Monthly Archives: November 2021

RAGE

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I vividly remember the scene. I was attending my first ever Seattle Seahawks game when I was either in fourth or fifth grade. My dad, my friend, and my friend’s dad were walking outside the Kingdome prior to the game when we noticed something. There was an old car (I think it was a Toyota?) painted in red and gold with “Kansas City Chiefs” spray painted on it.

For $5, you could take a sledgehammer and whack the car with all your might. I believe you got three swings and I remember one dude winding up the sledgehammer and giving that car everything he had. He barely made a dent but I remember thinking that it was pretty cool.

Well, smashing a beat-up car clad in the colors of the Seahawks’ opponent no longer appeals to me. But I do remember what it felt like to have that desire to go completely ape and destroy something. And, obviously, I am not the only one to have had that urge or else people wouldn’t have monetized the destruction of POS vehicles.

Yesterday I learned this business model has taken a major step up in recent years. During a morning meeting, the concept of rage rooms was brought up. Evidently, there are places you can go and take “weapons of destruction” to breakables such as televisions, lamps, microwaves, glass fixtures, and more. Some of these places have items on-site for you to destroy and others invite you to bring your own. Believe it or not, Spokane has its own rage venue called Rage Xscape.

Rage rooms are a thing.

The testimonials are glowing (or should I say smashing?). People leave these places feeling like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders and pent up anger released. It goes without saying that expelling rage inside a controlled building is better than releasing it in other places that might land you behind bars.

Lucky for me, I don’t need a rage room for therapeutic purposes. To be honest, it doesn’t really even sound that fun to me from an entertainment perspective. Sure, I would do it for the blog but you won’t see me with a punch card.

I am chalking this up as another modern day creative entertainment option on par with axe throwing and escape rooms. What will they come up with next? Don’t Blink.

Lightness and Darkness

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I know I frequently relate lessons learned during nightly reading with my 4-year-old daughter so my apologies in advance for another post spurned by that precious time we spend together.

“The World Made a Rainbow” is the inspiration for tonight’s blog post.

Over the weekend we read a book titled “The World Made a Rainbow” by Michelle Robinson. Toward the end of the story, this particular line stuck out: The light couldn’t shine if it never knew dark.

This line in “The World Made a Rainbow” rings true.

It underscored an important life theme of not being able to truly appreciate the good without experiencing the bad. Similarly, a more cynical sentiment I have heard a couple times in my life goes along the lines of, “I can’t miss you if you don’t leave.”

Perhaps that one is a little on the harsher side. But I think we all get the idea. Many times we fail to understand what we have until it is gone. We see so many instances in our society of a complete lack of appreciation or understanding. It isn’t until darkness is thrust over us that we truly comprehend the brilliantness and warmth of the light.

Much in the same way that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, I think it is beneficial that we all experience dark periods in our lives to truly be grateful for the beautiful things that we hold dear. Don’t Blink.

November 4 Thursday Rundown

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Let me wish a pleasant good evening to everyone! I hope your month is off to a fabulous start and that you are soaking in the fall season. I have a Thursday Rundown up my sleeve tonight so let’s get begin with the five topics…

Sky on Fire – I mentioned that we attended a trunk-or-treat in the parking lot of a trampoline park last Friday. Earlier this week, the business (Altitude Trampoline Park) posted a Facebook album of the event and our family made the cut in a couple of the images. What more can you say about the sunset in this photo? I thought it was too cool not to share.

If you notice the sky before you notice us, that’s okay (photo courtesy of the Spokane Valley Altitude Trampoline Park).

Free Pizza – As I have indicated before, I am a generous Google Reviewer. But if I do have a really bad experience, I will be honest in the review. I aired my grievances about a hibachi steakhouse in Las Vegas last July and ended up receiving a call from the manager and a generous gift card for the trouble. A couple weeks ago, things didn’t work out as promised at a local Spokane pizza chain. I noted it in the review and the manager soon reached out and sent me gift cards as well. I appreciate Pizza Rita’s gesture and we had a great experience when we re-ordered last Saturday.

I received $30 in Pizza Rita bucks to give the local chain another try. Our second experience was much better.

Nov. 4 – Today marks a bunch of “holidays.” It is National Candy Day (shouldn’t that have been five days ago?) so if you want to read about my top five favorite hard candies please be my guest. It is also National Cash Back Day, a day I celebrate because there is nothing I like doing more than bypassing ATM fees and walking into a supermarket to buy a 99 cent soda only to request $60 in cash back. Finally, it is also National Men Make Dinner Day and not only did I cook tonight but I cooked last night too. Happy Candy/Cash Back/Dudes Cook Day!!

Happy National Candy Day!

Muffin Tops – I asked this question on Twitter, but what good are muffin tops? Sid brought one home for me from the espresso stand last Friday morning and the first thing that went through my head was where is the rest of it? It is kind of like giving me a slice of pie with just the crust. Although the calorie count makes a convincing case for why it is just the top, I think I still prefer my muffins whole.

This was the Grandma Ruthie’s muffin top that Sid brought home for me last week. I just really don’t understand them.

Spookiness – On Halloween afternoon, this shady character was standing at one of the entrances to our neighborhood. He was drawing attention to a haunted house that would open later that night. If you know me, you probably aren’t surprised that I rolled down my window and engaged the guy in a conversation (and asked to take his photo). Later that night you better believe I went to the location and went through the haunted house. It had several scenes, strobe lights, actors, etc. I love the effort Halloween fanatics put forth to transform their own residence into a haunted house for the enjoyment of others.

This guy definitely stood out.

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Thank you for joining me tonight. Remember to fall back this weekend and savor that extra hour of sleep! Don’t Blink.

It’s Not Time

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By now, many of you have probably seen the infamous Mariah Carey viral video. Oh, which one, you ask? I am talking about the video released at midnight on Nov. 1 that shows her smashing a row of pumpkins that spell out “It’s Not Time.”

Mariah Carey released a video the moment Halloween ended on Nov. 1.

With her smash holiday song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” playing in the background, Mariah swings a candy cane-patterned bat at the middle pumpkin. At first glance, it appears that the video is encouraging a frenzied transition from Halloween straight to Christmas.

But for those who watch the video to the very end, an encouraging message provides some restraint to the perpetual elongation of the Christmas season: It’s Time!!! To smash that pumpkin and treat it as pie…cause we still gotta get through Thanksgiving.

Thank you. Sure, I would prefer more time than right after Turkey Day to go full Christmas, but at least it’s a start to reversing the trend of the holiday season starting earlier and earlier every year.

I do understand that Americans might be in more of a celebratory mood this year and desire to make up for time lost during the pandemic-plagued Christmas 2020, but come on people. A little moderation and discipline can ensure that we don’t overlook other holidays while simultaneously not watering down Christmas. If getting a big head start on the holiday season is important for your happiness and mental health then I say “go for it” but otherwise try to enjoy this current month before busting out the decorations.

As someone who loves Christmas, I advocate that we celebrate the holiday (and its true meaning) in due time. Happy November! Don’t Blink.

Halloween Weekend 2021

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We went hard this Halloween. Well, about as hard as you can go with a 4-year-old and 1-year-old. With the holiday falling on a Sunday, we went on a trunk-or-treat weekend bender. By the time we went to bed late Sunday night, you could say we were sugar drunk.

Perhaps the fatigue is showing in the faces of Sloan and Beau after we returned from trick-or-treating on Sunday night.

Our weekend went like this: On Friday night we went to a trunk-or-treat that took place in the parking lot of a trampoline park. The participants were businesses in the area who not only gave out candy but also screaming deals to their shops and eateries. After we were done there, we zipped over to downtown Spokane and went to a trunk-or-treat that was put on by a church. We then returned home and carved pumpkins.

Sloan and Sidney prepare to carve a pumpkin on Friday night.

Once Saturday morning hit, I took the kids to a trunk-or-treat staged by Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services. We finished up there and then drove out to Deer Park for the community Pumpkin Lane event. If you have never experienced this festival before, put it on your bucket list. The whole town shuts down and there isn’t s single business that is not giving out candy. We drove back to the Spokane Valley and went to the St. Mary trunk-or-treat that was fabulous. Later that night, Sid and I drove the kids around the neighborhood to look at Halloween decorations while listening to spooky music.

Sloan plays a game at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services trunk-or-treat on Saturday morning.

The main event occurred on Sunday. We took Sloan and Beau trick-or-treating in my parents’ neighborhood and were impressed by the stamina they showed considering the busy weekend. Once they had enough, we helped my mom and dad pass out candy. Their candy supply ran out after the 245th trick-or-treater knocked on the door.

We would add about 19 more tallies to this sheet before shutting things down at my parents’ house on Sunday night.

Just a few quick trends and memories from Halloween 2021…

Holiday Theme – We saw a lot of different trunk displays over the weekend but the most popular theme? Christmas! Just at the Friday night trunk-or-treat alone, we visited THREE different vehicles decked out in Yuletide spirit. Santa came earlier this year.

A look at the three different holiday trunks we saw at a single event on Friday night.

Best Costume – Throughout October, Sloan really got into “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” She enjoyed the movie a lot, especially Jack Skellington. When we saw a very respectable-looking Jack at the St. Mary trunk-or-treat, Sloan made sure to get a photo with him.

After getting a heavy dose of Jack Skellington this Halloween season, Sloan was thrilled to get a picture with him at the St. Mary Catholic School trunk-or-treat in Spokane Valley.

Candy Sorting – Growing up, it was a tradition that after the three of us Reser kids would arrive home from trick-or-treating we would dash downstairs, sort our candy, and make trades. Although Beau is a little young to wheel and deal, he was still able to keep his daddy’s tradition alive and sort candy with his sister.

Although their sorting might still be a little primitive, Sloan and Beau dumped their candy out on the floor just like I would do once I returned home from trick-or-treating.

Favorite Trunk – I mentioned the most popular trunk-or-treat theme we encountered during Halloween weekend but not our personal favorite. Okay, time to change that. Our vote for best decorated vehicle goes to the McDonald’s drive-thru we encountered. We admired this display for its creativity and its ability to make us crave some golden fries.

This McDonald’s trunk at the True Hope Church event in downtown Spokane Valley was #1 in our hearts.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words – My personal favorite photo from the weekend was this image of Sloan ringing the doorbell at a house on Halloween night. She is quick to lead the charge but, interestingly enough, once the door would swing open she would become a little timid and “forget” to say trick-or-treat. Oh well, I guess all that matters is that you get to that front door.

Sloan had no issue working her way to the front and ringing the doorbell.

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It was a memorable weekend hanging out with Moana and Farmer Beau. Special thanks to Sidney for allowing us to go all out…I am pretty sure we have enough candy to last us until next Halloween. Don’t Blink.