Good evening, fellow human beings in 2019 and points beyond.

OK, not really feeling it tonight, but that’s less an issue with inspiration and more an issue of earlier perspiration. I had a long day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, so I’ve kept my nose to the grindstone tonight. I ate a decent dinner, a smoked chicken “bowl”, with some guacamole, greens, veggies, and bacon. Decent dressing. I think the whole thing worked within the constraints of my keto diet.

I looked in the mirror today, really looked long and hard, and I liked what I saw. I can see it in my face that the changes I’ve made are affecting me in positive ways, and the weight loss is going to add time to my life.

I’m hoping to get a little more accomplished tomorrow. Tuesday. Most productive day of the week, right?

I’m just about to the point of writing gibberish. I’m that tired.

And here I am thinking to myself, what can I do to round this entry out? I don’t know. I’ve got some stuff on my mind, stuff I need to get sorted out, but it’s the sort of stuff you don’t write about in a blog entry because it’s the kind of thing that gets into interpersonal stuff. I don’t mind talking about the stuff that only involves me, but other stuff, yeah, that needs to be off-limits.

So, that’s enough, we’ll call it a night. I hope your day is great tomorrow, and I hope the same for myself, selfish bastard that I am.

Peace y’all.

It’s a Sunday night, and I’m in a hotel (as if that’s much of a surprise).

I spent a little time since I got home last Thursday stirring stuff up on the internet. I have an aptitude for being a bit disruptive. A lot of it had to do with the two big argument launch pads, abortion and gun control.

OK, I’m pro-life and pro-privacy. Interesting intersection, right? I’m never going to have an abortion, as a 55-year-old man. I converted to Catholicism in 1999, so I’ve been a member of that branch of the Christian faith since then. I’m also a bit weird about equality – a little more staunch in that regard than the church is. While I personally would prefer someone make a life choice, I also recognize that everybody has their own life to lead, and that very difficult situation that leads thousands, if not millions, or women to make a choice is a personal and private decision. The law is clear – it’s a privacy issue. I hope neither of my daughters ever have to deal with that situation, but I’ll support them no matter what.

And then there was gun control. Yikes. That’s a loaded subject, right?

Maybe that’s a topic best addressed later. I’m going to call it a night. I’ve got work in the morning.

Peace y’all.

We’re sitting here in the living room, watching “Little Shop of Horrors”, and Dane is having a good time. I don’t know if Lisa has ever seen it before tonight, but we’re having a pretty good family night.

It’s been a rather interesting day. So, from a historical perspective, it’s been an a pretty serious day. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that even in your time, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that people will still be debating the events of this day. A criminal committed suicide… at least that’s what the historical documents will likely say, but I have a feeling that there will be a debate for a very long time about what really happened.

Lisa, Dane and I had some fun out in the pool earlier, hanging out, listening to music, and tossing the volleyball. I have to admit, planning out the night, working in LSoH was a great choice.

Tomorrow is going to be a short day here at the house. Church, and then a run to the airport. I’ve got a four day delivery in Dallas, and we’re going to rock the world. I love what I do, and I love the company I’m working for.

And I’ve hit my mark for the night.

Peace y’all.

It’s Friday night… to be frank, I had to stop and think about that for a moment. It’s Friday. I have another day at home, then head out to again at the end of the weekend for a delivery in Dallas, Texas.

I got home late last night, between 11:30 and midnight. I have felt out of it most of the day as I readjust to being at home, temporary as it might be. Next couple of weeks will keep me busy, but I get to see some places I haven’t seen in some time, and one place will receive a first-time visit for another Azure administration course.

Everything is going to be fine, right?

I received my books today, some new ones that I picked up to help me practice Spencerian writing forms, classic cursive, which can look so good when done right with the proper tools. I hope to spend some time practicing with my fountain pens, and get to a point where I can write better than I ever have. It’s a good goal. I remember my dad talking to me about having a legible hand and a signature that other people can read.

I also think it can come in handy when writing notes for one reason or another. I ought to get myself some decent note cards and stationary. Maybe it’s time to resurrect the old “hand-written thank you card” philosophy. A lot of people emphasize it, and I have to admit, it’s a wonderful goal. Combining the thank you card habit with improved handwriting would be a good thing.

I’ll have laundry to finish up tomorrow, and some yard work to get done. After I wear out my body for the day, I’ll focus on getting packed up and ready for Sunday’s needs.

I picked up a new pen for use with my Surface Book 2. I’m going to check out how well it works with one of my art packages. Could be interesting. Time will tell.

That’s all I have for now. Hope the world is treating better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

OK, it’s been a few days, and I have been remiss in my obligations. I’ve got reasons, not excuses, so we’ll just accept that I was busy for the most part… ok, truth out, part of it was motivation as well. Monday I wrote a very brief note, but Tuesday and Wednesday were teaching days and travel days, and I just didn’t focusing and writing.

SO, that means today, I have a goal… I need to write about 600 plus words to get square on the month.

I’ve been working. Monday was a travel day, as I traveled from Kansas City to Montgomery, Alabama via Charlotte, North Carolina. I had a one day class in Montgomery, and discovered Wintchell’s Oyster House and their dollar an oyster happy hour special. We wrapped up the delivery in good time on Tuesday, and I had a nice conversation with the Cloud Solutions Architects servicing the Air Force account. It’s always nice when you get some positive feedback about the work you are doing, and I got some. That always makes me feel good and reassures me that all of these myriad decisions I’ve made in my career were pretty good choices.

Yesterday was a travel day as well, flying from Montgomery to Chicago through Charlotte once again, and I am now in a delivery with one of my training partners, Chris.

We’ll wrap this up later today, then get out to the airport and hang out there until it’s time to catch my flight home.

It’s going to be weird going home moving forward, with all three kids out of the house. I know Dane and Gracie will still come over on the weekends to do laundry and chow down family style. I think Lisa will be OK, and I wonder if Dane will swing by the house regularly (I’m really hoping that he comes by on Thursdays anyway, so he can run the trash down to the corner.).

OK, weird side note. I don’t recall any mosquitoes getting to me while I was outside in Alabama, but I sure do have a bunch of little bites on my arms. I wonder where they could’ve come from.

OK, approaching the four hundred word mark, which will get me caught up for a couple of days anyway, but I still have more than a couple of days to satisfy. More in a little bit… taking a little break – better save a draft of you blog post, Bob.

Anyway, my days here in Chicago is winding down, and Chris is taking us home in module 4.

I’ll get a few hundred extra words in tomorrow. Until then…

Peace y’all.

It’s Monday night, and I am getting my ducks all lined up for tomorrow’s delivery. Not much of an exciting day to be honest with you. Airport drive, airplane time, and a dozen oysters in there at one point.

So, I’m going to call this an early night. I’ll get a little more than fifty words in on the day, but I’m phoning this one in, taking a powder, and several other cliches.

Just not feeling it tonight.

Peace y’all.

OK, need to crank out a few extra words this morning, as I punted yesterday’s blog entry. Spent the day in the car (ok, that’s a lie – it was a rental Toyota Tacoma 4×4 pickup) driving from Columbus, Ohio back home to Lawrence, Kansas.

Hang on, I think I’m going to get up and grab a cup of coffee. It’s about quarter to eight in the morning, and I am in need of a cup.

OK, got a fresh cup of coffee, a Tanzanian peaberry, medium roast. I’m not a fan of the darker roast coffees. I think they taste burnt, which means if I’m going to a Starbucks, I’m hoping they have a pot of their blonde roast ready for me because their other stuff just hits my palette wrong.

I also took a moment to nuke a cinnamon Smartcake, very low carb and keto-friendly… and it tastes like a legit coffee cake.

Diet is going well, still registering 278 on the scale, which is always good news – means I’ve lost forty pounds since the beginning of the year. I still would like to drop another thirty or so, but we’ll see how that goes. I’m sticking to the plan for now, though.

Bonnie stayed in her own place last night. I am thankful that her apartment complex installed two window unit air conditioners, so that gave me a little peace of mind. While we were moving her in, there was no A/C, and at one point I started getting worried about Lisa working up in Bon’s bedroom. We had Bon stay with us in the hotel the last couple of nights. I just didn’t like the idea of her sleeping in that warm townhouse without any relief from the heat.

The original plan was that Lisa and I were going to stay overnight at her place… that would’ve been an updated version of “Sweating with the Oldies”.

Woke up this morning to news of two mass shootings in America. The first was in El Paso, Texas, where a white supremacist opened fire in a Wal-Mart, killing 20 people and wounding scores more. Then, overnight, Dayton, Ohio, some idiot decided to open fire at a nightspot, killing nine and hurting a bunch of others.

And, once again, the internet is filled with people offering up thoughts and prayers.

Hey, folks… thoughts and prayers ain’t working.

If you want to be safe, buy body armor, because nothing is going to change.

Peace y’all.

I missed yesterday. I realize that the audience for my blog is a relatively small number, but those that have read what I’ve written know that I’m trying to chronicle some aspects of my old, fat, bald 55-year old life for the grandchildren I may one day have.

Another part of my story is that a few years ago, I pledged on @WriteChain to write two hundred words per day. I’ve done a decent job trying to keep that pledge, but I’ve taken my fair share of mental health breaks and personal time away from the blog to take care of other things, and yesterday was one of those days.

Yesterday we moved Bonnie into her new apartment for graduate school in Columbus, Ohio. She has lived on campus while she was pursuing her undergraduate degree, but this is a step up. She’ll be chasing a PhD in Materials Science.

I’m a very proud dad.

I’m proud of all of my kids. Gracie is doing great in Architecture and Design. Dane starts in Mechanical Engineering in a few weeks, so that means I’ll have two current KU students, and one grad.

But, this is the first time one of our kids has actually moved away.

Bonnie lived on campus, but she was always a few miles from the house, and she always came home every weekend for a meal or two and a load of laundry or two. She spent time with family, including Lucy and Freya… the two furry members of our extended family (Colby should not be ignored their, either, but he’s Gracie’s dog – not a full-time resident out here).

Bonnie won’t be coming home next weekend.

Bon won’t be home until Thanksgiving.

Yeah, yeah. Now’s the time when the sentimental old fart starts to tear up a little bit.

But that’s the process, right?

Sometimes we have to say, “See you later” and “Don’t forget how to use Skype, OK? I need to see your face”.

We’ll be ok, I’m sure, but it’s going to be an adjustment for all of us. I know it will be hard, because it’s getting to me and I’m supposed to be that guy, the one that keeps his chin up and deals with things like this bravely, setting an example for the others…

… nope. I’m sitting in the bar of the hotel, drinking a Jameson on the rocks and trying to hide the tears welling in my eyes from the other bar patrons.

Lisa and Bonnie are up in the hotel room. The A/C is broke (ok, if that’s an unfamiliar term to grandkids – that stands for “Air Conditioning”, which I hope you have in the future). so Bon is staying with us one more night at the hotel. I left ’em alone to write my blog and let them get themselves situated before I head back up.

Lisa and I have a long drive tomorrow.

The goodbyes are going to be long and hard.

But it’s “See ya later”, not a goodbye.

Yeah, I’m still gonna cry.

Peace y’all.

OK, lots to talk about, but this is one of those “time and lace” moments. I have a number of things on my mind, but tonight jut isn’t the right time to get into it.

Let me say this…

I try to be honest. I really do. I try to verify stuff before I post it, and I have made mistakes. Sins of omission.

But call me out.

Seriously.

We all have to be able to learn from our mistakes. But we can’t learn from them if we’re unaware that we’ve made them. I make them. Regularly. I get feedback on a with some frequency, but much of it has to do with differing opinions more so than anything based in fact.

I’m probably not going to change my opinion about this administration. I’m probably not going to change my political point o view outside of a normal degree of variance. That shift has already happened once in this lifetime and I don’t see that happening again.

So, anyway…

This is the last day of July, and I probably ought to do a tally on my word count for the month og July, so I know what my word deficit for August is. Got some making up to do, I’m sure.

And now is not the time or the place to start writing a bunch of old,fat, bald dude opinions to chuck at the Internet like a monkey flinging poo.

Catch!

Peace y’all.

It’s getting late on this Tuesday night in July, the last Tuesday night in July of 2019. Tomorrow we begin another adventure, and that’s just part of our little corner of the world.

I skipped my blog post last night. I was on my way back from Washington, DC, and I just didn’t get around to it. No excuses. I probably had time to write it in the American Airlines lounge. I just didn’t get the thing cranked out.

I was thinking about “absolutes” today, and the other day as well. One of the things that we all need to watch out for are the absolute terms when discussing so many day to day things.

When you say “everybody heard about it”, from a sentential logic perspective, all it takes is one person to disrupt that argument.

Eh, I’m starting to thinking that maybe I won’t make it to 400 words tonight. I’ve got a lot on my mind, but the thing that hangs most prominently is the need for a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

I’ve got some other things to get taken care of, and I’m just not feeling it tonight. I hope to have a little more enthusiasm tomorrow.

Peace y’all.