Thoughts

My grandpa greeted me often by calling me Zeke instead of Bryan. I once asked him, why? My grandpa replied that he had a friend named Bryan/Brian that everyone called him Zeke. He then paused and eventually admitted he didn't know why they called him Zeke either.

It wouldn't be Christmas without Doctor Who. The best part is it was my wife that bought me the tree ornament. She so gets me!

I love those Progressive commercials where they warn you to "not be like parents". I laugh at them because more times than not, I'm already at the "parent level" of behaviors and obsessions. This latest video from Progressive on weather nerds though hits close to home. After working for more than 30 years with the National Weather Service, I and many of my coworkers can't help but talk this way. Enjoy!

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I visited our son in Grand Forks, ND so we could see him in the musical, Ride the Cyclone. The musical was presented by the Empty State Theatre. He played the role of Ricky Potts, a boy that before his death was mute because of a trauma, though in the afterlife his ability to speak has been restored. Confused? Well you'll just have to see the play if you ever get a chance.

Logan was awesome in this musical! He was so good on stage that all I saw was his character. I was no longer Dad but an audience member enjoying the show. The rest of the cast awas also just as good.

Lately, I've been thinking about what it takes to really be happy. So in the new year, I've had some random thoughts on the subject of happiness. This one is more appropriate for social media than a blog post, but here it is anyway.

Being rich or poor is all relative. There is always someone richer and always someone poorer than you. If one can't be grateful with what they already have in this moment of time, I don't think one can ever find happiness no matter what "wealth" is obtained in the future.

The subscription model for anything is broke. Keep raising prices, upset your current customers, only offer a discount when they cancel the subscription. Why not make your current customers happy instead of only pleasing those arriving or departing? This is a stupid game we play.

In the early years of our marriage, my wife and I bought a lighted Christmas wreath. The wreath was two feet in diameter and was strung with the old incandescent cluster lights. This wreath hung in our picture window of our first house and would make its way to the transom window above the front door of our second house. Over the years this Christmas wreath had become my favorite decoration to hang during the holiday season.

Despite our above normal temperatures this December, I finally accepted the undeniable truth that the temperatures now are just too cold to enjoy our patio. The patio furniture has been covered and moved into position to face the South Dakota winter with its fury of wind and snow.

The older I get the more positive I have become. Yea I know, this surprised me too as I expected it to go the other way when I was younger. The negative of being positive though is recognizing that the world could use a lot more positive people.

This past month I replaced a line of Hi-Fi speakers I've listened to and enjoyed for the past 20 years with a pair of new floor speakers from Klipsch. It's an acknowledgment that my hearing and tastes have changed and it's time to listen to my music through a new stereo system. This recognition of needing to do things differently has become a common theme for me lately. I'm finding the old ways aren't working and perhaps joy can be found again by doing something new. With this theme on change, instead of blogging only when I'm inspired by great ideas or events, I decided to blog every few days as I take part in the 100 Days to Offload challenge.