Quotes

Wherever you go, there you are.

Unknown

If I know a lot about a topic and am comfortable with it, I feel no pressure to but sometimes work is work.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Heat is On.” “Do you thrive under pressure or crumble at the thought of it? Does your best stuff surface as the deadline approaches or do you need to iterate, day after day to achieve something you’re proud of? Tell us how you work best.”

When it comes to projects at work or in my personal life, I follow the phrase “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Another one that applies is “When you have a why, you’ll make it happen with any how.” I’m a believer in good stress. When I am under the gun on a project, it often forces me to do some of my most creative and innovative work. We like in a stressful world and much of it can be toxic but we shouldn’t forget that stress compels us to find solutions sometimes we were never able to see in a relaxed state.

I watched a documentary the other day about movie making and the set manager was bragging about how the studio forced him to create a set in record time. He might just as well be thankful for that time constraint because the movie went on to be a huge success. I am also a firm opponent to toxic stress. For example, I discovered last year I have been grinding my teeth. My research into this malady called “bruxism” has told me it is most often due to stress. I’ve actually had to start wearing a mouth guard at night to save my teeth. All that stress and I’m only 46! This has been another wake-up call to not take everything so seriously and to practice relaxation techniques. I share that to show that stress can also be toxic as well and productive.

I heard a song recently that really summarizes what I’m saying here in this post. The words went something like, it was a new song to me so I can’t recall the name, “If you have to think about it, it isn’t for you.” What a refreshing thought. If you have to consider something, it isn’t worth doing. It isn’t for you. Wouldn’t life be awesome if we could live it this way? In conclusion, I’ seeing two concerts this weekend. Tonight it’s Willie Nelson and Saturday Imagine Dragons. The Dragons are in their twenties and making decisions on projects based on a long term goal. They have to think, it’s clear from reading their interviews. I think they got too famous too soon for their own good but I sure love their music. On the other hand, Willie is just doing his thing. Now in his 80’s, I assume, he just plays to play. There’s no need for a fancy show or sets etc. Less stress I think too. We should all hope to achieve a place one day where we can “just be” the good old Willie. Until then it’s about doing the stuff we know and going easy on ourselves as we prepare to create and innovate projects about stuff we’re still learning about. In between it all, pay attention to the stove of stress before it’s hot. In the end it’s a;; about balance and knowing ones own limits.

An alien has asked me to describe what it out my backdoor. He has 57 legs and 3 spacecraft. Maybe he’s planning to touch down here. Cool.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Lookin’ Out My Back Door.”

Left to right, there’s a 45 foot long pool. I work hard to keep it clean and balanced with chemicals. Currently it needs chlorine which I purchase at Lowe’s hardware store. Abut midway through there is a jacuzzi. I have spent so many nights there finding relaxation. If you or your crew want to relax, it’s a great way to do so. I heat it to 100 degrees.After that we have a Pergola patio cover, a bar-be-cue, a fire pit, and the rest is dirt. We do have a retaining wall all along the back. My in-laws recently started helping s with this. Could your spacecraft land in the pool?

Since I tend to worry a lot, even subliminally and out of my control, I truly appreciate it when a stranger I run across in my life urges me to “not worry about it.” I need to be that way with strangers from my end as well.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Kindness of Strangers.”

It can be as small as being short a few cents when checking out at a store. “Don’t worry about it” is like music to my ears. I actually had a checker once spot me one dollar when I was short. I told her I’d come back and repay her which I did. When I said thank you the second time, she said those magic words. If I’m nervous at the doctor or dentist, those words are so helpful. If I’m being evaluated at work, they are like a million dollars. To have an evaluator use them is heartening.

Stress is necessary in life. When a runner goes off at the gun, he needs to stress his muscles to win the race. In making a presentation with hopes of landing an account, a salesman must stress himself. Butterflies in the stomach are unavoidable sometimes but when you learn to not worry about it, you get those butterflies “flying in formation” and you can do great things. Would you like more people to tell you to not worry about it? I recommend you start telling others that. That’s my plan. We’ll see what karma can do for my struggle with worry.

We’ve been working our fingers to the bone over here at the Riley house, most specifically, my inlaws have been but my family is helping however we can. The vision is for a retaining wall at the back of our property, done, a pergola, almost done, and a paved stone area with a firepit, also almost done. I’ve been keeping my pool up. It had some really aggravating algae in it after sitting all year. Now that temperatures up to 106 some days here in the high desert, it’s great to have it cleaned and balanced with chemicals.

My father in law is doing the mainstay of the work on everything else. I’ve even been teased for being the lazy one on the computer but I’ll tell you that is an out and out lie. At any ratem just to get the pool ready for the summer I’ve spent close to $1,000 on various sundries and chemicals for the pool. After a couple months of fighting the pool, can I tell you I’m done? Almost. Actually with pools, you’re never done. You just get smooth spots.

I had a 6th grade teacher who brought bluegrass instruments and players into class one time. They played a song for us called “Bony Fingers.” That’s where I got the line for the title. If you thik about it, it’s easy t get a bad attitude about physical labor. It can physically hurt. Most the time it’s just uncomfortable. Looking back at the weeks we’ve been working on the backyard, I can tell you it has been quite uncomfortable at times. My wife’s birthday was in May and in lieu of a gift she asked her parents for a new backyard. They rose to the occasion.

They’ve been great but of course there is a small element of strain with your inlaws in your backyard. If were anyone but them, I might have objected. As it is, it feels like a trip to the lake every weekend, we even jump in the water most every day. When the process is complete it will have been worth all we put into it. My wife will have her wish of a new backyard and I can make me up some roasted marshmallows and hot dogs in the firepit.

See all the photos at my living album on flickr.

There’s something to say for relaxation. But there’s something much more important to say about bony fingers!

This post is in response to Stream of Consciousness Saturday and The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Festivus for the Rest of Us.”

I’m moved by beauty in nature every day. The last time it brought me to tears was when I re-watched the movie “A River Runs Through it.” The nature in the movie is as you would expect, a river. Interwoven into that nature are the words of loved ones in Norman Maclean’s memory. The protagonist is at the end of his life out fly fishing. Though the people in his life have all passed, he sees life as a place where all the people come together and a river runs through it.

His brother Paul was always living in big brother’s shadow. He took a shortcut to wealth by gambling. Time after time in the film Norman paid his bail after fighting or being drunk in public. One night, the worst happens and the father says in his sermon, “We can love completely without complete understanding.” The story of these brothers along with so many parables drawn from the Montana forests works together to bring out emotions I found hard to subdue. We can learn so much from nature. So many of life’s questions can be answered when we spend time in nature. When the answers come, they often lie too deep for tears.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Moved to Tears.”

Summer is my favorite time of year. I have vivid memories of doing stuff with my family of origin over the Summers. I remember washing cars and going places where we bought sodas like Mountain Dew from vending machines. I remember lakes and liquor stores where I’d buy Star Wars cards and candy. I remember jumping in freezing cold water and laying out in the sun on a towel or even a rock to dry off. All of it was amazing. Now as an adult, let me tell you three reasons why Summer is still my favorite season: the sun is good for me and builds vitamin D, I am usually not working, and I get to take lots more photos than other seasons of the year.

First, the vitamin D. Feeling the sun on my skin has to be one of the best sensations I have. I can feel the sun healing me from ailments as I dry off. I’ll always love that coconut scent of milky white suntan lotion. Nowadays with our kids, we buy the spray kind and it doesn’t usually ave that aroma but I still remember it and when I can smell it at the beach, it always brings me back to my childhood. Speaking of the beach, I’ve been to may but these days my choice is Laguna Beach. There are few rocks along the shore and it’s really a natural cove that allows for smaller waves. I once heard a professor of marine biology share that the composition of seawater is almost exactly the same as the amniotic fluid. She went on to say that some people say when they go in and out of the ocean it’s as if they had been reborn. I’ve always liked that analogy.

Second, I usually don’t have to work. I wrote a full post on this the other day and why I make no apologies for being off for the Summer as a teacher. I chose this job because it would allow me to explore my small hobbies and interests while still being able to provide for my family. I learn so much about blogging every Summer because I apply myself to reading, writing, and learning. I also read up on the latest teaching theories and get ready all Summer log for my forthcoming class. My family usually takes vacations but this year we’ve been fixing up the backyard so we’ll likely be staying home and enjoying the pool more than driving long distances.

Third, Summer is the best time to take pictures. I’ve taken thousands of photos, most of which I have archived on Flickr. People are more likely to pose in Summer and the lighting and backgrounds are better than other times of the year. People are relaxed and that’s the best way to capture their images. I have a Canon DSLR and of course an iPhone that takes pretty great pictures. I have both nearby at all times during the Summer so I can get the good stuff to share on social media and enjoy with family later.

In conclusion, I enjoy Summer for a myriad of reasons. It is the time I build myself back up after a year of being up and down in the struggle to meet the demands of a teaching career. When I sat down to write this, I could see there were clearly three main reasons I love Summer the most: the sun is good for me and builds vitamin D, I am usually not working, and I get to take lots more photos than other seasons of the year.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

I was 8 in Mission Viejo, CA. Those days consisted of exploring, to every extent of the word. The biggest example was exploring down the creek. We found wonders in mud and pieces of trees that had fallen and broken into branches and driftwood.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Early Years.”

We’d get into trouble with our mother who many times had to hose us off before we went into the house. We trudged through sludge looking for some hidden cave or passageway we could discover and call our own. We were peaceful kids, never fighting down the creek. There were a couple incidents however I do recall where slightly older kids got into some semi-violent stuff. Some boys who lived on another street had tied up a frog by it’s hind leg and shot it repeatedly with a bee bee gun. Even after it was dead, boys took turns aiming and pelting. We weren’t there but ;ater heard the story and every kid who heard it could verify it by visiting the scene. I was repulsed by this, the same way I cringed when kids would set off firecrackers.

Another group of kids were struggling once, or so I heard, to pull up a metal grate. It must have weighed 100 pounds. The story went that these kids pulled it up and a particularly thrill-seeking type kid went down the underground ladder. They accidentally dropped it on his leg and there was a lot of blood. Days later we would travel to that grate that the police and the paramedics replaced and see the stains that we thought were surely blood. I swear I saw a piece of leg meat. I remember thinking how mean those kids were. We walked back home that day picking up surveying stakes pretending they were daggers. Construction tape and ties were always being laid for new suburban homes. It was a lot like ET if you’ve seen that movie and remember what it looked like.

Black gold is my secret ingredient to living well. I use my French press in the morning to blast off and usually have an afternoon Starbucks Cafe Misto. Legend says a goat herder was minding his herd when they began to nibble on coffee beans growing there. The goats began dancing. The herder boiled some and it became the first cup of joe.

Whether it’s true or not, coffee is my secret ingredient and I am like those goats.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Ingredients.”