Random Thoughts for the Week of April 9, 2012

Sorry for the dull week, folks.  Lots on my mind, and little of it just straight humorous.

• Mindi and I are taking a little break from planning our return to Omaha.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, it’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of moving back, when the reality is we can’t go back for several more months.  Second, the more we start thinking about life in Omaha, the more stressed out we get on how it’s going to work.  We’re going to focus on getting ready for Alex and look to the moving thing again in June or so.  All the while, my savings plan will have us in good position to make the move back once the trigger is pulled.  It’s hard to put down the CBS Home website and stop looking at homes, but it’s for the best.  We know where in town we’re hoping to live, and we are looking forward to our time there, but time to focus a bit more on the here and now.
• Speaking of Omaha, it was fun watching the massive storms roll through the Midwest through the video streaming sites of storm chasers.  Yes, some day I would love to buy a beat up old truck and take Alex storm chasing through Nebraska and Kansas.  Now, will Mindi ever let us?
• Perhaps it’s a sign of how much my life has changed in the past year, but I haven’t checked my horoscope in almost 6 months.  I guess I’m just not leaving things up to the universe anymore.  Working out pretty well so far.
• Well, they indicted Zimmerman.  Gotta trust the system, it’s the only one we have.  Probably better that these things go in front of a jury to decide, at least for society’s well-being anyway.  Like I said last week, no matter how this ends, two lives are ruined and we all need to stop and think about how we reacted to this situation and make the world better … well, everyone except Spike Lee.
• For the past month I’ve received about 100 spam messages encouraging me to be either an ultrasound technician or a nurse.  Serves me right for registering my e-mail address with a hospital.
• If there are awards given to bad moms, Courtney Love has probably won them all.  I cracked up when I saw her own daughter lash out against her stupid ramblings.  Her digital apology just sealed the deal on how she is one of the most worthless moms ever.  I say God Bless her grandmother who took over and raised a good girl who wasn’t afraid to say what she felt.
• Is there anything more comforting when thinking about the future than an steadily growing savings account?
• I don’t hate my job, but there are days when I really hate the things they ask me to do. 
• Game of Thrones Update – they’re accelerating the action in the book which is GREAT and very well done (they managed to condense 5 Arya chapters into 15 great minutes … very nice).  They’re tweaking Tyrion’s story so that he is even more cunning than in the book.  Another GREAT.  They’ve cut out a lot of the sex.  NOT AS GREAT.  And I thought the whole guy-on-guy part was totally uncalled for.  Even still, they’re veering far enough away from the book that I’m intrigued to see what will happen next.  I will say this for them … their casting has been superb.  Just the right people for the right parts, all around, just like I pictured them when I read the book.  More sex next week, please.
• I really want to sit down and write, but I keep butting up against other things to be doing.  Who knew prioritizing would be so difficult?
• Peter King noted today a stat that just makes me sad.  In 2011, after the kickoff line had been moved to the 35-yard line, there were 1,120 touchbacks.  The year before there were 416.  Wow.  Kinda killed a fun part of the game.  I’ll take a Donte Hall/Deion Sanders/Devon Hester return for a TD any day.
• I’m fairly indifferent about the “Buffett rule” especially considering the $8 billion it will generate each year is barely a splash in the ocean of our national debt.  Even still, I hate loopholes in the system.  Drives me nuts.  I’m not opposed to paying taxes because it’s part of my civic duty to live in this country.  I hate how much I have to pay in taxes, just like everyone else.  So, I say make everyone like everyone else.  Illegals pay.  Millionaires pay.  All as equal shares of their total income as modern math can figure out.  Then the government works within that amount.  Of course, that’ll probably never happen in my lifetime.  It sure won’t happen in an election year when every good idea is shot down by the opponents looking more to deny a win than to make something better.  God bless America.
• Speaking of that, Mindi told me that today is “Emancipation Day.”  Typically on April 16, the government employees in Washington DC, and ONLY Washington DC, get the day off in honor of the emancipation proclamation.  I swear, only a country as fucked up as ours could come up with something so insane that people are given the day off in honor of a day where slavery was ended.  There’s probably some symbolism there, but it would probably only apply if the holiday was just for black employees.
• You know one of my favorite little bits of trivia about the Emancipation Proclamation?  It really only freed slaves in the Confederacy; specifically countries that were in a state of rebellion against the Union.  The slaves weren’t all freed everywhere until the 13th Amendment was passed at the end of 1865 after the war ended.

ALEXANDER UPDATE

• Alex has been making Mindi feel pretty sick most of the weekend, and it’s crimping our last few weeks of freedom and fun.  Foreshadowing?  God, I hope not.
• Mindi has made huge strides on finishing the nursery after unpacking the plethora of stuff we got from the baby shower.  The room is going to look great!  Lots of monkey stuff, which is great.  I’d be willing to bet it will be hard to decide whether or not to keep him in there all the time!