorce. It’s been easier this go around, but there are a lot of moments in which I want to send my ex pictures of the kids doing things I think she would enjoy or appreciate. But, because she doesn’t want that kind of relationship, I have to respect those boundaries. For instance, while at the National Cathedral, I caught both kids sneaking in a prayer. We also ate a place I knew she would have adored.
The kids told me their grandfather gave them money to buy souvenirs from the trip, but both told me they refuse to, and for different reasons. One, felt that it was a way of helping their mother prove I can’t afford to take care of them or financially able to take them on this trip. The other felt it means more if I buy the souvenirs, because it would be a gift from me to them. That the grandfather’s true motive was an act of replacing me, as if the souvenirs were directly coming from him so he could get all the credit. I did my best to broaden their scope, but I do fear the things they might are being told to make them think of such things.
Riding up the elevator last night were two young adult women. For the heck of it, I told them we were from Texas and asked where they were from. They laughed and told me to guess, but I asked them if they could tell me if they were from the U.S. Both giggled, looked at each other, and playfully said, “Do we look like American girls?” I told them we’re a culture pot, so yes, and then one of them gleefully told me Qatar, but with the hard “Q”, and that I probably never heard of it. I said, “Ah yes, it’s spelled with a Q.” Both seemed very surprised, and I followed it up with, “But I know some folks pronounce ‘cutter’.” Both let out loud laughs, pointed at me, and told me, “YES, that’s right. You knew that?!” Then, they walked out of the elevator, never to be seen again. I didn’t take it as flirting, but it seemed to have made their evening.
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for July 4, 2022 Week Vacation
Just a reminder you may not see hardly if any posts next week since I’ll be vacationing with the kids. But who know, maybe I’ll at least post some pics. There’s suppose to be a lot of travelers this weekend, and airlines have a challenge on their hands. I’ve prepared myself emotionally should their be a delay or cancellation.
I called the Ritz-Carlton in DC to verify our booking and get some answers to a few lingering questions. The person who took my call grew up in an adjacent city, Coppell. Small, not so small world. I may or may not have gotten a free upgrade.
I spent a lot of time planning what activities to do on what days next week. Even though I don’t want to reconcile, I couldn’t help but think how much fun my ex and I would have had planning such a thing together. Some tours have to be scheduled ahead of time, and what we want to see is scattered all around the DC area, so it was a bunch of, “Well, since we’re here at this time for this tour, such-and-such is nearby, so we should take advantage of that.” But, this is a family vacation and well, she no longer is family. But as I said before, I’ve been planning this trip for at least three years now with her in mind.
A woman reached out to me on one a dating app. Her profile stated she was 6’9″. I don’t have any problems dating a taller woman, but I was curious if it was a typo. I couldn’t tell anything from the profile pics, so, I thought I’d ask her, but clarify height didn’t concern me. It must be a sore spot, she unmatched/unfriended me.
I wonder if LiberallyLean would be willing to answer this question on his blog – What’s the point of a Supreme Court dissenting opinion? I’ve always viewed as just a means for allowing those who lost some solace in allowing to be heard. Can they be used regarding future opinions? Are they essentially useless and ultimately pointless?
I think everyday day this work week, someone I haven’t heard from in a long time has reached out to me. All are friends I made because of this blog. The latest is a soldier who found this blog randomly passing the time while on duty in South Korea and he’s been reading from around 2007. He thanked me for my transparency because it helped him relate and overcome some like obstacles. We actually spoke on the phone for over an hour. It was actually our first verbal conversation, and it was as if we’ve been friends for decades.
I’m going to be transparent and admit some ignorance or lack of exposure to great American writing and film. I’ve never seen or read The Grapes of Wrath. That’s right, I wasn’t exposed to either in high school or college. That’s not to say I didn’t know a thing about either of them. I knew it was written by John Steinbeck, set during the Great Depression, and followed a farming family moving from Oklahoma to California. Yesterday, I did a lot of research on it because it was referenced on a Reddit thread about the painting below. For those of you who haven’t read the 1939 novel or seen the 1940 movie, well, uh, spoiler warning, don’t read on. But upon first glance, the painting took me aback. I’m sure it will make you uncomfortable, and in some ways, I hope it does. But this is how the painting was described: “This painting of a woman breastfeeding an old man in a prison cell was sold for €30 million. A man was sentenced to “death by starvation” for stealing a loaf of bread. His daughter breastfed him on daily visits as she was searched. He survived 4 months and was pardoned.” Apparently, the story has been depicted quite a bit in the art world.
Embrace the Cringe – We all have “cringe-worthy” moments in life. Should talk about them more?
Embracing the cringe—for example, by sharing stories with friends of your biggest relationship failures or gaffes, or your worst professional moments—is a gift to your fellow humans. It sends a message that despite all of the imperfections and mortifications of the human condition, we survive. We’re flawed, and still worthy of care, love, consideration and attention. This is a more humane, and humanist, way to think about personal failure than to try to spin it, suppress it, or otherwise protect the “brand” that is a life. After all, how do young people learn that it really isn’t the “end of the world” when you embarrass yourself or get ditched?
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Friday, July 1, 2022
