This was the week that was….

Ok, it’s been a few days since the last post and boy, has it been eventful.  My wife has been to Austin and back, and won a new iPod Touch while she was there.  Now, any of you who know me at all, know that I love the gadgets.  I just don’t ever have the money to get the gadgets when they first come out.  Always have to settle for being a late adopter.  Well, it seems we have a bit of a tradition in our family that says that my wife, being the least tech-savvy of the family seems to be the one who gets the technology first.  Now let me say up-front that Kris is no idiot when it comes to technology.  She is a quick learner and retains that information and can adapt pretty quickly to new tech.  However, she doesn’t do it for a living.  I do, and it’s just not fair.  But I am awfully glad she’s home.  I missed her terribly while she was gone.

Kathryn is on her last week at Oakcrest, and has really made a lot of growth this summer.  She has grown up considerably this summer and has really become quite a centered person.  And after this week comes the fun of making sure she has her financial aid paperwork done, looking at admissions, finding another job, etc.  Fun, fun, fun!

The boys are getting ready to go back to school, Geoff for his senior year, Al for his first year in Junior High, and Nathaniel for his Fifth grade year.  All in all, a very exciting prospect.  I just wish it didn’t cost so much to send them back to school.  And we’re just talking mandatory fees here.  We haven’t even got to the class fees yet.

I am fast approaching the start of a new season with Utah Opera.  We begin music rehearsals in September for La Boheme, and it is one of my favorites.  The production runs October 16, 18, 20, 22 & 24, 2010.  This is always a favorite, so if you want to see it, get your tickets now.  This promises to be a great season.

Performance wise, I have also had a bit of a change in the lineup.  Some personal decisions by some friends of mine have put some of my future performances in limbo.  I’m sad that this has happened, but even sadder that they made these decisions.  It has hurt both them, and their families and friends.  I just hope that they can do what is needed, that they can recover from this and get whatever help they need to right their lives.  It’s sad when people who have been given good instruction from their parents and received support through friends and family make decisions and choices that hurt themselves and others.  They are my friends and I will always love them, but I just can’t be happy about the choices they’ve made.  Their families certainly don’t deserve the trouble and heartache this has and is bringing to them.

I am launching on a new me program.  As you all know, it is all about me, for me and centered around me.  Always has been, always will be.  That should provide hours of entertainment as I am sure I will continue to make a fool of myself for you all.  Anyway, I am going to reassert my commitment to creating a better me through the rest of this year.  I now have a pedometer, and will be posting daily totals (which should be embarrassing at first) and will post my food journal again so that I can finally figure out just how many damn calories I’m cramming in my wide open yap.  I used to have a friend who was fairly large (although in retrospect, I don’t think he was ever as big as I am now), and He and my best friend Randy and I all made a video one time.  I think we were still in high school.  Anyway, at one point in the video, we are all sitting on the couch in my parents home, talking and eating chips and salsa.  This guy’s hand is in constant motion from the chips to the salsa to his mouth.  It is amazing to watch.  It never stops.  Perpetual motion machines have nothing on this guy.  We also had occasion once to go to a hot springs in northern Utah where he drove.  On the way home, we stopped to get some snacks.  He had a full bag of chips, that he proceeded to lift up to his mouth and shake out the chips, with the bag in front of his face, while driving at about 75 mph down the freeway.  It was very scary. 

Anyway to make a long story interminable, I find myself doing this same thing on occasion.  (The constant motion thing, not the bit with the bag of chips.  That’s just plain stupid and dangerous!)  I have a coworker who has had a package of cookies on his desk for over a week.  I can’t wrap my head around that.  The idea of having something sweet or salty near me for that long and not scarfing down just doesn’t register.  This is something that needs to change and needs to change right now.  It will likely mean that I have to ban such things from my diet.  Or at the very least, make sure that I don’t have a a full package or box of anything with me at work or in close proximity at home.

I am also going to actually start an exercise regimen.  It will be slow at start, but nothing long-term is going to go off like gangbusters.  I know that I have only a handful of supporters, but the ones I have are vocal and very supportive.  And I thank you all for that.

Quote of the day:

“Large, naked raw carrots are acceptable as food only to those who lie in hutches eagerly awaiting Easter.  ~Fran Lebowitz”