Tag Archives: Family

The Second Was the First

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It has taken me a day or two to regain my footing and put together a few thoughts on the convention that was Regeneration Who 2. Now that the glitter has settled (and has failed to go away) I will attempt to put into writing the things that have been running around in my head looking for a way out.

I titled this piece the way I did because while the was the second Regeneration Who con it was the first to have a dedicated children’s program. It was also the first time I’d been in charge of a chunk of con program. Yes, I’ve been part of the Intervention team for years but this was different. It was my direction – and I’m the kind of person that criticizes myself easily twice as much as anyone around me, probably more than that really. I had a grand vision in my head.

No plan survives contact with the enemy… Wait. Perhaps that isn’t the right way to phrase that. My full vision failed to account for certain realities. My free time for planning crashed directly into aspects of my day job. Another volunteer organization I work with put unexpected demands on my time. I didn’t have enough knowledge of materials and cosplay materials specifically to pull off one of the things I thought would be a centerpiece of our program. I failed at a couple of points that I wanted to be epic wins and that’s exactly the sort of thing that frustrates me. The plan generally survived, but I’ve been going over it and over it in my head since then figuring a way to make it better.

I take the time to read Oni’s “real talks” and I suppose this falls into the same category despite my inability to master her specific… eloquence. I know there has been a lot of praise for what we did, and I am truly thankful for that. It makes the struggle worth it. I know there weren’t as many problems to the eyes of convention attendees as there were to my eyes, but I saw the things I could do better. I saw the opportunities to really let my small portion of the team excel and really push it all over the top. Eta and Channon deserve a huge chunk of the credit for all that we did. I wouldn’t have survived the weekend without them. My unofficial helper (my lovely wife) was indispensable as well. They were the glue that held my macaroni to the page. I will always strive to hit that grand vision and really nail it – always. I know my team will be there with me.

In the end it was not the grand vision, nor was it a centerpiece activity. It was a small, simple gesture that made it all come together. Share a hug with a teddy bear and make the whole world better.

Monty

It’s vital to have these moments and keep all of our kids interested in the joy that is sharing our passions. I can only hope to equal that in the years to come. I will be there – and maybe I’ll bring my teddy bear too.

Check out some of the other things we had going on and make plans to be there next year:

Children’s Program!

The Wonder of a 10 year old

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I tend to stay away from too much family talk here. I make every attempt to stay away from the cult of personality culture that has developed in this country. I hope that people can find health and happiness in whatever form their family takes – and I don’t really care what the star du jour is doing when not at work. I think people working in public view – as famous or as unknown as you like – still have a right to have enjoyable family time and YOU don’t get to be part of that.

Having said all that, I want to share a bit of conversation I had with my daughter today.

Her, “So, I was the first person in my science class to finish the circuit and make the light bulb light up.”

Me, “That’s great sweetie!”

Her, “Yeah, I was also the first person to shock myself. That was tingly. What do you call the metal part at the bottom of a light bulb?”

It was such an awesome little conversation. There was more about the young man sitting next to her dropping his bulb and how one of the other kids wanted to copy her and she wouldn’t because, “you’re supposed to be learning…” but the point was how she encapsulated all the wonder and excellence of growing and learning in just a couple of sentences. I love that she was first in science for anything. That’s great. I love that she’s taken a few notes from Hermione (from Harry Potter) and wants everyone to learn not just copy. I particularly love that she mentioned she was also the first to get… let’s say negative results from her work. She electrocuted herself just a teeny bit and didn’t even slow down. She kept working and wondering and trying to figure stuff out. It was awesome and I did what I could to encourage more of that behavior. I couldn’t have been happier.

I am so constantly amazed by my daughter and all the wonder that goes with being ten. I am just going to soak it in because I know it will be gone too soon. IF you have a chance, get out there and wonder like a ten year old. Think past the bumps and the wrong turns and keep driving toward what you’re really interested in. That feeling will go away far too quickly if you let it.

Mundane

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Sometimes I stop myself from posting things here because they seem so terribly mundane. I suspect nobody is really interested, so I don’t post them.

That feeling is actually the source of the name of my site. This is “The Pretend Blog” because way back when I started on LiveJournal I suspected nobody was reading what I had to say. I would pretend to have a blog and keep posting things anyway. I still suspect I don’t have much of a readership. If I want that to change, I need to give more to read!

Mundane things have been moving right along.

Went to a meeting this morning with some folks at my kiddo’s school to discuss how things are going and where they hope she lands with her education by the end of the year. She’s having a great school year so far – they even asked her to be the “newscaster” for morning announcements each day because she communicates so well. I’m really proud of her.

Got to spend some time hanging out with friends this past weekend. That helped. Being in the land of the jobless is not easy. This week has been more difficult than the past couple so far. I am much more a creature of habit than I would have thought. Perhaps this is just the shake up my creativity needs? I can certainly say that questions like “how many golf balls fit in a bus?” during interviews will drive a certain level of creativity.

My favorite thing from the past few days was the chance to get together with this year’s group of exchange students. I haven’t let my lack of job interfere with my volunteerism. I am still an area representative with the Youth For Understanding exchange program. I had the chance to meet and chat with students between 15 and 18 years old from all over the world. Estonia, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Ghana, Spain, Italy, Mozambique, Korea and Denmark all got representation at the big post-arrival meeting we had Sunday. Talking with these students was absolute fun. They’ve always got something to say and they always have interesting views of what America is like from an outsider perspective. We spent time going over cultural differences, language barriers and other important things like what is good music and what are great food dishes we should all try. I told them that food and music are great ways to start a conversation with anyone they’re trying to get to know. I personally find this “discussion” of food to be tremendously entertaining: Americans Taste Exotic Asian Food

See what you think. Food is always a great discussion topic, right?

More to come…

Birthday

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As I sit here there are fingers reaching up from my neck and squeezing the back of my head. I’d lift my arm to rub my head and relieve the pressure but the stabbing pain in my shoulder only allows my arm to reach the halfway point before turning back. My feet are tingling because I’ve stressed my back to the point where I should walk away from this infernal machine and rest…

Or happy birthday to me.

I’m two years gone from the answer to life, the universe and everything and somehow feel as if the answers are truly getting further away. What’s coming closer though is an amazing person that my daughter is growing up to be. I’m uncertain how that’s happening, but I am so glad that it is. Also coming closer is a day when my lovely wife will be back on her feet (both of them) with her heart completely back in working order so we can keep wandering down the road of life together (and leave behind the crutches)!

I don’t celebrate much anymore, but I did really like the ice cream cake I shared with my family on Sunday (thanks Mom!). There should be more ice cream cake in the world, I think that would help. It was a small thing to have a mini celebration, but it was nice to mark the occasion. I’m glad we had that time together as a family.

Today was particularly excellent. The adjustment bureau took the day off and my travels were so smooth and quick I was way, way ahead of schedule. Work wrapped up early and I got home early. My lovely wife grilled some chicken for dinner and I am so happy she is working her way back to being able to handle the cooking – I like what she makes better than the pitiful handful of things I can work up.

So I’m a year older, a year further along but also a year happier than I’ve ever been despite all the bumps and potholes along the way. I am really looking forward to another wonderful year.