In Their Sites

Here's the thing; sometimes you encounter people that no matter what you do, no

matter how much you stay out of their way they have you in their sites. There's not an

explanation that works, there's not any way around it. It's just so.

Of course there are always reasons that they have for keeping you in focus. The

problem, well, one of the problems is that there are always more interesting things to

look at or focus on. Seriously. However, they don't want to focus on those things, they

rants want to focus on Y.O.U.

What can you do about this? Nothing. Abso-damn-lutley nothing.

I've tried. You've tried. We've all tried.

So what is it about you that's so damn fascinating? Should you even worry about that? I

say you shouldn't. You've got your thing going on, they're the ones that clearly are

lacking enough actual excitement in their life. You carry on. Does that make it easier?

Unfortunately it doesn't. I wish it did, but it doesn't.

Some people are better than others about ignoring it than I am. They're lucky. Or.

Maybe they're just used to it. Whichever, I could use some of their ability.

Of course, there's always the possibility that you aren't the one their focused on. Boy,

that'd be quite the kick in the pants. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course they're watching

me. And you. Definitely you. Awesome attracts attention like nothing else.

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Don't Box Me In

The Family recently spent time with someone that made me think about the boxes we find ourselves in. Different people want us to fit into different size, shape, or types of boxes, but really we are in charge of  that , or at least, we should be.

When I was a kid I know that an empty cardboard box was about one of the best things I could have to play with. I'm pretty sure this holds true for kids today, too.  I know it does with The Girls. The possibilities are endless as to what that box is and what it can be.  Calvin and Hobbes 

I have gone out of my way to bring boxes home for the Girls to play with and the reaction has always been similar: excitement. It's exciting to think about the possibilities of what they can do in the box, what they can put in the box, where they can put the box, and so on. Crayons, markers, tape, scissors, glue and more change those boxes to ANYTHING they want them to be, and I love it.

When we grow up though the box changes. It becomes a metaphor. It changes from what can't it be to what YOU are supposed to be.  Think about it, you probably have a job description. That's a box that you are in. Unfortunately the possibilities are more limited with it than they were when you were a kid. Not always, I know, but a lot of the times they are.

Our lives and how we live them are also Boxes, and most of the time we have complete say as to the size, shape, and type of Box we have. 

Most people respect your Box. You make your choices and you live with them. Everything's all good until someone tries to make you fit into the type of Box they think you should be in, or vice versa.

As I said, we recently spent time with someone who has a very rigid Box. EVERYTHING is where it should be at all times, and if it isn't it get puts there or it Becomes An Issue. He likes to impose his Box on others with little regard to what others' Boxes may be like.  In his mind all Boxes should be the same; there's no need for other sizes, shapes, or types of Boxes. In his mind there are a finite number of Types of Boxes.

We heard several times how someone has a "problem" because he or she didn't fit in a certain Box. This person feels so strongly about this that he gets MAD and cannot discuss why it might be okay for their Box to be different. It's not really up for discussion.   "That's ridiculous." or "That's just sad." were two of the phrases we heard to describe someone else's Box. These weren't people that were trying to force him to accept something else. These people don't know, or care what he does, or what his Box is like, but that's not the way it is with him. This, of course, is wrong, but getting him to see this is futile.

Me, I try to keep my Box as open as the cardboard boxes from my childhood. I don't always succeed. It's flexible so if I push against a wall it bends out. With a really good Box there's a really sturdy foundation that will hold it together even with some pushing.  My Box has gotten broken a few times from pushing on a wall too hard. It has a bunch of tape on it keeping it together, but it's good. I like it.

How about your Box? Do you like yours? Do you think others should have a Box like yours, or are you okay with everybody's Box being different?

The Girls often have different ideas of what the cardboard boxes I bring home will be, and sometimes those ideas change rapidly over the course of a couple of days. A lot of times they're different from what I think the boxes could be, but that's what's great about cardboard boxes. 

What their Box will be like as they get older is similar; it is a limitless possibility and it may not always be what I think it could, or should be. My job is to try to make sure that their foundation is strong enough to allow the walls to bend out far enough without breaking.  Or at least provide them with a good roll of tape.

 Don't Box Me In

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Micronauts!!!

Micronauts. That's what this post is about.  If you're not familiar then you may want to spend some time on the link back there.  Or this one Mego Micronauts.  Of course, you might not care, which is completely beyond my understanding, but we all have our hangups  I suppose.


So recently Coco and a friend were playing in my room while I was wasting skads of time on the Internet busy working at my desk.  They were exploring my Top Shelf Items.

• Simpsons toys from fast food restaurants
• Vintage McDonalds mini-racers
• Captain America puzzle
• Ralph Malph
• Lucha Libre Wrestler collections
• Micronauts Pharoid
• GI Joe

They were fascinated by the Micronauts.  Rightly so.  So they asked about them, and I proceeded to tell them all about these little guys and how much time I spent playing with them when I was their age. They were hanging on every word of my story demanding to know more about them, so I Googled it and found the sites above, as well as this one - More Micronauts

I spent almost an hour pouring over these sites and looking at all the toys that I had as a kid remembering how much time I spent playing with these little guys.  I think I've mentioned before how I may have been spoiled with the amount of toys I had as a kid, but none of them ever went to waste. I PLAYED all the time with my toys. Probably much longer than I should have. (hello 12 year old Thomas playing with action figures).  I don't know how I managed to end up with so many different sets, but I suspect that they were not as popular with most kids and that my mom got them at the JC Penny Outlet Store. I don't care. It was awesome, and they kept me entertained and happy for years.


Anyhoo, about 8 years ago I sold 99% of these things to former students of mine.  Students that were of a similar mindset to me at that age.  I did not want these beloved toys going to Goodwill to sit there, neglected, or picked up by a collector who wouldn't play with them.  

It was great. Showing the kids which parts went together, and how you could interchange so many of them. It made me really happy to know that they were going to get a new life.  Just like Woody & Buzz did at the end of Toy Story 3 - 

That's good stuff right there.  


Here are some pics of the ones that I kept.

The Evil Antron

Membros

Antron and Membros have glow in the dark brains!

Pharoid. It's a case that hold the Micronauts.

This is the one that I have left. He's a Space Glider

The chrome coating has faded off a little bit of his gliding wings.

I always thought that this guy looked like Parker Stevenson from The Hardy Boys TV show

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