Wednesday, January 9, 2019

"The Detroit String Quartet played Brahms last night. Brahms lost." - Bennet Cerf


I met with one of "my guys" this morning at a one-off coffee shop on West 11th. It's our usual, as opposed to Starbucks where I meet the other two.
I'm told this one-off is a favorite of hipsters on the west side which may explain why the baristas are surly to the point of rudeness. Maybe that's the new vibe, eh?
It makes me want to ask them if they hate working there or if it's me they really don't want to deal with.

Sometimes I feel like there is SO much to think about that just doing that thinking is a plate full without the "doing" part of life.
Are people who don't seriously ruminate, who never reflect on issues personal and cultural, live happier and less stressful lives? And what's the downside to mindless oblivion? Does it put one at risk of missing out on _____ or making bad decisions?
I know that sounds elitist or like intellectual snobbery. But be honest; you know people who just roll through life from one day to the next, from one activity to the next, and never struggle with the why, never mind the how.

Because the staff guy who normally heads up the monthly seniors' luncheon is in India on a missions trip I'm tasked with organizing the January lunch on the 29th.
This kind of thing is NOT my strong suit.
I need a theme, something to help me figure out what we're going to do for the 90 minutes before we eat lunch. So I looked online to find out what happened on January 29th.
Nothing. It's like the entire world got together millennia ago and decided to take the day off. Yeah, there were a couple of things, like Carl Benz taking out the first patent for an internal combustion engine-powered car in 1886, but aside from a game where people identify cars by their hood ornaments.....
FAIL
So I moved on to "January 29 is National ________ Day.
Not much better. National Corn Chip Day, National Bubble Wrap Day, and National Puzzle Day.
I may be able to do something with puzzles at each table. And a 6" square of bubble wrap with a prize to anyone who makes it through lunch without popping any of it. (I won't tell them at the beginning that it's a challenge, just set the piece at each table setting.)

One of the sites I looked at for (lame) craft ideas for bubble wrap warned that playing with the stuff should carries risks and should always be supervised by an adult.
If you can't play safely with bubble wrap you should probably be wearing one of those jackets with really long sleeves that tie behind your back.

I set a goal for myself: three sets of 10 dips by the time I leave for Phoenix. (Dips are when you're supported by your hands on two small posts sticking out of the wall. You bend at your elbows to lower yourself down and then push back up to a straight arm position.)
When I started I could do one. Today I did three sets of nine.
I have four days before I leave.

The people who fostered Buddy before we got him are going to watch him for us while we're gone. They are very nice people who have two Brittanys of their own and often foster at least one for the American Brittany Rescue.
And they're absolutely normal, not crazy dog people.
He's the director for the U of O marching band.

I'm going to miss Buddy!!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What qualifies someone as a crazy dog person? Just checking.

Craig MacDonald said...

If you have to ask.....