CATHARSIS-the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.
So after yesterday's whine fest, I woke this morning feeling a little better about things.
Because the "shrinkage meter" was registering at normal levels after 3 days at defcon 5, I took the dog for a twenty minute walk/jog and then came home and did some stuff in the living room...a few pushups, situps, etc.
Maybe Old Red was right...."get busy livin', or get busy dyin'." We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Lifes' vicissitudes
"in singing garments Comes royally, at call -
Comes limber-hipped Indiff'renceFree stepping, straight and tall -
Comes singing and lamenting,The sweetest pipe of all."---Robert Louis Stevenson
RLS was writing about how his love had wained from passion into indifference, but I can relate his words to my feelings about getting into shape, work, life, everything.
I'm feeling blah about just about everything in my world right now. The blatant commercialism of the season, that I buy into hook, line and sinker. My job, which alternates between incredible goodness, and soul searing boredom. Even the family, usually my anchor, holds no special warmth right now. When I look at #1 son, I find that my pal, the bright, sensitive, empathetic creature whose company I once loved to keep, is gone. Replaced by a beast known as teenager, whose self-centeredness swallows everything around it, like a black hole, with hormones.
My quest for fitness seems like a lost dream. I can't find the gumption to fight the single digit temps and go out and do anything. My diet is a train wreck, derailed by crazy schedule, depression and a love of all things food.
I'm also miffed at the realization that my old office will soon be closing for the holidays, while the new gig shifts into panicked crunch mode. It's the first time I've missed the old place.
So now the question becomes how to shake this pall that hangs over me. I hope that Friday's festivities will snap me out of it. Adult conversation and competition at the euchre table, along with eats, drinks, and the like. (so my diet may continue to suffer, but hopefully my spirit will renew)
If not, I suppose I could fire up a fattie and party like 1999. Nah. I'd just get the munchies and blow my diet on doritos instead of Christmas cookies.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Lion Sleeps tonight...
[tip of the Illini basketball hat to the Tokens]
The Lion sleeps now. His roar extinguished by smoke and flames at the age of 65.
I've been thinking about what I would say about him for a few weeks, now, and I still don't know. He was a good man. Flawed, but unlike so many, willing to freely admit those flaws. Many who knew him in his later years mistook his certainty for arrogance rather than for what it really was. If he knew something, he knew it. Period. If he didn't know it, he learned it.
His body gave out on him, largely due to his habit of ignoring warning signs until they became five alarm conflagrations, but his mind was still keen. His lack of success in long term relationships with the ladies was legendary. So much so that our in joke was that I would ask him for advice, then do just the opposite and find success.
He loved his grandkids, but he wasn't close to them. By the time they came along, his patience, never abundant, had worn away completely and he could only handle their company in measured doses.
The Cardinals and Illini were his passion, and he passed that love on to me. He read insatiably until his last days, and I see that trait in #1 son and I smile. They were just beginning to find common ground when the end came.
He was vain enough to not go out in public wearing his O2, which I found disappointing because he wouldn't attend his grand kids athletic events. We tussled about this ceaselessly. I even have a six pack that I bought at his request in my fridge, because he wouldn't come over and drink it with me, as much as I atttempted to entice him.
So many more things to say. Before his health failed, he was the life of the party, the one everyone knew and liked. I would have liked to have been around when he ruled CU. It must have been one hell of a ride. He had a fantastic sense of humor. He and I found humor in places that no one else could. It was a great bond to have.
If heaven has a softball team, I imagine he's playing 3rd base and driving the opponent crazy with his opposite field base hits. Then it's on to the "Lockerroom", for coldies and conversation. I hope they let me play some day.
The Lion sleeps now. His roar extinguished by smoke and flames at the age of 65.
I've been thinking about what I would say about him for a few weeks, now, and I still don't know. He was a good man. Flawed, but unlike so many, willing to freely admit those flaws. Many who knew him in his later years mistook his certainty for arrogance rather than for what it really was. If he knew something, he knew it. Period. If he didn't know it, he learned it.
His body gave out on him, largely due to his habit of ignoring warning signs until they became five alarm conflagrations, but his mind was still keen. His lack of success in long term relationships with the ladies was legendary. So much so that our in joke was that I would ask him for advice, then do just the opposite and find success.
He loved his grandkids, but he wasn't close to them. By the time they came along, his patience, never abundant, had worn away completely and he could only handle their company in measured doses.
The Cardinals and Illini were his passion, and he passed that love on to me. He read insatiably until his last days, and I see that trait in #1 son and I smile. They were just beginning to find common ground when the end came.
He was vain enough to not go out in public wearing his O2, which I found disappointing because he wouldn't attend his grand kids athletic events. We tussled about this ceaselessly. I even have a six pack that I bought at his request in my fridge, because he wouldn't come over and drink it with me, as much as I atttempted to entice him.
So many more things to say. Before his health failed, he was the life of the party, the one everyone knew and liked. I would have liked to have been around when he ruled CU. It must have been one hell of a ride. He had a fantastic sense of humor. He and I found humor in places that no one else could. It was a great bond to have.
If heaven has a softball team, I imagine he's playing 3rd base and driving the opponent crazy with his opposite field base hits. Then it's on to the "Lockerroom", for coldies and conversation. I hope they let me play some day.
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