Yay! I finally scraped up enough cash to do two things - get my contacts replaced, and get new rubber and tubes for my bike. This is really important for me because I've been wanting to upgrade from disposable to that new 30-day-wear contacts - I'd heard about them about a decade ago - supposedly, their made of ultrathin polyurethane and allow oxygen diffusion across them and into the epithelial layers of the eye. THis is important, because apparently there are cells there that interact directly with oxygen in the atmosphere, and they die and infect your eye when you keep your contacts in too long. Gross, right? Tell me about it, I had to suffer through this some years ago, as a sophomore in college, when the stress of an all-night job, plus full-time school, led me to nap a few hours here, a few hours there, and never taking my lenses out. Well, two weeks later, my eyes got red and hurt like glass - and I went to the opthamalogist. Guess what he said?
"No contacts for three weeks."
Well, he forgot to mention photophobia as part of it, and the fact that an early class (8 am) meant I was driving into the sunrise every bleeding Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Even with shades, my eyes watered.
So I keep my contacts out at least one day a week, normally Sunday, and wear them the rest of the week.
And the rubber and tubing - I have some old Araya rims, so I have no idea what kind of valves fit, and what is the best option for me. They are 27 x 1.25 and when I blew my inner tube, I found out that the tubes inside were 700 x whatever the appropriate measurement is - and I do know from reading at www.bikeforums.net that the two are NOT compatible - but apparently the person who put the tubes in did not. This would explain why the bike was only inflated to 50 psi when I got it - the blowout happened when I inflated back to 90 psi - I imagine I would have blown it out while inflating if I had put the psi up to 125 like a good roadie....
And I'm still out of a job. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not being a bum (yeah, right) but my sub job is paying me like nothing, since they never call, and I've been on hiatus for 2 weeks, and my paycheck from when I did work hasn't shown up yet. So, I'm functionally unemployed, although not officially unemployed. However, the good Lord has provided - I sold a futon for $200, and that was enough to get the kids some Christmas presents, and my dad, who pressured me to lose my other futon and said he would compensate by getting me wooden bunk beds for my two oldest girls, is coming through this week. Matresses and all.
However, the bookstore I donate all my used books to said they might be hiring - that would be swell - as I can bike to it without crossing any major highways. If they'll give me a day job, I'll be pleased as pie, and interact with the kitties (it doubles as a cat sanctuary, so there's a billion and one cats there any given day). The place is called Nine Lives Books and they totally rock! I took our old CD collection in, with some real gems like Led Zep and some really old rock, and they gave us $100 for it! Granted, it probably would have been a grand's worth of discs purchased new, but our collection is in the computer and ready to play anytime, and we use the puter as a DJ anyway when we barbecue, so there is no loss there.
15 days before I descend back into the madness that is being a grad student with a family. My favorite professor managed it, but she was doing this with one child, and I have several. Oh, well.
Peace,
Mago
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Living Simply With Kids, the Christmas Edition
Most of the kids' presents this Christmas were different. We didn't spend days and hours in mortal combat for the newest hottest thing (my wife was smart, I got Guitar Hero III for my birthday, a month ahead of time) but we did something different. The kids got craft stuff, art stuff, and building blocks. Oh, sure, clothes and other stuff were given, too, in cotton and wool and other natural fiber, but mainly the gifts were of things that will mean a lot. My dad got the girls in the family little pendants, some had emeralds, some rubies, others diamond chips, but they got their first real jewelry.
My kids got a group present of percussion instruments - bongos, castanets, shakers and other stuff. They music was raucous and loud, pure in its seeming chaotic melody. I got stuff I needed for my bike, which is still broken, after two weeks. Next week for sure, its going to the shop for new rubber strip to cover the spoke nips, and fresh rubber. New gloves, new lights (sure, its Bell lights, but they work) and a new helmet. I also got a memory card so I don't have to reboot my game over and over again.
The kids went about, as it was a cool mid-50 weather, with sunshine and a light breeze, before they went to celebrate Christmas at their momma's house. My kids with my wife are here, sleeping the sleep of the sated and overstimulated.
Oh, a funny note....
My stepfather in law (this would be my wife's stepfather) is a strange bird. I got a note from him wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and it had a sticker, saying "Merry Christmas - its OK to say it!"
I had a Noel Coward moment, "Oh, of course it is!"
Thinking back, I remember when some charity group was thinking about saying something other than Merry Christmas because it was soliciting in a non-Christian neighborhood, and didn't want to offend non -Christian folk. I understand. Hey, I'm Mexican. The word in Spanish for 'black man is "Negro," because in Spanish, that's the word for black. Now, if I was in a black neighborhood, chances are I would not use this term, even in my native Spanish tongue, because I would probably offend someone.
Its a holiday - yeah, it's religion for me, but I don't cram my faith down anyone's neck. I feel my right to assert my faith ends at the boundary of my skin and the air outside my body. My convictions, while I speak of them as best I can, are still only the edicts I can keep within myself. So, if someone came up to me and wished me a well-wishes based on their faith, then sure, I would accept it - good manners and good vibes are universal.
So, yeah, its ok to say Merry Christmas - however, some people get bent when they get lumped in without even a consideration. My salutation of Merry Christmas was answered with a "Happy Solstice" by a wiccan friend - we smiled and laughed. So many Christian rituals are based in pagan rites.... why get testy over it? Say "have a good holiday" if you work with a large group of the population and you might prevent a tirade from someone sick of feeling like he's forced to accept something that not his/her faith in the first place. Hey, it's Christmas, be considerate of others. People care that you at least try to respect their faiths, instead of assuming your faith is the default.
So Merry Christmas to you, and Happy Holidays.
Mago
My kids got a group present of percussion instruments - bongos, castanets, shakers and other stuff. They music was raucous and loud, pure in its seeming chaotic melody. I got stuff I needed for my bike, which is still broken, after two weeks. Next week for sure, its going to the shop for new rubber strip to cover the spoke nips, and fresh rubber. New gloves, new lights (sure, its Bell lights, but they work) and a new helmet. I also got a memory card so I don't have to reboot my game over and over again.
The kids went about, as it was a cool mid-50 weather, with sunshine and a light breeze, before they went to celebrate Christmas at their momma's house. My kids with my wife are here, sleeping the sleep of the sated and overstimulated.
Oh, a funny note....
My stepfather in law (this would be my wife's stepfather) is a strange bird. I got a note from him wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and it had a sticker, saying "Merry Christmas - its OK to say it!"
I had a Noel Coward moment, "Oh, of course it is!"
Thinking back, I remember when some charity group was thinking about saying something other than Merry Christmas because it was soliciting in a non-Christian neighborhood, and didn't want to offend non -Christian folk. I understand. Hey, I'm Mexican. The word in Spanish for 'black man is "Negro," because in Spanish, that's the word for black. Now, if I was in a black neighborhood, chances are I would not use this term, even in my native Spanish tongue, because I would probably offend someone.
Its a holiday - yeah, it's religion for me, but I don't cram my faith down anyone's neck. I feel my right to assert my faith ends at the boundary of my skin and the air outside my body. My convictions, while I speak of them as best I can, are still only the edicts I can keep within myself. So, if someone came up to me and wished me a well-wishes based on their faith, then sure, I would accept it - good manners and good vibes are universal.
So, yeah, its ok to say Merry Christmas - however, some people get bent when they get lumped in without even a consideration. My salutation of Merry Christmas was answered with a "Happy Solstice" by a wiccan friend - we smiled and laughed. So many Christian rituals are based in pagan rites.... why get testy over it? Say "have a good holiday" if you work with a large group of the population and you might prevent a tirade from someone sick of feeling like he's forced to accept something that not his/her faith in the first place. Hey, it's Christmas, be considerate of others. People care that you at least try to respect their faiths, instead of assuming your faith is the default.
So Merry Christmas to you, and Happy Holidays.
Mago
Monday, December 17, 2007
And The Weather Continues to Chill...
Winter is here. Thank the Lord my wife crochets (although, to be honest, she's been on bedrest for at least a week, and our baby is coming Wednesday, so therefore she has lots of time) so she made me a balaclava for the chilly winter commutes I'll be on.
Crunched cash sucks. With three kids, plus a birthday (literally) in a few days, there has been scarce cash. I'm stuck riding my wife's old Roadmaster bike while my bike, my trusty Miyata 1000, is crank-up in the garage awaiting new tubes and rubber. Damn the fact that reality sucks when the cool, dry air and the sun shining makes me want to hit an all-day ride along Government Canyon Nature Preserve.
Oh, well. Nothing like reality to ruin a good fantasy.
Speaking of fantasies, I had a thought after reading an article concerning just how externalized we all are. Externalized? What does that mean, externalized?
It dawned on me this morning when I turned on the news in my cozy house to see how cold it was outside. Now, granted, I live in South Texas. It's never that could. The number of days it freezes here can be counted on one hand, the nights two. It's just not that cold. Honestly. I should know how cold it is, I let my dogs out every morning to take care of their stuff in the backyard, so I can feel how cold it is outside. Why do I need to stick a number on it? It's cold. Period. Hoodie and jeans, or maybe a long-sleeved shirt underneath it. Flip-flops if it's dry, shoes if it's wet. This is not a problem, right?
So why oh why must I see the news to tell me its cold?
And what else am I relying on the mainstream media to tell me that I can figure out for myself? Between the fluff on Fox News (thanks to a commenter - I told you I would give it a fair shake - and yes, they do spin, between fluff pieces) and the dismal crap of To Catch A Predator and the latest True Hollywood Story on Janice Dickinson (the hottest 50-year-old on TV, IMHO) and the relentless doom-and-gloom of CNN... I was ready to go back to bed, pull the covers over my head and say, "Screw it all! I'll just hide here and pretend the world is not going to hell."
And then I reflected on Henry Makow's article on Surviving the New World Order. Now, let me hit you with a caveat - I don't agree with all of his philosophies. His position on women and love and equality between the genders strikes me as wrong on a basic level, but he also has an interesting perspective on the universe at large.
Makow said that "You try to squeeze your sustenance from the world. But much of what you imbibe is poisonous: depravity, corruption, duplicity and tragedy." I thought on that for a while. Virginia Tech, a NY couple accused of slavery, Ohio men stabbed in the heart, a juvenile serial killer interview... the list of negativity goes on and on. Bush lectures on the the bounty of America's economy as the Dow Jones breaks the best of the traders like gamblers crapping out on the table.
Yet we watch, as if anything we do is going to negate or neutralize any of these news headlines.
This is externalization - the need of seeking mental or spiritual sustenance from outside the self. Does this mean that I'm advocating the need to simply gaze at our collective navel and murmur "aum?" No, it means that instead of being hung on every negative thing that is reported on the news, we should seek out the things that nourish us mentally and spiritually.
Today, instead of musing on the negativity in the mainstream news, I ate Chinese food with my daughter. We talked about work and school and everything in between. We had more healthy relationship time there than if we were at home, with what passes for entertainment blaring all evening.
I'll listen to the news tonight - but it won't get me down. I don't need to wring every little bit of data out of the news - it's mostly depressing anyway. I don't need to know who hooked up with whom, or who is divorcing whom. I will kiss my wife and contemplate the new life that will be here Wednesday.
Here is joy. Here is my life, not on the tube.
Mago
Crunched cash sucks. With three kids, plus a birthday (literally) in a few days, there has been scarce cash. I'm stuck riding my wife's old Roadmaster bike while my bike, my trusty Miyata 1000, is crank-up in the garage awaiting new tubes and rubber. Damn the fact that reality sucks when the cool, dry air and the sun shining makes me want to hit an all-day ride along Government Canyon Nature Preserve.
Oh, well. Nothing like reality to ruin a good fantasy.
Speaking of fantasies, I had a thought after reading an article concerning just how externalized we all are. Externalized? What does that mean, externalized?
It dawned on me this morning when I turned on the news in my cozy house to see how cold it was outside. Now, granted, I live in South Texas. It's never that could. The number of days it freezes here can be counted on one hand, the nights two. It's just not that cold. Honestly. I should know how cold it is, I let my dogs out every morning to take care of their stuff in the backyard, so I can feel how cold it is outside. Why do I need to stick a number on it? It's cold. Period. Hoodie and jeans, or maybe a long-sleeved shirt underneath it. Flip-flops if it's dry, shoes if it's wet. This is not a problem, right?
So why oh why must I see the news to tell me its cold?
And what else am I relying on the mainstream media to tell me that I can figure out for myself? Between the fluff on Fox News (thanks to a commenter - I told you I would give it a fair shake - and yes, they do spin, between fluff pieces) and the dismal crap of To Catch A Predator and the latest True Hollywood Story on Janice Dickinson (the hottest 50-year-old on TV, IMHO) and the relentless doom-and-gloom of CNN... I was ready to go back to bed, pull the covers over my head and say, "Screw it all! I'll just hide here and pretend the world is not going to hell."
And then I reflected on Henry Makow's article on Surviving the New World Order. Now, let me hit you with a caveat - I don't agree with all of his philosophies. His position on women and love and equality between the genders strikes me as wrong on a basic level, but he also has an interesting perspective on the universe at large.
Makow said that "You try to squeeze your sustenance from the world. But much of what you imbibe is poisonous: depravity, corruption, duplicity and tragedy." I thought on that for a while. Virginia Tech, a NY couple accused of slavery, Ohio men stabbed in the heart, a juvenile serial killer interview... the list of negativity goes on and on. Bush lectures on the the bounty of America's economy as the Dow Jones breaks the best of the traders like gamblers crapping out on the table.
Yet we watch, as if anything we do is going to negate or neutralize any of these news headlines.
This is externalization - the need of seeking mental or spiritual sustenance from outside the self. Does this mean that I'm advocating the need to simply gaze at our collective navel and murmur "aum?" No, it means that instead of being hung on every negative thing that is reported on the news, we should seek out the things that nourish us mentally and spiritually.
Today, instead of musing on the negativity in the mainstream news, I ate Chinese food with my daughter. We talked about work and school and everything in between. We had more healthy relationship time there than if we were at home, with what passes for entertainment blaring all evening.
I'll listen to the news tonight - but it won't get me down. I don't need to wring every little bit of data out of the news - it's mostly depressing anyway. I don't need to know who hooked up with whom, or who is divorcing whom. I will kiss my wife and contemplate the new life that will be here Wednesday.
Here is joy. Here is my life, not on the tube.
Mago
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Sorry For The Delay
But we have had technical difficulties. Firstly, I haven't been riding much because I had gotten right-hooked, and sent my helmet in to get checked, and the company hasn't sent back my replacement helmet. So, no safety equipment means no ride. Bummer. Crapola. This stinks like week-old skunk juice.
Now, to the main reason I haven't written. My wife is due to deliver in the next ten days. We have a little girl we're expecting, and we've been a little scared. Our friends, also expecting in Florida, had their girl early, and their an older couple, like us (mid-30s). Their little girl has blood in some areas of her brain where there should be brain mass - I pray that its only compressed the brain matter, not replaced it, but its still scary for them. The ironic thing is that he's atheist, so no doubt he says this is proof God doesn't exist, or hates Him for letting his precious girl into such a dangerous spot.
God has to let dogs, little kids, and nice old ladies who've never harmed a soul die.
Oddly enough, I think God does speak through various people, whether they realize it or not. The doctrine that suffering is somehow ennobling is displayed in the Ten Steps of Creation that Memnoch espouses in Anne Rice's book Memnoch the Devil. Somehow, the pain and suffering of life drives humanity to achieve its greatest glories, all of which ascribes back to God. While this pessimistically puts God like a Roman emperor, watching the stark drama of life and death in the Coluseum, perhaps there is an element of truth.
In Stephen King's Needful Things, a character struck with painful arthritis was given a charm that ate her pain, but poisoned her soul. She cast it off, and took her pain back, because, as Polly Chalmers said, "The pain makes the love so much prettier, like how a good setting can enhance the beauty of a diamond." I'm not sure that this is exactly what God had in mind, but it does bring me, intellectually, closer to what I see as life as God has for us.
I see God bringing us through the pain and misery to test our faith, to see if we will take that beautiful faith and cling to it, even when it seems that God is playing unfair with us, that we are being dangled out for the bad things in life to take potshots at us. I believe that God has given us the opportunity to shield ourselves with this faith, and He with be there when the shields are all we have between us and the darkness.
A great image came to me when I saw 300 some time ago. Xerxes's herald told King Leonidas that the Persian arrows would fly so thick that they would blot out the sun, and Leonidas said, "Then we will fight in the shade." When the arrows flew, it looks like a plague of insects flying out of the sun, and the Spartan shields went up. Some arrows struck home, others wounded, but the shields of the Spartans held - and the darts were wasted.
Each thing that is cast at us is like a dart. Whether our shield is strong, or not there, we have the opportunity to carry it and be safe in its protection. Whether we carry that shield or not is up to us.
I miss my bike. I'm out of lube, so I can't scrub it down and get rid of the last month's worth of grime and crud I picked up. Feh. I'll get some later and detail my bike out like it needs.
Ride well.
Mago
Now, to the main reason I haven't written. My wife is due to deliver in the next ten days. We have a little girl we're expecting, and we've been a little scared. Our friends, also expecting in Florida, had their girl early, and their an older couple, like us (mid-30s). Their little girl has blood in some areas of her brain where there should be brain mass - I pray that its only compressed the brain matter, not replaced it, but its still scary for them. The ironic thing is that he's atheist, so no doubt he says this is proof God doesn't exist, or hates Him for letting his precious girl into such a dangerous spot.
God has to let dogs, little kids, and nice old ladies who've never harmed a soul die.
Oddly enough, I think God does speak through various people, whether they realize it or not. The doctrine that suffering is somehow ennobling is displayed in the Ten Steps of Creation that Memnoch espouses in Anne Rice's book Memnoch the Devil. Somehow, the pain and suffering of life drives humanity to achieve its greatest glories, all of which ascribes back to God. While this pessimistically puts God like a Roman emperor, watching the stark drama of life and death in the Coluseum, perhaps there is an element of truth.
In Stephen King's Needful Things, a character struck with painful arthritis was given a charm that ate her pain, but poisoned her soul. She cast it off, and took her pain back, because, as Polly Chalmers said, "The pain makes the love so much prettier, like how a good setting can enhance the beauty of a diamond." I'm not sure that this is exactly what God had in mind, but it does bring me, intellectually, closer to what I see as life as God has for us.
I see God bringing us through the pain and misery to test our faith, to see if we will take that beautiful faith and cling to it, even when it seems that God is playing unfair with us, that we are being dangled out for the bad things in life to take potshots at us. I believe that God has given us the opportunity to shield ourselves with this faith, and He with be there when the shields are all we have between us and the darkness.
A great image came to me when I saw 300 some time ago. Xerxes's herald told King Leonidas that the Persian arrows would fly so thick that they would blot out the sun, and Leonidas said, "Then we will fight in the shade." When the arrows flew, it looks like a plague of insects flying out of the sun, and the Spartan shields went up. Some arrows struck home, others wounded, but the shields of the Spartans held - and the darts were wasted.
Each thing that is cast at us is like a dart. Whether our shield is strong, or not there, we have the opportunity to carry it and be safe in its protection. Whether we carry that shield or not is up to us.
I miss my bike. I'm out of lube, so I can't scrub it down and get rid of the last month's worth of grime and crud I picked up. Feh. I'll get some later and detail my bike out like it needs.
Ride well.
Mago
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