Why my kid always clogs the toilet.

I wondered a while back why the toilet always clogs when my kid uses the toilet. He doesn't eat anything out of the ordinary, but every time he poops, I end up having to plunge that darn thing.

Anyways, I know you all have been in suspense as well since I first posted this in January. But there's a simple reason. He uses a lot of toilet paper. A lot.

Have a nice day!

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What time is the Super Bowl?

What time is the Super Bowl?

Anybody know?

"When my bottom gets warm,

then I know I need to poop."

-my six year old

Apparently, it gets warm?

Also, why does it always clog the toilet? I have to remind him every time to flush right away. Sometimes if he doesn't, something happens and later in the day, it'll just stop working. Then I have to go take the nasty plunge. 

Priorities Change

What would you do if you won the Powerball? Back in high school, I asked my friends what they wanted so I could buy it for them when I became a millionaire. Some of them wanted cars or houses, and one wanted an island. I believe I still have that list somewhere, though I'm hardly in touch anymore with most of those people. 

I think at that time, I mostly wanted to be able to buy a house for my mom. And maybe buy airline tickets to get some of my relatives over here to live or just visit. It would have been great to give my grandparents a tour of America and maybe the world. They're dead now. 

In the late '90s, I wanted to just follow the New York Yankees around and watch every game live. I wanted to drive around the country in a Toyota 4Runner. Maybe with the girl I liked. Well, I wouldn't have been able to play the lottery yet anyway, so of course it didn't happen. I just sat on the couch watching the games by myself and drinking a six pack of Heineken. 

In the early 2000s, I wanted to win the Mega Million and spoil my little cousins. I wanted to buy them stuff and take them on vacation around the world. Maybe to a theme park in Hong Kong or Japan. Or both. My uncle actually just wanted to drive a truck around the United States. I wish I could have helped him with that dream of his. 

Later on, I just wanted to see the world with my girlfriend and, well, make babies, as the saying goes. Well, now we are married and do have two kids. With school and everything, traveling is sort of out of the question. Even in the summer time, I want my kid out there in the tennis courts practing forehands and backhands. 

So what would I do with millions of dollars at this point? Of course, I would buy a bug house for the family. Get a new car, which would be more dependable than the old one we've had. And probably spoil ourselves with a maid or something. 

Of course, it would be nice not having to work. But I would probably invest some of it into the films I've been planning on making. 

Powerblow

The Powerball jackpot is now over a billion dollars. Yes, I have my ticket. You gotta be in it to win it and all that. 

When these real big lotto games first came around, I had just turned 21. I thought maybe it was meant to be for me. So I did buy a few times. And then I never won. So I stopped buying it. Because what are the odds you would win it anyway? You're just wasting your money, right?

I went for a vacation in the Phillipines in 2001. I met some cousins whom I literally never knew existed. It was an enlightening and life changing family reunion. We dreamed out loud together about stuff we would do in the future. 

When I got back to the States, there was another big jackpot of over a hundred million dollars. I decided to play my cousins' birthdays. I walked over to the corner store and asked for a Big Game ticket. That's what it was called back then. 

I handed my dollar to the clerk and looked for the paper to fill in my numbers. When I turned back to the register, I was handed my lotto ticket. She had printed out a quick pick for me. I said, "No, I have my own numbers." She took back the ticket, entered my numbers and printed them. 

I didn't win. I don't remember what the numbers were, but sometimes I wonder if that quick pick ticket could have been the winning one. 

Listening to Bowie

Finding out about David Bowie's death this morning was pretty shocking. I did not know he had cancer. He had been in the news for his new album coming out, and I assumed everything was fine. 

I recently watched him in "The Prestige" a few days ago. I had a meeting with a British company, and it inspired me to watch some Britcoms and British films (Brilms?). I ended up putting on the Christopher Nolan film while preparing for my meeting. 

When I first watched it in the theatre years ago with my wife, I didn't realize it was Bowie who played Nikola Tesla in the film. I only found out after through imdb or maybe Wikipedia or something else. And Nolan had to convince Bowie to play the part, according to the DVD's bonus features. 

Anyway, I spent the morning playing Bowie tunes while I was at work. I burned a CD and brought it with me to play in the car when my wife picked me up. We then went to get our son from school. 

I think "Fame" was playing when he got into the car. It was followed by "Suffragette City". Things were normal, and we talked about the schoolday and other topics as we usually do. And my wife turned the volume down a little during it. 

When "Space Oddity" came on, I thought about pressing the next button. I couldn't remember what the next song would be, but I hoped it would be more upbeat. And then my son said something. 

"Oh, can you turn it up?" he said, "because I like this song." I don't think he ever heard it before. He started humming along to it, repeating some of the words. My wife and I just listened and smiled. 

I was kind of filled with emotion, to be honest. I was so proud that my six year old would like such a song. Earlier I told him that the singer was David Bowie. "Oh, Daddy Bowie?" he said, laughing like crazy because we had the same first name. 

Lilo and What?

Speaking of those Disney movies, the first one my son actually watched was "Lilo and Stitch". It was also the first feature length that he saw. He had been watching 15 minute shows on Sprout TV so I was surprised that he sat through the whole thing.

I wondered whether I should have introduced movies to him so soon, but I was getting tired of the same shows and I just love film so much. And of course, I was simply curious about how he would receive it. 

I guess I picked this one because it was set in Hawaii and they also have some slang in there that my wife uses sometimes. (She was born there btw.) So one day while she was out with her cousin doing the laundry or shopping, o stayed home with my toddler and put the movie on.

I didn't watch it with him. I was on my computer. I either had work to do or just got on social media or something. I probably wasn't maintaining this blog, or I would have written it down and have a way to remember it. 

Anyways, I think my son came up to me after it ended and asked me to play it again. One of the surprising things about him watching the whole thing is that he could be clingy sometimes, so him being alone for a couple of hours without missing a parent or grownup was extraordinary. 

But I didn't want him to keep asking for the movie so much. Not because it was rotting his brain or something. It was the way the little toddler pronounced it. 

"Peesh, Daddy, again. Lilo and Tits!"

Lion Thinking

Speaking of Disney movies, of course, we also used to watch "The Lion King" all the time. It was interesting watching a one - maybe two - year old being able to follow along with the plot. I was amazed that he was able to recognize that Young Simba and Adult Simba were the same character. I worried that the death of the cub's father Mufasa would devastate him (spoiler alert!). He seemed worried and sad and said something like, "He has a boo boo". I do wish I had written a blog about it at the time because I can't remember his exact words.

And of course, he loved all the music as well. And yeah, he watched it so many times that he memorized the lines. 

When my son first started talking, it felt really good hearing him talk. When He was a baby, I had been wondering what his voice would sound like. It felt really sweet to hear him say "Daddy". At first, it was like "Dayee" until eventually he was able to pronounce it correctly. It felt very good to have my child recognize me and utter those two syllables: Daddy. 

Until he watched "The Lion King". There is this scene where the young cub runs up to Mufasa yelling over and over, "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad!" And guess what, my son imitates it. And instead of me being Daddy, I was now "Dad". 

It just sounds grown up to me. Toddlers should call you "Daddy". Not Dad. That's what teenagers call their fathers. The two-syllable Daddy had such sweetness to it.

No fair. 

Watching the Jungle Book

I'm sitting here at home next to my baby's rocker with "The Jungle Book" on. He was sleeping soundly for a long while until the scene with the vultures came on. My six year old had been watching quietly, but he couldn't control his excitement. "This is my favorite part!" He uttered out loud. And little brother opened his eyes and wondered what was going on.

The first time big brother watched this movie, it was just after Christmas, too. I remember because I put him in this plaid button jacket that was a present from my wife's cousin. My wife went out to do the groceries at he time, I think, and I used to dress him up nicely as a nice surprise for when Mom returned. 

As for my own first time watching it, it was so many years ago. My mom and I lived in my aunt's house when I first got to America. One afternoon, my three year old little cousin came into the room with a VHS tape of the movie and asked if I wanted to watch with her. I agreed and put it on. 

I had been watching "TaleSpin" on the Disney Afternoon lineup weekdays on Channel 11, so it was a nice surprise to see some familiar characters in Baloo, Louie and even Shere Khan. I really liked the "Bare Necessities" song. I thought the lyrics were clever, and I was impressed - and maybe a little jealous - that this little girl knew all the words to it. 

About halfway through the movie, my aunt came in to check in on us. The TV was right in front of my bed, and while I sat there watching, my little cousin had decided to get under the sheets and cuddle with me. I thought nothing of it, but when her mother saw, she had this look of concern on her face. It was so odd to me. I was twelve. I don't remember her exact words, but she convinced us to get out of the blanket. 

The next time I watched it by myself. 

Parking at the Park

I've been running at the park early in the morning for a few years now. There are some who come regularly around that time in the summer. I like going in the freezing winter because there's no one else there. It feels like the whole place belongs to me. 

On New Year's Day, there is usually an influx of newcomers. After a few weeks - or days - they all pretty much he disappear. It's the same thing every year. Obviously it has to do with their new year's resolution but I guess they're not quite so resolute about it. 

Anyways, I've missed a few weeks now because of our new baby. It's hard to resist sleeping when you get so little of it. And even if you do muster up the determination to rise and grind - as they say - it's tough running when you've gotten so little rest. But with the days off due to the holiday, and my wonderful wife watching the little guy, I was able to finally get back on track. 

Even though I couldn't actually run in the track, as it is currently shut down for renovations. But I do run around the park sometimes, especially when I feel like avoiding the people at the track. And I still park by the track even if I don't run in it. 

When I got to the parking lot, there was a sheriffs deputy car standing by a parked car. It's lights weren't flashing so I wondered whether the deputy knew the driver and they were simply chatting. I drive past them and left my car at the usual spot. As I ran past, I noticed that there seemed to be two people inside the civilian car. I don't usually care about other people's business so I just went ahead with my run. 

As I rounded back for my second lap, I noticed the car leaving. The next time around, the deputy's car was still there. When u finally finished and got in my car, I noticed a piece of paper on the windshield. 

I grabbed and saw this:

I was aware that there were signs about parking before sunrise so I was glad that it wasn't a ticket. But I had been going there early for years with no issues. I was even there after Hurricane Sandy when the park had no lights and thick with fog. (It was kinda cool; maybe I'll tell you about it later.) And it's not like I'm gonna run through the very safe streets of Jersey City at 4am when I could drive to a park where police are patrolling. 

I don't know. Maybe some teenagers had been causing some mischief during their winter break. Maybe the note was from a new guy (and I have to set him straight!). We'll see.