My Long Weekend

Saturday, 25 August 2012

 My big accomplishment today was staying home. My wife took off with our daughter and went to her parents’ house. My son was already there, so I had the place to myself for about 6 hours.

The reason why they vacated the place and left me alone was so that I could work on some videos. I always – as in, every single moment of my life for the past 20 years – have a video in the works. Sometimes, I try really hard to get a video finished in a timely manner, especially if there’s a contest I want to submit it to or if it contains time-sensitive information. But more often, there’s just no reason for me to finish a video, other than my own willpower.

Another problem with finishing videos is that I always get stuck. Like, I’ll get to a certain point, and then realize I need another piece of software to move ahead. Or, I need to record some dialog, and that’s pretty impossible in a house with two kids. O rhte video is so complex and cumbersome that I don’t feel like opening it up and working on it for a half hour before bed; I want a good three or four hour chunk.

Today, I had such a chunk. Jennifer has a particular desire for these videos to be completed since she wants them off the computer so she can revamp and update the computer. So, she agreed to make the house kid-free for most of the day today.

I successfully recorded the audio for one video. For another, I simply watched it to verify it was done. For another video, I added in the necessary titles and fixed a trouble scene. For another video, I re-recorded an accidentally deleted scene. All very good.

Anyway, there are five unfinished videos hanging out on the harddrive and I progressed on each one of them. So, there’s hope that I will see the day when there are no videos in the queue.

Sunday, 26 August 2012

 Today was one of those days that so much happened I don’t think I can go into detail about any of them. So I’ll just rattle them off…

First, Owen ventured with me to AM950 KTFN Studios. The show Atheists Talk featured a conversation with the editors and authors of Atheist Voices of Minnesota, and so I was one of eight people they talked to. I was only on the air in between two commercial breaks, so it was pretty easy going. Click on the link above to hear a podcast of the show.

Immediately thereafter, Owen and I joined the show’s producers and the other guests for lunch at Q. Cumbers in Edina. I’m not a fan of buffets, but it sure is easy with a kid, ’cause then he gets exactly what he wants. Kudos to Owen for not wasting any food, too.

Then came the highlight of my day where I napped on the couch for, like, an hour and a half. Owen, meanwhile, played and – for the first time – completed Angry Birds. He later deemed this one of three highlights of his day.

Then the four of us drove to the theaters to see Brave. We still had some anniversary money leftover, so we decided this would be a fun way to spend it: movie tickets, pop-corn, and Sprite. This, incidentally, was Isla’s first time at a theater. Like her brother, her first cinematic experience was a Pixar. Lucky them.

After returning home, we all took a walk to the park. We went to the park that’s about nine blocks away. There are two parks closer to our house, but after a buffet, then sitting at a theater for 2 hours, I felt I needed to burn some calories.

Jennifer and I polished off the evening by watching a couple episodes of the Sopranos. We are almost done with Season 4.

Like I said, big day.

Monday, 27 August 2012

The Great Minnesota Get Together is going on now people! Yep, that’s right, if you like walking around malls, but hate the climate-control, think they’re not crowded enough, and feel that the food is too inexpensive, then the Minnesota State Fair is for you!

Turning down discount tickets both from my job and from my dad-in-law, I stayed home with Isla today. Jennifer took Owen to the fair. They were on the bus by 9:00 and I didn’t see them again until about 5:30 this morning. Judging from the photos and the enormous walleye hat on Owen’s head, they had a good time. They also brought home a bucket of saltwater taffy, which is one of my two favorite foods at the fair. The other is that big trough of french fries. I would’ve asked them to bring one of those home, too, but they’re not the same if they’re not fresh.

Jennifer said there was a “Vote Yes” booth at the fair. For those who don’t know, there’s going to be a proposed amendment on the ballot this election day that reads:

“Do you have an imaginary friend who thinks gay people are yucky?”

…So only assholes (ironic, isn’t it?) will be voting yes.

Jennifer said the booth did not have a crowd around it. And though she saw many people holding “Vote No” fans, she never saw any “Vote Yes” fans. She did see a priest standing at the booth holding up a sign that said something like, “My head is up my ass,” and she was going to walk up to him and say, “Excuse me father, but can you explain to my son why he can’t marry whomever he wants to when he grows up?” But she decided not to because:

1) It’s probably bad parenting to involve Owen (???)

2) She didn’t want other fair attendees to think she was supporting heterosexism.

So she didn’t talk to him. I didn’t either. Did I mention I stayed home? Ah, yes, missing the state fair: A Jame tradition since 2006 (except for 2009, when I caved).