Category Archives: Paul

July 21, 2013 · 06:00

Twelve Years Ago Today

Twelve years ago today I stood in a gazebo in the garden of a tea house (formerly a house of ill repute, we’re told) in Orange, CA. It was hot! I was in a monkey suit (i.e., a tuxedo). I was surrounded by friends and family. We were all watching Ronnie walk her father down the aisle to meet me and take her Oath of Office as The Long-Suffering Wife.

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It was a wonderful day and when we reminisce about our wedding we’re both very happy to remember that almost everyone had a good time. (My daughter Kat was not feeling well, but she was a trooper and hung in there.) There was snarky music (we had the DJ play James Brown’s “I Feel Good” as we walked back down the aisle), dancing, good food, a great cake (with a tiny Matchbox Pathfinder on top along with the more traditional bride and groom), and all of the usual wedding tomfoolery.

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Twelve years later, we’ve had some interesting times, some good and some not so good, but we’re still going strong. Our road together lies to the horizon in front of us.

I love you, Ronnie! Thanks for taking the leap with me!

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(Whoa! Hair! Glasses! Much less gut! WHOA!!)

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Filed under Castle Willett, Family, Paul, Ronnie

July 8, 2013 · 22:20

¡Hola! Me Llamo Pablo!

It has occurred to me a number of times over the past couple of years that it would be a good thing to actually learn to speak and understand a bit of Spanish. No matter where you go in this country it can come in handy here and there, and in a place like Los Angeles it’s practically required. (Especially if you’re looking for a new job.) Also, we would like to travel more now that we’re Empty Nesters, and some conversational Spanish will be useful there as well.

Living in LA for nearly forty years one picks up more of the language than you realize if you’re paying any attention at all to your surroundings. For instance, you can find yourself with a large crowd of women that don’t speak a word of English in a work place situation where mime or charades are not appropriate but you really, really badly need to know where el baño del hombres is located. If you know what I mean.

We’ve tried a couple of times to get enrolled in a Spanish 101 class at the local community college, but those classes fill up in about five seconds when registration opens. But this summer we applied for a class on the “extension” campus and got in. Apparently the fact that the class doesn’t count for any sort of credit makes it less desirable to those trying to get an AA or fill pre-requisite checklists for transfer to a UC or CalState four-year program.

Starting last week, The Long-Suffering Wife and I started our six-week, one night for two hours a week, Conversational Spanish 1 class. No grades, no credit, no grammar, and no expectations other than maybe knowing how to say hello, count, tell time, ask simple directions, read the menus, shop, and ask, “¿Se habla inglés, por favor?”

I’ve found after two classes that I’m way out of my comfort zone when the teacher calls on me to speak. With only a handful of students in the class, we all get called on a lot.

This was really not something I was expecting. I’ve always been the obnoxious kid who sits in the front and always has his hand in the air with the answer. But languages are not my strong suit. With only six classes, we’re getting a lot thrown at us quickly. Sometimes it’s like the words are just bouncing off my ears, never making it to my brain.

But I recognized this overwhelmed feeling and I recognized that this was a safe place where everyone else was just as lost as I was. Folks weren’t laughing at me when I butchered “simple” pronounciations or couldn’t translate “714” to save my life. They were laughing with me, just as long as I kept laughing. My head knew what to do even if my gut was wondering why I volunteered for this gig.

We finished strong tonight.

Now I get to spend odd moments this week trying to get more comfortable counting en Español and comprehending when I hear others counting. The hot rumor is that ther’s a quiz next week. Grades or no grades, I want to nail it.

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June 18, 2013 · 22:21

I Miss Flying

It’s an “interesting” time (in the Chinese curse meaning of the term) and certain sacrifices and adjustments are necessary. I understand that.

But I was cleaning out my wallet today after it got stuffed with receipts and little bits and pieces of accounting detritus over the last two weeks of travelling and in the process pulled out my private pilot’s medical certificate. It’s coming up for renewal in September, which I knew. It’s really not that big of a deal to get it renewed. Except that I’m not flying these days. In fact, it’s been almost twenty months since I last flew.

And I really, really miss it.

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When I got my pilot’s license in 2009 I was just about as thrilled as I’ve ever been. There are plenty of stories about the training and I can still go on about my check ride and wondering how I managed to pass it (another day, I promise), but when the FAA inspector told me that I had passed and gave me the temporary certificate, I was giddy enough to grab the nearest stranger, shove my camera into his hands, tell him I had just gotten my ticket, and ask him to take my picture. (I’m usually not quite that aggressively outgoing.)

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Whiteman Airport in Pomona is a great place to fly out of and I really like the folks at Vista Aviation that I rent planes from, as well as my flight instructor, Robert, who was tough on me when I needed it but never let me give up.

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When I got my license I was thrilled to take each of my kids, The Long Suffering Wife, and other friends and relatives up for tours of the California coast, the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley and Simi Valley areas, the Los Angeles basin, and so on.

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(Yes, you CAN see our house from here!)

I had plans then to be flying at least every couple of weeks, to start steadily expanding the local airports that I had flown into and was familiar with, to build up some hours and experience, to be working on my instrument rating in two or three years, to be working up to a bigger, more powerful plane, maybe to get a tail-dragger certificate, maybe get an acrobatic ratings. Someday soon I was going to own my own plane.

But flying is not an inexpensive activity. And my job situation was getting a bit uncertain, and discretion said that maybe those plans should be put on hold, maybe the cautious path was the wiser one.

The accountant’s brain says the decision to put flying on hold was wise. The pilot’s heart says that it was stupid.

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Last week we flew commercially to the East Coast, and as always I tried to get a window seat whenever possible. But there’s nothing like the one on the left in the very first row, even if (or especially if!) you’re at 3,500 feet instead of 35,000 feet and doing 110 knots instead of 440 knots.

Once the job situation gets stabilized, it’s going to be time to renew that medical and get on Robert’s schedule for a few lessons to get my flight currency back. Whatever else will be going on, I don’t think I’ll be completely happy or satisfied until that’s done.

 

 

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Filed under Flying, Paul, Photography

June 13, 2013 · 11:30

No Vuvuzelas Allowed?!

Getting ready to go to the graduation at UC Davis for The Long Suffering Daughter #2 and I find this in the notes on where to park and when it starts and so on:

“Guests are subject to be searched for inappropriate items before entering the Pavilion…Other inappropriate or distracting items (such as noisemakers) will be confiscated at the door and
during the ceremony.”

Is a vuvuzela inappropriate? Is a vuvuzela distracting? Is a vuvuzela a noisemaker? Gee, let’s ask the folks who organized the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

My theory is that this ban on “inappropriate” or “distracting” noisemakers is in place system-wide in the University of California after an incident at the 2011 graduation at UC Irvine, thanks to one loud and obnoxious parent who brought a vuvuzela and used it enthusiastically and often to celebrate his child’s graduation.

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I haven’t been able to track down a specific reference for confirmation of this theory (mainly because I just made it up) but it sounds valid to me.

They’ll take my vuvuzela from me when they pry it from my cold, dead lips!!

Plus, that shade of blue is one of the UC colors! Would it help if I got another one that’s yellow or gold to go along with it?

The Joyous Vuvuzela Of Victory will be in Davis this weekend!! It just may be in the parking lot, not in the auditorium. We’ll see.

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Filed under Family, Paul

June 3, 2013 · 21:09

Boring Brain Tired

It’s been a very busy, productive day today, but my brain is tired, a bit down, and not very creative. And when the going gets weird, the weird get going, so I will – tomorrow.

Now, it’s time to write something ’cause that’s why this blog exists. To get some writing done, even when my brain doesn’t want to. ESPECIALLY when my brain doesn’t want to. So here, have a picture of…of…of…wait, let me see what I have available quickly on this computer…of a…Kodiak 100!!

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Who doesn’t love airplane pictures? Sure, that’s better!

Today, among other busy, productive things that I’ve done, I’ve been following the reactions of folks watching HBO’s “Game Of Thrones” without benefit of having read the books in advance.

No spoilers here (we’re behind in watching them using “On Demand” and Ronnie hasn’t read the books, so I don’t want to ruin the “fun”) but it’s been interesting to watch. Probably next week too, at least a bit.

It will leave people waiting anxiously for Season Four.

Gotta get up early tomorrow. One of my favorite things.

That kid in Virginia Beach had better be right about the Kings game being on TV in the bar there tomorrow night, or I will NOT be happy.

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Filed under Flying, Paul, Science Fiction

May 29, 2013 · 21:55

Bloody Numbers

It’s that time of year, when my annual medical tests need to get done. I was supposed to get my blood work done in April but had let it slide. Now they are on my case to get it done before the end of the month, so today was the day to skip breakfast and hustle off to get poked and drained and tested.

I’m happy to report that it’s all good, in fact, the best that I’ve done in ten years acording to the online data. Even my “good cholesterol”, my bugaboo that is always almost in the acceptable range, made it this time. I’m golden, across the board!

In a couple of weeks I’ll see the doctor for the rest of the annual check-up (mmmm, the smell of lube and the snap of the glove…) and once again I’ll be waiting to see if I get any kind of credit for watching what I eat, exercising, losing a few pounds, not drinking or smoking…

I look at these ten-year charts and say, “Wow! look at how much better I’m doing right across the board!” The doctor (a nice guy) says, “Well, ok, maybe. But you should still lose another twenty pounds, thirty would be better, and your cholesterol numbers, while in range, could still handle some improvement.”

Would it kill him to give me a little “Atta boy”?

Today I had salad, vegys, and just about zero carbs for dinner, fruit for lunch & breakfast, and lots of water all day. I’ve been good.

Now I’m going to go have some ice cream. Moderation in all things. Including moderation.

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Filed under Health, Paul

April 29, 2013 · 14:43

A Time of Changes

As I’ve aged (which is not to say gotten more “mature”) I’ve come to note how many facets of life are a balancing of opposites. Light vs dark, good vs evil, love vs hate, that sort of thing. Currently, “change vs stability” is high on my list of things to ponder.

On the one hand, change is constant and inevitable despite what we may wish for. On the other hand, change is often looked upon with fear and trepidation.

On the one hand, the rational mind understands that change contains the seeds of progress, growth, and new adventures. Without change, there can be no progress. On the other hand, change can be terrifying, especially when the forces behind the changes are out of our control. Without change, there will be no disasters.

Finally, on the one hand, change (embraced despite the unknowns) has led to some of my most satisfying endeavors and memories. On the other hand, change (resisted at all cost) has led to some truly rotten trials and tribulations.

I’m in the midst of some of those major changes now and it’s time to embrace the change. It’s time to recognize that a lot of the fear of change comes from the unknown and lack of control, and the way to address those factors is to take action. To that end, it’s time to recognize that a key action I can and must take is to write more and share what I write. It’s time to find my voice and let it out of my head so it can play with those of you who wish to join in the conversation with me.

What will we talk about? Anything I feel passionately about and have an opinion about (hint, I’m a huge fan of John Scalzi’s “Whatever” site http://whatever.scalzi.com/), but I’m sure common topics (in no particular order) will be the space program, science, books, music, family, sports, stupid people, politics, amazing people, photography, flying, humor, and travel. For starters.

The blog’s title, “We Love The Stars Too Fondly”, is a variant of a quote commonly attributed to Galileo, “I’ve loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” I remember first hearing it as “For we love the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night” when I was a member of the Orange County Astronomers while in college in the late 1970’s, and it’s always been a quote close to my heart.

The blog’s tagline, “Shared thoughts & images while questing for what we all want to be as we grow older,” is what I want this blog to grow into. It’s meant to recognize that we’re all looking for something, we all want tomorrow to be better than today, and it needs to happen not as we grow “up”, but as we grow “older”. As the T-shirt says, “Growing Older Is Mandatory, Growing Up Is Optional.”

So, welcome! Please comment, please contribute, please share. Over the next days, weeks, months, and years I’ll figure out WordPress and blogging and I hope many others will join me and this site, whether you be family, friends, or strangers.

It’s time to write! It’s a time of changes!

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Filed under Paul, Writing