Perception is reality

I envy Mozart.

I would love for my biggest problem of the day to be “How do I get this cat toy off my head?”

But then, Mozart doesn’t see this as a problem.

He’s the only cat that wears protective gear before commencing in any sort of feline sporting event. Mozart is at an advantage if he’s boxing our largest feline Bailey, because cats don’t know how to stick a jab. When Michelle catches him trying to headbutt the other cats he always looks up at her as if he’s attempting to get that thing off his head. He’s living proof that humans aren’t the only ones with an active imagination.

It’s interesting how our perception of events affects our reaction to them. Our days are spent interacting with the world around us, judging that input based on our own belief system, viewpoints that may or may not change based on our frame of reference.

I’m very good at facing economic & educational tasks, but lately I’ve been sucking on the relationship front. Last week blew up as my birthday passed with barely a whisper (amongst other things) and I partly blamed Michelle.

This is not the forum to list the sordid details of events, but I will say that our issues have been due in part to our own perceptions of the relationship as of late. Let me say that even the best communication can break down when you factor in long work/school hours, financial stress and any other number of factors. This only leads to endless rounds of conversation on the same topics breeding contempt as “We’ve already discussed this before and YOU aren’t doing enough”.

Have you ever encountered a problem that you just couldn’t solve only to have somebody else point out an obvious solution? Programmers call it being “code blind”. Like a Monet painting, sometimes you have to step back to get a better view of things. Until recently, I didn’t know I needed to do the same thing with my relationship.

The epiphany came over the weekend when Michelle & I witnessed some friends having a similar argument. Neither of us wants to call it quits, but we both agreed that conversations aren’t productive when we’re both pissed. My mood this morning is hopeful.

Last week I had this cat toy stuck on my head. I didn’t realize I could pretend it was a space helmet.

No Computer, No Internet.

Evening all. I wanted to thank the wonderful people who wished me a happy birthday the other day. I especially wanted to thank my parents who adorn me with love & support always, Knoll who was the first person to call me, Katie who was the only person to send me a birthday card and Amy who always sends me birthday wishes even though we’re so far apart. And all the groovy people who left comments here and e-mailed me – Jared, Ryan, Charles, Rick, Jen, Sarah, my sister Lesli, my cousin Anchie, Fred & Jeff.

Thank you.

It’s been an interesting week. Perhaps I’ll have a chance to write about it, it just won’t be anytime soon.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

My Birthday Wish…

As we’ve been inundated with news about the War with Iraq, my birthday wish goes out to the U.S. POWs being held. May their will prove stronger than their captors, may their training provide them with hope for their safe return.

Weekday birthdays suck. As a kid my parents made my birthday seem like a national holiday. I reveled in the glorious celebrations each year outdoing the previous as I grew from a child until my college years. Then a strange phenomenon happened after my 21st birthday. Suddenly I was hit with milestone celebrations. Birthdays passed like Hallmark holidays until my 25th birthday (Yippee! Car insurance became cheaper). Another season passed until the “big” Three-O. It paralleled my 21st birthday as the drinking was as intense while the motivations were inherently different (21 “I can legally drink!” 30 “I can still drink like those 21 year olds”). Alas, I have discovered the maintenance & upkeep my body needs to compete in its thirties. Don’t get me wrong, I can still whoop some ass, I just need a little more time between rounds. Where was I going?

Oh, anyways, today I’m another thirty-something. It’s Tuesday and there hasn’t been any fanfare or cake or naked chicks or the fanfare of naked chicks jumping out of a cake. My parents sent me a birthday e-mail last week (so they wouldn’t forget) and this morning Michelle greeted me with “Happy Birthday” before heading out the door to work. Even the gatos who are normally up in my business first thing in the morning are off sleeping somewhere. So as I get ready for school I’ll leave you with this story which appropriately sums up my mood at the moment:

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I woke up early feeling depressed because it was my birthday, and I thought, ?I?m another year older,? but decided not to dwell on it. So I showered and shaved, knowing when I went down to breakfast my wife would greet me with a big kiss and say, ?Happy birthday, dear.?

All smiles, I went into breakfast, and there sat my wife reading the newspaper as usual. She didn?t say a word. So I got myself a cup of coffee and thought, ?Oh well, she forgot. The kids will be down in a few minutes, they will sing ?Happy Birthday? and have a nice gift for me.? There I sat, enjoying my coffee, and I waited. Finally the kids came running into the kitchen yelling, ?Give me a slice of toast! I?m late! Where is my coat? I?m going to miss my bus!? Feeling more depressed than ever, I left for the office.

When I walked in, my secretary greeted mew with a big smile and a cheerful. ?Happy Birthday, boss,? She then asked if she could get me some coffee. Her remembering my birthday made me feel a whole lot better. Later in the morning, my secretary knocked on my office door and said, ?Since it?s your birthday, why don?t we have lunch together?? Thinking it would make me feel better, I said, ?That?s a good idea.? So we locked up the office, and since it was my birthday, I said, ?Why don?t we drive out of town and have lunch in the country, instead of going to the usual place?? So we drove out of town and went to a little out-of-the-way inn and had a couple of martinis and a nice lunch. We started driving back to town when my secretary said, ?Why don?t we go by my place, and I will fix you another martini?? It sounded like a good idea, since we didn?t have much to do at the office. So we went to her apartment, and she fixed some martinis.

After a while, she said, ?If you will excuse me, I think I will slip into something more comfortable,? and she left the room. In a few minutes, she opened her bedroom door and came out carrying a big birthday cake. Following her were my wife and all my kids, and there I sat with nothing on but my socks.

Bed please…

Recovering from a long school day. Normally, I would ramble on about this weekend’s events, but let me sum up for you then point you to the photo gallery:

Saturday Night – Rocked our asses off after leaving Tiki Bobs and joining Jen at Have A Nice Day Cafe. So sooooooooo good to catch up with Jen, our premiere party girl.

Sunday Afternoon - Michelle & I went to Ft. Worth to catch Geoff doing sportbike tricks at Pennington Field. Saw Daniel & Meg (pics soon), rode the track in Daniel’s Mustang (video coming soon), and then witnessed Geoff bounce off the pavement when the wind swept him off his bike while doing a standup trick. Geoff ended up with a cracked rib and we waited for Kendall to come out with a truck so we could haul the bike back to Geoff’s.

I’ve homework to do so you checkout this weekend’s pics and I’ll catch ya tomorrow.

Woo Hoo!!! Spurs 112, Mavs 110

Last night’s game was AMAZING!!! It was much better than the last game we attended at the American Airlines Center. Close games are always fun as you’re glued to your seat until the very end.

It was interesting to watch the love-hate relationship the Dallas home crowd has with guard Steve Nash (because of his anti-war opinions). On one hand he was booed when he entered the arena and subsequently whenever his name was mentioned early in the game. Later small cheers roared when he scored rising to hysteria as the game was THAT close. Heh, kinda hard to dis the guy when you want him to win games for you.

OK, have to run to class now, but I posted some old EverQuest character info (dug up from my old website) for Katie & Ryan. And thanks to Tom over at Orby Online for linking up with me.

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