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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 2, 2016 10:56:56 GMT -5
I had one of those moments in Charles Bukowski's poem The Shoelace yesterday. I'm out of town at my wife's family reunion and before we stopped at the hotel I got a bottle opener for the wine I brought because I forgot to bring mine. When we get the hotel and I go to open it the screw breaks off inside the cork when I try to pull it out. Then my son needs his cover out of the car to go to sleep with. Of course it's raining hard. I grab his cover and tiny little DS and GBA game cartridges fly everywhere, one into a mud puddle. So I dive down to find and grab it. Now soaked and muddy I take his cover up to him. I turned back around and got in the car to get me a 6 pack of Coors at the gas station. Where the last bottle I drink erupts in my lap on the pants that I had changed into. "it's not the large things in life that send a man to the madhouse no, it's the continuing series of small tragedies." m.poemhunter.com/poem/the-shoelace/If it makes you feel any better I forgot my reading glasses.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 2, 2016 11:36:54 GMT -5
Should have remembered that yeterday was Canada Day (formerly Dominion Day).
Sorry not to have wished our Canadian friends the best.
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Post by Spike-X on Jul 2, 2016 19:20:03 GMT -5
I went for a very enjoyable mountain bike ride today with a friend who's just getting into it. At one stage we met a kid going the other way. He called out, "Good afternoon sir, good afternoon madam" as he passed by. It was delightful. Where were you riding, 19th century England? That would explain all the penny farthings on the trails.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 3, 2016 0:55:02 GMT -5
Yeah. Ready for this road trip to be over with. Still nearly two weeks to go. It's nearly impossible for me to have any sort of quiet time. Right now it's nearly midnight in Utah. I'm in my hotel room with my wife who is working on her computer and her mother who is sleeping and snoring ridiculously loud. I have earplugs in right now and I can still hear her. She's a nice woman, but the snoring is just unbearable. Does she know that she has a snoring problem? I don't know about the others in their room as we've split rooms, but in the room I'm staying it's just hell. I'd rather sleep in the Ford Expedition outside. Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, hopefully get a workout in where I can actually have some peace and quiet to myself via the mini fitness center in the hotel, shower, and then prepare to socialize with everyone else afterward by eating breakfast. Then explore more national parks, which is what we've been doing. I'd be having more fun though if it was by myself instead of a shared experience. The more this escapade drags on, the more I'm convinced I'd be a lot happier traveling alone.
I do wonder though if it's just he circumstances and people I'm with. Maybe the cultural barrier is just contributing to some huge disconnect. Would I be as miserable if I were with three or four of my best friends on this trip? Or not even best friends, but complete strangers around my age? Not sure I'd want to take that chance though. Also, I think in my heart I have a small disdain for elderly people. It's mean I know, but sometimes I feel they're just in my way or something more often than not. I've questioned why I think I feel the way I do and I can't come up with a good answer. Maybe I just remember the bad experiences with elderly people I've had (which truthfully aren't many) than the good experiences. Perhaps I'm just an asshole. Oh well.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 3, 2016 18:29:45 GMT -5
Yeah. Ready for this road trip to be over with. Still nearly two weeks to go. It's nearly impossible for me to have any sort of quiet time. Right now it's nearly midnight in Utah. I'm in my hotel room with my wife who is working on her computer and her mother who is sleeping and snoring ridiculously loud. I have earplugs in right now and I can still hear her. She's a nice woman, but the snoring is just unbearable. Does she know that she has a snoring problem? I don't know about the others in their room as we've split rooms, but in the room I'm staying it's just hell. I'd rather sleep in the Ford Expedition outside. Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, hopefully get a workout in where I can actually have some peace and quiet to myself via the mini fitness center in the hotel, shower, and then prepare to socialize with everyone else afterward by eating breakfast. Then explore more national parks, which is what we've been doing. I'd be having more fun though if it was by myself instead of a shared experience. The more this escapade drags on, the more I'm convinced I'd be a lot happier traveling alone. I do wonder though if it's just he circumstances and people I'm with. Maybe the cultural barrier is just contributing to some huge disconnect. Would I be as miserable if I were with three or four of my best friends on this trip? Or not even best friends, but complete strangers around my age? Not sure I'd want to take that chance though. Also, I think in my heart I have a small disdain for elderly people. It's mean I know, but sometimes I feel they're just in my way or something more often than not. I've questioned why I think I feel the way I do and I can't come up with a good answer. Maybe I just remember the bad experiences with elderly people I've had (which truthfully aren't many) than the good experiences. Perhaps I'm just an asshole. Oh well. Sorry man, but I'm laughing out loud at this post.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 4, 2016 8:23:26 GMT -5
Perhaps I'm just an asshole. Oh well. You're most definitely not, PapaShogun. You are, however, momentarily trapped... and that's something that would fray anyone's nerves. Someone who enjoys solitude rarely likes to be forced to socialize 24/7, especially when there can't be actual socialization because of a language barrier. Being with new in-laws can also be a major strain, because naturally you don't want to offend them by pointing out their lousy driving, snoring, never-ending criticism or whatever... (I had to bite my tongue for hours on end when meeting certain relatives on my wife's side, long ago, even if I knew that I would go home by the evening's end... which is not an option for you right now). My advice is to try and stay zen... all of this will pass. My wife, who comes from a tightly-knit family, eventually understood that I'm not brooding or worrying when I'm not talking. It took a few years but she eventually stopped asking "is anything the matter?" when I'd just be by myself. The key is not to get angry when you're asked that same question for the seventy-fifth time, and to just explain that you're just fine, that no, she didn't do anything wrong, that no, you're not upset about anything, that you're simply not as gregarious as many people. As you grow together she'll not only understand, but come to find that perfectly natural. (We've been together for thirty years, now). Bless her, in the plans she constantly make up for our dream house, she now always include a library where I could put my books and do my stuff.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 4, 2016 11:07:44 GMT -5
Seeing that I was just at my wife's reunion and been a part of their family for 16 years, I at one point finally was understood by her family members much like RR. People did always think I was either anti-social or shy. Eventually understanding members got to know I listen more than I talk and would let me jump in if and when I wanted. There's still some that just have super outgoing personalities, like one of her uncles, that I've kind of adopted myself to compliment his personality. I know it was mostly time as her family and I both got to know each and know how to interact. Most of them I can interact with well since we know each other better. But I'm still know as the quiet one. My sister in law knows though the secret to get me talkative is getting some drinks in me. I even shared one of those Clamato Bud Lights with her last night.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 4, 2016 23:15:40 GMT -5
Perhaps I'm just an asshole. Oh well. You're most definitely not, PapaShogun. You are, however, momentarily trapped... and that's something that would fray anyone's nerves. Someone who enjoys solitude rarely likes to be forced to socialize 24/7, especially when there can't be actual socialization because of a language barrier. Being with new in-laws can also be a major strain, because naturally you don't want to offend them by pointing out their lousy driving, snoring, never-ending criticism or whatever... (I had to bite my tongue for hours on end when meeting certain relatives on my wife's side, long ago, even if I knew that I would go home by the evening's end... which is not an option for you right now). My advice is to try and stay zen... all of this will pass. My wife, who comes from a tightly-knit family, eventually understood that I'm not brooding or worrying when I'm not talking. It took a few years but she eventually stopped asking "is anything the matter?" when I'd just be by myself. The key is not to get angry when you're asked that same question for the seventy-fifth time, and to just explain that you're just fine, that no, she didn't do anything wrong, that no, you're not upset about anything, that you're simply not as gregarious as many people. As you grow together she'll not only understand, but come to find that perfectly natural. (We've been together for thirty years, now). Bless her, in the plans she constantly make up for our dream house, she now always include a library where I could put my books and do my stuff. Word. Today was better. It was just me, my wife, and my wife's mom hang around our hotel all day. My wife had to work on an assignment. My brother in law and his wife along with his in-law parents (the bad driver is the father) wanted to go to another hiking ground. I was burned out and didn't want to go today as I just wasn't very interested. Went for a run this morning in the Best Western Fitness center. Afterward I was pretty happy afterward as some sports news I found out made me very happy the rest of the day and for the foreseeable future. Still a few more days, but I'm trying to get through it. The last few days were tough, but I'm still here. My iPod is my friend. Happy 4th everyone.
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 5, 2016 8:26:12 GMT -5
Should have remembered that yeterday was Canada Day (formerly Dominion Day). Sorry not to have wished our Canadian friends the best. It's ok, the apologizing is very Canadian.
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jul 5, 2016 9:11:23 GMT -5
Should have remembered that yeterday was Canada Day (formerly Dominion Day). Sorry not to have wished our Canadian friends the best. It's ok, the apologizing is very Canadian. Well, if Trump gets elected I have a feeling a lot of us in the US will be apologizing to the rest of the world.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 5, 2016 10:02:52 GMT -5
It's ok, the apologizing is very Canadian. Well, if Trump gets elected I have a feeling a lot of us in the US will be apologizing to the rest of the world. The rest of us won't be able to hear you through those big walls!
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jul 5, 2016 10:06:27 GMT -5
Well, if Trump gets elected I have a feeling a lot of us in the US will be apologizing to the rest of the world. The rest of us won't be able to hear you through those big walls! I wish we could put a wall around Trump so nobody would have to hear him.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 5, 2016 10:16:34 GMT -5
The rest of us won't be able to hear you through those big walls! I wish we could put a wall around Trump so nobody would have to hear him. Some kind of Trump tower?
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jul 5, 2016 10:20:04 GMT -5
I wish we could put a wall around Trump so nobody would have to hear him. Some kind of Trump tower? As long as he doesn't have the key, sure. Then he can stay there and eat all the taco salad bowls he wants.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 5, 2016 10:57:57 GMT -5
Some kind of Trump tower? As long as he doesn't have the key, sure. Then he can stay there and eat all the taco salad bowls he wants. You could use Dr. Fate's tower; it doesn't even have a door!
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