Cuts Like A Knife

Oh - I wish I were referring to the Bryan Adams' song, but sadly I am not. My pun is my comic-attempt to inform the huge fan-base (all 3 of you) about my up-coming operation.

I have made many gut-busting jokes and blared Weird Al's Living With A Hernia tune a lot lately, but the truth is I'm quite apprehensive about the surgery. While I understand the success rate and the “routineness” of the procedure, the idea of being cut open is simply unsettling for me. And even though it's a simple hernia repair, the full-rest recovery time is less than a week, meaning I can return to work after the weekend; the full health restored time frame is roughly 8 weeks, which makes the whole process relatively easy and worthwhile - yet, there is a mild panic in my being about “going under the knife.”

The up-side, of course, is that I will no longer have the puffy swelling that would make me a well-paid Calvin Klein model if the bulge were only a bit more centered. As it is I often feel like the world is tilting to the right, and I must conduct meeting from the left side of the table to keep the room balanced. In those office meetings, my coworkers think I'm a jerk with the crazy faces that sometimes occur when an after-lunch gas bubble performs a drum-solo from inside my intestine. I won't miss the pain; that's for sure.

I'm also getting married in 26 weeks, 6 days and a few hours (but who's counting?) Having this repaired will absolutely improve the quality of my marital life, especially considering the young age of my bride.

So, yes - there are many advantages. Still, I anxiety runs through me. But before long it will be behind me and happier days ahead.

Perspective

The interesting thing is: we all think it's the other person(s)' fault.

Voted ON the Island!

Most are aware of my recent engagement to be wed. Kristina and I have created a blog to share the experience as we prepare to go to Antigua where we will get married.

However, if you prefer to use Facebook, our blog is automatically imported there to our Fan Page. If you LIKE the page, then our updates will get posted in your news feed on Facebook. It might make it a little easier to follow for some, and we hope to involve our friends and family as much as possible since flying them to the island with us is not.

Finally, if you are currently logged in to Facebook while reading this post, you can simply click the LIKE button below.

The Origin of Fire

I was recently sent an email highlighting Billy Joel's song, We Didn't Start The Fire. This is a great song both musically and historically, demonstrating politics and the human condition. However, while there is some truth to his point that humans are a messy lot, there is a bit of denial of responsibility to the lyrics. Or perhaps it is just a twist on the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog - the claim being humans in their nature will create strife.

However, I think we often look at the action of first conflict without understanding why and where that conflict originates. Sometimes it doesn't matter. If a robber breaks in my home, threatening my family, there is no time to analyze his psychological profile. But when it comes to our own close and personal relationships, taking that time and avoiding hasty decisions is important. Yet we often fail to do that, and then cast our own reactions as a required response to an offense.

I believe much conflict in relationships, whether that be between friends, lovers, co-workers or children-and-parents, is due to failure to express what's going on. Sometimes we discover we are "taking a trip to Abilene," which is a metaphor for something no one wants but everyone agrees to do. Sometimes we have differing goals, but fail to compromise out of fear of rocking the boat. Sometimes it is more complex than either of these, but in all cases the fear and resentment builds. In the end frustration results and sometimes bridges get burned.

Speaking rudely and disrespectfully can burn bridges, but that is probably more about attitude. Having a relationship with someone whose attitude is constantly disrespectful might require that bridge be set afire anyway, as breaking associations isn't always a bad thing. However, for desirable and maintainable bonds, expressing what's inside is essential. It's not the fiery tongue that burns the bridge, but rather the failure to communicate. It is from this silence where assumptions spark and ignite the destruction.

Brave New World

Welcome to the new location of Knight of the Living Dad.

The blog has been moved to Blogger due to technical and philosophical differences with my previous provider. Essentially, I lost 150 MB of data over an $8 payment which arrived 4 hours late. Yes, I did receive the 10-day notice, but unfortunately I was in Alaska at the time and didn't read it until the payment was 3½ hours past due. However, the real issue was they wanted $150 to restore the backup. Keep in mind that I have been a loyal, perfectly-paid client for the past 74 months.

But alas, a policy is a policy, and the free market remains consumer driven. Thus explains the change of venue of my blog. Clearly, I don't have all the previous posts pushed into the new site at the time of this posting; however, never fear - the archives will be restored soon. Sadly, the comments from the previous site will not be able to be recovered. I doubt anyone would have cared enough about his or her past opinions on my blog to contribute to the greed fund of the unnamed web-hosting service.

Anyway, welcome and look forward to the restoration, as well as my future blogging.