Friday Five

1. What do you most want to be remembered for? A person who never stopped trying to grow and change and be better at everything he did.

2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life? I've never been good at quotes. All I can think of is "never will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy"

3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year? keeping my sanity through all we have been through.

4. What about the past ten years? My children.

5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say? Always strive to become a better person than you already are.

I realized I actually haven't made a personal update in a while so here it goes.

I'm still having a hard time getting adjusted to the weather here. Sunday night at about 5 am we had a sudden storm complete with thunder and lightening then a sudden downpore. The power cut out for a few seconds and I was quite unsettled. I ended up going up to the boys room and making them come sleep on our floor in sleeping bags. At this point I find it hard to believe that I'm ever going to be unfettered by thunder. What I have found is I love spring rain. I love having it rain and be warm at the same time, I find in invigorating. It would be even better if there weren't so many little gnats and mosquitoes.

Sebastian's school had a "Spring Fling" on Friday. It was 5 tickets for $1 so we bought some thinking it was some kind of opne house type event. Turns out a "Spring Fling" is a carnival and the tickets are to participate in the midway attraction like "ring toss" and my all-time favourite where you fishover a wall and get a prize. We were so unprepared we ended up having to write a check for tickets. BTW - You know you live in a small town when everyone knows you for the simple fact that you are new. We met a couple of our neighbors and had a good time.

My father and I spoke for the first time since February yesterday. As I expected he just pretended like nothing had happened between us. Oh well.

I'm on the high protein/low carb plan with Brie I hope it works and is something we can live with, it seems to be. I'm starting to get antsy about my weight, I've put on 25 lbs since I stopped working regularly at UPS (about a year ago) and I'm starting to get obsessed that Brie and I have to do something for ourselves before it gets worse. If I could only figure out a way to get in ½ hour of cardio a day I know it would be all that I need. Hopefully when things settle down and we join the local YMCA I can start going there.

Brie and I had one of our long talks on Saturday night. It was one of the first times I realized how much we have changed over the past 15 years in reagrds to who we are within our relationship. I've vowed to myself to become a bit more forthcoming about what I feel and want and to stop keeping my feelings to myself to only let them out in negative bursts. Sometimes you can't climb the wall, you have to just crash through it.

This or That

1. Do you prefer silence or do you like background sound (music, TV, etc)? background sound, I'm not much for silence.

2. Bathe/shower in morning or evening? Bathe at night, shower during the day.

3. Sleeping in complete darkness, or with a nightlight on? I don't need a nightlight, the light from the moon and stars is enough, but I don't like complete darkness.

4. Lay out clothes the night before, or just grab what's closest in the morning? Grab in the morning, unless it's something important and I need to iron everything.

5. Hang up/fold clothes neatly, or just toss them wherever? Hang and fold immediately after dryer stops!

6. Work out at a gym, or at home on your own (or do you not bother with exercise)? I would actually prefer the time to go to a gym, mainly because I like to swim and I don't have a pool. Barring that, one of those new Nautilus Treadclimbers would be great.

7. Talk on the phone, or via IM/e-mail? Depends on the topic and who I'm talking to. I don't like to talk about real personal matters via IM/email because I find things almost always get misconstrued by both parties.

8. Are you usually on time, or late? Even with my absolute best intentions I find it impossible to be anything other than at least 5 minutes late.

9. Spendthrift or frugal? spendhrift, unfortunately, but I'm trying!

10. Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: You work with someone who is not in the habit of bathing regularly. The smell seems to be getting worse and worse! Would you: luckily I don't work with anyone, so I don't have to answer this question.

how many times have you been in love? twice, though the first time pales in comparison to the second.

what's your favorite way to express love? to be honest, sex, it is by far my favorite means of expressing love, but second is having long conversations.

what film do you think has the best love story? this one was a toughy, but I'm going to go with Grease it is so similar to my real live love story. Boy with a bad reputation falls for a "good girl" and attempts to change himself and in the end she shows him that she's willing to meet him half way.

what song best expresses love? as far as what I idealize as love it's Somebody by Depeche Mode

is the lyric "what the world needs now, is love, sweet love" true? not neccessarily, I think we need understanding more than love.

what are the most important requirements for you to love someone? My formula for an everlasting love is complete trust, communication, and attraction. To me everything else will come if you have those three things in abudance.

when was the last time you told someone you were in love with them? (not just saying "I Love You") I'm actually not sure, eek. It might have been Saturday night. We took a 2 hour jacuzzi bath together and had a very long, deep talk. One of those talks a good relationship needs every so often where you just lay everything in your mind out on the table.

I was suppose to post this yesterday, every Sunday I am going to post 7 question for a new feature called If You Are Bored sometimes the questions will be on a theme, sometimes just random. I plan on adding a page for the questions directly from our home page.

If You Are Bored ..... let's talk about love

how many times have you been in love?

when was the last time you told someone you were in love with them? (not just saying "I Love You")

Yahoo! News - Burton Sweet on

be afraid be very afraid. The thought of Tim Burton doing a live action version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory scares me. I still don't understand why Tim is allowed to make films as he has serious problems actually telling a story. Sure he has a great ability to set tone and come up with fantastical worlds and images, but almost all of his movies lack seriously in storytelling and first and foremost C&TCF is about the story.

The article also mentions that Roald Dahl "detested" Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which I had never heard. Well at least the original got a great treatment on DVD and no matter what happens I will always have it.

the friday five

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use? Tom's of Maine, preferrably cinnamon, but we haven't been able to find that flavor for a while.

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer? People have preferences for toiletpaper brands, give me a break. Now I can see having a preference for three-ply over single-ply, but I'm not brand loyal when it comes to wiping me bum.

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear? My all time favourite are the original Reebok hightops in black, which are now sold under as Reebok Classics.

4. What brand of soda do you drink? Depends on what I'm doing. I had a tradition of getting a Mountain Dew everynight at work to help me stay awake. Growing up I could not drink even small amounts of caffeine so I drank a lot of 7-Up and the occasional Peach Nehi when I could find it. Nowadays I actually only drink soda when I get fast food and it tends to be Coke, not Pepsi or Fruit Punch/Lemonade.

5. What brand of gum do you chew? Growing up it was Bubbalicious or fruitystripe. Nowadays it's whatever "freshen-your-breath-but-lose-flavor-in-ten-minutes gum Brie has with her.

Sean's F**k, Marry, Kill

1) Pamela Anderson, Rebecca Romaine-Stamos, Brittney Spears F**k Brittney, Marry Rebecca, Kill Pamela (told you I don't find strippers attractive.

2) Carrie-Anne Moss, Jenna Jamison, J-Lo Egad, Marry Carrie -Anne, Kill the other two.

3) Carmen Electra, Tyra Banks, Jennifer Garner Kill Carmen, Marry Tyra, F**k Jennifer

Round 2:

Rebecca, Carrie-Ann, Tyra F**k Rebecca, Marry Carrie-Ann, Kill Tyra

Brittney, Jennifer Garner F**k Brittney

1) Desk job or manual labor?Depends on which one would allow me to use the most of my creativity and need for autonomy.

2) Sports bar/pub or ritzy nightspot? Not much for Sports Bars because I tend to not like the clientel, pubs are great unless they are a locals only place, and if I have the money and wardrobe choices I love to go out on the town to ritzy nightspots.

3) Camping or resort?Resort. My father ruined camping for me.

4) Strip club or private dancer (as at a bachelor party)?Neither. I just don't get it and I've never actually seen a stripper or dancer that I actually thought was sexy.

5) Planes, trains, or automobiles?Automobiles unless time is an issue than plane, never been on a train (BART does not count)

6) God, Buddha, Satan, or the everlasting cold of absolute nothingness?I believe in faith not religion, but I think Buddha's teachings are the most helpful on living a life in harmony with the universe and whatever it is I can feel oversees it all.

7) Are you a wingman or pilot?Is this an inside joke I'm missing? Is this a reference to that beer commercial? If you need a pilot I will take the pilot's seat, if you need a wingman I will stand by your side.

8) Pooh or Tigger?Duh! Just look at my left leg.

9) (insert answer from #8 here) or Piglet?I prefer even Roo to Piglet.

10) New York City or Las Vegas?Never been to NYC, so I'll go with what I know, Vegas baby!

Thought Provoking Question:
You and your partner are flying cross country. After some fun flirting and innocent messing around, your partner indicates that he/she would be interested in having some more adult fun in the airplane bathroom and becoming members of The Mile High Club. Do you join them or not? No thought involved for me, I can barely even stand in a airplane lavatory myself, let alone get anyone else in there, but I'm not against some foreplay under a blanket in the seats :)

Sean's That or This

1) Beer or wine? Beer, though I'm getting into Merlot.

2) (insert answer from #1) or mixed drink? Depends on the situation, when I'm out prefer a Skyy Vodka Martini Up 2 Olives when at home beer.

3) Downloaded MP3s or store-bought CDs? Start with MP3s and if I'm impressed enough then go get the CD.

4) Boxers or briefs? actually, Jockey Boxerbriefs, but anything except boxers or tighty-whiteys.

5) Hardcore or softcore (Skinamax)?Hardcore.

6) Guns or bows/arrows?Guns

7) Football or baseball?Football

8) (insert answer from #6) or hockey? Football

9) Steak or chicken?Depends, but more than likely steak.

10) Dog or cat? Dogs! One dog will never do.

11) Homemade porn or professional (studio)?Professional, Vivid preferrably.

12) Cake or death? the Vegetarian please.

13) Lingerie or butt-nekkid?Lingerie. I like the act of undressing each other and I love removing bras (with one hand of course).

14) Lots of friends or just a few?Lots of friends. I love going out in big groups.

15) Desktop or laptop?Desktop. Though soon, with the proliferation of WiFi, laptops. In particular I'd love a 17" Apple Powerbook.

This or That Tues.

1. Large or small family? Large, we ended up one child short of my original plan. but that's becasue my plan was Boy, Girl, Twins! I definitely went through a "why did I get a vasectomy" phase a month or so ago. Of course, that's exactly why I got one so I couldn't make the mistake of having a 4th child at 36.

2. Potato chips or pretzels? Never been a big fan of pretzels, even with beer. So potato chips all the way.

3. House or apartment? House, even a duplex is preferable to an apartment. The only thing I ever liked about apartments was the community pool table and swimming pool. Actually, I'd like one day when the kids are grown up to renovate a loft or warehouse structure into a home.

4. Zebras or giraffes? Hmmm. Having seen them both in person a giraffe definitely is better looking in person. Zebras always look dirty.

5. Candles or potpourri? Candles. Now that we have our nice big jacuzzi tub nothing is more relaxing than lighting scented candles and taking a bath.

6. Flowers or trees? This one is a real toughy. Trees are definitely more calming and peaceful to me. But, flowers are much nicer to look at and smell, as well as photograph. In the end though I'd say trees. Shade is much more important than scent.

7. Right or left-handed? Right, though I always wanted to be left. They seem to see things so much more artistically.

8. Model trains or dolls/stuffed animals? I have always wanted to build a complete miniature world using model trains. I can stand for hours staring at them looking for all the details and appreciating the work that goes into creating them.

9. Comedy or drama? Comedy. My life is already filled with enough drama. Comedies allow me to step out of that.

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: The city of Boston has recently banned smoking in all restaurants and bars. Would you want to see such a law passed in your city/town/country, or not? I think smoking should be prohibited in all indoor areas period. I too am a former smoker and being a Californian in exhile (it will take a while before I can say I'm truly a Virginian) I can say it's actually hard to breathe when I'm in some places here and when I'm in Vegas.

Dating a Blogger, Reading All About It

A great article in the NY Times about life as a blogger. Since Brie and I have already been exposed to what can go wrong and the discord in can cause familial relationships I thought you all might want to read it.

I was shocked and saddened by the passing of June Carter Cash yesterday. She looked healthy and happy in the video for "Hurt". For some time now I've had the impression Johnny wasn't doing well, and I think this might be all he can take. They seemed like such a loving and strong couple and I really don't think he will live long without her. On her own she was quite a wonderful artist and actually wrote "Ring of Fire" about Johnny. That's two now, June and Robert Stack, since celebrities always die in threes I wonder who will be next. Barry White had a stroke too. Hmm sad days.

Brie and I had a date night last night. We went out to sushi and I was introduced to a new favourite, Saba aka Mackerel. It's one fish I had avoided because the skin is still visible, but it's very tasty and has a nice consistency. I also had the squid, which I will go back to avoiding, it's texture left a lot to be desired. After that we went to see "The Matrix Reloaded" which was sold out (that hairdresser was wrong apparently) so we saw X2, I was really happy that Brie loved the movie and thought it was great. I loved it even though it was my second time. I'm not sure how much longer my mother will be here, I'm hoping Brie and I can try to get to "The Matrix Reloaded" before she goes, I really want to see it in the theater.

the friday five

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.? In California is was bottled water only. But, here in Virginia we are on well water (no water bill!) and it's a great tasting as bottled water.

2. What are your favourite flavor of chips? Without a doubt, Salt and Vinegar

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most? That's a toughy because I can cook a lot of dishes and I have several favourites. I just made my pasta with sundried tomatoes, grilled chicken, and pine nuts. Always love making that one.

4. How do you have your eggs? Scrambled unless served with pancakes, then it's sunyside down so I can make a pancake sandwich.

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out? There are only two people in this house that cook so it would have to be Brie. She always does a good job.

Spent all day today getting Direcway satellite broadband installed. It was quite the challenge and it still acts a little goofy, but it is fast. The biggest difference is the fact that there is a noticable delay from when you click on something and when it starts to come back. I'm sure I will adjust, but right now it semms like something is wrong.

I really could have moved away last Friday after the Tornado warning. Cindi is right when you have kids to worry about it seems much more threatening, now imagine having 3, after that I was a prime candidate for an ulcer luckily they are almost unheard of here.

Now that I am back amongst that broadband living I will try to post more often, but I find that I am enjoying my Internet-free lifestyle. I'm actually reading books now, I'm on my third book in 4 months, a new world record! Right now I'm reading Game Over a book about Nintendo's rise to monopolistic stature in the 80's. It's not very well written, but it is very informative and since I am really the first generation of video kids (I still have an Atari Super Pong) I find it all extremely riveting, Apple, Atari, Commodore and the big names when I was young are intertwined and the fact that they all came from a place I know well (Sunnyvale!!) makes it even better. I really can relate.

Tomorrow we have a meeting with Sebastian's school to discuss his problems with fine and gross motorskills. My mom is here for a week or so as well which is always nice. I'm hoping to take Brie to see either X2 or The Matrix Reloaded. Which reminds me, it's opening day of X2 and Brie had gone to a lcal stylists to get her her hair cut-off, while there she mentions that I'm taking Sebastian to X2, but I'm worried that it will be sold out if I don't get to the theater and get my tickets early enough. The stylist seems completely baffled by what Brie is saying. She asks "what do you mean "sold out" and Brie says you know no more tickets for a showing, and she life's "honey movies never sell out here, I've never even heard of such a thing" and she was right, we get there 20 minutes before the movie, get our tickets and get center seats 2 rows back from dead center. The only issue I had is that I've never really been to a theater with so many southern black people and for the first 15 minutes I didn't think I was going to be able to adjust to the talking. Eventually though they quieted down.

Well, I've got a headache so I'm off to the jacuzzi tub.. ttfn!

Just got done reading through everyone's blogs to see what has been going on and I wanted to say it's cool to see that in my abscence you all keep going at it. I thought I should also note that I'm not going to join in the discussions that have arisen while I have been away. For me blogging is more or less a journal in which I write down what's on my mind and to be honest though I appreciate supportive comments I don't really view this as a message board where we can go back and forth discussing what was written by the others. Of course, in no way am I trying to discourage all the discussions going on, I'm just trying to explain why I'm not getting involved.

So what is on my mind lately, well, right now it's X2 - X-Men United. Sebastian and I went to see it opening night and I was extremely happy with it. It touched some emotional themes that I could really relate to. There were plenty of surprises as well so I can't recommend it enough.

We seem to have lost a cat. Sebastian says it was with him last night, but now it's gone. Very odd.

Had another thunder storm last night. In the 3 weeks we have been here I think I have experienced more thunder and lightening than I did in my 35 years in California.

That's about it for now.