Daredevil Mom tagged me because she is really interested in my answers. I'll try not to disappoint...
Four Jobs I Have Held
CPA Tax Accountant
BYU Student Teacher (International Relations)
Children's Computer Games Tester (that was a lot of fun - I still giggle at "Oh no, I can't get my nose out" - ask Daredevil Mom)
Assistant Manager at Domino's Pizza (I made the pizzas and delivered occasionally - once a party of late teenage girls asked me to come in and stay - for once in my life, I made the right choice and took my money and left)
Four Movie I Can Watch Repeatedly
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Cyrano de Bergerac (Gerard Depardieu version, in French)
Cinema Paradiso
The Magnificent Seven
But there are SO many others, like The Thin Man movies, Some Like It Hot, Bringing Up Baby, Arsenic And Old Lace, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?, The Wizard Of Oz, The Incredibles (yes, the Pixar film), Citizen Kane, Frequency, The Great Escape, and Ben Hur (I have a DVD collection that can rival several video rental stores).
Four Places I Have Lived
Santa Clara, California
Provo, Utah
Chinju, South Korea
Sunnyvale, California
It is strange to think about where one has "lived". I experienced a lot of Life while touring in Europe at a teenager (study abroad for one month - and yes, sometimes it was study a broad - there was a somewhat torrid love affair that ensued - I said I experienced a lot of Life). But in retrospect, I grew up in my parent's home, I went to college in another state, I served a mission in another country, and then I returned to the city in which I was raised to pursue my career. It was never planned that way - I fully intended to move away (I interviewed with companies in Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Dallas). But the best job opportunity was in the place I knew well. So why fight fate? I am not some hick who has never seen anything (no offense to those of you who may fall into that category) of this world. I just came full circle. Odd, but true.
Four Categories Of Television I Enjoy
"Freaky, Freaky Space Shows" (that is my wife's assessment of my viewing pleasures - I would call it Science Fiction - shows like Star Trek, Lost, Heroes, Smallville and Babylon Five - it is a very broad category)
British Science Fiction or Crime Dramas (separate from above -- this would include Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Hex, Torchwood, and Jonathan Creek)
Food Network Shows (especially Good Eats -- informative, fun, delicious)
Legal or Medical Dramas (Boston Legal, House, Shark)
There is a category of show I enjoy that is not well represented on TV -- the quirky and intelligent. This would include shows that often don't make it very long. Examples include "Studio 60", "Wonderfalls", "Monk", "Dead Like Me", "Sports Night", and (the most enduring of the bunch) "The West Wing". Obviously, I am a fan of Aaron Sorkin, David E. Kelly, and Bryan Fuller. They write scripts that are intelligent. The dialog is at once very serious and then very funny. And the fun is not laugh track, cheap joke funny. It is irony, quirkiness, the world turned sideways and exposed kind of funny. Maybe I'm just a snob (though I do have several guilty pleasures in my DVD collection). Or maybe I am just really tired of the pandering, LOWEST common denominator, inane, fluffy, and insipid wasteland that inhabits most of the channels today (especially during the summer months -- do they think that the more intelligent of the species have all gone to Europe for vacation? Maybe we should and leave the USA TV landscape to the chest-thumping, slope-headed, numb-skulls that the advertisers believe inhabit this land.). But enough of this...next question...
Four Places I Have Been On Holiday
Alaska (Ketchikan, Juno, Skagway)
Mexico (Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas)
Europe (study abroad / holiday -- not much difference) (England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece)
Crater Lake, Oregon
Four Favorite Dishes
Dinner Plate, Cow Creamer, Bread Plate, Gravy Boat :)
OK
Potatoes Au Gratin
Fillet Mignon
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Macaroni and Cheese
Unfortunately, while I really LOVE cheese, I'm finding that my system is becoming increasingly intolerant to processing it. My father was right...it is a bitch getting older.
Four Websites I Visit Daily
MyFamily.com
Yahoo Finance
My AOL Email
Daredevil Mom's Blog (although, she has been a little sparse in her postings of late -- maybe a bit busy with her acting, kids, job, life)
Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
Lucerne, Switzerland
Juno, Alaska
My Endless Pool
Scotland (I've never been there, but I have always wanted to go)
Four People I Tag Next
Now this is a bit of a cop out, but as I do not know the people who read my blog, here is the deal: If your name isn't Daredevil Mom, you are tagged (I presume that there are no "tag backs" in this game of tag). Let me know who you are by posting a comment to this post and I will visit your blog and read what you have to say. Deal?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Happy Summer Soltice
Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of my father's passing. He was with my mother celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary in San Diego at a musical convention (Mom is an officer in her local chapter of the Music Teachers' Association of California). As I think I have mentioned before, he has a massive coronary while walking with my mother back to the hotel from a lecture on Beethoven Piano Sonatas. A couple of hours later, I received a phone call from my little brother who was near hysterical and I had to go into "Big Brother To Action" mode. There was much that had to be taken care of and there were those who looked to me to do it. So I did. My little brother was worried that I didn't get a chance to properly grieve. I did get that chance, but it was some time later and in my own way. Some things are done best alone.
Before they left for San Diego, Dad called me to say they were going. I thought it odd at the time as they were only to be gone for an extended weekend, but I appreciated the phone call nonetheless. I ended it by saying that I would see him when he got back. I did. And I have seen him since (but those are stories for another post).
Normally, you would expect that I spent at least part of yesterday visiting his grave site. I didn't. I did think about him a bit and I did wish my mother "Happy 46nd Wedding Anniversary" (to which she responded, "Has it really been that long?"). But, to put it tritely, life moves on. I had work to do. We attended my nephew's baptism yesterday evening (my wife and I were asked to give the prayers and Mom spoke on the importance of baptism). I am sure that my father was a proud grandfather looking in on his grandson's baptism.
A lot happened five years ago. Besides my father passing away, two of my sisters got divorced. The events weren't related, but they did occur during that "Year From Hell". The younger of those sisters, with her two young sons, moved in with my mother. The little brother mentioned above and his wife were already living there and the resulting influx of bodies led to some very unpleasant emotions being unleashed. It took several months (closer to a couple of years) to at least stop the bleeding, let alone heal the wounds.
Five years ago, in December, I was called to be my ward's financial clerk, a church calling I have enjoyed more than almost any other I've had.
Near the end of December, the little pickup truck that my father loaned me $8,000 to buy while I was in college (and which I paid him back within my first year out of college), died. I was headed to work and it just stopped. The mechanic said that the on-board computer was fried. The cost to even diagnose the issue (including knowing whether or not the rest of the electrical system was shot) was much more than the value of the vehicle. I donated the 13 year old friend to a charity and bought a Prius (and I still love my "new" car).
Five years ago, my wife and I had to fight the school system to get our son into an autism class. We had to visit a medical specialist who gave a medical diagnosis of autism in order to convince the short-sighted administrators of what we knew best as parents. That being that our son was not and would not be able to cope in the regular "special learning" classes they shoved him into. He was so over-stimulated by the stuff hanging from the ceiling and posted on the walls and spewing from the teacher and aides that he daily broke down, spun in a circle, cried and then hid in a corner of the room (face to the wall). In the end, we pulled him from the school program entirely, learned more about autism, and with medical diagnosis in hand (and a little help from the Regional Center) got our son into the County Autism Program. He has excelled ever since and is considered by all of his teachers and therapists as one of the best students they have ever had. Yes, I am a proud father, but I can show you the official records to back me up. :)
Five years ago today I was dealing with death, grief, sorrow, sadness, pain, and confusion (i.e. "what do we do now?"). Since then I have given seminars on what to do when a loved one dies. With the immense help of my wife, I created a checklist to use for that event and I have let Bishops and many others use it to help others cope with this very common event. I am at a point in my life where my older friends and relatives are beginning to cross over to the other side of existence. Five years ago, I learned how to deal with this first hand and since then I have been able to help dozens of others deal with the same.
Five years ago my father died. Am I wallowing in grief today? No. As I said, life goes on. Both mine and his.
Before they left for San Diego, Dad called me to say they were going. I thought it odd at the time as they were only to be gone for an extended weekend, but I appreciated the phone call nonetheless. I ended it by saying that I would see him when he got back. I did. And I have seen him since (but those are stories for another post).
Normally, you would expect that I spent at least part of yesterday visiting his grave site. I didn't. I did think about him a bit and I did wish my mother "Happy 46nd Wedding Anniversary" (to which she responded, "Has it really been that long?"). But, to put it tritely, life moves on. I had work to do. We attended my nephew's baptism yesterday evening (my wife and I were asked to give the prayers and Mom spoke on the importance of baptism). I am sure that my father was a proud grandfather looking in on his grandson's baptism.
A lot happened five years ago. Besides my father passing away, two of my sisters got divorced. The events weren't related, but they did occur during that "Year From Hell". The younger of those sisters, with her two young sons, moved in with my mother. The little brother mentioned above and his wife were already living there and the resulting influx of bodies led to some very unpleasant emotions being unleashed. It took several months (closer to a couple of years) to at least stop the bleeding, let alone heal the wounds.
Five years ago, in December, I was called to be my ward's financial clerk, a church calling I have enjoyed more than almost any other I've had.
Near the end of December, the little pickup truck that my father loaned me $8,000 to buy while I was in college (and which I paid him back within my first year out of college), died. I was headed to work and it just stopped. The mechanic said that the on-board computer was fried. The cost to even diagnose the issue (including knowing whether or not the rest of the electrical system was shot) was much more than the value of the vehicle. I donated the 13 year old friend to a charity and bought a Prius (and I still love my "new" car).
Five years ago, my wife and I had to fight the school system to get our son into an autism class. We had to visit a medical specialist who gave a medical diagnosis of autism in order to convince the short-sighted administrators of what we knew best as parents. That being that our son was not and would not be able to cope in the regular "special learning" classes they shoved him into. He was so over-stimulated by the stuff hanging from the ceiling and posted on the walls and spewing from the teacher and aides that he daily broke down, spun in a circle, cried and then hid in a corner of the room (face to the wall). In the end, we pulled him from the school program entirely, learned more about autism, and with medical diagnosis in hand (and a little help from the Regional Center) got our son into the County Autism Program. He has excelled ever since and is considered by all of his teachers and therapists as one of the best students they have ever had. Yes, I am a proud father, but I can show you the official records to back me up. :)
Five years ago today I was dealing with death, grief, sorrow, sadness, pain, and confusion (i.e. "what do we do now?"). Since then I have given seminars on what to do when a loved one dies. With the immense help of my wife, I created a checklist to use for that event and I have let Bishops and many others use it to help others cope with this very common event. I am at a point in my life where my older friends and relatives are beginning to cross over to the other side of existence. Five years ago, I learned how to deal with this first hand and since then I have been able to help dozens of others deal with the same.
Five years ago my father died. Am I wallowing in grief today? No. As I said, life goes on. Both mine and his.
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