February 27, 2013

I went to a Prince concert the night Paul started kindergarten, was a show where he was playing all the hits, had Maceo Parker in his band, just a phenomenal performance, and they gave everyone that came a copy of his (then) new disc called Musicology.  I just listened to it for the first time and love it...groovy and mellow.  Say what you want about his odd personality, but that guy has to be one of the most talented people that has ever lived.  Gifted singer and songwriter, fabulous dancer and performer, and simply shreds on guitar.  Name me another person than is such a multi-threat.

We just booked a trip to Boracay, which is in the Philippines, for 5 days during Spring break in April.  Sounds like a local version of Mexico/Hawaii, but a couple of cool things it has are cliff diving (so Wide World of Sports) and is the only place in the world that has real Puka shells.  I hope to get my inner-David Cassidy on and pick one of those up.  Welcome any thoughts you may have on that destination. 

It is my opinion that the job that has the highest employment here is orange stick traffic control.  These guys (only guys, no women) are everywhere.  I am not complaining about the service they provide, and am thankful for the businesses that employ them to help make sure pedestrians and vehicles do not meet unnecessarily, it's just that they are so militant and intense about their craft.  I am the only car around, not a pedestrian in sight, and these guys will swing that stick like the green flag at Daytona to get me moving.  Am told that a lot of them are cabbies making a few bucks on the side, which helps to explain their aggression.

Our favorite example of the orange stick guys are these three we see every morning during our morning commute.

There are three apartments close by on this street, and each one has a stick figure guiding their tenants traffic out of the parking structure.  It puts a smile on my face seeing them every morning and would love to listen in (and understand) the BS they have to flip each other just to make the morning pass. 

 

When walking around town, whenever I come across another "Westerner", (assuming I do not know them) am always torn between whether I should ignore them or give them a head nod in acknowledgment.  And if I give them the nod, what exactly am I acknowledging?  That we both share the same skin color or that we are somehow superior?  Do Chinese have the same inner conflict when they are in another country?  Am I the only one that has this obsession?

Along that line, do you ever have an idea or contemplation about something and think that everyone has the same idea, only to discover that when you articulate it to another person, that they look at you like you are some kind of freak.  I was talking to the kids the other day about nose picking...we all do it, it's a healthy thing and while it might not be a common topic of conversation, m aybe it should be.  So I say to them, "have you ever picked a booger that when you pulled it out, it feels like it is connected to your eyeball or brain?"  The simultaneous look of disgust and 'what the hell are you talking about' on both their faces was classic.