Randomization...

...Maddy's Cal Ripken Jr. like streak of perfect school attendance came to an end this year. The streak was halted by that crazy virus/rash/heat exposure incident that saw half her face swell up like an agitated puffer fish. She went to school each day she was under the weather, but when it was really bad she asked to see the school nurse. The nurse took her temperature, gave me a ring, and I picked her up before the magic cut off time of 1pm for the entire day to count. Maddy was disappointed that the streak ended, but she's ready to start a new one. Oh, and she made honor roll this year, let's hope that's a streak she wishes to continue. Lordy knows her old man didn't exactly burn up the academic charts back in the day... Anyhoo, I watched a couple of movies over the weekend that did nothing more than illicit strong feelings of 'meh' from me. The first flick was 'The Grey', which was kinda sorta interesting for what amounted to nothing more than 'Jaws' in the woods...although the ending of Jaws would have been way cooler if Chief Brody had taped broken airplane bottles of hooch to his hands and punched the shark to death. Oh well, maybe they'll try that scenario in the inevitable reboot...the one that will make the shark the victim and Brody and crew the real maneaters...because they will be zombies. So, yeah...'The Grey'...aside from some fantastic attack sequences and a harrowing depiction of a plane crash that did nothing to calm my fear of flying, the movie was just okay. Liam Neeson is always a strong presence on screen, and he doesn't disappoint...I've just seen this story told before with sharks/zombies/cave dwelling ghouls, so from that perspective it's old hat...aside from the wolf punching with broken bottle hands... The second movie I sat through was 'Safe House', a movie that was predictable and boring and should end the notion that Ryan Reynolds can co-carry anything but the next Van Wilder installment. Our Disney trip is planned, now we just have to find a place to stay at the 1/2 way point. Now, I've made the trip between SoCal and Washington quite a few times...and most of those times I pulled the trip off non-stop. However, last time I did that drive I was 22. Yes, back in 2006 I did drive non-stop from Auburn, WA to Las Vegas and that decision was regrettable. Jossy was just a few weeks old, Maddy was three, and yet I thought it would be nothing short of awesome to drive to Las Vegas. That trip took 25 hours because we had to stop every couple of hours for potty breaks, diaper changes, and to give me a chance to reload on caffeine. We were also nearly carjacked by Russians at 2am somewhere in Idaho (but that's a story for another day). By the time we got to Vegas I felt like a lizard having an out of body experience. And although part of me thinks I can still handle a 20+ hour drive, I'm not going to risk putting everyone in jeopardy. Besides, The Better Half keeps reminding me of just how tired I was when we hit Salt Lake City on that Vegas trip...I'll have to take her word for it because I don't remember a thing, mainly because I think I was sleep driving and just keeping it between the ditches on instinct alone. Ya know, that whole Vegas road trip requires it's own blog post...