" I'd say more like one out of a million."

This is it.  The last weekend before school starts for my children.  They aren't exactly excited, but the younger ones are certainly keen to celebrate with something special.  My oldest just - like right now just - experienced a forceful ejection of his stomach contents.  Hmm.  That not only has changed the course of this post but also likely will impact our weekend.

Personally, I already don't feel especially well.  My day started with an alarm clock which isn't exactly fair for a Saturday.  Then when I ignored the alarm clock my wife insisted on waking me up.  Also not fair as I do not wake her up when I have to get up stupid early during the week.  In her defense she did leave the room before I was out of bed so I was able to go back to sleep - until the tea kettle started whistling.  And whistling.  To add insult to injury, all of this was so we could attend a kettlebell class. You know how you don't really feel like working out but after you go you're glad you did?  I don't feel that way today.  I'm now more tired and more sore than when I first got up.

About the class - it wasn't a bad class, we did a "team workout" which makes about as much sense (read: is as relevant to what we did) as the tactical lunge.  To me, a tactical lunge involves some sort of stabbing, thrusting, striking, grabbing, punching, or head slamming into wall/pavement/car door motion.  In reality it's as awful as a regular lunge but you have to pass the kettlebell under the bent leg into your other hand, repeating as directed.  The "team workout" was actually just a small group rather than a big group where you totaled up your reps to get 1500.  But everyone had to do minimum numbers and there was no competition between teams so unless you wanted to cheat yourself, you did reps even in the hard exercises.

How far would you go to follow your dream?

And really, 1500 reps split between three people?   I remember, very well, the afternoon 15 years I ago when everyone in the class did 1500 reps each.  4 count jumping jacks.  That's 3,000 jumping jacks.  No break, no water, snowing uphill on us both ways.  It doesn't sound like much but I'll tell you, about twenty minutes in, you don't ever want to do another jumping jack in your life.

Enough of all that.  I won't have to go back until Monday morning and there's all sorts of fun things that might happen in between.  My daughter wants to buy new clothes for school because apparently she can actually shut one of her dresser drawers and thinks there's room.  #3 counted up his money this morning and suggested we all go to 5 Guys - but where everyone buys his own food so it wouldn't cost Mom and Dad quite so much (interesting take on why we might say "No" to going out but I don't recall every using it as an excuse).  #1 had plans but the forceful expulsion of Cool Ranch Doritos has likely adjusted those.  As for #4, he's already had a full day and will be up for whatever the rest of us decide on. Meanwhile, he's busy being not bored.

I plan to enter the Blue Cat Screenplay Competition today.  I've got a short script that I think is ready to go.  Will I win the $5k first prize in that category?  That's not for me to decide.  But it is an established competition and they provide written notes for every very reasonably priced entry so even if you lose, you win - when your goal is getting better.

I think that Han and Lloyd got it right.  "Never tell me the odds." and "So you're telling me there's a chance!"  Don't be bored.  Don't be worried.  Don't deny yourself success by never getting out of the boat.