We did nothing on Saturday and it felt good… relaxing… even vacation like. Well I did do some stuff in the WoW world, but besides leaving the house to get some food we did nothing Saturday.

Sunday we did Dim Sum with some of the usual suspects from the blogsphere, Eric, Michelle, Nuke and the organizer Toast. I had never been to Dim Sum and I am not even sure why… it was a great experience that will have to be repeated again soon.

We also went to see Wall.e and had a good time watching it… beside that, I am getting my brain ready for the work week… what did you guys do?

Not because there is not one posted, but because it is weak…

I used to follow another meme back in the day, like 2 years ago, called the Wednesday Mind Hump founded by my friend Fridays Child. With their meme they helped spark the idea of Mood Panties. I even helped write some of the questions at one point… this week their questions are way better so, no Friday Feast, welcome to the late Wednesday Mind Hump.

Wednesday Mind Hump

Hello humpers! Sadly, George Carlin died this week. I think a good way to honor him would be to discuss comedians.

1. Who is your favorite comedian (stand-up or otherwise)?
It has to be Eddie Izzard, because of his smart comedy. That and the Riches.

2. What is your favorite comedy movie?
It used to be There is Something about Mary… but there has been some good ones from the 40 year old virgin crew… I cannot decide which one just yet.

3. Which comedian do you just not get?
Not sure, I actually appreciate most comedians, it takes huge cojones to get up there.

4. If you were a fan of George Carlin, what was your favorite bit he did?
Oh, I could not pick a favorite… I love his English language jokes as much as I did his fart jokes.

Thanks for humping, and rest in peace, George!

I also had to bring the little dancing robot in BDInsanity honor.

I have been on a funk for a couple of weeks. My last real (out of the country) true vacation was probably 8 years ago to Cancun. I had other trips in between, but they were either a week that was too busy or went to fast, or a long weekend where the “on call” button was pressed.

I have issues with stopping my brain sometimes. I keep on thinking and thinking about things, and if I catch a bad train, it seems to just take me to the land called the funk.

My grandfather passing away is one of the hardest things I had to go through. I cannot even imagine how hard it is to lose a parent or a sibling. My wife and some of my friends have experienced this and I cannot imagine doubling, let alone multiplying the pain I feel for that loss. Losing loved ones scares me, my Mom being sick recently scares me… but she herself told me that we must enjoy the time we have together and not think of the what ifs.

I don’t want to waste my time here on earth. I also don’t want to not enjoy it by over thinking everything.

Yesterday I realized how lucky I am. I have been learning a lot from my wife on how to deal with situations. She has many good things to say about her father and how he dealt with what life sent his way. That helps. In fact, it helps a lot. Also knowing that she has gone through some difficult losses in her life and she is still able to smile gives me strength. She is a good listener and has the ability to process information that sometimes comes out of me all jumbled and still make me feel understood.

A conversation with my friends at lunch yesterday, one with my Mom, another one with my sister and then with my wife really broke me out of the funk. I was able to get off the wrong train, that as one of my friends put it made me all “Emo.” I saw how lucky I am to have people that care so much about me. I might have lost the greatest cheerleader of my life when my grandpa passed away, but that does not mean that I still don’t have a team of them behind me.

If you have heard his comedy, you will understand why I used the title I used. He was one of my favorite comedians along with Eddie Izzard because of the cleverness of their comedy. I actually got to see George perform live about 4 years ago. He was funny, but I had already listened to most of his material, and the new stuff he tried was not ready. However, when his stuff is polished and ready for show time, it is hard to match him. Robin Williams might be more animated and do better voices, Eddie might be a little better with making you laugh at something that should not be funny, but Carlin was one of the bests when it came to not just delivering a line but a whole paragraph.

Appetizer
If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?
Not sure, I would have thought that maybe Europe, both my wife and I want to become fluent in Italian and what better way that to live in Italy for a year… however, living in Japan for a year sounds like fun too.

Soup
Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?
All of them… but mostly Firefox.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country?
Colombia, 8, the US probably 7… however, I think I know more than the average American… I think the average American is like at a 3.

Main Course
Finish this sentence: Love is…
Priceless and yet free.

Dessert
Have you ever been in or near a tornado?
Plenty of times… but never seen one… slept through many… tornado alley baby!

Not too long ago I saw a TV show about video games. It highlighted that new multi player games that allow a user to be part of a team with specific tasks helps build the teamwork mentality.

I started to think of my corporate world experience and the more and more I thought about my past experiences the more I saw that teamwork is often talked about but seldom really implemented.

We live in a very individualistic society, and no matter how much corporate America tries to sell us the idea that there is no “I in teamwork” we still don’t get what that really means.

At the first opportunity people try to make themselves look better, or when there is blame to be passed around the finger pointing begins. There is the exception of the person that for some reason likes to take the fall, but because of their strong character they get a get out of jail free card every single time.

I think the breeding ground for teamwork is sports, but this country has diverted from actual keeping score for kids to everyone is a winner. I think this further enhances the notion on every kid that they are the best and they have to fend for themselves.

Life can be cruel at times, as can work environments, but a good team behind you is what gets you through. In life it is your family and friends when they selflessly rally around you when you need them. In the corporate world when something goes wrong and the team does the best it can to make the project work.

Maybe multi player video games will help people understand that every role in a team is important and it is ok to just be good at one thing. Maybe sports at the little kids level will start keeping score again; Because in a society of only winners, everyone ends up being a loser.

Even though this has nothing to do with Thom Hartmann’s Hunter vs Farmer theory about the origin of Attention Deficit Disorders, it is an interesting read and somewhat related. This rant is more about one of the differences between my wife and I, that could also be talked about in a battle of the sexes way. I hate shopping.

I do not mind going to the store and get groceries, or even go get a book while 100 people are in line, however the whole window shopping, see if this purse goes with these shoes kind of shopping drives me nuts. So I started to think of me as a hunter and Bea as a gatherer.

I go to a store with a list of targets in mind. Mind you, I have been looking for a copy American History X at the used DVD store for a while, but a hit list none the less. Once I enter, even if I am just browsing I have things in mind that I want to find. Even at my favorite electronics store, I can only browse for so long.

When my wife browses, time stops for her and a trap 70’s superhero shoe style starts running in my head. We have tried to split up and go on our own little trips through the stores with ill effects. I spent 2 hours at a store that I had already browsed the first 15 minutes, while my wife was just getting started. She only had time to strategically locate what earrings go with what sunglasses.

I think this is a basic difference between man and woman. No matter how busy a woman is, she is diverted to her gathering ancester the minute she sees shoes. Do the test, take your significant other shopping at a shoe store and set them free. You will have looked at, sport shoes and dress shoes isles and she will just have started at the shoes that are not made out of hemp but still called Mary Janes.