#enjoythelittlethings – The Boring Old Man

Foreign Exchange Citizens?

I’m sure most everyone that grew up in “The West” is familiar with the Foreign Exchange Student program. I’m not sure if that is still a thing, but I was certainly very familiar with it coming up through the 70s and 80s. My high school in particular had a good number of Exchange Students – primarily from Germany and Australia as I recall. In fact, my wife had one living with her for a year of High School, which I had completely forgotten about until I started writing this…

Anyhow, I’ve been seeing a lot of news stories and YouTube videos lately about Foreigners who’ve traveled to the US for the World Cup matches absolutely raving about how wonderful the US is, and several stating either they don’t want to go back home or they can’t wait to come back to the US, and that got me thinking…

I know, dangerous, right?!?

We (The West) should implement a Foreign Exchange program for citizens!

Think about it – we (US citizens) could welcome in/sponsor a foreign citizen as our guest, for a pre-determined amount of time, and let them test the waters and see how they like it. In return, we send one of our dissatisfied citizens off to a country they’re convinced is better than the US, and let them see how they like it. I hear Venezuela is nice this time of year…

After the pre-determined time, the visitor goes back home OR they decide they want to stay and get a fast track to a green card and eventually citizenship. With a positive referral from their Host, of course. The dissatisfied can stay in their new found Utopia, or they come to the conclusion that the US isn’t the racist fascist oligarchy dictatorship where white supremacists run rampant over everyone and everything in their greedy bloodlust…and come home with a new found appreciation for what we have here. The bottom line is, we NEED more people here that appreciate what we are blessed with.

If anything, I would think the whole “open borders, no person is illegal” contingent would welcome such a program.

Sponsorship would help with vetting, decrease dependency on welfare and NGO participation, lead to a quicker assimilation and reduce the number of “randoms” that show up uninvited. And the Hosts would have some skin in the game, so to speak. If you want foreign born people here, you should be willing to shoulder a bit of the weight, not just shout slogans and demand everybody chip in for what you want.

Obviously, there are a zillion details that would need to be worked out, but I think it could be a better way of doing things than the way they are done now.

Don’t get me wrong, I know such a thing is an absolute pipe dream and would never actually come to fruition. I just got to thinking about all these folks that have traveled here over the last month, seeing our wonderful country for the first time, and being astounded by what they’ve witnessed. It’s a refreshing change from the scoundrels that make their way here by hook and by crook, then spend the rest of their lives telling us how terrible we are and how we need to assimilate to their culture(s) rather than the other way around.

Look, I know the US is FAR from perfect. The lunatics have been running the asylum for way too long. (ESPECIALLY in my home state of California!!). Nevertheless, the US is an amazing place, full of untold possibilities, despite our current state of affairs and our so-called “problematic” history. I have loathed my government for decades, but I love my country and my countrymen. And I appreciate all those folks putting themselves out there, sharing their fantastic experiences while traveling throughout our country for the first time. It’s a nice reminder for us. We are fortunate to be here. I for one am eternally grateful to be an American, and I welcome those with a true American spirit, wherever they come from.

Well, that’s enough blathering for today. Sometimes I just gotta get these weird thoughts outta my head.

Thanks for stopping by!

A First Time For Everything

Color me shocked! I’ve been plucking away at this lil’ ol’ blog of mine since January of 2022 and while I guess you could say my page gets regular views, it’s never been well read or even remotely popular. In 100%, true transparency I will tell you that my daily page views average between 5 and 15. Frankly, sometimes it’s zero. Which considering my lack of consistency in new posts is not at all surprising. If anything, I’m surprised I get THAT many visits.

So you can imagine my surprise when I checked my stats this morning and found that for the first time since I started writing here I surpassed 100 page views in a single day! And almost exclusively from the USA. In the past when I’ve had a spike it turned out most of them were showing up from all over the place, which led me to believe it was either a glitch or someone “phishing” or some such thing. Like, why would anyone in Vietnam or Uzbekistan be interested in what I’m blathering on about?!?

Anyhow, I fully recognize that this is in no way a big deal. I’m not even a small fish in a big pond. More like a single plankton in a global ocean. Nonetheless, I thought it was kinda cool and wanted to document the occasion for myself. If anything this blog is more a “memory-jogger” for myself than anything. But still, I appreciate any and all of you that spend even a moment of your precious time with me.

Have a terrific day, a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

A little catching up…

My apologies to any readers that have been wondering where I’ve gone… I know it’s been quite some time since I posted here, but quite frankly I’ve been having ‘one of those days’ for a couple/few months now. I really try to not let this blog be a place for bitterness or despair, so I’ve had my head down just trying to ride the storm out.

I’ve got to say, 2024 will go down in my personal history as the worst year on record, and I’ll be glad to see it in the rear view mirror in a couple months.

And while the last few months have been pretty disastrous for me, it hasn’t been ALL bad…

Back in early September I had a reunion of sorts with some old friends, brothers from other mothers so to speak, that was LONG overdue. While I’ve been in touch with them both fairly regularly, the 3 of us hadn’t been in the same room together for over 30 YEARS! Yeah, seriously overdue! So that was certainly a bright spot for me.

And we saw a few great shows along the way – Dogstar at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Nikka Costa in Berkeley, Abhi the Nomad in San Francisco and Still Woozy at the Greek Theater in Berkeley as well. All were great shows and there were some awesome opening acts as well – PawPaw Rod for one, was exemplary!

The Mrs. and I also had our 33rd wedding anniversary in October.

We had a couple nice outings with the family as well… A few day trips to Henry Cowells to bask amongst the Redwoods, we did the annual ‘Wine Walk’ in our little town which was nice. And just last week a 3 day camping trip down in Big Sur (more Redwoods!!) These are things that I hold dear. The things that kept me from losing my mind altogether. Much needed and welcome distractions from ‘the real world’.

And today is VOATING day. Yippee… Ordinarily I consider myself a very patriotic American and take my civic responsibility very seriously, but I’m struggling this year. BIG TIME. I’m sick of it all. Sick of the two wings of the same, diseased bird. Sick of the lies. Sick of the hyperbole and the projection. Sick of getting the short end of the stick, regardless of which way the wind blows.

Alrighty then, that is enough doom and gloom. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully a better one.

Thanks to all who have supported me here, I do appreciate it. It’ll probably be a little quiet in the near future, but eventually I’ll dig myself outta this hole and get back to it on the regular.

Thanks for stopping by.

Field Tripping: Portola Redwoods State Park.

Yesterday was a new kind of adventure for me, the Mrs. and I went on a “field trip” with our daughter and her 5th grade class to Portola Redwoods State Park in La Honda, CA.

The school the wife and daughter teach at is big on what they call “Outdoor Ed.” and they do lots of camping trips and such for all the classes but all that got derailed during the Plague Years (our daughter’s first year of teaching was the year /they/ shut everything down), so this was her first overnight camping trip with a classroom of kids.

We (the Mrs. and I) didn’t go for the overnight – both of us are working today – but more as logistics support. The Mrs. volunteered us to cook dinner for the troops, so we headed up the mountain with a ton of food, firewood and all the accouterments to throw down a nice dinner. And of course S’mores! What camping trip with kids would be complete without those?!?

As you might imagine, this wasn’t exactly a quiet, peaceful trip to the woods – not with roughly 20 5th grade kids running amok, some for the first time in the woods.

You can hear the wild 5th grade varmints in the background, swimming in the creek and having a blast!

Nonetheless, the park is beautiful, and the drive in was spectacular. The kids were happy and our kid managed to make the trip a success for her kids, so mission accomplished!

Some babies sprouting up…Our great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren will still be watching these beasts grow!

I’ve spent more time in the woods in 2024 than in the past decade and it is doing me a WORLD of good. I highly recommend it, ESPECIALLY if, like me, you spend most of your time glued to a desk and/or computer screen!

Thankfully my new job gets me a ton of outside time now, and that’s been great. But making a conscious effort to embrace the outdoor world as well as making it part of our fitness routine, has been life changing.

Spring is in the air, summer is right around the corner, get out there and hug a tree! Watch some birds. Laugh at squirrels gettin’ squirrely! Your body and soul will thank you!!

Thanks for stopping by!

The creek is still running, a rarity for late Spring in California!!

Out and About: Spring has Sprung at Filoli Gardens!

Not gonna lie, last week was rough. Ugly in fact. But Sunday was a beautiful day and we made our way up north to Filoli Botanical Gardens for the Spring bloom.

The Mrs., being Dutch, has a soft spot for Tulips and this was the prefect time to catch the tulips (and Daffodils) in their prime.

Filoli is a spectacular garden, just gorgeous from one end to the other. I’ve been to a number of gardens such at this, but I’ve never seen anyone do it better.

Not much else to say other than Hooray for Spring!! I’ll let the pictures to the talking from here on out…

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip: Big Sur, CA… Back Where I Belong

Most of the best times of my early years were spent in the woods. Camping and backpacking treks were where I found myself, where I felt most at ease and at “home”. Then in my late teens I traded that all in for band practices, night clubs and recording studios. A stark contrast, I assure you.

I managed to get back out there every now and again but nothing like when I was young and gung-ho about it. Then came marriage and a young’en, getting involved in her school stuff, coaching soccer, trying to establish a career… All the adult stuff that nobody warns you about. And my time in the woods became a distant memory.

I’d been grousing over the last few years to the Mrs., that we needed to go camping “one of these days” and I even started gearing up for it since right before “the Plague” hit, but still we never made it out.

Well, finally, FINALLY it happened! As a Christmas gift, the Mrs. made arrangements for a stay in Big Sur, one of my favorite places in California.

A lot of people talk crap about California and Californians (and rightfully so, in most regards), but we have some AWESOME wilderness out here folks.

A perfect little waterfall 10 feet from our tent!

Now, full disclosure, this was more “glamping” than camping. Our accommodations was an “outfitters” tent, about 10′ x 12′, on a wooden deck, with a 10′ x 10′ porch with an awning. We had some minimal power and running water, and most exciting for these old bones, an actual bed! Super swanky digs for out in the woods, let me tell ya!

Otherwise, it was like an actual “car camping” excursion. We brought in our food, cooked over wood fires, and just chilled out in the woods next to a quickly moving creek with a couple nice falls. It was HEAVEN!

Our time there was short, just Saturday afternoon through late Monday morning, but we ate like royalty, slept like babies and had the most relaxing 48ish hours we’ve had in a long, long time. It was absolutely glorious.

While I fully comprehend that this was not a “real” campout, it was an awesome way to dip our toes back into the outdoors without sending ourselves into shock. And it was a great shakeout run to prep us for an actual real camping trip we have scheduled with the kids at the end of April. We did pretty great staying comfortable and well fed, but we learned a few lessons too that will make the next trip even better!

Now that I’ve gotten a taste for it again, I hope this becomes a regular part of our adventures, as I haven’t felt this good in years!

Special thanks to the Mrs. for getting outside her comfort zone and planning a trip that made this Boring Old Man feel like a kid again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flashback Friday! Springing Forward edition.

In “honor” of Daylight Saving Time happening this weekend, I thought I’d bust out some sunny, feel good tunes. My condolences to all my readers that still have snow on the ground!

I myself (and the Mrs.) will be heading out into the coastal woods for some nature time this weekend, hoping the seemingly non-stop rain gives us a break!

Wishing you all fair skies and easy sailing this weekend!

Turn up the volume and let the happy grooves move ya!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Sunny Sunday!

I know it’s still only February, but we woke up to shining sun and nice, mild temps so we changed up our Sunday morning routine and went for a nice long walk OUTSIDE, rather than going to the gym. (We did hit the gym yesterday, but Sunday gym time is usually “written in stone” unless we’re traveling.)

Today we hit the Los Gatos Creek Trail, which was a little crowded, but it was glorious to be outdoors, hearing the birds chirppin’ away, the sounds of the rushing water, feeling the sun on our skin… 10,000X better than the best day at the gym!

Two of my goals for this year were to get outdoors more and to improve my overall health, so doing both at the same time was a real nice change of pace.

Sometimes a change will do you good!

Looking forward to Spring, it feels like it’s right around the corner. This Winter hasn’t been particularly cold, but we’ve had wet, dreary weather more often than not and I’m ready to move on to some sun and fresh air!

Have a great day y’all! Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I’m old fashioned and I still celebrate and appreciate a traditional Christmas. To the rest of you that only acknowledge “the holidays” well Happy Holidays to y’all as well.

I wish my readers well, and appreciate you spending your time with me here. Gonna be winding down over the next few days, spending time with the family and just enjoying some calm and quiet.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I’ll see y’all soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Here, there and everywhere…a quick catch-up

I’m feeling a bit neglectful of the ol’ blog these days and I just got back to town, so I figured I’d re-cap the last 10 days or so…

The first week of October was not unlike a big punch in the face. Work was ridiculous and on top of the ridiculousness of the day-to-day stuff, we were also hammering out the operational budget for next year. Now, I wear many, MANY hats in this gig, and do a lot of different things, but accounting is something I simply despise. I recognize that it’s a necessary evil, but I just really loathe that part of the job. A week of eyes glazing over and constant, recurring headaches, it was unpleasant to say the least. The Polyphia show was supposed to be the highlight of the week, but that was a bit of a bust too, so the week was just grueling. There was a light at the end of the tunnel though, an impending road trip, kicking off on Sunday, October 8th.

Sunday, October 8th we hit the road to Anaheim, CA for an out of the ordinary trip. For the last 25 or so years, the Mrs. and I have wanted to experience a Disneyland Halloween, and this year we finally did it. We tried to make this trip last year but our planning started only 3 months ahead of when we wanted to go and there was NOTHING available. Seriously, nothing. So this Halloween excursion had been on the books now for 10 months – a long time to wait! And to be honest, I’ve kinda lost my appreciation for Disney over the last few years, between them gobbling up so many other companies and intellectual properties, putting out crap movies and all their “woke” nonsense, I had considerations of calling the whole thing off. Nonetheless, a Disney Halloween was a bucket-list thing since I wanted to go long before the company started going down hill…

The last time we’d been to Disneyland was for our daughter’s 5th birthday – she’ll be 30 this coming February – it’s been a while!

We were expecting long lines and exorbitant costs for everything, and we grossly underestimated both. I’m a maniac for roller coasters, but waiting 2 hours (no, I’m NOT exaggerating!) for a 2 minute ride takes a lot of the fun out of it. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about the entire thing. When we first got there I found myself grinning ear-to-ear at the “magical” aspect of the place. Part of that was nostalgia, but really if you take in the architecture and the design and the special little touches everywhere, it really is unlike anything else in the world.

But the crowds! Good grief! It was just a non-stop, undulating sea of people everywhere you turned. And let me tell you, after seeing thousands upon thousands of these folks doing their best to make it an awesome day for themselves, I started to lose what little faith I had left in humanity.

This is not to say that no fun was had, there were some fun moments…just hours of waiting in “cattle chutes” in between those moments of fun. The Mrs. and I decided upon our departure that we won’t be back unless we end up with grandkids to take. Even then, it would be a tough sell…

On the bright side, we did get to ride the “Incredicoaster” at the California Adventure park on our last day, and I just gotta say WOW!!! Hands down the best roller coaster I’ve ever ridden – by a country mile!

As for the Halloween aspect, the main reason we went, it was underwhelming. There were a lot of decorations put up for it, some pretty stunning in fact, but overall it wasn’t all that different. Maybe the 80 degrees and sunny weather kept the Fall spirit at bay, I dunno. All I can say is Halloween didn’t seem to make it any more magical than it already is, it just brought in a ton of extra people.

After roughly 48 hours in Disneyland across 3 calendar days, it was back home for a layover/re-pack/car swap and a single work day for the Mrs. (and I got to put in some volunteer time at the school too, while she was working). On the 12th we set out again for one of our favorite destinations, Pismo Beach, CA.

I’ve said before that Half Moon Bay is our “home away from home”, but Pismo is a close second. The fact that one of my oldest friends lives there AND I can always count on him to head out into the surf with me, makes Pismo a very welcoming destination indeed.

This time around we tried out a few new places – the new food destinations were awesome, the outdoor hot tubs at Sycamore Hot Springs, eh, not so much… Nonetheless, we had a really relaxing time and I got to surf two days in a row, which almost never happens!

Pablo (right) and the B.O.M. (left) heading into the Pacific!

The whole reason for this trip was in celebration of the Mrs. and I hitting our 32nd (!!!) anniversary. Still having a hard time wrapping my head around that one… Add to that another 3 years together before we got married and we’re approaching double the years together than years we’d lived up to that point. It is staggering. Heck, our daughter is nearly 10 years older then we were when we got together, how time flies, eh?!?

We got back home late Sunday afternoon and the girls had a spa appointment to go to, so I headed out to my studio for some much needed drum time. I decided before I left on this trip that I wanted to change things up with my kit, and started tearing it down before I left. Last night I got a new, much smaller configuration set up and took it for a test drive. It’s pretty close to a “standard” set up now, which kinda rubs me the wrong way, but I’ll keep messing with it ’til I find a set up I love…Or I’ll go back to the “everything but the kitchen sink” set up, cuz I’m weird that way…

Monday was back to the grind, sadly. Morning commute traffic, 444 emails waiting and back to trying to solve everybody’s problems “yesterday”. Thank goodness for the recharge!!

All in all it was a great week, in spite of the hiccups, and I’m feeling invigorated and ready to seize Fall – my favorite season!

Thanks for stopping by!