Maybe time to get off the computer

Aa just walked over to the dining room table where I'm sitting, kicked a chair, sat down next to me, and started playing blues guitar. Um.

I Has A Sweet Potato

Oh, funny funny funny. This is what having a dog is like sometimes.

Hi Babak and Emily!

Just had a lovely dinner with Babak and Emily. Talked, among other things, about:
-animal and child abuse
-elections
-corruption
-philanthropy
-classic rock
-Color Me Badd
-Smashing Pumpkins
-a dog that is not named Pumpkin

Full, sleepy, happy now. going to bed. Yes I am. Goodnight.

Join me, won't you, on a journey to the halcyon days of last week

Hello!

Remember last week? Remember when Aa asked for suggestions on what to write on this here blog? Remember when some of you made suggestions? Yes, me too. Then remember when Aa wrote in response to your suggestions?

Hmmm?

Do you?

Of course, you do not remember that last part. Why? Because you cannot remember what hasn't happened yet. And why hasn't it happened yet? Why hasn't Aa kept his promise to all of us? What could he possibly have to do that's more important than writing that post?*

I think I speak for all of our many fives of readers when I say, Aa, enough stalling. It's time for that Gee Dee post.


*I know. Working, eating, sleeping, hanging out with the Zacker and me, getting dressed, staring at the wall, re-reading all the Archie comics, etc etc.

Today In Arcane Deities! – A New, And Perhaps Regular, Feature At Defcon House!

THE GENESIS OF TODAY IN ARCANE DETIES!:
Aa and I were chatting about upcoming Christmas parties at our two places of employment. I commented that one co-worker of mine doesn’t usually come because “he probably worships Mithras or some shit”. Aa suggested that perhaps I write about different arcane deities, since I have all this useless god-trivia stuffed in my head. So, there it is.

Today’s arcane deity is MITHRAS!

Mithras is a pagan god who was worshipped throughout the Roman Empire. He was worshipped mainly by soldiers - so, mainly by dudes who weren’t super-scholarly. This could be a reason there aren’t many records or writings on the religion from the time period it was practiced – no scripture or anything like that. The religion was passed down from person to person, and you learned about the practices of the religion only after being initiated into. There’s some thought out there that the King Arthur story is the story of converting the British Isles from the worship of Mithras the Christianity. (Mithraic priests were thought to wear pointy hats and wear robes and carry staffs – like Merlin! And Dumbledore!) Also, some scholars believe the Mithraic mysteries are a precursor to Christianity, and that the Mithras figure influenced the creation of the Jesus story. There are similarities, for sure. But of course, scholars disagree on that. It makes sense for Roman officials to make the new official religion (Christianity) kind of similar to the old official religion (Mithraic mysteries), though, huh?

Mithras’ birth story is that he was born from a virgin (like Jesus and some other gods), or that he sprung fully formed from a rock or maybe a tree (kind of like Athena jumping out of Zeus’ head fully formed and adult), or possibly something called The Cosmic Egg (like Mork). Being a pagan god, Mithras had worship rituals that corresponded to the seasons – for example, every spring a bull (Taurus?) was sacrificed to Mithras. He was often called the Sun God or the Invincible Sun God (although he was worshipped in caves, underground, in windowless rooms, etc), and some depictions show him wearing a cloak with a lining of the starry nighttime sky. He also had a chariot that he rode across the sky (hello, Apollo!) Other depictions show him hunting a stag on horseback, using a bow and arrow (again, a nod to Mr. Apollo). He was a pretty male-only kind of god, although it seems like there was some kind of god-goddess hanky-panky going on with him during later Mithras worship on the British Isles.

And that’s TODAY IN ARCANE DEITIES!

how can i top that?

How on earth can i top a post about having heart burn from ketchup?

DoubleA here. NOW...i've had a difficult time coming up with ideas to write about...so..i open it up to our huge audience of readers.

what would you like Aaron to write about?

Post your comments now!

Officially Old

I now get heartburn from ketchup.

Robert Goulet Is Dead

Long live Robert Goulet.

It's official

I'm back on coffee. Stop the goddamn press.

Not always quiet

Friends of ours often talk about how quiet Zack is. And he is, for sure. But most dogs who are his breed are definitely chattier, even though they don't bark. For example:

On Regret

I've been thinking a lot about regret the past few days. Mainly I've been thinking about people I decided to cut out of my life ten years ago. I thought I was doing it for good reasons, and I think I probably made the best decision I could at the time. But here's what I regret. I regret that at 23 I never considered that when you stop talking to someone, you lose time and conversations with that person, and that loss might one day be painful and will most likely not be time you can make up for. I regret that for the past ten years I've been having dreams about talking with these people, but I never tried getting back in touch.

I don't know if I would have done anything differently and I certainly don't think I could have expected a different outcome if I had done something else. Aa said recently that regret's just a movie you play yourself, a movie of events that don't have much connection to the way things actually are. I kind of like that way of looking at it. And thinking about it that way, as well as reflecting on my feelings and asking what it is I really regret, makes me feel better. Or at least it makes me feel less heavy. And that's good.

Meanwhile, in Chicago

I went out for a run and it was sunny. I noticed some rumbling in the distance but didn't pay any attention. 15 minutes later I was being drenched by rain blowing in from everyplace. I felt like a stud for running through it. Then there was a lightning crash, which was cool. I saw a rainbow. And then there was another lightning crash - it appeared to be much closer. It lit up the sky and scared the shit out of me. So I turned around and sprinted the fuck back to my parents' house. I was gone about 25 minutes total. Um, today was a speedwork day.

It's currently pounding rain and thunder and howling wind here.

Wind Storm My Ass

I'm sorry...but this does not a storm make.

And not to be mister "well, in chicago...blah blah" all of the time...but COME ON PEOPLE...its this windy all fall back home in the Great State of Lincoln.

okay. less coffee...more tea.

PS Zack, our dog, is still cuter than ever.

Yesterday I got back from a kind of whirlwind visit in Chicago, including my cousin Sarah's fun but ill-timed wedding (the reception was the same time as Game 3 of the Cubs-Diamondbacks postseason series, which was being played at Wrigley Field). A couple family members kept disappearing to check the score and then getting more and more sullen. (They lost, for those of you who don't know. 3 games in a row. Fast fast fast. oh vee ee are. Depressing.) And today I've listened to A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request 5 times today. I just can't seem to stop.

Possibly related to my repeated listens to the same goddamn song: last night I couldn't turn my brain off - I think I finally fell asleep around 4 am or so. And today I have a more-than-12-hour day at work. At some unspecified point in the future I get to go to sleep. Sleep sleep sleep. Oh sleep, how I simultaneously desire you and resent you. Sleep, you wonderfully elusive fickle slutbag temptress.

Cold, Day 5 or 6

I'm sick at home today. I was sick yesterday and Sunday too. I have a craptastic cold that I fought for a good two weeks. But the cold won. Holy crap, did the cold win. I sound like a frog and my head is killing me, no matter how much sleep I get or how much fluid I drink. IT SUCKS. And tomorrow I have to get on a plane. Fun! This is almost exactly what Aa did before he left for Illinois a couple weeks ago. I'm heading out to attend my cousin's wedding. And last night I had a vivd, NyQuil-fueled dream that her wedding reception basically turned into a reunion for my 8th grade class. It was really fun, although I did wonder in the dream how my cousin Sarah knew, like, Kerri Ciancio or Kendrick Hall.

Saturday

Right now I'm eating cookies and watching Season 1 of 30 Rock on DVD (I can't believe how funny this show is). This morning I went on a hike on Tiger Mountain with my friend Laurie and the Zacker. It was cold enough that Zack needed to wear his coat, and as we got back to the car and headed into the city, it started to rain. It's still raining and chilly outside. And I've been recently losing a fight to a nasty cold, so I've been parked here on the couch ever since, with Zack passed out under a blanket on my lap.

Aa's in Quincy, IL right now. He's currently at a party out in the woods with his dad and some of his dad's friends. Last time Aa went to one of these parties, he yelled at someone when they insisted on throwing glitter on him (I think they were calling it fairy dust though). Aa reports that there's no whiskey at the party. But there are chickens and peacocks.

48 hours without a cellphone

I left my cellphone (and primary means of communication) at work on Friday. It was a long week (see below post about long drives, thwarted interviews, and equipment-destroying donkeys), so I have not been able to bring myself to go back into work and get my phone. As a result, my weekend has been exceedingly quiet. I've hardly talked to anyone - Aa, when he calls me on our landline from Chicago, Zack's vet and my hair cutter lady (yesterday was appointment day), and my next-door neighbors, two of whom are hilarious 5-year old twins. I've read books, watched movies, made and drank lots of tea, and gone on long walks with Zack. Um, it's been really great. I think maybe I needed it.

chicago

okay...i know i don't post very often...and when i do...it don't write much. so...don't expect this post to be any different.

all i'd like to point out is that i really enjoy hotel food.
now, that said, i am currently in chicago (having breakfest):

...and that means i've eaten more meat, inhaled more second hand smoke and drank more beer and whiskey in the last 4 days than i would have consumed in 4 months in seattle. i do not lie.

It's good to have goals

Today, the Zacker and I ran up to his vet's and back (with a little stop at the pet food and treat store). He did great on the run. Once we get going, he's really a great running partner. And now, he's passed out on his little perch, too tired to even chew on the big old circle bone I got him. I can't even say how good it feels to know I tired him out.

Because 10 pounds of dairy fat is totally reasonable

Hell yeah! I found a recipe for deep-dish pizza. I think I know what I'm doing Sunday afternoon.