This conversation delves into the significance of All Saints Day, focusing on St. Anthony of Egypt and his teachings. The hosts explore the cultural implications of saints in modern society, the influence of scripture and Shakespeare, and the relevance of daylight savings time. They also discuss the intersection of cultural myths, such as vampires and saints, and conclude with a reading from the Sermon on the Mount, reflecting on the teachings of Jesus and their impact on contemporary beliefs.
30 October 2024
Seems like lately the whole world has been going crazy, I don’t mean current events, everyone I talk to recently seems to be picking a fight with me. Of course I have to be skeptical that I’m causing these fights, but it doesn’t seem likely. That’s not to say I haven’t been agitated. The scenarios I find myself in are trying to help people and the reactions are basically that I’m doing it wrong or helping the wrong people. Fine, help me get on the right track, but more than fixing me it’s that they don’t want me helping others. My theory is it must be the changing of the seasons affecting people with colder temperatures and shorter days. Maybe that’s why Halloween is now, that every year at this time people turn into ghouls and witches. Of course pumpkins and all sorts of squash are growing now, I also noticed a short lived increase in spider webs that made me assume that’s why they’re part of the seasonal decor. Things are going well in my life though, that’s part of my confusion as to why I keep getting into conflicts with people. I’m pretty good about stopping things before they get heated and if I’m happy, I’m not starting fights. There was an amusing incident in the car ride to daycare today where the princess was upset she lost the Hot Wheels truck she was playing with. While driving I tried reaching back with one hand to find it and decided we’d have to wait until arriving at our destination. Then when I have the chance to get out and thoroughly look, still nothing. I break the news to the princess that we have to move on and start the day, she cries for her truck and pulls her pants. The truck was stuck in her pants, we got it free.
Wrecking and Rapping ep 36
In this Halloween-themed podcast, the hosts delve into the classic novel ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, exploring its themes of creation, identity, and existentialism. They discuss the monster’s self-perception, the implications of literary adaptations, and the philosophical debates surrounding creation and responsibility. The conversation also touches on cultural references, the American dream, and the nature of knowledge and experience, culminating in a reflection on the implications of these themes in modern society.
23 October 2024
I got a workout in today, that technically makes three this week which was my goal and the rest of the could be rest. Tomorrow will definitely be a rest day since I was doing squats this morning. This was the first squat workout I’ve done in a long time, so I might be walking funny for a couple of days. To go more in depth on my workouts, I did a light job to the pole barn where all the equipment is. To start my workout I did five minutes on the rowing machine, lifting weights is fun, but I have to focus on cardio. I’d like to run laps around my property someday, there’s a lot of a weight to lose for that and work to be done toughening up my bones. Jumping rope will work on my shins in small doses. Currently I have a system for a upper body and lower body days. Push ups and pull ups are the focus for upper body and those can be done in the house. A pull up bar has been installed right outside my bedroom door in a frequently passed location. Of course the more exercise I do, the more motivated I feel to do other work. After exercising yesterday I took my hedge trimmers to a couple different locations to work on clearing a path. Fall has a officially begun with the leaves changing into beautiful red, yellows, and brown. If it was higher on my priorities, right now is the perfect time to cut back poison ivy, it’s leaves have changed red while most of the tree it hides on are still green. This makes it easy to identify.
22 October 2024
Life is starting to normalize after the princess’ sickness, she’s doing better and back in daycare. Thankfully the younger princess is very chill and gives us a chance to rest. It’s amazing how different the two of them can be in terms of loudness, though the elder has begun to sing her ABC’s and Twinkle twinkle, in the car ride today we sang together and that’s a lot of fun. Since my last writing the children’s book I made was delivered, it’s exiting and cool to have, I don’t know what to think of it though. I took this photo to prove they are real then boxed them back up and put them on the shelf. The reason I wrote the book was because the owner at daycare would always say at drop off, “here comes the girl in the silver boots.” Then for awhile she was saying she needs to write a book about that and eventually said I should right the book, so I did. I’ll give the book to her before Christmas break, so there’s no pay off for the work until then. I don’t know if there is any pay off, the process got me thinking about all the other processes I’ve gone through from painting and making music, even to military awards, they don’t satisfy the driving force. There’s a long period of work and stressing out about it, then when it’s done, there’s nothing and it’s time to find a new activity to fill the time. Raising kids has been nice to fill a lot of time, but by the time they’re both in school I’ll have to have something prepared to work on eight hours a day. Maybe the podcast will have leveled up by then. I’ve made progress on getting myself to exercise more, but I’d probably restrict that to 30 minutes a day.
Wrecking and Rapping ep 35
The crew discusses a variety of topics ranging from music and childhood memories to philosophical ideas and personal challenges. They explore the impact of Kanye West’s music on different generations, reflect on their own childhood experiences with movies, and delve into the nature of silence and thought. The conversation shifts to consumer choices in the age of Kickstarter, weight loss journeys, and the complexities of character development in films, particularly Disney movies. The hosts also touch on historical events, personal challenges like running, and the significance of legacy in life.
17 October 2024
It’s been a long week, my elder princess caught hand, foot and mouth disease at daycare last week. She did a wonderful job recovering and went back today. Spending more time with her has been nice and the kids grow up so fast that she’s practically a different child from the last time she was home for a week. The word explosion she’s going through has been nonstop, she’ll attempt to say nearly everything I say, this morning she even asked for “pepperonis”. Of course her pronunciation isn’t perfect, which is another interesting side of parenting, I’m learning a foreign language that is her words. Since she’s doing so good with words I’ve moved past speaking in one or two word combos and will now use a whole sentence that includes the key words. The younger princess continues to be a rock star with how easy she’s been, the big accomplishment during this time has been some long stretches of sleep, I even got five or six hours of sleep straight one night. Nothing is as helpful as good sleep. Last week I wasn’t able to do the podcast since life went crazy, we’re recording tonight and I’m getting fired up.
Building Momentum
It takes time to get the ball rolling, once there’s momentum things go easier. My initial estimate was to write three times a week and it looks like I’ll only get two this week. There was some exercise last night, but it feels like I haven’t done a workout this week. If I’m lucky I’ll do some stretching tonight after the princess goes to sleep. My plan was to stretch last night, but things got chaotic and it was bumped. The lesson learned there is do not put important things off until the end of the day since there’s no telling what is going to happen. There was time during the day that I could have stretch, I’ll be more vigilant about seizing those moments. On a similar note I’ve got some trees arriving today and after returning from daycare I dug the holes for them, so that when the trees arrive it will be fast planting. This week I did finish the children’s book I was working on, I still have to submit it and start publishing. There is a pdf proof of the book I’m passing around to people to look for any glaring mistakes, that’s a lot of energy relieved from my mind though. We are currently in the slow build stage, put more effort to get things started and also start as simple as possible, making a habit is better than any achievement. There’s also been some Fall cleaning, throwing out some clothes that has holes in it. Because I have flat feet my socks wear down fast in particular spots, now I have fresh socks. And a fresh mindset, it’s the end of the week, some lessons were learned and tasks completed, I’ll keep coming back. Once the newborn starts sleeping longer that will help everything.
Navigating Newborn Care and Unexpected Challenges
Here’s a weird scenario I never expected myself to be in. We have something called a duala, not to be confused with a dually, a truck with double back tires. A duala or some similar sounding word is basically a mid wife, maybe the resume would have differences but to me it’s a stranger who is professionally trustworthy with children, the Queen and I trust this person while we both sleep. They’re on the clock though watching the baby from x time until y which means I want to use as close to 100% of that time for sleep, my most valuable resource, “My kingdom for sleep!” To fall asleep quickly I take Benadryl stored in the Queen’s bedside table. My wife and the mid wife, that is the wife at the mid point of myself and wife, were having a conversation blocking the Benadryl. At first I said quietly waiting for them to finish, I could see the pink bottle on the night stand. I wanted nothing more than to sleep and this was time I was paying to sleep. Now I don’t like to wait around for anyone, I’ll send invoices for my time whenever someone keeps me waiting. When I bought my new car, everytime the sales person walked away from me I started a timer, and if I was ever left alone for more than 5 minutes I would walk out without buying a car. Waiting in my own house, I never thought it could happen to me. Eventually I got up, said excuse me and grabbed the bottle. Everything about the incident is foreign to me, it’s hard to explain, but who I am now I never intended to become. Regardless here I am and must do the best I can given the situation, it’s part of why I take on the king character. How would a king act is more useful than how I would act in these situations.
Wrecking and Rapping ep 34
In this episode of ‘Wrecking and Rapping’, the hosts delve into various themes including the nature of wrecking and rapping, cultural representations in media, the relevance of Shakespeare, ethical dilemmas illustrated by the trolley problem, the impact of nightmares, historical events, and philosophical discussions on consequentialism and deontology. The conversation flows through humor, personal anecdotes, and deep reflections, creating a rich tapestry of ideas and insights.
Chris' Morning Pages 