Trying not to think about the other shoe waiting to be dropped

So, aside from one of the oddest phrases in English language as my subject (seriously, wtf does that mean? When did shoe-dropping become such a bad thing? And above all, do flip-flops count? Moving on...) and partly, OK largely, due to the three Newcastles in my belly, I'm pretty content. This has been a pretty damned awesome week, I must say. And mind you, I'm not used to getting awesome *weeks*. Days at best, usually moments, have the been mode du jour for the better part of the last decade of my life. However, I feel like things are really starting to change.

I don't believe in God, per se, as an anthropomorphic being that gives two hot shits about what I do or when or with who or on which piece of furniture. And I don't think that Eastern religions are better than Western (classic "Christianity is the most violent religion" bullshit. Punch up "Buddhist protests" in Google and you'll see some pretty horrific shit, too.). I simply wasn't raised religious and haven't ever had anything happen that made me believe in a higher power that cares about us more than, say, cockroaches, which I consider to the lowest, filthiest, most useless, disgusting lifeform on this planet... That being said, I do believe the universe is a living entity that is self-sustaining at the least and self-promoting at best. Wow... Got lost in the cosmos... Or maybe that's the 36 ounces of Newcastle (best beer ever) at work. Where was I?!? Right, so point being, I believe the universe, at the least, keeps itself in balance (it's clearly not self-destructive) and that seems to usually translate into my measly little life.

So the awesomitude (Get used to me making up words. I have an English Lit & Comp degree and they give you a lifetime pass to make shit up.) of this week should theoretically be balanced by some horrific shit, like my 9-year old dog dieing or something. But until that happens, I'm just going to enjoy the week. The new job, which will always remain nameless for a multitude of reasons, is going greaaat. I'm used to working for unpredictable, power-drunk lunatics and I now work for & with the most reasonable, genuinely honest folks I've ever worked for (at least so far, here's hoping this isn't just the honeymoon period where, like dating, everyone is on their best behavior for the first year, then goes out to the car for all the baggage they've been waiting to haul in). I can only hope this is the real deal and holds up for quite a while longer.

So I've made a few sales, always good, got my first commission check, double what I was expecting and still only half of what I'm due, had a great week of karate classes (I run a Cuong Nhu school, feel free to look up our style at http://www.cuongnhu.com/), my kids had an incredible week (our 6-year old won a contest at school for best "witch" drawing and our 3-year old is making leaps & bounds of progress in his speech therapy), and I've had the chance to meet Brandi a few times for lunch during the week and get a lot of good hugs from her (my fave). I also managed to knock a reasonable rendition, possibly even recognizable for uberdorks like me, of Tool's "Vicarious" tonight on the drums. I've been playing for about 2 years, can play most songs to a t, yet continue to aspire to be like some of the more talented, unique drummers out there vs. just being a beatkeeper. For those interested, go to http://www.drummerworld.com/ and look up legends like Buddy Rich, Danny Carey (Tool), Tim "Herb" Alexander (Primus), Neil Peart (Rush, a band which otherwise sucks IMO), etc, etc... So this has been a killer week of successes on every level. If every week were this good, I would probably die of a goddamned heart attack. Now it's time for the weekend (it only gets better!). In all fairness, I have to fix the washer, replace a burnt out headlight on my Honda, buff the "leftover" polishing compound off Brandi's bumper, etc... So there's work to be done, but it's all good. :-)