Home Is Where The Heart Is

Sorry to all of my readers out there for the long delay between posts. I've definitely not lost the drive to update this blog, but life can get very busy.

There have been a number of different small issues that have cropped up and stolen all of my available leisure time. With the snow system that has just recently blown through the region (with another on the way), I ended up getting stuck at work. I was able to get to work just fine, but then the snow just dropped and arranged me there. So I had the pleasure of spending the night alone in a hotel room. While this might be nice for most people, I'm not one for boredom or solitary. With the solitary, I was able to really put together my thoughts about home and the significance of a place to go home to.

I suppose the thought truly germinated from a few weeks back. I was attending a Celebration of Life for a friend's grandmother and I realized that it was at the same location for that friend's wedding reception. This building was used to not only celebrate the happiness and birth of a burgeoning life together, but now it celebrates the memories and happiness of a life well lived. Then we fast forward to the previously mentioned stay at my job's hotel room and the heartache of being in this room alone. To make matters worse, I then went to visit some of wife's family to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. The person who owns the home has a military suppose, so the family has to move again.

Listening to the hardship of packing up, again, and moving her kids to another place, especially when they have a nice house that they've made into a home, really brought this all home for me. In the literal sense of the word, a house is a home. But there is so much more to a home than just a location for shelter. The emotions and memories that we create suffuse the walls of the home and create a place that constantly bind us together. The physical structure that comprises a house takes on a metaphysical element. It's a nice trap to get captured in and it is part of why owning a home is such a big deal. The ability to have a space to create unrestrained memories can be a heady tonic.

My own home is one that has no physical location. I've been married for six years. I've lived with the woman that is now my wife for almost nine years. The memories that we have created together are what I consider home. So sleeping in a hotel bed doesn't fill me with wishes to sleep in my bed at my building of residence. However, sleeping in a bed that is away from my wife, not being around my children to kiss them goodnight, not hearing the cat creeping around the room or hallway in the middle of the night, and especially being away from the soft sounds of a house full of sleepers during the night, those are things that make a night long and make me homesick. Being on the road with my family, whether the reason is good or bad, is the best road trip, in my opinion.

Until next time, dear reader.

Belated Thoughts For A Corporate Holiday

I meant to write this post yesterday, but I had some emergency visits to the doctor and dentist. Everything is all resolved and I'm happy and healthy, so no need to worry!

Anyway, I wanted to write this the day after Valentine's Day in order to avoid any feelings of elation or detection associated with the day. I understand the feelings that people have either way, but Ihave my own thoughts on the day as well.

I personally have always loved Valentine's Day. Even when I've been alone, the holiday was always one of pouring out love to those you care about. While I know that I tell my wife and kids that I love them everyday, it is nice to make an occasion to commemorate that feeling. I mean, it is great to feel loved and to have the feeling commemorated. It positively reinforces the feelings we already have, while ensuring that there is a good memory associated with it.

An interesting observation that was pointed out to me is that people feel that Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday. The roots of the holiday existed well before the company did, and celebrations for love certainly did. The Ancient Greeks had multiple different words for love. The love that I have for my mother is different than the love that I have for my wife, which is different from the love that I have for my friends. Taking a day to only celebrate one of these types of love seems like a missed opportunity to me. So I like to take Valentine's to move away from the courtship rituals and instead commemorate the love that I have for each and every one of you.

The greatest gift that you can give on Valentine's Day, in my opinion, is the gift of your love. Love binds us together and compels us to be our best for one another. So next year, if you find yourself spending the day alone, remember that there is someone out there that loves you. Even if it is just some person on the internet.

Until next time, dear reader.

Happy Chinese New Year

One of the aspects that I've mentioned that I love is the human experience. The melding of different cultures and background provides some amazing stories. So to that end, my wife and I took our children to the Nelson-Atkins Museum for their Chinese New Year celebration. The art and history in the building already tell an incredible story, so having the live performances, food, and history all in one building was too good to miss.

The Tai Chi demonstration, the scroll painting (where they emphasized that this year is the year of the snake), the Lion Dance, the Yo-Yo demonstration, and the musical performances, along with an amazing piece of artwork in the main hall sold this event for me and my family. While it did end up being a popular celebration, I would not let the crowds deter you.

The history and traditions of the Chinese people are amazing and I enjoyed getting to experience a bit of that. Next best thing to actually going to China, right? Maybe some other time!

I'll leave you all with a few pictures of the event.

Until next time, dear reader!

Story For Stories Sake

Sometimes it can be lonely when you can't share a viewpoint with a person.

I recently watched a movie that was not that exciting, but had an interesting perspective on the human decision making process. It set up a situation where people with a history of bad decisions have the opportunity to have zero consequences to their actions. These three people were stuck in a time loop, which allowed them to spend their day doing whatever they wished. Whether the decisions were positive or negative, they didn't matter. At first there is the thrill of getting away with anything, but when does it end? When does a person decide that they want to live a better life, even when the small things we decide don't really matter?

This question is one that I love to ask myself. Especially when I'm looking for character inspiration. The best aspect of a character to me is the nuances that make them human. Using Spider-Man as an example; The character of Peter Parker makes a decision to be selfish, despite all of the lectures and talks about responsibility that he was given. The character then goes out and performs his heroics, all the while racked with guilt over his momentary lapse in judgement.

It is also one of the reasons that I loved Les Misérables so much. I just went and recently watched the movie and I was reminded how much I enjoyed the nuances of the characters. You have a man that has a legitimate reason to hate the law and all it stands for turn into an upstanding and honorable man. Taking on commitments of honor and following through, even when it does not aid his own goals or happiness. Then you have a character that sees life in absolutes being taught about moral grey areas and personal motivations. These grey areas challenge the absolutes that he had upheld, and which have aided him and allowed him to succeed in life, and shatter the visage of black and white. The nuances of the characters play off of one another and spin an interesting and entertaining narrative.

Without the human story contained within a story, the words on paper, or electronic screen as the times would have it, are never given life. The characters, the narrative, and the interest in the story all remain flat. Something to remember when I write these posts perhaps...

Until next time, dear reader.

Catharsis and Ranting

The other day, I went out with a couple of friends to a bar. This isn't out of the ordinary. However, this occasion saw the group of us there for many hours. The reason? We live to rant, share, and otherwise exchange words with one another. The ranting is not of the raving, enraged variety, but is instead that cool, calculated logical approach to explaining why there is a particular dislike or criticism to the object of conversation.

The conversation moves from one interest to the next, as conversations invariably do, and the type that we are passionate about show through. Ranting about movies, comic books, politics, work, economic conditions, etc. The lovely thing about bar culture, which seems to be almost universally true, is the ability to drink, relax, and share stories over a pint or two. This culture of sharing and exchanging information, including the occasional rant, somehow always leads to catharsis for the patrons.

The ability to forget the woes of life, even if for only a few hours, and just enjoy the company, the stories, and the ranting and railing, makes a bar a wonderful place. Now I don't say this as an advocate of going out and getting drunk to solve your problems. This last occasion, I didn't even have anything besides water. However, the culture and feel of the bar didn't change one bit. I was among friends and the conversation flowed. The evening was so well spent that we were there until early in the morning without notice. The relaxation and conversation were stimulation enough to bring about the old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun." This is why bars and pubs continue to pull people in. The magic is in the people and the culture. The libations can never compete on their own and that is the way it should be.

Until next time, dear reader.