Picture of the Day - My 47th Birthday Cake

As it turned out, I had a birthday celebration after all, one day after my birthday. I was kind of surprised as I knew my church home group family knew it was my birthday but Easter is big this weekend and I figured it would overshadow it and I was and am not in a festive mood. But here is my birthday cake to prove it happened. Thanks church home group fam! Love you all bunches! Thanks Janet for creating this masterpiece for me! Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

It's My &#%!@?! Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)

This week was my Easter Vacation and today was my birthday and both have sucked dogs' bollocks. Leslie Gore's 1963 hit "It's My Party" is my anthem today.

Birthday Dude

Today I turned 47 years old/young. My little brother by another mother composed this poem to celebrate this milestone. It contains allusions to various factoids of my life currently or generally:

While the birthday candles are glowing,
The rib eye kimbo is mowing,
Bloody and rare.
The limocello is homebrew,
And to star wars he is glued,
Because kimbo does what he wants,
For he is the birthday dude!

~ Russell Brittan

Revisiting Pac-Man

Tonight I attended the 50th birthday party of a friend I have known for about 16 years. This wonderful party was held at Pear Valley Winery on the East Side of Paso Robles, CA. I did not know most of the people there but did socialize with those I did know. Aside from the fabulous venue and catered meal and homemade/home-prepared desserts, was a classic Pac-Man arcade player belonging to the birthday boy installed for the guests to enjoy.

I spent a lot of time on it given my relative stranger status with most of the guests. Guess whose high score that is?
I achieved it in only my second game and then got sloppier after that.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

My Top Ten Reflections On Turning 46

Today I turned 46 years old at about 4 a.m. this morning. It has been a strange journey getting here and I have no reason to doubt that will continue. However, God is great and has seen me along my journey every step of the way... even during those times in which I was not acknowledging Him, which sadly, would be most of this journey until recently. Below are my top ten reflections upon this milestone.

1. No birthday sex for me again this year.... of course I'd put that first, I'm a guy!
2. I feel more middle aged now than I ever have before... actually, I feel middle aged at all for the first time ever in my life.... probably more from the physical and emotional strain of the weight I've gained.
3. I spent the day with my mother and grandmother in Fremont, CA, (mom and I drove up there together for the day) on my birthday for the first time in longer than I can remember. 
4. Celebrating my birthday in Fremont was not originally planned for the day until about week or two before and turned out to be my most memorable birthday in years.... for all the right reasons as the day was magical. 
5. At grandmother's senior living apartment complex I tried their counterweight scale and discovered my own electronic scale at home is off by about six pounds... and I actually weigh 300 pounds precisely!
6. Mom and I had been worried about my grandmother's health deteriorating over the past year due to her pelvis-breaking fall last year and her minor heart attack several weeks ago.... part of the reason for spending day with her was to check on her.... she seems as robust now as before her fall last year!
7. All three of us have had a rough past six months or so: grandmother had the fall and pelvic break last year and recent minor heart attack, mom had a series of medical problems during this time which saw her in the hospital more than once, and I have achieved my heaviest weight ever as I continue to gain weight while going to Cal Poly. 
8. One of the servers at grandmother's senior living apartment complex caught my eye. Aside from being a naturally beautiful young woman, her rather un-American demeanor and personality (she being an immigrant from southwestern Asia) was appealing and refreshing as she was demure, reserved, gracious, patient, kind, and classy in a way most American females fall short of in one or more ways.
9. Once again mom and I got into a weighty discussion and analysis of family history and the big picture in our lives as we always seem to do driving to and from Fremont (especially back from in the evening en route home). We've been doing this for the past few to several years running.
10. My Facebook people showed up for my birthday as 160 different people from various aspects of my life (church, high school, college, rockhounding world, J. Vernon McGee listeners, etc.) who are in my Facebook world wished me birthday greetings.
11. Did I mention I did not get birthday sex again this year?

Picture of the Day : The Big Four-Three!

My buddy Marybeth took me out for a birthday dinner at F. McLintocks in downtown Paso Robles tonight. Unbeknownst to me this establishment provides "surprise" birthday offerings and Marybeth generously arranged for me to receive one replete with dessert and being sung "Happy Birthday To You" by multiple employees and given this memento instant photo of the occasion. Outer photo by Kim Patrick Noyes. Inner photo by F. McLintocks. All rights reserved.

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXIV - 41st Birthday Edition!

Today I begin the fifth decade of my life as of about 4:30 AM this past morning. You wonder how do I figure that? The 10's of our years belong to the decade before as in 20 is the last year of our second decade of life and 21 is the first year of our third decade of life. So in that context 40 ended my fourth decade of life and 41 starts the fifth decade of my life.

Anywho, I did nothing special today which is typical for me as I'm not a festive person unless it is forced upon me. Instead I worked all day and made some money as I did yesterday and as I will do tomorrow, Lord willing. I was humbled by all the birthday salutations I received on Facebook and thank those of you reading this whom participated in that.

It seems strange being 41 because the number mentally seems more up there than I can relate to and yet I feel the same physically as I did when I was in my 30's and mentally I feel better than I ever have in my life as I also do spiritually despite the struggles I've had lately in my walk with God in regards to some things that have had power over me in my life.

In spite of that God still loves me and is working on me and progress is being made on all fronts, some of it rather rapid and some of it rather glacially slow and some of it somewhere in between. Call it my learning curve if you will; it's my unique and distinct process of becoming who God put me on this Earth to become.

Back To Church

I have come to realize my drift from God during the 1990's was in no small measure due to my rejecting God's church in favor of my own personal spiritual journey. Such journey's are essential but must needs be in addition to, not in lieu of church attendance and involvement. Consequently, I drifted from God and the changes in me, all of which were negative, were so incremental I could not detect them. I have come back to God over the course of the last year and a half or so although I have learned much from the period I was away from God so all was not a waste during that time period. Just because I'm walking with God again does not make me some goody-goody who wears his religion on his sleeve. In fact, I detest religion AND the wearing of it on the sleeve. In lieu of religiosity one ought to be in a real relationship with God and it must be not worn on the outside but worn on the inside which will result in a reflection on the outside that won't need to be advertised. Not only that, I am still quite human and a Flawed Sinner who daily struggles with Sin and the consequences of it upon my life. That being said, I am very positive and indescribably humbled and grateful to still be here on this Earth living in this presently healthy body and feeling what I feel and knowing what I know now. I will elaborate more upon these things here in the future so stay tuned.

Back To School

I enrolled in classes at Cuesta College (Paso Robles Campus) last Fall taking six units: a 3-unit Geology of California course and a 3-unit American Government course (The Irony of Democracy). I received A's in both classes, ergo, I earned a 4.0 GPA.

This current semester I am enrolled in 8 units of course work: a 3-unit Geo-Hazards course in which I'm getting an A+, a 3-unit History of California course in which I'm getting a solid B to B+, and a 2-unit Standard First Aid & CPR course in which I'm getting an A+. That class will upon passing allow me to be Red Cross certified for CPR and First Aid.

I plan on taking Summer School courses as Cuesta College is offering them after last Summer altogether canceling such classes due to budget cuts.

This coming Fall I plan on taking a double digit load of course work including math and English courses and Spanish and a U.S. history class with my current history teacher who is amazing.

My current career direction seems obvious enough to those whom know me: Emergency Management. I'll keep you posted on my grades, course work and career movements.

Still Single... and NOT Looking

I have not been in a relationship since my last one ended at the end of August, 2009. I have needed the quietude to reflect and grow and focus on my relationship with God and on improving myself and fighting my private battles with my personal struggles.

I have been dirt-poor for a a few years now going back to halfway into my last relationship and am still not imbued with the resources necessary to woo and entertain a young woman. It is worth noting that being poor is incredibly emasculating for we males to a degree most women cannot grasp.

Also, I am limited by the fact I will not get into a relationship with a woman who cannot be a spiritual partner in my walk with God... meaning: I will not get involved with a non-Christian woman... or even a woman who is a self-proclaimed Christian but is not "real". The emotional and domestic and sexual aspects of a relationship are great and are important and obviously I need those things, too. However, those are all secondary to the spiritual dimension which is the foundation upon which all the other elements of a relationship between a man and woman ought necessarily be built and nurtured.

Unfortunately, it seems that not a few gals whom I like as friends are attracted to me which is flattering to me and I'm grateful for the affirmation. However, these are not women to whom I feel attracted. Conversely, the sort of women to whom I feel attracted are either married or aren't in a position to be there for me spiritually at this point which is not to say they won't be later on nor is that to say they would be lousy girlfriends and wives now in the other areas mentioned like emotionally and sexually. But as stated before those things are secondary albeit admittedly important.

As for my previous relationship, it was a starter relationship for both me and my now-ex-girlfriend. It was the first either of us had ever been in and as such it was a learning process. As it turns out we got started too quickly and for the wrong reasons (and NO, NOT THAT reason... we never did that) and we were simply incompatible. It was a close call for both of us as we had discussed marriage quite directly. I do regret our friendship did not survive the breakup for whatever reason despite the breakup itself being harmonious and cordial and the friendship seeming to last several months after the relationship ended. Perhaps someday we will be able to resume our once beautiful friendship which preceded the commencement of our relationship.

Taking Care of Business

I continue to do general labor stuff for several clients and periodically help my friend Dave do shows. I have learned to live incredibly austerely as I never imagined possible which over time will make up for the free-spending days and allow me at some point to pay off a debt to a former friend who helped me out with some money when I first hit the wall financially (thanks K.). I am learning that there is honor in ALL work even when one is shoveling shit. This is in contrast to being on the public dole doing nothing and merely working the system and being supported by other people's hard labor and living on the margins of society by choice. Through my labors and travails I have finally learned the value of a dollar and the value of my labor per unit of time and measure of difficulty after spending most of my life living off of an inheritance.

Cavalry To The Rescue

My Pell Grant application was accepted and I took receipt of it this past Monday and placed it in the bank this past Tuesday. It was only half the maximum due to my taking 6-8 units per semester this school year (2010-2011). This money will immediately go to replacing my 1994 Chevy S-10 pickup that is unable to pass smog and consumes gas like an M1-A1 Abrams tank (gallons per mile). I will get some money from the sale of my pickup to the auto wrecking yard and sell my pickup shell on Craigslist which will help things immeasurably. I will miss not having a pickup which I have found are so very useful and convenient.

However, the mid-2000's Japanese car I'm getting will have much better mileage and be much less expensive to maintain which is what I need at present. I don't do my own shows anymore nor do I travel all over the place anymore but simply drive to and from work and to and from school. My life has a much smaller foot-print now and is infinitely more efficient.

For those of you whom know my attitude about welfare for able-bodied people, this is no contradiction to my value system. The Federal funding I have received in the form of a Pell Grant is money the Federal Government stole from my family when they took $100,000's in inheritance taxes from my grandparent's estate when the last one of them died which was outrageous.

On The Home Front

I'm still living in Paso Robles, CA, having moved to my current address back in Fall 2009. I rent from my childhood friend Mark Wiberg who lives next door in the front house while I rent the rear guest house which is small but perfect for my current needs. We are getting along quite swimmingly. Our unique and distinctive personalities blend perfectly. I get this feeling that at some point we are going to creatively collaborate on something hilarious and nefarious. I'm a great writer (I think) as is he (he thinks... hahaha) as well as he is a stand-up comic. We both are free-thinking intellectuals with a warped sense of humor with a South Park sensibility. Anywho, we are currently building a barbecue pit area for this coming Summer so that maybe we can lure actual female human beings to come and hang out with Mark (hahahaha).

Klau Mine Dave Is Dead

My dear friend Dave Brooks who since the early 1990's was the caretaker of the Klau/Buena Vista Mine complex on behalf of owner Harold Biaggini died of emphysema and a right lung infection last August. Dave was also known to many Central Coast residents as Studebaker Dave. I was blessed with being with Dave in his final days and cursed in finding his body the day following his death at his home. I will write a complete account of these events as well as of Dave's life at some point this year (probably for the one-year anniversary). Dave was 47 at the time.

California Disasters

One of my few passions from the past that has carried over to the present is my California Disasters group on Yahoo Groups. We are now really rolling with a real sense of what we want to be and how we want to do it and we do it well and 1,537 people seem to agree because they are willing members. We provided excellent coverage of the recent Pacific Ocean-wide tsunami event resulting in damage along the California following the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami in Japan. The group is updated daily with interesting postings about ongoing incidents and past disasters and future hazards. The membership covers a broad cross-section of professionals and amateurs alike and all are welcome including new members for whom this mention is made.

Eclectic Arcania Is Back!

As you can see this is the eighth consecutive day I have posted a blog here and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. I needed to take a break from doing this as it was deeply emotionally connected to my experience with my ex-girlfriend and it was necessary as part of my healing process from that experience to take an extended leave of absence from posting here but that is now officially over. I have been informed that Feedblitz is no longer supporting subscriptions to Blogspot so I need to go figure out how to get that fixed so those of you whom wish to subscribe to this blog can do so. When that task is accomplished I shall announce it here.

Today I Turned 38

Today I turned 38.
More accurately, at about 4 a.m. this morning.
Of course, I slept right through that milestone, something I didn't have the option of doing 38 years ago this morning.
My mother informs me we both were crying. ;-)
She cried for good reason given what she unleashed upon the world that morning in Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California those many years ago. ;-p

Seriously though, it's been one hell of a ride replete with thrills and chills and spills.
I sure hope I'm in the process of being a LATE BLOOMER as I have little to show for my time here thus far.

I've spent my entire adulthood casting about trying to find my way.
I feel like I'm finally onto something having had a longer learning curve than most people and yet perhaps having learned far more than most people ever do by 38.
I sure hope that doesn't come across as self-righteous and pompous as I fear it has but I mean that contritely and humbly.

Most folks don't get the privilege of screwing up their life as long as I have after having been given so much by God and having dropped the ball so often and egregiously (God says "to whom much is given much is expected) and still be alive.
I am truly blessed and realize I'm living on borrowed time.
I just hope I haven't used up all of God's GRACE towards me.
I wish to outlive my father who died at age 39 years and almost a month.
More importantly, I wish to finish my course as he failed to do.
However, at least his unfinished course saw him become a husband and a good one as well as a father and a good one and a successful businessman, things I have not yet accomplished.

I certainly am gifted with an outsider's perspective as I never felt like I fit in or was just like everybody else.
No, I'm not segueing into coming out of the closet as I am most assuredly not gay or bisexual or transgender or any of that other stuff.
However, I certainly can relate to how gay folks feel insofarasmuch (that's my own word) as I empathize with the feeling of not fitting in with everybody else even when I appear to be fitting in.

I used to be self-conscious about it but I've come to not only accept it but embrace it and am no comfortable in my own skin for the first time in my life.
I've also gotten a better handle on what has happened in my life and have taken responsibility for my failures and shortcomings.

That is not to say that I am the finished product or that I don't dump loads of work to do on myself as I most assuredly do but at least now I have a better handle on what needs doing within me at least from my end.
I'll leave the stuff only God can accomplish in me up to Him and not worry about it.

New Years Resolutions are far less meaningful as the dates we humans begin and end our years are arbitrary points on the calendar.
However, our birth dates are actual anniversaries of one of our biggest moments in our existences.
Therefore, I'm making some birthday resolutions today which I intend to have achieved by the time I reach 39 Lord willing I live that long and actually am successful.

1. I'm going to continue to draw back to God as I've been doing as I drifted away from Him over the course of my adulthood while I cast about.
2. I'm going to continue to run a tighter ship and be more efficient with time and money and other resources as I've been doing over the past year or so.
3. I'm going to eliminate my bad habit of interrupting people when they talk.
4. I'm going to eliminate the F-bomb from my vocabulary except when it is appropriate which it usually is not.
5. I'm going to get down to my fighting weight and get good muscle tone and vascular capacity and I shall accomplish this by continuing to regulate my caloric intake and by exercising regularly.
6. I'm going to improve my nutrition by eating more vegetables and fruit.
7. I'm going to be operating financially in the black and have finalized my working business model which I'm still working out now.
8. I'm going to have two good roommates I'm not annoyed by and have no drama in my household.
9. I'm going to get my teeth whitened.
10. I'm going to go through my grandfathers things including his slides to preserve what is left of our family heritage.
11. I'm going to attend the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show next February.
12. I'm going to get caught up on all my little unfinished projects whose unfinishedness (is that a real word?) is a source of constant annoyance to me.

Anywho, that is a good start I feel and it shall be interesting to see what happens or doesn't.

Oh, by the way, thus far this week I have received no harassment about the movie The 40-Year Old Virgin.

Fini