Collections

I really can't believe it's been about a year since my last blog post.  Facebook has obviously eaten into the blog-o-sphere, at least at my altitude, which is low...that is to say, I was never a huge blogger.  But I do think on the spectrum of writing, blogs are a bit longer-form than Facebook, which is in turn longer-form than Tweets, and--shortest of all--text messages.

So, when I want to ramble, I blog.  And I was thinking the other day that I've always been "a collector."  I'm not sure why, entirely, but I've always collected stuff.  When I was a kid, I was an avid rock and fossil collector.  I had a labeled and categorized collection of hundreds of rocks, minerals, and fossils and I was right into it.  I still have a few dozen rocks, crystals, arrowheads, etc, that I've found or bought and hung on to.

I still collect a few things actively; that is, I am interested in them and will still acquire them or ask for them as gifts. These include

• Books: I think I counted around a thousand volumes in my collection.   I know print books are going the way of the Dodo (and I have a Kindle--which I love for travel), but I'll always love real books. Further, I have a small collection of 1st edition SF/Fantasy books, with concentrations of Gene Wolfe, Ursula Le Guin, Neal Stephanson, and Neil Gaiman.  I have an even smaller collection of vintage SF paperbacks.
• Wristwatches: I have a few classic watches including a Tag Heuer, a Tissot, and a Movado.  I appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of fine watches.  It's a tiny collection, but a collection nevertheless.
• Scotch and other whiskeys of the world.  I enjoy sipping whiskey, and have a small (~30 bottle) collection of Scotch and whiskey from around the world.  Although personally I consider Scotch to be the apotheosis of whiskey, I also enjoy drams from Ireland, Canada, Australia, and Japan.  I've even been known to drink a bit of Bourbon from time to time.

Other things that I have collections of but that I’m not actively collecting:

• Oriental rugs: If I had a place to put more rugs, I would get more.  As it is, I have several that I don't have a place for.  I love the artistry, beautiful designs and craftsmanship of handmade rugs.
• Comic books: Haven't gotten these out for a while, but I have a substantial collection of Silver Age Marvels.  I still buy the odd comic book or graphic novel, but don't actively collect.  With the exception of Sandman, Neil Gaiman, or my favorite artist, P. Craig Russell.
• Records: Still have a few hundred, thought my record player is not working.

So why do I collect these things? It's kind of a compulsion, I suppose....but for the most part, fairly harmless, I hope.  I try not to be a "hoarder", but only keep things that I really enjoy, and within reasonable numbers.  For the most part.  I could probably pare down some of my collections, and to be honest, I've been thinking of doing that...  We'll see.

PML-RS-DW

...which stands for Pine Mt. Lake Relaxin Shack Dude's Weekend, but you don't call it that.  You call it Dude's weekend, or Duder's Weekend, or Weekend of El Duderino, if, you know, you're not into the whole brevity thing.

So once again it is time to invade the Relaxin' Shack, drink some White Russians (or Scotch), and do some serious relaxin.  This year, word is that in addition to the usual distractions, we'll have Hobo With a Shotgun and (most likely very late at night) Tangerine Dream's Phaedra.

Also, my new drink of the moment is the Negroni, which I'll be mixing up in abundance before dinners.

Some of the usual suspects sadly are not going to make it this time, but as usual we'll soldier on without them.

Dudes' weekend

 
So once or twice a year, I invite some of my best (male) friends up to our lake house (aka The Relaxin' Shack) for a 3(ish) day weekend of golf, hiking, steak, scotch, and other fun pursuits.  It's a few days to party, hang out, and generally chill without the responsibilities of the real world.

I used to call it the"guys weekend," but as a screening of The Big Lebowski has become traditional, I decided to re-brand it as the "Dudes' weekend."  This time, we're missing a few of the usual suspects (I'm looking at you, Jay & Gary), but we'll soldier on somehow.

In a few weeks, school will be out and the girls will head up there for the summer... but for this one weekend, the Relaxin Shack becomes the pad of the Dudes, or Duders', their Dudenesses, Or El Duderinos, if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

The New Improved Mr. Mom

Candice is up at the Lake House for a well-deserved weeklong mommy-getaway, and Juliet and I are holding down the fort.  So far, we've kept very busy with school, softball closing day, the SCMS Yard Sale, working on her science project, and just hanging out around the house and playing.  We also watched the solar eclipse last night -- we went down to Seacliff State Beach for a better view, since there are so many trees around our house.

It's been much easier this time than the last extended time "on my own" back on 2008 (I think) when Candice went to Canada during her dad's illness.  Juliet is so much bigger now and is really fun to be with.  We're really having a nice time together.

In a couple days, we'll be heading up the PML to join Candice for a long Memorial Day weekend and our first visit to the Lake House in six months.

Harsh Reality

Well all the trips are done, I'm back home and harsh reality is setting in.

Trips, trips, trips

Got a lot of travel coming up:

• Golf weekend with my buddies in Vegas. THIS should be fun. Short, but fun.
• Few days in Phoenix with the family for spring break.
• Two weeks in Australia with my friend John Michaelenko (who lives there) and Mike T. We're going prospecting for opals in the outback. Not something you get a chance to do every day.

Back in the saddle

After almost two weeks away in Costa Rica.