Happy birthday to me(ish)
I’m usually one to skip the birthday fanfare, but this isn’t about me, it’s about something far greater: this blog. Yep, a year ago today I posted the first post, embracing my own quirks coolness personality and sharing with the world my experiences as a homeowner, husband, neighbor, person.
Come to think of it, I’m not sure I do any of those things well…
Perhaps that’s something to explore in the next year. In the mean time, I’ve outlined a few of my favorite posts from the last. Since many are about my awesome bike (see the first post referenced above), and our city leaders are trying to make Fresno a more bike-friendly community, I’m also opening up a photo contest. Details of both are below.
Favorite posts:
- Found: Used underwear
- Boarded Windows Theory
- Things your mother shouldn’t know…
- You’re fat, and your vacuum sucks, too
- When dogs attack (the house) - see here for a balanced perspective
- An open letter to Danil Monteleone - try searching for his name
- Of cities and nose rings
- Skype call girls
Photo competition:
One of the frustrations I’ve found in using my bike for transportation is that many public places don’t provide adequate facilities for locking it up. I’ve had to MacGyver a few, and I’m curious to see what others have done. Email me a photo* of your bike—I suppose it could belong to someone else—locked to something out of the ordinary, and I’ll post it for others to vote on**. The winner will receive a shiny gift certificate to the bike shop of his or her choice.
* By emailing the photo, you’re claiming you have the right to do so, and giving me permission to post it. Please don’t include photos of naked people on your bike.
** If the winner is blatantly obvious, I reserve the right to make the selection. It’s my party, and I’ll blog if I want to.
Family dinners (and the inappropriate things we say)
Every time my wife’s family gathers for a Sunday afternoon meal, one of the kids—it’s usually Kim—says something inappropriate that dramatically changes the mood in the room. Every. single. time.
Today’s Father’s Day lunch looked to be no different; Kim’s brother started the discussion before lunch was served, by questioning their mother’s visits to the tanning booth (evidently, all the kids have been warned about the threat of skin cancer and forbidden to tan). That conversation died quickly, so it looked like we were in for a normal meal.
We talked about movies.
We talked about vacation.
We talked about work.
And that’s where we took a wrong turn. In discussing work, we learned that Kim’s brother is facing a potential furlough at work, after a series of layoffs. That led to a discussion about furloughs, and I tried to lighten the mood by saying that my company was considering furloughs (see, I own the company, and before last week I was the only employee…).
To that, Kim responded: “Screw your company.” She’s a bit jealous that we offer such perks as Call of Duty timeouts and afternoon margaritas.
Her mom, unusually quick on her toes, explained, “Kim, I think you already do.”
Evidently, I blushed.