365 Days of Jazz Hands - Day 4

FRIDAY, JANUARY 4th, 2013

A blur.  Wake up.  Coffee.  Bad coffee.  Pack.  Drive a painful six hours back to just outside Tampa.  Details on "painful" withheld due to involvement of children, whom I love dearly.  I repeat.  I remind.  I love them dearly.  Despite the painful nature of the six hour drive back to somewhere near Tampa.  I digress.  Get home.  Unpack.  Shop for dinner due to lack of adequate provisions.  Cook.  Eat said dinner food.  Deep breath.  Relax.  The above itinerary omits one important activity.  An unsolicited reminder from a friend shortly after 8pm prompted a mad dash to the bathroom to deploy today's promise, resulting in the wife to note that "Jazz Hands" does NOT necessarily require me to say the words "Jazz Hands" out loud while carrying out "Jazz Hands."  I argue that it may, in fact, require some form of verbal embellishment, but this begs the question...is the verbal embellishment necessarily attached to the physical act, or if the physical action is the only actual requirement?  Will it feel strange carrying out "Jazz Hands" without saying the words?  Am I required to make a certain facial expression at time of deployment?  So many questions.  361 days to find out.  At least I got the "Jazz Hands" in for the day, just under the wire.  Day four complete.

365 Days of Jazz Hands - Day 3

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3rd, 2013

Another full day of travel and fun in the sun and another day of waking up way too early, this time at 4:30am.  Headed to the Dry Tortugas National Park that requires an hour and a half drive south to Key West, once again, and an additional two and a half hour ferry ride to the island.  "Jazz Hands" is deployed in the large door mirror on the outside of the bathroom in the hotel room prior to anyone else blinking an eye.  I look pathetically tired and exceptionally silly.  I seriously doubt technique and fear that my heart just isn't in this activity.  Not on this day and particularly not at 4:30am.  I am dead pan.  My hands don't seem to raise high enough nor do they seem to move fast enough.  If I didn't know myself better, I would think that on this morning, "Jazz Hands" seem sarcastic.  Proper technique and style do cross my mind and I wonder if there is a proper way to deploy the "Jazz Hands."  If there is, this morning is a great example of what not to do.  Either way, while technique and style may be in my future, this is far from a concern at this moment in time.  Habit forming underway.  All other concerns notwithstanding.  Day three complete.

365 Days of Jazz Hands - Day 2

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2nd, 2013

Waking up on the first day of our Florida Keys vacation, I am apparently forgetful.  Wife wakes me.  Family devours breakfast.  Family piles into car as I drive one and a half hours south.  Destination: Key West.  "Jazz Hands" in the rear view mirror of the car will have to suffice.  With the family watching, it feels somewhat less awkward than day one for some reason.  Maybe this is due to the fact that I can only see one hand for the most part and because I deployed the "Jazz Hands" very quickly since it seems exceptionally relevant to keep the car on the road.  Yes, I am going through the motions, the point is that I remember.  The habit has to form before I start caring about things like style points and caring less about road safety.  Day two complete.

365 Days of Jazz Hands - Day 1

TUESDAY, JANUARY 1st, 2013

I will not bore you with the details of how we arrived at this point, instead I shall bore you with the details from this point forward.

Admittedly, "Jazz Hands" in the mirror every day for the entirety of 2013 is as ambitious as it promises to be awkward.  Having deployed "Jazz Hands" in the past spontaneously, jovially and in a social setting I feel confident that a daily ritual in the mirror will feel natural...but standing in the mirror, early morning, it is anything but.  I was up late with friends and family to bring in the new year and now I'm up early with a six hour road trip to the Florida Keys ahead of me.  Islamorada more specifically..."Jazz Hands" is the last thing I feel like doing.  I go for it like pulling off a Band Aid with eerily similar results.  Day one complete.