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Showing posts with label Long holiday 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Long holiday 2014. Show all posts
12.31.2014
12.30.2014
IN WHICH FOOTBALL IS REVEALED TO BE POINTLESS (POOR THING).
"I don't understand why people like watching football so much. It's just a bunch of people trying to get a ball from one place to somewhere else."
- our daughter, who is forced to watch somewhere between one and two football matches a year, including the Super Bowl.
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- our daughter, who is forced to watch somewhere between one and two football matches a year, including the Super Bowl.
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12.28.2014
12.26.2014
12.25.2014
IN WHICH WE LOOK AT THE CALENDAR (MAGI (THE GIFT OF NO PERIODONTAL DISEASE)).
Last night - Christmas Eve - my wife looked up and said: where's the floss?
I am not the foremost dental hygiene expert in the family, but I looked very hard for our floss for almost five seconds.
Never mind.
she said.
And pulled down my stocking.
What are you doing?
I asked.
She pulled a small package out of it.
Merry Christmas,
she said,
as she began opening it.
Isn't that my present?
I asked reasonably.
Yes.
she said.
It's from me. It's floss. Merry Christmas.
Oh.
I said.
Uhh, thanks! I, I, I...love it!
Sure.
she said, ripping a length off and tossing the rest to me.
There you go. Floss.
I did. Christmas flossing duet. And that is how our many years and holiday seasons have gone: lots of little weird surprises along with a lot of looking out for each other.
Thank you for the lovely little present, Becca, and maybe next year I can unwrap it myself. Until then...floss on. And Merry, jolly, joyeaux Noel to you, world. You should start flossing if you don't already. It might save your life someday, or at least help you escape from a tall tower with a tiny window if you need to build a semi-dangerous DIY rope ladder on the quick. I guess the important thing to take from this is that you should never go anywhere without a canister of floss, and also if you love people, give them presents you would like yourself, like my wife did. Merry Christmas.
12.24.2014
IN WHICH WE DO OUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ON CHRISTMAS EVE (RIGHT ON SCHEDULE).
It's Christmas Eve, which means...
...it's time to start wrapping presents.
Feliz, all!
FAMOUS BLUE WINTERCOAT.
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| My son and Leonard Cohen |
But when I saw this poster of our son's nemesis,
I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
"Hey buddy,"
I said casually, hoping he wouldn't get a glimpse of what was behind him before I had time to snap.
"Go ahead and stand right..there - okay, move over a couple inches, alright? And..snap. Got it. Look what's behind you!"
He turned around.
"Is that...Leonard Cohen?"
he asked, recognition slowly dawning.
"Yep."
I said proudly.
"And now you have a picture with him! Ha!"
"Well,"
he said, smiling furiously
"I still don't really like Leonard Cohen at all."
"Well,"
I said.
"This picture says otherwise."
And we walked off down the sidewalk together; one of us so proud of himself.
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12.21.2014
12.19.2014
IN WHICH WE SHAMELESSLY PLUG FLY VIEW AERIAL (OKINAWA ROUNDTRIP?).
"I will only do karate lessons if Mr. Miyagi can be my teacher."
- our daughter
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- our daughter
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12.18.2014
12.17.2014
12.16.2014
12.15.2014
12.14.2014
IN WHICH WE CRASH (BECAUSE THE CHILDREN).
My wife and I exited the grocery store and met up, having checked out separately. Turns out we inadvertently had each bought a selection of bagels. The exact same kind and quantity from the bakery.
EXCEPT...one of us paid twenty cents LESS than the other for the IDENTICAL bagels. In case you're wondering...
...it was me. Some of us just like to pay that extra bit of attention to detail when checking out, and knowing how important it is to be aware of those things, I truly gave my full attention at checkout. Pennies today, our children's future college tuition tomorrow. I know it's so unfashionable to say, but I really think that children are our future, or at least should be involved in it a little. And I know I'm going to take a lot of heat for saying this, but I also think that education is important. So when I look at a bagel, I don't just see a delicious mobile breakfast option with 650 empty calories; I see our children's future, and I am so happy - in a totally smug way - that I was able to invest twenty cents in our children's future this evening.
My hope is that by setting this example, we can help those close to us realise the value of inspecting prices and receipts carefully, and, in a butterflyish-effecty kind of way, truly change the world. Because - and criticize me all you want for saying this - I believe in a better world for everyone. I stand by that.
And that is why I will eat my bagel in a socially-conscious way tomorrow, knowing that I have done my part. And in a beautiful world...someday, SOMEDAY, perhaps all of us can look in the mirror and speak those words aloud to ourselves. I am investing in the children's future, twenty cents at a time.
But tonight, I'm the only one that gets to do that. You're welcome, children. Love you, Becca Nutter Long.
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EXCEPT...one of us paid twenty cents LESS than the other for the IDENTICAL bagels. In case you're wondering...
...it was me. Some of us just like to pay that extra bit of attention to detail when checking out, and knowing how important it is to be aware of those things, I truly gave my full attention at checkout. Pennies today, our children's future college tuition tomorrow. I know it's so unfashionable to say, but I really think that children are our future, or at least should be involved in it a little. And I know I'm going to take a lot of heat for saying this, but I also think that education is important. So when I look at a bagel, I don't just see a delicious mobile breakfast option with 650 empty calories; I see our children's future, and I am so happy - in a totally smug way - that I was able to invest twenty cents in our children's future this evening.
My hope is that by setting this example, we can help those close to us realise the value of inspecting prices and receipts carefully, and, in a butterflyish-effecty kind of way, truly change the world. Because - and criticize me all you want for saying this - I believe in a better world for everyone. I stand by that.
And that is why I will eat my bagel in a socially-conscious way tomorrow, knowing that I have done my part. And in a beautiful world...someday, SOMEDAY, perhaps all of us can look in the mirror and speak those words aloud to ourselves. I am investing in the children's future, twenty cents at a time.
But tonight, I'm the only one that gets to do that. You're welcome, children. Love you, Becca Nutter Long.
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12.13.2014
IN WHICH OUR PIONEERING SOULS SEARCH FOR THE CHRISTMAS SPIRITS.
His sister found us a prime piece of real estate overlooking Pioneer Square to watch the Christmas Tuba Concert.
As people crowded in and swarmed around, he pulled out paper and pen,
and began frenetically designing signs & posters;
the most memorable of which said the following,* printed in bold letters:
"Give Me Money"
As he held up the sign, and waved it around, I shook my head,
simultaneously impressed with the bold entrepreneurial spirit...
...and trying desperately not to make eye contact with anyone.
The tubas were great. Don't miss it next year, Northwest peeps.
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*assisted with the spelling by his collaborative partner & sister
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12.12.2014
IN WHICH WE ARRIVE HOME LATE, AND THAT'S THE KIND OF HELPFUL I AM.
So...
the truck salesman asked my dad.
...what kind of extra options are important to you?
I jumped in, just to help my Pop out and show off my helpfulness.
I think,
I said,
that it would be pretty cool to have a rearview mirror.
And I realised a short while later that the salesman did not, in fact, find me very helpful. So, disappointing. But honestly, rear view mirrors are so important, and you can hang cool things from them.
the truck salesman asked my dad.
...what kind of extra options are important to you?
I jumped in, just to help my Pop out and show off my helpfulness.
I think,
I said,
that it would be pretty cool to have a rearview mirror.
And I realised a short while later that the salesman did not, in fact, find me very helpful. So, disappointing. But honestly, rear view mirrors are so important, and you can hang cool things from them.
12.11.2014
12.10.2014
IN WHICH WE PLAY PIANO, AND ALSO EMBARK ON A TOTALITARIANISTIC OP-ED..
"I like Dutch Brothers way more than cigar stores. I wish I knew how to spell "no tobacco allowed" on cigarette places."
- a four-year old boy
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I am having such a hard time deciding whether my favourite word to say today is Totalitarianism or Maharajah. They both just have such a beautiful syllabic cadence.
On a side note, I don't think anyone has ever used the word "totalitarianism" in a song better than Nick Cave.
On a sider note, I got to have a good mini-conversation about George Orwell today, which makes any day better.
On a sidest note, I got to lecture about and break down Ridley Scott's iconic 1984 Apple commercial. Which makes any day better.
I think I'll just go with Tea-Totaling Totalitarian Maharajah.
Happy day, world.
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- a four-year old boy
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I am having such a hard time deciding whether my favourite word to say today is Totalitarianism or Maharajah. They both just have such a beautiful syllabic cadence.
On a side note, I don't think anyone has ever used the word "totalitarianism" in a song better than Nick Cave.
On a sider note, I got to have a good mini-conversation about George Orwell today, which makes any day better.
On a sidest note, I got to lecture about and break down Ridley Scott's iconic 1984 Apple commercial. Which makes any day better.
I think I'll just go with Tea-Totaling Totalitarian Maharajah.
Happy day, world.
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12.09.2014
12.08.2014
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