#96 Rainy Days and Sundays, oh and Free Zoo Day

A crooked aisle

Built for each of our choices

Tilts our perception.

 

Warning:  There is no poetry past this point.  You have been warned.

Today is Sunday, September 29.  

For the last few days I have taken it easy.  Recuperating from my family issues. I still need to post the poem in honor of Amadeo Manigbas.

Today, I took the family to the local Zoo.  It was free admission day at the Sequoia Zoo for World Red Panda Day...yeah, I don't know either, except it was free Zoo Day. 

There was only one problem with this.  The weather here in Northern California stated a 90% chance of rain, and yes, it rained.  The Zoo is predominately outside, so the family got a little wet.

After putting L down for the night, I decided to update my blog and do some actual work.

Tomorrow starts the first couple of days of a conference back in Southern Oregon.  I will keep you informed on the interesting events to come.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

95#

Rippling droplets fall

Cascading across windows

Caverns of blankets

Warning: There is no poetry beyond this point. You have been warned.

Today is Wednesday, September 25. 

Today was the viewing. My wife went to the viewing and I took care of our child. It was a little surreal. My wife was in the funeral parlor with her grandfather and I was playing tag with my 2 year old at the cemetary.

So after the viewing, my wife, child, and I drove to our aunts house. It had rained earlier. My wife was looking out the window and gasped, "Look. A double rainbow.  L (our daughter), it's grandpa smiling at us." 

I had never thought of rainbows like that, but I like it.

So today my wife's grandpa smiled at us from above.  And it was good.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas 

#94

Sinking through an abyss

Caricatures of mindless

Always strive onwards.

Warning: there is no poetry beyond this point.

Today is Tuesday, September 24. Haiku Heights prompt for today is strive.

Today will be a short update. On Sunday, September 22, at 8:45 pm, my wife's grandfather passed.  He was 93 years old.  His funeral will be on Thursday. I will post a small biography of him and a special poem.

Until then, I will be getting back into the habit of posting daily.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Rough Couple of Days

An eternal myth 

Struggling to comprehend

Come, Sweet Death, Come home.

 

Warning:  There is no poetry past this point.  You have been warned.

Today is September 19.  It has been a rough couple of days. 

Saturday and Sunday, September 14th and 15th I worked on my daughters Halloween costume. I have a love/hate relationship with sewing.  I am a moderately okay tailor.  I can sew seams, and materials, and for the last three years I have made my daughters costumes: Princess Leia and Boo from Monsters Inc.  This year, the costume has defeated me.  I am making Rainbow Dash from My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic.  I have completed her pants, shirt, and started on her mane and tail.  And here is the problem.

The mane and tail is made of fleece.  This fleece is unforgiving, so every time I make a mistake I have to do it all over again.  Frustrating to say the least.  So, on Saturday I put my daughter down for the night, got out the sewing machine, scissors, and clear thread(I didn't want to have to change colors every time being that the mane and tail are rainbow hews) and started to build the mane first. 

My wife had designed the pattern, and I cut out the pieces and pinned them together.  As I started to sew the mane, a couple things happened: the bobbin thread broke, the pins did not hold the piece together, and part of the fleece got wrapped around the foot.  I pulled out the piece, snagging parts of the fleece and tearing it, fixed the bobbin and rethread the machine, and proceeded to cut out pieces again because of the torn material.

Cut the pieces, and it happened again.  This continued until 2am, at which point, I screamed and called my machine a series of inappropriate names and I believe I hinted at its mother promiscuity.

The next night, I changed thread to a stronger thread first.  I also didn't work on the mane.  I finished the tail that night, but it was so late I decided to wait until monday to post again.

Monday, my wife gets a text from her mother.  My wifes grandfather just had two heart attacks and we need to get to him to say our good byes.  So that night, I put my wife and child into the car and we drove until 2am to make sure she was with her grandfather.  That was monday/tuesday.   I had to go back to work on Wednesday and drove the four hours home just to drive another four hours to meetings last night. 

I am tired.

Today will be the last haiku I post until at least a couple of days.  I hope I can post one tomorrow, but I just don't know.

Till later,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 13 - #93

Haunt Gray porches call

A Victorian moreys 

No superstition?

Warning:  No poetry past this point.  You have been warned.

Today is Friday, September 13.  The Haiku Heights prompt for today is "superstition." 

Today has been mostly uneventful.  I had the pleasure of having most of my meetings cancelled on me, so I worked from home today.  I was able to finish my 2014 budgets and get some other items completed, but in the long run nothing happened. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be more interesting.  I guess, one ting did happen.  My wife and I watched Now you See Me.  Very good movie, I strongly suggest that you watch it.  Mark Ruffalo is my new favorite.

Anyways, I am rambling.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 12 - #92

Humble beginnings

Reinforce a lasting thought

Clean and reverent

 

Warning:  There is no poetry beyond this point.  You have been warned.

Today is September 12.  Today's Haiku Heights prompt is "holy."

Today has been mildly boring.  I had to drive north along the Northern California coastal highway to do a sales call.  The call was a success for all involved and my customer is extremely happy with the situation.  Sadly, that is not always the case.

I came home, put my daughter to bed, and took my allergy medication.  Nothing says I love you more than scratchy, watery, red, allergy filled eyes.  Being almost three, my daughter didn't care. 

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights #11 - Poem #91

Respectful closeness

Reminders of time long past

Mobius timeloop

 

Warning: No poetry beyond this point.  You have been warned.

Today is September 11.  Haiku Heights poem prompt is "tradition."

Hmm, tradition.  Traditions are both my favorite and least favorite thing.  Traditions cover all sorts of evils because these evils are, well, a tradition.  However, traditions are great.  They are important.  Like the tradition that once a year I am treated moderately better for a day than any other day of the year just because many years ago my mother gave birth to me. 

Another one of my favorites is Christmas cookie baking and eating.  I love baking Christmas cookies, but I especially love eating said cookies. 

One tradition I do not like is the taking up and down of Christmas lights.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas lights, but putting them up and taking them down is pointless.  Oh well, first world problems, right?

Anyways, today has been reasonably boring.  I stayed home today and rested. After about 5 minutes of resting, I became bored and decided to clean the house and let my wife rest. 

A couple of days ago, my wife found plans on how to make a dodec spinning wheel.  So today, after my daughters nap, we went to the lumber yard and bought the materials to make the spinning wheel.  I have to wait until the weekend of the 19th of September to complete the project, but I'll post pictures when I do.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights #10- #90

Pots and pans and racks

Stifling the sinks cleanliness

Await soapy hands 

Warning:  The following contains no poetry.  You have been warned.

Today is September 10.  As I stated two days ago, yesterday was a long and very unexciting day.  The fundraiser was a success, but my part in it was  very small and minuscule. 

At 2:30am I woke up and got dressed for a four and a half hour drive.  I swung by my office and picked up some pop up pavilions and was on the road north by 3 am. 

I had packed my ipod full of podcasts, mostly paranormal and sasquatch related, so that I would not fall asleep.  This proved helpful.  The podcast Mysterious Universe freaked me out so badly that I had to turn it off for fear of my imagination running away from me.

Anyways, I spend the day riding golf carts, serving beer, and running errands.  Pretty boring but effective.  I left the fund raiser at 6pm and made it home about 10:45.

I hate days like yesterday. 

Today was a little better, but it is now pretty late.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 9 - # 89

Haiku Heights prompt today is descision.

Decisions made last.

Question all fruitful choices

Karma follows all

Haiku Heights Day 8- #88

Around lonely necks

The Gaudy ropes and ribbons

Halt tomorrows hopes.

 

Warning:  Their is no poetry beyond this point.  You have been warned.

Today is September 8.  Haiku Height's September poem a day prompt is "Garland."

Today was spent cleaning so that tomorrow when I leave for my 20 hour work day, my wife will not have to do anything.  Because I will not be available tomorrow, I will be posting only a poem and will let everyone know about my adventure on Tuesday.

It is now time to go to bed.  Tomorrow I leave at 2:30 am

Till Tuesday,

Thomas

Haiku Height's Day 7 - #87

 Mourning Dove cooed

Lovers respond wantonly

Never more alone 

Warning:  Their is no poetry beyond this point.  You have been warned.
Today is September 7.  Haiku Height's prompt is "Dove."

Today was our local Natural Fiber Fair and my Anniversary Weekend. (Sadly I have to work a 20 hour day during my Anniversary.)  So for my wife, I bought her a class on how to use a Rigid Heddle Loom.  For me and my daughter, we spent the day at the playground.  She got nice and brown due to her ancestry, I got burned due to mine. 

However, my wife had a good time and came home with a new project.  I won't be able to start this project for a couple of weeks.  When I do start it, I will let you know.  Long and short of it, it will be awesome.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 6 - #86

Must you educate

Unraveling false knowledge 

Guide the guide-less

Warning:  Their is no poetry past this point.  You have been warned.

Today is September 6.  Today's Haiku Heights prompt is "Teacher."

In the 17 years of teachers, I have had two that have made a difference in my life, and many teachers who have been terrible.  I have never understood why a person in which we place our future in the palm of there hands want to then utterly cripple you as an individual.

Without to much false praise, I am a relatively intelligent individual. When confronted with an individual with less intelligence, I have, in the past, been less than patient with them.  Mos to of my teachers have been that way.  I have been less than patient with them and therefore they and I never saw eye to eye.

That being said, the two teacher that have changed my life were Mr. Aleccia, my high school english teacher for three years, and Dr. Tom Nash, my linguist professor.  Both of them challenged me to be beter than I was.  I do not think that either of them really know how appreciative I and many like me are to their guidance.

And I think that is the difference.  The teachers that failed me tried to teach me something, the ones who were successful guided me on the path to knowledge.

Let those of you who are teachers, want to be teachers, stop teaching and start guiding your students.  Be the mentor instead of the educator. 

I do not mean to insult anyone with my musings. If I have, I beg your forgiveness.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 5 - #85

Lime light flashes bright

Imagine child's delight 

Swift leaping dancers

Warning: There is no poetry beyond this point.  You have been warned.

Today is September 5.  Haiku Height's prompt today is "ballet."

I have always liked the ballet.  When I was five, my mother was a junior seamstress for the Alabama Ballet.  I would watch her work throughout the night, after coming home from waitressing, and sew these beautiful Tu-tus.

One of the last ballets she worked on was the The Nutcracker.  A side benefit of her work was she was able to get us tickets to the show.  Here I am, a 5 year old boy, going to a ballet.  I told no one.  I was embarrassed to be there, but I went because I was made to.  As I sat their in the back of the auditorium, I watched the ballet.  When the Nutcracker finally arrived, I was amazed.  Here was this man dancing. Launching himself into the air and spinning wearing this monstrous nutcracker head, mind = blown.

I watched every dance, and by the end I wanted to be a ballet dancer.  I was able to go back stage and meet the dancers and I found out that most of the dancers who I thought were women were actually men.  Again, I was so amazed by this.

Fast forward 20 years, I never was able to take ballet or dance classes, to expensive, I took my wife to the local rendition of The Nutcracker.  I was quietly enthusiastic.  The lights went down and the curtains opened and...it was not the same.  Oh, it was fine, but...the ballet was not what I remembered.  The Nutcracker himself was a deflated memory.

Now that my daughter is growing up, I want her to experience that wonder of the ballet that I did.  I hope she can.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 4 - #84

Crossier of life's hope

Lay betwixt thoughts of others.

Shepherd lose your flocks.

 

Warning:  There is no poetry beyond this point. You have been warned.

Today is September 4.  Today's Haiku Height's prompt is "Shepherd." 

I spent the entire day running market analysis for my real world job.  It was exceptionally boring and void of creative thought.  So as I begin to write today's poem, one would think that I would have creative juice wanting to explode out from me shouting "Today's the day.  Write this idea."  Nope, no such luck.

Sheepherding is something that I am so far removed from that anything that I can think of is either grossly overly generic or filled with cliches and tropes.

As far as my personal life is concerned.  My daughter was a little sick today, especially grouchy, and potty training is not going well.  She is having problems letting me and her mom know when she needs to go.  Its enough to pull my hair out.

Please try to enjoy this poem.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Heights Day 3- #83

Broken and empty

Tarnished black and bittersweet 

Love-lorn locket rests

Warning: The following contains not poetry. You have been warned.

Today is September 3.  Today's prompt from Haiku Heights is "silver."  

I was think of silver and its ability to tarnish easily if not cared for.  You know, all things are like that. If not cared for properly or at all, parts of your life will tarnish and become black.

I think of this as I clean my office. I do not treat it well. There are stacks of paper that need to be filed, scratch paper every where, and boxes if materials that continue to multiple.  I think these boxes are related to tribbles.

I spent most of my day cleaning this mess and still is not done.  Like the tarnish on silver, one cleaning will not affect the tarnish, but missing one cleaning will create it.

So on this last note on silver and tarnishing, fun fact: actual silver utensils, or silverware, used to be coated with animal fat after being cleaned so that the utensils would resist the tarnish or oxidization.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

Haiku Height's Day 2 - Poem 80, 81, and 82

Stoic watchmen all,

Faithful servant gives himself,

 The child must survive.

Warning:  The following contains no poetry.  You have been warned.

Today is Monday, September 2, in the United States today is Labor Day.  Today's prompt from Haiku Heights is Gaurdian. 

 This whole weekend has been great.  I was able to let my wife sleep in every day until lunch time, and with a two year old that is quite the accomplishment.  I have been up-to-date on my poems and my real world job.

We were not able to go to the beach yesterday, so we went today instead.  The water was cold, the sky was grey, and the beaches crowded...at least for this area.  My wife made us a picnic so we ate lunch out on the sand.  All in all it is now perfect.

I finished my portion of my daughters costume last night, sorry still no photos.  My wife has a wig and wings to make and then my daughter will be Rainbow Dash. Can't wait.  Because I do not have any photos of the costume, I have placed photos at the bottom of this post of our afternoon trip to the beach each with their own Haiku.  Sorry, no pictures of me, my wife, or child are posted (and probably never will be).
 
Fast forward to right now.  My real world job is, metaphorically, calling me.  We have a large fundraiser that starts tomorrow and I do not have all of my ducks in a row.  I wish it was otherwise, but alas.  Ladies and gentlemen of the internet, keep your fingers crossed that the fundraiser is successful, I could really use a success right now.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas

 

 Moisty Mountains break
Dragging worrisome sailors
Driftwood marks silent

Cloudless sand and smoke
Drifting upwards and onwards
Honest forgetfulness

Haiku Heights September Poem a day - 79

Speckled green and brown,

Twilight song ends at dawns break,

The happy frog rest.

Warning: The following contains no poetry.  You have been warned.

Today is Sunday, September 1st.  Today starts Haiku Heights' September Poem a Day writing month.  This is the first time I have participated in the event.  I am really looking forward to the prompts.

Today the sun shines in the Redwoods.  The family will be going to the beach and play in the sand for a while this afternoon.  For those of you who have never had the pleasure of going to the North California Coast, it is unlike any other.  You wear long sleeves, maybe a jacket, and try not to get to cold.  The beach is beautiful though.  

Tonight I will sew my daughters costume and try to post some pictures.

Till tomorrow,

Thomas