Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content

Tags

Bandersnatch, family, Netflix, Relaxation, Sister, vacation

I’m up late and felt like writing a bit.

It was a great four days spending time with my sister at her new place. We ate some steaks, watched television shows, and relaxed. It was a great time hanging out with my sister.

We watched a movie that was awesome. The title was Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. If you haven’t watched this film yet I highly recommend it. This movie allows you, the consumer, to make choices with your TV controller throughout the film which affect the outcomes of the movie. It was so much fun!

I hope all of you had a nice day off yesterday with the Martin Luther King Holiday. We’re scheduled to get some more snow tomorrow. It’ll be a nice slow drive home. I am really loving the snow right now. It is so clean, crisp, and awesome outside. The sky, the last few days was so clear.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll get my Ted Talk posting up later today.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Post Christmas

Tags

Christmas, Contentment, Enjoyment, family, Friends, Joy, Love, Planning, reflection

Well, the family has gone home! It was a great two days, hanging out with my sister and her boyfriend. It was nice opening presents. It was awesome watching some movie favorites, like Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I enjoyed the holiday season this year because it was so great to revisit Phoenix and reconnect with friends and family there. It was also nice to come home and enjoy family, my Mom’s roast duck and all of the goodies I enjoy eating during the holidays.

Now it’s time to continue the celebration as we approach the New Year. This week, like the previous week will result in altered postings because I want to focus on the holidays and worry about the schedule again at the commencement of 2019.

I hope all of you had a great time with your families and friends and are looking to create the best year yet in 2019. I hope all of you have a safe and joyous New Year’s celebration.

All the best to you and your families during this precious time of the year.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Merry Christmas!

Tags

Board Games, Christmas, Christmas Eve, family, Friends, Good Food, Laughter, Relaxation

I’ll forego my typical Motivation Monday posting to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! My sister and her boyfriend are on the way, Mom is in the kitchen preparing the meal, and Dad is reading the paper in his favorite rocking chair.

The family dog is where she always is, relaxing at the foot of my desk as I compose this posting.

As a retired veteran, I would be remiss if I forgot to wish all the men and women of our Armed Forces a Merry Christmas too! I was separated from family many times throughout my career and it was nice to hear from folks back home, wishing me well. One year, a judge from my hometown wrote me a letter, explaining that he had served in the Korean War and missed quite a few Christmas holidays with his family. His letter meant a lot to me, particularly since I was reading it from a guard post on Christmas Eve at the now-disassembled Spandau Prison in W. Berlin, guarding Rudolph Hess, one of the last minions of Hitler’s inner circle.

I also want to wish our first-responders a Merry Christmas. Many of them will be working tonight, while we are sleeping, to keep us safe. I hope all of you have a quiet night and get home safe and sound to celebrate the day with your families.

I hope all of you have the time to think about 2018 and all of the great things you’ve accomplished. I also hope you take some time to begin thinking about all of the great things that lay ahead for you in 2019.

Use this time to enjoy your families, your pets, and your friends. Recharge your batteries and get ready for a great year!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Final Day

Tags

family, Friends, Games, Good Food, Happiness, Joy, Movies, Phoenix Trip

I’m writing this early because I’ll be busy cleaning up my brother’s house and getting packed up for my flight on Thursday the 13th. This trip was a terrific time. It started with my niece’s wedding. It was a wonderful ceremony and went off without a hitch.

Then it was a full week of reconnecting with friends, good food, and lots of laughs. It was also a great time to hang out with my brother, play some games, and binge watch some shows on Amazon and Netflix. I also got in some writing, reading, and some much-needed quite time to think about things and reflect.

I like my reflection time. I think about all kinds of things, like what my life would be like if I did this or that in my past or what I could change today and what effect that would have on my future. I like thinking about my family, my friends, books I have read. I even like to think about thinking sometimes.

I hope all of you enjoyed my Phoenix trip! I did. Friday, I’ll be back to my posting schedule. I really appreciate all of the new followers and the time you took to investigate and learn about my blog.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Day 10

Tags

Brunch, family, Friends, Fun times, Loved ones, Phoenix Trip, The Windsor, vacation

I met with one of my gal friends for lunch at The Windsor. It is a nice place with a active, bistro atmosphere. We had a great time catching up.

I have learned a few things about friendships since I’ve been back. Some say they want to meet and don’t. This was a good indication of who was really a friend and who was sort of a friend out of convenience.

Anyway, the gal I met with (I withhold names to protect their privacy), was so nice to talk to. I like hearing other people’s stories and the things they have had to deal with. I find it really interesting to hear other people’s stories because their experience is so unique. There are always lessons to learn, insights to gain, and connecting with someone is really nice.

Anyway, the food was amazing. I had an Egg Benedict and a Bloody Mary. We talked for a few hours. It was a really nice time and I will try to hang out with her again before I leave Phoenix on the 13th.

Now I am back home, hanging out with my brother. We’ll get back to playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider and hanging out. He got sick a few days ago and is fighting either a cold or the flu but he is getting over it. He is headed to Barbados on the 11th with his son for some vacation. I’ll be staying at his place while he’s gone.

Well, that’s it for today, folks.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Day 9

Tags

Beer, family, Friends, Good company, Good Food, Phoenix, Scotch, vacation

Yesterday, my brother and I played some more video games. We also finished up the series Patriot on Amazon. Last night we connected with some friends and met up at one of our favorite cigar bars. I had a beer called Pie Hole Port. I ordered this simply because I liked the name.

It was great reconnecting with my friend who is a computer programmer. I really enjoyed last night. My brother and I also went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. He had fried chicken, while I had the meatloaf. It was really yummy!

Today, I’ll be meeting with one of my old managers for lunch. Then it’s back home to work through Shadow of the Tomb Raider some more.

It’s raining in Phoenix. This is typical this time of year. Arizonans welcome the rains because they are a welcome respite from the heat of summer and fall.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Day 8

Tags

family, Friends, Gaming, Good Food, reconnecting, Relaxation, TV Series

Yesterday was a day of watching Amazon Prime, playing some video games with my brother, and meeting some friends for dinner. We met at Los Dos Malinos in Phoenix. Boy, talk about some great Mexican food. I had the carnitas plate with rice and beans and it was tremendous. It was really nice meeting with my friends yesterday, getting caught up in their lives and enjoying our time together.

Today, my brother and I are chilling out, watching some more of Patriot, playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and heading out to a favorite restaurant for fried chicken. Then, we are heading over to one of my brother’s favorite cigar bars, called Magnums. I’m meeting one of my previous programming consultants. We have been friends a long time.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I realize my posts have been short, but want to enjoy as much time with my brother and friends as possible. Enjoy your Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Day 7

Tags

Amazon, Brother, family, Friends, Happy Hour, Phoenix, Video Games

Yesterday, was a nice day. The weather was awesome and I had a nice dinner with my wife. She is a special education teacher by day and a female bodybuilder at night. We had to separate because of my Dad’s condition, requiring me to come home and help out my parents.

It may be strange to some that my wife and I are separated for this reason but I learned a long time ago that the rules we create for ourselves are just that–rules we impose on ourself–not imposed by others. Society has a way of imposing things on us. There are expectations of owning a home, having a traditional family, doing what everyone else is doing. What I have found is that these social norms are not the norm for most of us. When I made the decision to balk at the expectations of society and truly live my own life, life became lighter, relaxing, free.

Today, I’m meeting some friends at one of our favorite haunts. It’ll be a great time to reconnect, learn about what’s going on in their lives and spend some time together laughing. Right now, my brother and I are watching Patriot on Amazon and will kick into some gameplay on his Xbox a little later. We are enjoying Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The graphics and storyline in this game are beyond awesome!

That’s it for today, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix Day 4

Tags

Adventure, Day 4, family, Friends, Getting stuff done, Phoenix, reconnecting, Relaxing

Today is a recovery day. The wedding yesterday was terrific, but we are all really tired. We have been relaxing today, watching some shows on Netflix. I’m going through my daily to-do list and knocking out all of the things I am scheduled for including this blog posting.

I’m going to wait until I return to Michigan to get my photos up. It’ll take up too much time going through them now (I took a lot of them including videos). I’ll check in again tomorrow!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix Day 2

Tags

family, Friends, Newlyweds, Niece's Wedding, Phoenix, Rehearsal Party

Today, was my niece’s wedding rehearsal dinner. The big day is tomorrow. The ceremony is at 10 am outside and will run until 3 pm. It’ll be a great time!

I met with the spouse’s family and got to reconnect with family who all came to AZ. We went to a pizza parlor and had a great night of eating pizza, wings and getting reacquainted. It was a terrific time and one that I will remember for some time.

Don’t worry folks! I’ll be getting pictures up later, once I have gone through all of them.

Happy Friday!

Until next time…

Dave