Mark O’Meara: the blog

A photo to remember the funny moments!! by memory_collector

Last night we had a very funny incident that made both Nicky and I literally laugh out loud and smile from ear to ear. However, contrary to popular opinion, I don’t share every single incident with my five readers.

Having said that I am writing it here in the hope that one of us will stumble on this in twenty years, be reminded, and then we can tell Finn and Leila about it.

Lesson for the day - perhaps we should all keep books of special family stories.

Everyones Lucky number by DxB?SecreT

It is easy to find moments where the whole thing seems utterly implausible and likely to simply collapse at some stage. By the whole thing I mean everything from friendship and personal relationships to the world economy or environment.

And then sometimes the star line up and everything seems ok for a while. It’s a moment to be treasured.

Lesson for the day - try to enjoy all your moments.

sleepy heads by merwing

Between a very broken night, a very early start and a small operation for Nicky we are all rather tired here.

Lesson for the day - tomorrow can only be more alert.

best laid plans by Doubletee

My plans for these holidays are nothing magnificent but I like them anyway.

First of all my plans include both Nicky and I being conscious all day. The temptation for a nap to catch up on sleep is there but the result is feeling constantly sleepy and doing little else.

I plan to do just a little school work each day. Half an hour each day for fourteen days should see me right for the start of term.

I plan to keep Finn and I busy without spending too much money. Neither of us deal well with nothing happening and I figure this can be done on a very reasonable budget with a bit of planning.

Lesson for the day - it’s a good idea to have some idea what you plan to do even when planning to take it easy.

DVD Pile by Ewan-M

I promised Joanna that I would give her a list of films I’d recommend for a quiet winter watch.

These are not necessarily all-time favourites (although some are) but they are films that I figure people might have overlooked.

The Departed
Dead Again
Children of Men
The Commitments
The Freshman
The Rage in Placid Lake
Shallow Grave

Lesson for the day - personal recommendation is the new buzz.

MovieTime #18: ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ by jabr-woky

Sadly I lack the brain or wit to say anything much. Term Two ends tomorrow so I might feel a bit more alert in a few short days.

Just a few days ago, and I knew you’d all want to know this. I bought another copy of Brotherhood of the Wolf for $15. Hoorah for Joanna who saw it in the junk mail and gave me to heads-up.

Lesson for the day - now I can go back to feeling like someone who actually has a copy of Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Yin yang by exfordy

One of the things my Tai Chi instructors mention is the seventy thirty way of standing. You have seventy percent of your weight on one foot and the remaining thirty on the other. I guess it gives you a position of primary strength and somewhere to fall back to.

Now I have know the basic idea of yin and yang for a good long time. But I think I have come to understand it differently of late and the physical experience of the Tai Chi is certainly part of that.

It seems obvious to say but a balanced life is not fifty percent of column A and fifty percent of column B. Perhaps a better approach is being mindful that even seventy percent of being terribly serious and focused also leaves room for thirty percent of being light hearted and joyful. And, from another angle, even when being downright silly you still need that thirty percent of caution and calm.

So that’s what I am pondering at the moment, for seventy percent of my time. In the other thirty percent I am thinking about Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Lesson for the day - be some kind of aware.

Shades of Death Rd - original by paulwolke

I thought I should mention that I am alive and pretty well. I am not even frantically busy. I am just the sort of busy which has left little time for blogging.

Lesson for the day - remain calm.

Dyson = Pure Cleaning Power by Mr. T in DC

Yesterday we set to work with the new Dyson and gave the house a good vacuum. We didn’t manage to cover the kids rooms but every other space got a damn good clean. I just can’t believe how much animal air and dust is managed to drag out of the carpet. I felt like I was emptying it every five minutes. Happily the result is a house which looks much cleaner and brighter.

I don’t know that I’ll be up this for effort every week, it did take most of Saturday, but it’s certainly something I’d like to manage every month or so just to keep the place nice.

Lesson for the day - some things that really suck really don’t.

Kung Fu Panda (11) by divxplanet

The whole family was signed up for a seven kilometre walk this morning but Leila is in the wars and we thought she should stay home and stay warm. So Finn and I set off with every intention of going on this walk but it was pouring rain as we approached the city so, discretion being the better part of valour, we went to the movies instead.

I had seen that there were advance screening for Kung Fu Panda this weekend. I didn’t know much about it but Finn knew it was for kids and about fighting so he could not have been more interested.

I must admit that I really enjoy this flick. It isn’t high art but it is good fun. The story was just the right mix of the subtle and the obvious and Finn only squealed now and then. It turned out the voices were provided by a roster of famous stars but they carried it off without being too obviously themselves.

Lesson for the day - embrace your inner panda.