daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
こんばんは!
Today’s photo is of our Thai curry dinner. Mariko seems to have perfected this dish – it was amazing! Tasted perfect to me. And of course I ate too much…
I hope you had a nice Monday and ate well!
おやすみなさい！
– B 
こんばんは！Hi, how’s it going? I’m doing ok, but I have been sneezing all day because of allergies. It always happens when I do yard work. 😷
Today’s photo is of my 15-year-old son’s and his friend’s wristbands for the 2016 Austin City Limits Music Festival 🎶. It’s their first time there, and I dropped them off this morning, then picked them up tonight. I can’t believe they are old enough to be going to concerts by themselves!
People always say that kids grow up so fast, but we’re really experiencing that these days. It’s hard to believe that Bay is preparing for college already. Where has the time gone? 😮
I’ll have to remember to be more mindful of our time together while we still have the kids at home. 😊
おやすみなさい！
– B
こんばんは！How’s it going?
Today Bay and I watched the Dodgers begin their playoff run with a win against the Nationals. I get so stressed-out watching the games, but tonight I was ok. Even though it was a close game, it wasn’t as bad as before…
A couple of years ago I was so disappointed in how the Dodgers did, that I swore off watching or following any baseball. I just couldn’t deal with the stress! I know it’s so irrational… getting upset about a team losing when you don’t actually have any connection with them at all. I still don’t understand it.
But I thought, the heck with it! I’m not sure why I have that stress, but I don’t need it. So I did the one thing I knew to remove that stress which was to quit following baseball.
I think my baseball blackout lasted for a season, but this year I started watching again. What helped me change my outlook on the games was watching my son Koa play little league. I learned to let go of the final result of the games.. you win some and you lose some, right? And even when the team lost, they still had smiles after the game. Sure, they wanted to win, but they focused on the fun they had on the field and in the dugout, and not on the final score. It seemed like the adults and coaches were more disappointed than the kids were! I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I think there is some absurdity in that situation.
So now when I watch an MLB game, I try not to put so much value on the winning or losing, but rather appreciate the great plays and the athleticism.
Tonight I enjoyed the game a lot, but I still had a little stress. I had to watch the 9th inning from a distance, while washing dishes. Funny, huh… But now there is an emotional distance as well, and it makes watching my favorite team enjoyable again, win or lose.
I hope you had a nice Friday, and let’s have a great weekend!
おやすみなさい！
– B
こんばんは！Hello, how’s it going?
The other day, I mentioned that we have plenty of musical instruments in our house, and one of them is a xylophone that Koa has been practicing with. This year Koa is in his school’s Honors Band, which is the top level! I have to admit I am pretty impressed with his playing, and also how much he practices… he’s really into it!
When Bay was in band, he played the flute, and that seemed simple in that he only played that one instrument (he also plays piano outside of school), whereas as a percussionist, Koa plays marimba, triangle, bells, rain-stick, and snare drum. Plus I think there are a couple more percussion instruments that I am forgetting. Granted, I know nothing about percussion, but it seems very interesting with lots of variation. And the percussion kids seem like a tight-knit group which is pretty cool!
One surprising thing is that Koa hasn’t asked for a drum kit. He played his friend’s dad’s kit before, and said he had a lot of fun so I was expecting him to be asking for a set, but so far it hasn’t happened. But I won’t be shocked if he all of a sudden says he wants a drum set for his birthday. I think it would be great if he formed a band with some of his friends!
He’s still young though, so he has plenty of time to explore his interests. Ah, to be young again! 😋
I hope you had a nice Tuesday, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
おやすみなさい！
– B
こんばんは！How’s it going?
Today I wasn’t feeling well and worked from home a bit and generally took it easy. My wife spent the weekend in Portland with her friend, and she returned today. It was so nice to see her although it was only a couple days she was away.
Anyways, today I got to hang out with the dog and cats… they are so funny. I haven’t spend the day with just them in a long time and now I see that they are getting along nicely. In the photo above, Lani is sharing the sofa with Yuzu. Before, she would growl at Yuzu and not let her lie in the same area as her. But now they are so nakayoshi (fond of each other). 🐶💛🐱
In fact, those two love to play together. They chase each other around and play fight, although sometimes it’s scary because Lani is much bigger than Yuzu, and she has her mouth open like she is going to snap. But Yuzu holds her own and punches Lani in the face with her paws, then they run around again. I figure that if Yuzu didn’t want to play, she can jump up to where Lani cannot go, or even just run upstairs.
It’s funny to see how the pets’ relationships have evolved. Very interesting tp me.
Hope you had a nice day, and rest well!
おやすみなさい！
– B
