Category Archives: Bit of the ordinary

Something from everyday goings on.

Bit of the ordinary

Weekly Twitter Update From 2011-11-14 – 2011-11-20 #tw

  • "The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good." – Stanley Kubrick 2011-11-15
  • RT @tinybuddha "You validate people’s lives by your attention." ~Unknown #fb in reply to tinybuddha 2011-11-15
  • My son: I want to make a spaceship out of paper. Me: "x wing origami" google search. Fold Fold fold… My Son: Yay! Me: Parenting win! 2011-11-16
  • Currently getting my kids (ages 4, 7, & 10) hooked on Mythbusters. THanks Netflix, & @donttrythis ! 2011-11-20
Bit of the ordinary, Family biz

Obligatory thanksgiving post

It is almost thanksgiving which means the most American of traditions, traveling by car. Since the rest of Ann’s family is near Philadelphia, we will be traveling up there to visit. We will also drive up to NYC for a day while we are there. McKelvey is interested in seeing the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I think we will go around Central Park as well. Luckily, we all travel pretty well by car. The dogs take naps, the kids can get pretty far with music and audio books before asking for a movie, and we don’t have to stop for bathroom breaks every half hour (knock on wood).

So it’s exciting to go on a trip, and this year I feel like I have actually had time to enjoy the holidays this fall. Our kids had some awesome costumes, Ann and I actually dressed up and went out too. We didn’t get to fully carve my pumpkin, so everything wasn’t accomplished. But all in all, having a sabbatical has really allowed me to get some work done and connect with my family. I miss most of the people at work, and am looking forward to working with them again. And having the time away from work has really helped me put my previous department head work into perspective. By thinking about my job and teaching theatre with a little distance, I really think I am going to have some new energy and ideas to bring to the table. So I am thankful for that.

You know looking back, I have lucked out immensely. Looking at the awesome family I have, this great job with people a love to work with, having a house in a great town, I can’t help but be thankful.

Bit of the ordinary, Family biz, Memes

Our Friday Night Fun

Every Friday we have a family movie night, with each member of the family getting a turn to choose the movie. The week that R.E.M. broke up we watched some music videos on youtube.

Now the kids really like some of the songs. It is fun to see their enjoyment of these songs from my youth. Although now that I think about it, I wasn’t 4 or 7 or 10 when I listened to them.

Here is one of McKelvey;s favorites:
Dead or ALive’s You SPin Me Right Round

Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon

We also watched Aha’s Take on Me, and then I remembered someone made a spoof of the video, making the lyrics talking about what is shown in the video. Pretty funny.

Aha’s Take Me On Literal version

Original http://youtu.be/djV11Xbc914

Then we looked up the literal video of one of Liam’s constant requests, Men Without Hat’s Safety Dance. Although the literal version we discovered was a little racy, at least for 4 year olds.

Men Without Hats Safety Dance Literal Version

Original

That is a glimpse of our action packed Friday nights.

Bit of the ordinary

Time and attention part 1

Over the past summer, I was been thinking about balance. How much time and energy do I spend doing all those things I am interested in? I realized that I spent a lot of time checking Facebook and Twitter. Which I use to not only find out what my friends (Facebook) and other interesting people (Twitter) are doing and links or websites they like or recommend. It is really fun to see some of the super cool, or funny, stuff happening on the Internet. I am sure that is similar to 99.9% reading this. That you like checking in and seeing what is going on, or discovering interesting links from similarly minded friends, virtual or otherwise.

I realized that Facebook and Twitter time was taking away from actually doing things. When was the last time I had made something, or sketched, or even read a play for the heck of it? The answer unfortunately was a long time. So I made a concerted effort to stop checking Facebook and Twitter all the time. That was easy over the summer since we were traveling so much. And once you get out of the habit it gets easier. I have found myself with more time, and I try to focus that on the people around me. Because that is who I should be devoting time and energy to.