On the Eve of Halloween

Tonight there was a little pumpkin carving happening... Bella and I helped a cat face emerge from a small pumpkin. Bella did SOME of the carving, but there's a lot of Daddo in this project. We've been working harder on Isaac's eating: He's been seeming pretty grumpy these past few days, and I think it's because he wants/needs more and different foods, but is realizing he doesn't have the skills to eat them (because he's been such an ornery cuss about the whole deal). So we're back on the program of trying food out on him and we're sticking with it.

Because we want to sleep. Two wakeups a night is no good for the people. I'm getting pretty good at living on 3-4 hours of good sleep, but it's destroying Pamela.

Moving on,
This morning Bella came across some money in mom's purse: $15. "Wow, you could buy a lot of houses for fifteen dollars! Or a lot of hamburgers!" We're still working on the value of money I suppose...

While I was cleaning up Pamela's computer hard drive, I ran across a folder I hadn't noticed before, and being nosy I opened it. It was a cache of over 50 short videos from Bella's 18-month to 30-month period: We've been watching these treasures: Our current favorite is her walking hand in hand with me up the sidewalk on her second birthday. Here's the conversation:

"So Bella, do you know what today is?"
"TWO!"
"So it's your second birthday today?"
"YES - RIGHT NOW!"
"Happy Birthday, Bella!"
"THANKS!" (Said with a lisp, and an emphatic foot stomp).

On to bigger girl quotes: Out of the blue the other day, she said:
"Daddy, when we both are dead, I want to be buried right next to you so we're together forever and ever. And mommy can be right next to me too, and so can Isaac. And we can move Alexander too, so he's closer."
No good answer to that, except for a long long hug.

Final notes for the night:

Things are still going well at the day job - I've had successes this week, and I've been creative too - doing design work with pretty pictures of how I want screens to look. Days when I get to make drawings are good days for me.

It may be a few weeks before the actual piece of paper with my job comes out thanks to the byzantine rules of the larger company they're now a part of... So we're still going underground on this... but we remain positive.

We went to see the new George Clooney movie last night: My god, that man is so fantastic. And the movie wasn't half bad either.

That's the update for the day!

The Bella.

Yesterday, we had Mark's family and their/our friends Gene and Amy over for a Chili Feed and chillout. The whole clan minus Annabel came, and it was a very nice time. We spent a good bit of time in the basement playing Playstation - we hit Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and I was proud to introduce them to Katamari Damacy - one of the strangest games ever, where you roll a sticky ball around picking up items (tacks, erasers, pieces of sushi, frogs, butterflies, electric tea kettles, pedestrian crossing signs... people... cows....)

Bella was enjoying being the "big girl" showing little Eve around (who just turned 3). Eve is almost eerily like Mark: Of all the kids, she looks the most like him, and she uses her features to the same comic effect: This three year old is a true comedian. Whenever she's around, you know Mark is too.

Bella stayed up WAY too late - past 10, because we were all having such fun. So Pamela and I both encouraged her to sleep in: Even if you hear us moving around, please, just get some rest. She actually took our advice and snoozed until an unprecedented 8:30...

And when she got up, she was in a great mood, and was making us laugh all morning. She started up with the "sassy waitress" routine pretty quickly, offering to make us all French Toast - which she whisks up, but otherwise isn't too directly involved in making. Last time, she tried to flip them, but touched the pan with her wrist, which hurt for the rest of the day. She said "Dad, when it comes to the hot stuff, I think I'll sit that out this time, ok?" That said, she DID flip them, and they were delicious.

Not that Bella actually ate them: She actually doesn't like sweet breakfast that much (pancakes, waffles, or French Toast have no sway over her). We did cook up some sausages, and I put two on her plate and mine. As I walked away she said:

"I could sure use one more of those Sausages... And i bet you could too!" So it was 3 on the plate. By the end of the meal, she had scarfed 5 of them.

She went off to play for much of the day down the block, but came home to be babysat (with Jenny) while we did our quarterly "non-progressive progressive" dinner. When I got home, Bella had on a silk chinese outfit, a pirate eye patch, the guitar hero guitar, and was doing Pete Townsend windmill arms yelling "YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!" while Jenny had on a dress with a purple wig, pretending to be the lead singer. Isaac, up past his bed time was dancing and laughing, and Tara the sitter was standing off to the side holding her guts in from laughing so much.

So Bella was pretty wild today... and she only just now dropped off. Now I'm going to take a little time and actually watch one of the netflix that have been sitting on my counter for over 4 weeks...

Best laid plans...

So I can still say there's a new opportunity that I'm planning to get started in February. I broke the news to my boss yesterday: She just got "re-orged" at work and has to reapply for her job, and has decided to retire sometime early next year as well, so as she was talking about continuity, I needed her to know right away not to count on me to carry the torch. She is very understanding and excited for the opportunity for me - and really this will force the department to take "ownership" of their product - get beyond the consultant.

BUT...

My plans were all based around some dates being met by the vendor. And last night I learned those dates will not be met. They'll be delayed by 30-45 days. Which means I MAY be out the door before a few key deliverables are met. Which is not how I wanted to work this!!!

I'm not going fully public with anyone until the paper offer is in my hands, but my boss is good people, and I have known of her retirement plans longer than anyone else - so we have a level of trust.

In other news - we were to have a VERY INTERESTING scotch Avengers night tonight: Tastings of the SAME AGE bottle, but different years: A Laphroaig 7-year bottled in 1999 versus 2000. A Lagavulin 12 year Cask bottled in 2005 and 2006. See what the differences are in that family.

Alas, Uncle Chicken was laid low by a horrible illness, and And and I were solo tonight. So the Lag pairing wasn't do-able. But we improvised... and we did the Lap pairing - which was frankly SHOCKING: The 2000 had a much butterier taste - a marked difference! We watched Aliens - ant had never seen this classic. Alas it does show its age - 24 years old now - and it's one of those where the leitmotifs have been taken as B-Movie Canon since, so the gritty, foul mouthed, multi-ethnic marines laid low by an incomprehensible villain, the corporate traitor, the resilient youngster...

So you need to squint to see the brilliance - and say yes, I've seen this all before, but it's all FROM THIS!!! Also, some classic lines - including the all time great "Game OVER, man! Game OVER!!!!" I think Ant did like it, but we've had stronger movies...

We hope to get Chicken over here still next week before he jets back to Seattle... But we appreciated not getting sick for sure!!!

W'happen?

I have suddenly realized that the reach of this blog often extends beyond the close friends and family who are my regular readers... and as such, have decided to remove a posting which contained forward looking statements which were not completely inked just yet.

So once the paper comes through, and more importantly, once an official communique comes out, THEN we'll clink the glasses.

Til then, you read NOTHING, and you tell NOONE about what you didn't read. It's our little secret, kapiche?

A fun night

Tonight I spoke at my old alma mater Macalester to a group of 25 alumni about my path from Mac to my current career. I was joined by 4 other amazing panelists, and we each spoke for around 10 minutes, and then did Q&A and schmoozed afterwards.

The goal of the stories was to tell these grads that it's ok not to know exactly what you want to do, that your liberal arts background sets you up for being able to assess a situation, and make more out of opportunities. We all had distinctly non-linear histories to tell.

The other people had great stories - one is a recent grad (04) who went right into consulting, but now works non-profit lobbying for better public transit options. Another (95) was a non-profiteer who 4 years ago decided to throw it all away, mortgage her house, and open a high-end baby/toddler clothes boutique, which is quite successful. Another (86) was a marketing assistant for 8 years before leaping into the world of food writing, and now he's a columnist for the Boston Globe and was on TV with America's Test Kitchen. And yet another (96) was a history major Academic, who thanks to taking a part time job in a non profit and having her boss quit the next day, learned about real estate development and financing, which she took to, and is now very high up in one of the biggest twin cities development firms.

I think we all brought different perspectives, and I found myself wanting to add more thoughts as each panelist added something new... but held back. I think we gave a very rich picture of the different ways people find their path in life. People seemed very appreciative.

It was very odd and wonderful to be at a point in life where I not only feel like I have a good career, but I have advice for others... advice they can use and that I wouldn't have minded hearing. One good question was whether we thought Mac should have done more to help us find that path. I responded that after coming out of Mac, it took 3 years for me to find something that I truly loved doing (programming), and that the most important thing Mac gave me was the skills to experiment and look critically at a situation, to maximize an opportunity.

I related that when I picked my major in Music, the department was very small - just a handful of music majors every year. So with a large staff and few majors, that meant the department was really my playground, and I could have access that you'd never get at a larger school that was more conservatory based. I took that "carpe department" philosophy to my subsequent jobs, and that's how I found my next job and the next and the next...

So it was great fun, and I appreciated being given the chance to speak. And I think there's a chance they'll invite me back. They're having two more panels in this vein - one for living in non-profit, and one for making a career in the creative field. I told the crowd I'd be back for both, referring to both my year at Citizens for a Better Environment, and my year working for Midi Music USA doing Karaoke backing tracks...

Now it's off to bed!

Yes, another week!

I'll try to do a more comprehensive update a little later, but here are some highlights.

- Today Isaac said "Banana" perfectly. Once. Also, we figured out he likes Ginger Snaps... a LOT! He walks backward now (not exclusively), and has been throwing lots of micro-tantrums when things aren't going exactly perfectly. We still like him, however. At this instant, he's dragging an easel that is exactly twice his height across the kitchen floor with great intent. He's a boy alright.

- The other night, Bella was obsessing about death. She said "I wish I was something that never dies - like the wind or air." That girl is a poet.

- Paul Sebastien and I are team writing music: I started with a little verse-chorus, he sent back some guitar, I added more structure... we've gone back and forth 4 times now, and this song is almost complete... Paul sent me a guitar riff, and that's forming the basis for another song too, which I sent him some tracks on. Basically we're trying to challenge each other to be creative. We've both enjoyed a book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield - teaching you to really be purposeful in your creativity - to just go to work. So we're having a lot of fun.

More later - gotta go help a neighbor with some computer issues!

A the back of the week

Oof - a long week this was. With the water heater nonsense in the beginning, coming off a busy birthday weekend for Bella, a continuing poor sleeper in Isaac, and Bella waking up hollering two nights from growing pains in her legs... Not to mention a week of mild frustrations at work:

- I had thought I had everything engineered for a tidy "big bang" rollout of much of our remaining work in December and January - it would have been busy, but very do-able. Who puts the kibosh on this? The vendor. Nobody is available to take care part X of the project until February. Apparently they're hemorrhaging people after having been acquired by a bigger company.

- My kind and mild mannered boss looks about to be downsized (a big meeting will be on tuesday), which will leave my boss-ship adrift. Her only hope is to keep working until February, which is when she can retire with full benefits. Surely what is a couple of months in the context of a 40 year career? Truthfully, it's got me worried.

- The new opportunity, while not a full "offer" yet, is beginning to take shape (quite attractive shape at that), and if I could possibly be free of the client by February, that would be advantageous. With both of the above, I have my doubts... and I'd hate to burn a bridge.

- The diva doctors may be wearing on me: The place was abuzz this morning because the doctor on call last night missed his password 3 times and got locked out. A 2 minute call to the help desk would have reset it, but he refused - "that's not how I work". My other favorite doctor has taken to muttering about needing a sledgehammer whenever he walks near the new workstation.

- The "missed requirement" I spoke about last week is still missing, and the vendor has decided to put fingers in their ears and say "lalala", even to my clever idea. So my only real option is to tell the doctors they need to change. Please see the above anecdote for an indication of how well that will work.

Ok that's worklife. Homelife: Both Bella AND Isaac got shots today - they had their 5 and 1 year checkups respectively, and Pamela was stuck in the doctor's office for 2 hours. Bella got completely freaked out about the shots, hiding under a chair pleading with Pamela. Isaac was just Isaac. They're both sore tonight, and motrin is a good thing. The doctor was full of brass tacks comments about just putting in earplugs and letting Isaac cry it out in the night. In truth, he's not eating that much - one is a diaper change, and one is a cuddle usually.

A not very busy weekend is on tap and I'm thrilled. I actually plan to be in bed by 9pm tonight.

Hot Water.

YES. The water heater was installed. All is well in our world. Apparently the old one was in GRIEVOUS condition, and we're lucky it didn't just drop its entire water load at once. It's good to have fresh, well running appliances.

I say again: We have hot water. I took a shower with the kids. It was delightful. Also, we can use the dishwasher and clothes washer too. Life is grand.

Other updates:
We're discovering that the secret to Isaac eating grownup food is to give him whatever we're eating, and let him walk with it. Tonight, he wandered around, eating most of a large pork potsticker. He'd pause after a bite, and squeal with delight.

The trick may be to see if he'll eat anything TWICE. Tonight he rejected the Sweet and Sour chicken that he loved the other night. Hmmm.

I took the morning off of work and took Bella and Isaac to school, playing with Bella in class (it was "parenting day"). It was VERY fun, and there was over an hour of "parent education" where we all sat at a table and talked about strategies for the kids...

Tonight, out of the blue, Bella asked about German: How to say some things in it, and why is it different from English? She was pretty game to try some new words... I am so proud of that girl! Also she wanted to what is England? That was fun.

Off to a relatively early bed now. Wish me luck.

Update and what was I thinking?

Well, still no hot water: Turns out the way our water heater was put in was just fine for 16 years ago, but code has changed, and one must not install water heaters in such a manner. We went around and around on the possibilities, and it turns out my only option is an ELECTRIC water heater. Which entailed me calling an electrician (who confided he too had to put in an Electric due to code too... and it works), having new circuits wired, and a slightly more expensive heater unit, but far less in construction costs (at one point we were looking at 4+ hours just to drill a new set of vents into our very sturdy walls....

Hopefully this adventure will be over by tomorrow. I've always said humans are 3 days of hot water away from complete savagery. I am approaching this state.

In the meantime, MaeMae graciously let us take showers at her place tonight, and we're feeling fresh as daisies. Pamela hadn't showered since Sunday... and I was extra ready for a wash because...

Tuesdays are double-workout-days. Yes, every Tuesday you'll find me up at the crack of dawn for my 6am BodyPump class. This morning was beautiful: I saw the stars on the way in, and the sunrise on the way out. Then off to the hospital for a 7:30 cardiologist conference... a typical workday, then home to pick up Bella to go to the 5:15 BodyJam, and then off to a father-daughter date.

Bella still doesn't want to DANCE at Jam, but she loves watching me, and gives me thumbs-up or thumbs-down depending on my moves. So far it's all thumbs up, thankfully. I think my study sessions with the DVDs paid off - I was feeling much more confident in the moves. Then it was off to Chipotle for a burrito... and then we crashed the "pre-opening" night of the new ultramegasupertarget out by Southdale, with rows and rows of untouched merch.

But when I do the double workout, this dog gets TIRED. It's a lot of work. And with Isaac still not sleeping so well, I'm functioning on <5 hours still. I know I know - why am I blogging and not fast asleep right now? Good point. But I'm ravenous and need to finish this bagel.

And Isaac

He likes Depeche Mode. He was dancing to Everything Counts tonight. He says "DANCE" too now.

Good kid.

Menacing Signs.

1) I've posted before about the iPod count at the house... and I've posted that two have mysteriously died recently, one quite possibly from a drool overdose... most likely parties - either myself or Isaac. The police have been over every square inch of the joint and I tell you they can't prove NOTHIN.

So we got the new iPod for Bella. And Isaac noticed it.

Yesterday during Bella's big family bash, Isaac somehow eluded the attention of all 15 adults in attendance and made a move. I was standing in the kitchen and heard what I could best describe as a maniacal laugh from upstairs. I moseyed on up to take a look and found Isaac:

Alone. In his room, with Bella's new Ipod in his hand, LAUGHING.

He had snuck upstairs and stolen his sister's iPod the moment he had an opportunity, and absconded back to his room with the loot. He must have had this caper planned down to the nanosecond.

2) An unrelated event (I'd like to believe): I got a panicky call at 11:30 this morning. The water heater decided to give way and our basement was flooded. . Fortunately, Papabam were still here, as was Ana (our cleaning helper) and Randy, the federal agent neighbor (thank YOU Columbus Day), so I could finish my meeting before heading home...

It's a 50 gallon water heater. That's a lot of water, and it took the collective intelligence a while to figure out the following data: You need to shut off the water intake, or the water just keeps on going. You need to empty the water heater or it'll keep on leaking. You need to purge the pipes, or you'll accidentally send another gallon on through. These are all lessons we learned gradually, but they are lessons I shall not soon forget.

Turns out the unit has been running since 1991, so 16 years is not too bad for a water heater. We'll be getting a new one tomorrow morning, so showers will be had by tomorrow night. I'll be skimming right on the edge of social acceptability. I'll be walking in a cloud of cologne.

The event got me thinking: One really never goes SHOPPING for a water heater, or a furnace. When these things die, you call somebody reputable (hopefully NOT just the guy who takes out the 1/4 page ad 'AAA-AAA-AAAAA Dependable Furnace' at the top of the yellow pages listing)and say "NEW ONE NOW" - or maybe "NEW ONE NOW PLEASE". One doesn't spend a lot of time perusing the Consumer Reports on brands... nor does one wait for a sale. No, this is quite the impulse purchase. Only in this case, it is the impulse to survive.

Life just keeps on going... interestingly.

More geekyness

1) One of the workouts I love at Time Out is BodyJam, which I've written about (just two posts back I believe). At Time Out, when a new class comes around every quarter, they usually do a hybrid - a shorter program (40 min versus 60), and they hold over a track or two from previous sessions, so that the class doesn't feel lost.

Of course, the instructor has to switch CDs to make it work... So one of the things I like to do is rip the CDs, and assemble a custom mix for them.

This time, I actually took the CDs home, and I noticed that the INSTRUCTOR DVDs were in there too... So I took a peek at the lessons that teach our instructors. And I just got so excited! It was fun to see the teaching points, and also to see the dance moves being done by a whole room full of people who know the moves... it helped me re-visualize the steps, and I think that if I can make the class Tuesday evening, I might just be able to Krump Jump a little better!

2) Technology is currently in full rebellion in my house: Two iPods have died in the past month: One of old age, and one from being sucked on by Isaac. So Bella officially had no music going for bedtime. I picked up the cheapest new iPod for her, and was amazed at the state of the art: The new Nano is ridiculously small, with an amazing screen, and the new menues.... I was stunned by how great the new ones are! And when you recycle a dead ipod, they give you a decent discount.

Now, I use Audiofy Bookchips for my language learning: These are SD chips with encrypted audio, which requires me to use my Palm Pilot... or a computer. Since it's encrypted, they're not simple files I can put on the Ipod.

Anyway, just in the past week, my 2-year old Palm Pilot has started to get ornery: It spontaneously reboots, it's unresponsive to the touch... it's starting to die. So now that's 3 audio players going south in a month... plus the hard drive crash last month (which I did recover from, thanks for the cards and letters)...

AND I should mention that the XBox360 I got for the Loesches died as well within a few days, and I had to return it and get another. I'm telling you, I have crazy technomojo. I give off mad electrons.

Kids getting bigger!

Papabam and Lilli are here for the weekend: Bella is turning Five tomorrow: It's just so wild to think that our big girl is, well, a big girl. We gave her some presents last night, and she was awestruck to be the recipient of some American Girl merch: the doll she picked is Kaya, a Native American. When she opened it, she stood with her mouth open, making a gentle high pitched "eeeeeeeeee" - it was a pure expression of amazement.

She has been playing with the new dolls in a VERY serious, very involved manner. She also got a horse, which is very big, but in relation to the American Girl doll, it's a good half-size, but with a saddle, so there's something sort of comic about this very realistic horse with a HUGE girl on top of it. Her sense of possession of these dolls led to her getting into a bit of a tiff with Lilli, who Bella thought used her horse without asking...

Today we went to an apple orchard, which was a mixed experience: It was a bit of a zoo out there, and Bella got overheated and was a bit crabby. I bailed a little early with a sleepy and crabby Isaac. Fortunately all we needed was a good old fashioned burrito to help Bella find her mood.

Tomorrow is her big Birthday party: 3 friends for the afternoon, and family in the evening. Pamela has gone ALL OUT to create a "Tree Party" per Bella's request. We even cut down a "junk tree" (one of those that grow like crazy and need to be cut back every year) from the back yard and we now have a forest in our living room.

Isaac had another rough few nights - it looks like he's cutting two teeth at once, AND he had his fever too... but today it looks like he's turned the corner and his mood was vastly improved. Tonight he grabbed a big piece of fried sweet and sour chicken (no sauce), and chomped the whole thing down while strolling around the kitchen. He is a walking eater. Bama tried to give him a second piece, but first cut it in half... he rejected it flat out. I handed him a whole piece, and he ate quite a bit of it. We're learning what that creature will eat and how.

I'm encouraged that he WILL eat things - he just completely rejects "being fed", and "having food prepped for him". So I'll just have to give him whole pieces of food and watch that he doesn't choke...

Last night, Isaac got a hold of a frito, which he loved. Lilli tried to offer him a piece of bread, and he held out the frito like a magic wand, and barked "DAAAAA!!!" as if ward off the advancement of the bread. He turned on his heel and sprinted to the next room, where the frito was consumed.

PS - working out

I haven't given you a food OR workout update for months.

1) I'm now working out 3 times a week: 2 weights, one step. The club has created 3 days of 6am classes for me, and I'm singlehandedly shaming people into sticking with the program.... or they'll cancel the classes! We need a minimum average of 7 per class per day, and we're usually at 9-12, so we're doing GREAT. Step started up 3 weeks ago, and I've gone for two of the weeks... I love doing cardio in the AM - it just gets me PUMPED UP for the day!

This week, going to Jam with Bella at 5pm was hard because I'd already done a 6am weights class... I was almost asleep by 8, but toughed it out to 10. So yes, that means 4 workouts this week.

Should I mention that most of my pants are loose these days, with my boxers barely staying up? It's not bad skinny (the weight has gone into muscle in other parts of the body), it's trimness. Also, I can jump like 15 feet straight up into the air.

2) I have a new favorite lunch spot downtown: Harry's is on Washington Ave near the Guthrie, and it's cheffed by the former chef of Levain. It's American Bar Food done with artistic perfection. Every single french fry is perfect. The burger is a symphony of spice and hearty flavor. The decor is high-ceilinged class with a good warmth. It's 6 blocks from work, so I get a little walk in each way, perfect for a Pimsleur.

My other love is Cosi in the IDS, where the salty flatbread forms the basis for very fresh tasting sandwiches. I love a hummus with cucumber and tomato sandwich with a side of tomato basil soup... or a wasabi and ginger roast beef...

Downtown is fabulous.

Plus ça change....

One of my famous "numbered updates" today:

1) Isaac has a fever and has been sleepygrumpysweet all day. We've got him on drugs for pain and fever, and he doesn't have much of an appetite. He's been trying to play as usual, but has had to fall back to cuddling far more than is his wont. We are both sad for him, and thrilled to have a snugglebear in the house. Also, another tooth has cut through... oh that poor boy. It's good that memory doesn't stick at that age - we'd never hear the end of the "oh the pain" stories.

2) Bella and I went to BodyJam last night... but she again abstained from dancing. She told me she's happy watching me dance, and doesn't want everyone to see how she dances. I said that's just fine, but she shouldn't worry about how she looks - after all, look at ME dancing! She smiled... and said we could try again next week. Afterward, we got quiche from Patrick's.

That girl will rarely eat an egg, leaves the crust behind on pizza, and won't eat anything green - even Jello. But put her in front of a Patrick's spinach quiche, and you'd better pull the plate away when she's done or she'll take a bite right out of it. She's completely MAD for those quiches. Add it to Burritos and Tacos in the "Bella eats strange things" storybook.

3) So no sooner do things get mellower at work with the departure of my officemate, but things have gotten sticky: Turns out that around 1 year ago, a good 8 months before I entered the picture, a VERY key requirement was quietly dropped by the project manager, and somehow made it through the full contract negotiations and the purchase before someone figured out it was missing.

And this is not a minor requirement: It would require many hours of data mapping and some not insignificant changes to the software. And it's not in the contract, so the Vendor does not have to deliver it. And the affected docs are aghast at the discovery and are talking about pulling the software entirely.

Fortunately or not, my geekiness has kicked in, and I'm trying to pave a middle road - understanding that the vendor is not obligated, I'm offering a third path - a more minor modification that will get the job done, with most of the cross mapping to be done by yours truly. I think that my design is pretty straightforward, and it shouldn't be too hard....

But the Vendor is dragging their heels, not saying yes, and I'm pretty concerned that if they don't get on board, it's game OVER for them... though due to the contract, we'd be out a good 40% of the not insignificant purchase price. Well, I can lay out a path, recommend it, advocate for it... but if they won't meet us halfway, I don't know what I can do.

The doctors are truly happy to have me advocating for them by the way: The heads of Cardiology and the Cath Lab got me alone and asked "where did you come from? You're the best thing that's ever happened to IT over here" - The grumpiest doctors are now smiling and waving at me in the halls, and we have lots of laughs...

Indeed, I'm having a good time with this gig, but boy, it's NOT EASY some days/weeks/months. Stay tuned on this one.

Isaac has a game

Little 1 year old Isaac has invented a game: He has a small soft ball with a bell inside. He picks it up, and throws it one way, runs to pick it up, turns around, and throws it the other direction. He's spent over a half hour running back and forth across the kitchen chasing that ball, giggling madly.

It's pretty remarkable self-entertainment, really.

A fine Birthday

My sweet Pamela turned 29L today... I gave her a full night of sleep (covering Isaac duty), and bringing in breakfast. We had a fun little evening tonight - an impromptu dinner party with 7 grownup guests and 5 kids for Bella to play with. Lots of laughter and great food (brought in from D'amico).

I gave Pamela a series of "coupons" to help her recharge given that Isaac and Bella can be quite intense: 6 coupons for "uninterrupted sleep" - putting me on full night duty. 6 coupons for "sleeping in" for 2 hours after the kiddos are up. 6 coupons to "disappear" during a weekend day or weeknight - no questions asked.

She thought those were maybe the best gifts EVER. Of course, we're still working on getting her out to Miraval too - now it'll be in December.

Anyway, just a quick update to say Happy Birthday Googy - and bring some lighthearted news to the Blog!

A crazy end to a story

You may have read about my trials and tribulations of having an office mate... from posts 4 weeks ago LINK. Well, things have finally resolved themselves, and I have my office back to myself.

Now, this person is a temp, employed by the vendor to move data from our old system to the new one. Not a great job, but not too bad. In terms of where she fit "on the team", she didn't: She had one small job to do. But she made a lot of fuss doing it.

Yesterday, we decided to move her to another office, after she made a series of frankly bizarre statements about people "looking at her funny", "criticizing her" and one person "gazing deep into her eyes". After checking in with the people identified, most had no idea who she was, and none remembered any major interactions. So we got a picture that reality was a pretty malleable object for her. But her work wasn't too bad - we were prepared to keep working with her, just give us a little space.

Well, apparently moving her wasn't going to work for her: She complained to the depatment director that it was "just for Jim's benefit - why should HE get what he wants?", and that "Jim has it in for me - he's always criticizing me", and the best "he cracks his knuckles because he knows it disgusts me".

Believe me, while I was none to happy about sharing an office, I was always civil. Where I would tune out would be after hearing a long story about, oh say, making meatballs for her ex, who still lives with her, because he's middle eastern and women take care of their men - it's what they expect, and do I think that Dr X (of Syrian descent) is a Christian? Because those middle eastern Christians are an odd bunch.... and so on. As I said in the earlier post, my monosyllabic grunts grew more noncommittal as time passed. And she never commented about my knuckles, so I really had no idea.

What sparked the whole thing was that I was checking her work and discovered a full month of missing data, and asked her about it. That was it. Suddenly she was asking people (including people who are not even in the department or on the project) about my role and why am I looking at contracts and why am I checking her work...

The problem is, of course, that I am the project manager and AM responsible for everything. So checking up IS my job. And she seemed to forget that. Over and over again. See, she had once had a class in "project management" and she KNEW that project managers don't look at contracts, and they don't look at details - they just manage timelines. So I wasn't doing my job. Right.

Between the insubordination, the theories about my personal motives, the inappropriate discussions, the nonstop blather, and many other things I can barely care to remember, it came time today for her to go.

She was walked out mid-afternoon, and I spent a good long while in my office enjoying the silence.

I have to say, it is DEEPLY disconcerting to be faced with what I believe was true mental illness - she had very deep paranoid tendencies, and every story had her as a victim of some sort... she was eternally "wronged" in life... and I'm sure I'll be a good villain in her next narratives.

So that's over. And I feel a great weight lifted: I think that being in that energy field was affecting me. So it's time to move on.

More Mark-isms.

A couple more Mark-isms that popped into my mind:

- "Can I axe you a quextion?" or "It's not set in conCREEK". These were two linguistic gaffes from previous co-workers that we kept going with for many many years.

- "Why you all up in my Kool-Aid when you don't even know what FLAVOR?" - this complete non-sequiteur came from a brief bit of time when Mark was doing training for Wells Fargo someplace in California. This was NOT a good gig, and the people he trained were prone to outbursts like the above.

- Back at ValueRx, we had a bit of a goose problem, and our route into the building was constantly littered with goose poop. Mark had a tendency to find the smeariest, most "liquid" poop, and would stop with a concerned look and say "I hope that little guy is going to be OK...". Somehow EVERY SINGLE DAY he would find another sample, and make the same grave diagnosis.

- "With my FINGERS!!!!" - we had a co-worker who was testing a program with mocked-up data. We were asking what his SOURCE was for the fake data - namely, how was he sure his fake data would represent real-world situations. He wasn't understanding our question, and in response to the query "But HOW are you getting the data?" he shouted, exasperated, "WITH MY FINGERS!!!!" with a wild eyed look and wiggling his fingers. Since then, it was our shorthand for "he is missing the point".

Those were the ones that popped to mind this AM! Boy I miss that guy. Post your own in the comments and I'll assemble them into another post if you want!

Going visiting

Allright, another Mark post...

My friends in the videogame industry have been coming through for Mark's family: My buddy at Disney sent along a dozen movies and 8 Wii games, and even a few Playstation games too... it was an amazingly generous package that the family couldn't believe. And my friend Caesar at Microsoft is putting together a package of games for the XBox 360 - including Halo3...

Well, they didn't have a 360, and I do remember Mark talking about how much he wanted to get one... and it was on his list for Christmas. So I just decided to pick one up for them - since there would be games coming... and Max SOOOOO wanted one.

I brought it by tonight, and I kept it quiet for a good 20 minutes while I played with Eve, and checked in with the rest of the kids. We had a really nice time, talking and laughing - lots of goofing around. Then I brought out the box, and Max almost fell over, so we had to hook it up immediately. I should point out that I did clear it with Samantha beforehand, so it was cool by her.

Max was fully planning to bring the manual in to school to show all of his friends. He was so crazy excited! But at the same time, he kept the conversations going too, not disappearing into the game. I found out how school is going, and related my relevant stories about German, and the horrors of Sadie Hawkins dances, which made Chloe laugh. We talked about robotics classes, and I bragged about Tyler's prowess at both programming AND making with the ladies in his genius move of writing a program to ask out a girl. (I will note: Chloe is into robots and German. And that just makes my heart glad)

It was a really nice visit, but as I got ready to leave, my heart just fell, because I realized that for just a moment, without really setting out to do so, I was being a dad, holding Eve who was getting sleepy, offering guidance to the kids, helping Samantha with computer stuff... and just being there.

It made me realize that while I did bring them a gadget that they will enjoy, the more important thing I brought was company, and laughter, and love.

As I left I suddenly wanted to stay - to keep being there for them, to fill that void in their lives. And it made me sad for Mark all over again. I had a good long hug before going out... and I'll be back again, because I love that family, and want to do whatever I can do to help.

Bella Quote

Tonight, I was walking to the car with Bella. I sniffed the air and said "I smell something good: someone's frying chicken!"

Bella took a deep sniff and said "I smell something even BETTER".

"What's that?" I asked?

"A fresh summer breeze."

That girl is just too sweet.

Moving on....

I'm glad that this site has helped people remember Mark... he was a good man, and we are all missing him. That said, I need to "warn" people that this blog typically examines my normal geeky life, and so the tone will likely change back to my own ruminations about life... I hope people don't mind.

Here we go.

Last night I started reading a memory training book by Harry Lorrayne. It gives you memory tips of a few different types, creating links between items to help remember a list, and creating absurd "sounds like" tips for remembering words. One exercise is to remember the 50 states in alphabetical order... something I've never been able to do. Now after just one evening, I can do it front to back. How? I made up a story:

I was looking through a photo album (alabama) and wondered who one of the people was, so I had to ask (alaska), when the album rose up (arizona) in a tornado (arkansas). I had to call a forensic scientist (california) who colored (colorado) in the dots he had to connect (connecticut). He stood and said "I declare!" (delaware) when he saw an alligator (florida) chasing George Washington (georgia), who paused to say "Hi" (hawaii) to a hooker (Idaho) who got sick (illinois) on an indian (indiana) who was holding an IOU (Iowa) he was going to give to Dorothy (Kansas) for some (Kentucky) Whiskey she bought in New Orleans (Louisiana). Drunkenly, he shouted "Remember the Maine!", and the Virgin Mary (maryland) appeared in church mass (massachusetts). Freaked out he jumped into his american car (michigan), drove through Minnesota, across the Mississippi, and nearly missed my eye (missouri) as he pointed out the mountains (montana). On the radio was bruce springsteen (nebraska) singing about one-armed bandits (nevada) whch had presidential candidates (new hampshire) and Tony Soprano (New jersey) instead of fruits in the windows...

Suddenly a ufo flew overhead (New Mexico) driven by the Statue of Liberty (New York) who shouted GO NORTH and find Caroline! (North carolina), and our friend's dog Dakota barked (North Dakota). We got to starbucks filled with Japanese people shouting "Ohio Gozarimas!", and on the TV was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, where Ruprecht shouted "Oklahoma!!!". Then Ruprecht turned to a computer and played Oregon Trail, but the wagon train turned into a real train leaving from Penn Station (Pennsylvania), but it couldn't reach the Island (rhode island), so we had to take the UFO, and the statue yelled "GO SOUTH and find CAROLINE!" (south carolina), and Dakota barked again (south dakota).

A truck rolled by that said "Follow me to Tennessee, dolly dolly dolly", and it was as big as Texas. It was driven by a mormon with 8 wives (Utah) and filled with Maple syrup (Vermont). One of the wives was still a virgin (Virginia), and that lecherous George Washington showed up again and chased that virgin west (west virginia) across Wisconsin to Wyoming.

OK - that's just crazy, and what's important is that each idea links to the next... and you don't need to say the story, just have a quick image, and it brings up the linkage. And of course, there are tons of personal references (the dolly dolly dolly was a toy truck my dad got from a transportation client in the 1980s, for example) And it WORKS.

I'm pretty excited to see how this develops. I did start using a similar technique to remember some harder Russian words last week: I couldn't remember "From Here", and built up "I bought my Matsuda sunglasses here" - "atsuda". Others are easier - "prichitat" is to read - and I read Terry Pratchett, so that association was automatic.

Ok - that's my geek update for the day. Welcome back to JimVentions.

Quite the Vigil

Some of Mark's friends and neighbors decided that the senselessness of his passing demanded a vigil of sorts - something so that the community can register their support and outrage at what happened. Catherine, a very organized person, decided to get the ball rolling, and came up with the general idea: Walk from near Mark's house, across the freeway, to the spot he died, and have a candlelight vigil.

Catherine asked if I could help, but in the middle of everything, I felt as though the organization wasn't something I could take on. So she turned to the neighborhood watch, and the city council, and the media... In truth, she got the ball started, and then it took on its own velocity, well beyond Catherine's designing... but she deserves all of the credit for pulling it together.

As we approached the park today, we were overwhelmed - a full city block full of people ready to show support. As we started walking, the procession was at least 4 full city blocks of people walking right down the street... I'm guessing a thousand people participated, but I'm a lousy estimator. Could have been 500. Could have been 750. It was well over a dozen, I tell you.

At the yard where Mark was found, people piled flowers, and someone had set up lawn chairs for the family to sit on. Samantha was still not ready to emerge, but Chloe, Annabel, and most of the extended family were all there... and as the sun set, we all stood with candles. Well, many did. I was chasing Isaac through some yards for a while. Bella helped out by chasing him like a border collie. She was such a trouper...

The family was still not ready to talk to the press, so the family asked me to speak to the press for them. I was plopped in front of some TV cameras and asked some questions:

Why do I think so many people came out? Some came because they're angry at the senselessness of this crime and want to show that they won't take it. Many more came because they knew and loved Mark - so many of his friends and colleagues.

Do I think it's important that they catch who did this? If they had asked a week ago, I would have said no because I all I cared about was the loss of my friend. But today, I don't have a thirst for vengeance, but I want whoever did this to know how much he has hurt all of us, and I want him to be accountable.

We'll see how I come across...

Unfortunately while being interviewed, I missed the councilmembers and the mayor's speeches from a half block up (the speaker truck couldn't make it up the street, so they stayed at the end of the block). Actually, that was ok: I preferred to be in that yard, with that simple memorial, with the family.

On my way back to the car, I stopped into the house, and gave Samantha a big hug: Max was engrossed in a zombie game, Annabel had a friend over, Chloe had run out with some pals, and Eve was asleep... Life almost looked normal for a moment.

And in a few days when things start getting even quieter... that's when it's going to get unbearable for them. And we're going to have to make an extra effort to be there for them.

A fine send off.

Today was Mark's memorial service... and it was a wonderful affair: We arrived over an hour early to help set things up, and by a half-hour prior to the service, the chapel had already filled up and people were relegated to waiting outside. There were hundreds of well wishers... Mark was so well liked in the world. The chapel was small, and done is a glorious mosaic on all surfaces - a true jewelbox in the city.

The service itself was perhaps the best I've ever seen: everything in it was a tribute to Mark - the pastor worked with the family on an appropriate sermon, and a lot of time was given to friends and family to stand and remember Mark. One of his best friends from age 16, Joe, gave a lengthy and incredible overview of Mark's life, which left us all laughing and crying at the same time: He truly captured it.

Mark's friend Gene read us poetry Mark wrote when he was 10, and outlined some of the crazier inventions and movie ideas they had imagined... a fitting tribute to his wit and humor. Mark's eldest daughter shared two of his old jokes: "You can't spell Funeral without FUN!!!", and his habit of whenever hearing someone blow their nose loudly, to say "Mmmm, makes me hungry for a cheeseburger". Mark's dad stood up to tell a little about the philosophical side of Mark, about the seeker who read obsessively about religion and the meaning of existence...

In all the service really captured so much of Mark - the clown and jokester, but even more the wonderful father and friend he was. Joe said it best when he made an analogy that a conversation with Mark was like jazz - you'd riff, and he's riff right back, and you'd feel like you were creating something unique and musical with your conversation, and all the while, you're both appreciating the moment... Mark was truly gifted.

Afterward, we went to the graveside, a nice spot by the lake under a tree, and a gentle rain fell. Then it was off to the family home for the reception, and lots and lots of stories. Everyone just made their way around and traded their favorite Mark stories. We wound up staying good and late, but left just a few minutes after my megamix (4.5 hours) completed.

Wednesday, we're having a candlelight vigil, where we're walking from near Mark's house to the place he was found... it looks like a lot of people are coming together for this one.

But perhaps most importantly, we're looking at this weekend and into next week. Once the family starts to go home, and the noise settles down, that family is going to need a lot of support. And I want to be able to give it.

Life does go on

Yesterday, we did a lot of running around to help the Loesch family with preparations. Today, we did our work more quietly over here: We're helping arrange the music for the service, as well as loading up an ipod for the reception afterward. For the service, it's two not-too-well known songs, so I had to scramble to find sheet music and cue audio for the talent, but thanks to Schmitt Music and the Internet, it was all findable.

For the reception, I've been asked to put together a few hours of "Very Mark Music" - so Prefab Sprout, Thomas Dolby, Depeche Mode, The Blue Nile, and even Fatboy Slim will be in there: It's what he loved, so we'll respect him with his favorite music. But i can't promise it'll be somber. It won't be. I'm loving listening to these songs and thinking of Mark at my side, giving the thumbs up or thumbs down.

One of our great moments together was at the Stardust Lanes many years ago: I ripped out a karaoke version of "The Reflex" by duranduran, which left Mark gasping for air. I've been asked to bring that back to the reception if possible. Thanks again to the internet, I now have Karaoke software on this little Mac of mine, and the appropriate music and graphics files. I kept looking for stuff, and I'm afraid I might need to have a karaoke party, now that I have everything we need...

Now, in the Life Goes On category:

Today, I needed a date with Bella, so we went off to the Burrito Store, and then off to Guitar Center. She is still loving the 3/4 size acoustic guitar the most... but seems unwilling to acknowledge that the frets exist, so I think it'll be another year before she starts guitar lessons... or maybe not. Who knows. She does get such a happy look on her face when she strums.

On the way out, she let loose with this:
- What if I had a hundred million eyes? Like my entire body was eyes?
- I'd sure be doing a lot of blinking.
- I bet even my brain would be blinking.
- I'd need to have eyeballs on my clothes too. To match.

This morning when she woke up, before anything else she insisted on getting out her paints and did three very intense paintings - one blue one was all whorls and it was a choppy ocean. An all green one had three distinct brush textures at play in it. The third was a series of colored bands and boxes - an abstract. Once those were painted, THEN she'd consider eating something. She's got quite a brain on her, this girl.

And finally, a factoid:
Tarantulas were thought to be rare, but it turns out they're just nocturnal so people don't see them so much. In the Amazonian rainforest, there is one tarantula every square yard. So basically every step you make, there's another tarantula nearby. I am so NEVER going to the rainforest. (This fact courtesy of the DiscoveryHD show "Insectia" which I completely love, despite my fear of bugs).

An important detail...

The police called the family this morning: A key detail has been misreported up to this point: Mark was not alive when found in the morning... he was most likely down shortly after the attack.

It's a grim detail, but it puts us more at ease about whether he suffered through that night alone. We're thankful for the information.

One final detail

As Pamela and I went to sleep on Thursday night, our minds racing thinking about our friend.... the grandmother clock on our first floor chimed once, clearly. We both sat bolt upright.

It hasn't been wound for over 3 years.

It was nice of Mark to drop by.

My friend Mark

Here's mark from our 10th wedding anniversary 2 years ago... Looking dapper, reflective.



Here he is with me on our first wig night: Now, he was borrowing my wig at the time, since he was the surprised one. I was a German film director.



And here he is with his best friend Gene... in full Goombah mode. It was Gene who he was on his way to visit on Wednesday.



And finally, at my notorious 30th birthday party, Pamela turned our apartment into a space station... and everyone was encouraged to be in costume. (that's Yoshi in the middle, Mark on the right... I don't know who that is on the left.)



There are a lot of pictures of Mark the father in the media right now... I want people to be able to remember Mark the silly man as well.

Missing Mark Loesch

Wednesday night, my good friend Mark was attacked while riding his single-speed bike through a rough neighborhood on his way to pay a surprise visit to a friend. Unfortunately, the friend didn't know he was coming, and his wife had gone to bed, so nobody was expecting Mark... until the morning came and he was nowhere to be found.

When he was found at 7am Thursday in a yard, he was still alive, but he didn't last long enough to the arrival of the paramedics. We're haunted by the thought of him gravely injured, lying alone for hours. (UPDATE: Turns out this was misreported to us all: He was in fact dead in the morning, and probably had expired shortly after his attack.)

We've been spending a lot of time over with the family - he has four kids aged 15 to 3, and a wonderful wife. We're all in shock over this. Some have questioned what he was doing in that neighborhood... the fact is he rode through there a few times a week on his way to his friend's house... rarely calling before showing up for a late night laugh, or even a ride for a few miles to a favorite pub. He was doing something he had done dozens of times before, but this time somebody was waiting for him.

So I've been thinking about Mark a lot these past days. And I want to tell people about him.

Mark was one of the funniest people I've ever met, and with my gang of comedians, that is saying something. His wit was razor sharp, but he had a true gift for physical comedy: His robot impersonations were legendary: Every move made with a servo or pneumatic sound, with mechanical gestures to match. His "old prospector" persona could appear at any time, with him whistling his esses through his teeth... (actually sounding maybe more like the gopher in Winnie the Pooh...)

Walking toward him in a hall was always an adventure: If he didn't run right into you, he'd take a sudden detour down a row of cubes, and come back up behind you... or duck under a desk to hide... he was unafraid to pull any gag in the office, unafraid of what it might make people think.

I used to speak German with him... with full, rich accents... which would devolve into us speaking English with German accents, at full volume, right in the middle of the cube farm.

I met him 12 years ago at an insurance company; I was a contractor, he was an employee. A manager casually mentioned to me that "this guy Mark really likes music, like you. You should go say hi". So I dropped by, and we hit it off immediately: the awesome production skills of Trevor Horn was our first conversation.

We were work pals for a while, but worked on very different projects, and then he went off to something new. A few months later, he called me up with a fascinating new opportunity: He was part of a team moving a Prescription Benefits company from Detroit to the Twin Cities, and they needed to build a team FAST: Did I want to help?

So I joined him, and we worked very closely, at which point he invited me over for a party... so Pamela and I showed up. One week early! But he invited us in, and we had a great time for hours... maybe more fun than the "real party"... at least I remember our pre-party more. We carpooled for a year, and grew very close. He notoriously mixed me the "killer" eighth martini at my 30th birthday bash. I of course blamed it on him making it with Gin... not the obvious issue of it being the EIGHTH.

In 1998, when we bought our first house, Mark and Samantha were the first people we had over to warm the place up. At that crazy evening, Mark introduced us to "Flash Bazbo, Space Explorer", a National Lampoon radio skit with Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest that still makes my sides hurt with laughter. Not long after, we had our first "Wig Night" - for his benefit: It was a surprise party for him, and 8 of us were to meet him at a restaurant. We decided to take it one further: We all bought wigs and fake moustaches, and strange new outfits... and were in disguise at the table. He walked right past us... and when Samantha turned him around to see us, he was just slack jawed with amazement. We had a few more wig night outings in the years that followed.

Around 1999, things started to go south at the Prescriptions company: We were bought out by another company filled with horrible horrible people. Everybody bailed out for different places. I started up a consulting company focusing on data warehousing. Mark went to a Lutheran-focused life insurance company. We stayed in touch... but admittedly we drifted a bit in the early 2000s.

Finally last year I was able to bring him in to work with me at the big Hospital - and for the last 5 months of that project, we sat next to eachother. It was just a wonderful thing to be back together with him, and we had laughs every day. I got caught back up in his life and he with mine. After I left for my new Cardiology gig, we stayed in touch, chatting almost daily, keeping the friendship going. I had only just had a 10 minute message chat with him earlier on Wednesday.

There are so many things in life that were running gags with Mark, that will choke me up to even think about them (and forgive me, but these probably won't be funny out of context, but they mean something to me).

- Taking a restaruant name like "La Casita" and saying "You may not know this, but 'La Casita' is actually Mexican for 'The Casita'"

- Seeing a mattress by the side of the freeway and asking the driver to stop so you can pick it up "there's a perfectly good mattress back there". This got to the point where we would actually call eachother to report perfectly good mattresses.

- When describing the ingredients of any drink or dish, adding at the very end "and with just a HINT of urine". (or Goat urine, or Yak urine).

- Long detailed discussion of men's room urinal etiquette.

- The following two jokes told in sequence:
- Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell out. Who was left?
- Pete and 'smash me in the face with a broken beer bottle' were in a boat. Pete fell out. Who was left?

- When offered something, making a big show of saying "Oh no I couldn't", but before even finishing the word "couldn't" switching over to eagerly lunging forward saying "Well OK if you insist". Sort of like a light switch change.

- When getting a tour of someone's home, patting on the master bedroom bed and saying "aha, the old workbench, eh?"

Mark's passing leaves a huge hole in my heart, and I will miss him. He was a great father to his 4 kids, and a good friend to so many of us. Thanks for letting me share a little about my friend.

TechnoJinx

First Pamela's phone is awol. Now, my Laptop just died. The hard drive made an ominous "click". And now it is dead.

Fortunately, even though I've been lax on the backups, my actual data loss is looking to be very minimal - one spreadsheet, really, which can be easily recreated. My blog is hosted out here, my email is at Google, my work files are on the work PC, my music is on the ipod and Pamela's computer...

I swear, with my phone mojo, and with my way of killing computers, I think I emit some sort of rays. Perhaps I have a superpower.

And it had been such a nice weekend up to that point. I was reading The Week magazine and there was a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala that leapt out at me... I felt compelled to spend the afternoon cooking it. My house smells like a tandoori joint, and that's a wonderful thing. And the recipe was SPOT ON - it was delicious. Pamela was out most of the day, as was Bella, so it was us MEN cooking. Or, it was me cooking, trying to keep Isaac from hanging on the oven door to pull it open, or reach up to the stove top (still too short thankfully).

Bella has been full of quotes recently: She was talking about plants and said "but don't water them too much - you can kill them with kindness". We have no idea where that one came from. Yesterday morning, she sang a tender song to Isaac: "Penis boy, penis boy... you're my little penis boy!" Repeat around 40 times.

Well, I'll get off of Pamela's computer now and skulk upstairs and read analog books. Whoo hoo!!!

For the record

Even though the iPhone has dropped in price, all of my previous reasons for not iPhoning are all still in effect. I have terrible terrible phone mojo. As if we needed more proof: Pamela's phone went missing earlier in the week... now, with Bella's still-present tendency to pack things away, I set about calling her phone with the goal of listening for the ring...

And heard a rather strange sound: A hip hop clip followed by a voice not Pamela's saying "you know what to do" BEEP.

So I guess her phone actually got STOLEN, and I got it deactivated... but now I need to buy another phone.

It's just more evidence that Phones and the B-Reays have a strained relationship.

I'm more interested in the new iPod Touch - the iPhone without the Phone that'll be out at the end of the month. Then I get all the cool iPhone stuff without the phone mojo curse. But even that is a LONG SHOT - there is no real need there for me, so I probably will NOT be getting it... No, the technology profile around here doesn't need to be changed right now.

Allright, I'll have more updates in the coming day... there's a potentially very cool work opportunity cooking, but it's very early, and there's no offer on the table yet, so nothing to share just yet.

Evidence

Here's that dog. (Click the picture to see it bigger!)

Ah, the Fair.

An annual tradition is the Minnesota State Fair. Usually we go at some off hour, a Thursday evening perhaps, to avoid the crowds. Alas, with two kids, you work on kid time. That means morning into afternoon, and for daddy working, that means the weekend.

We had fully intended to get an early start to the day. I did not set an alarm, expecting that Isaac would wake up at his usual early time and we could be at the fair before 8... so naturally we all slept in until 7:30. We didn't get to the fair until 9, but that was still early enough to avoid all traffic and get a decent parking spot.

We started with the "Miracle of Birth" building, and saw calfs, lambs, ducklings, chicks, piglets, the works. My favorite was a "ball of ducklings" - around 2 dozen tiny ducklings piled up under a heat lamp. That building is always very crowded, however, so we had to escape the crush quickly.

We did our thorough tour of the animal barns, somehow taking a wrong turn and walking into a show ring... The Roosters were all crowing in the poultry barn again. Isaac loved the crowing and laughed every time he heard one go. We also saw a goat competition being judged. Bella parked herself and watched the whole proceedings intently. Afterwards, she milked a goat and got a good squirt off... She was all business about it - as though she was doing them the favor.

We met up with Jenny and family after getting two beef tacos into our increasingly grumpy Bella... a little protein and the prospect of Jenny re-invigorated our girl! We stopped in for face painting, and were pleased/amazed to see that the painter was Lulu, who does face painting and balloon animals at Byerlys weekly: She is a true artist of the face paint, and turned Bella into a very cute dog, and Jenny into a silver cat.

The girls went on a few rides on the "Kidway". One of them was a Pirate ride, which seemed a bit scary for Bella, but hey if Jenny was going on, so was Bella. They both emerged looking very serious - they would not be going on that ride again. They stuck to the more silly rides - spinning monkeys, floating boats, you know the drill.

This evening we asked Bella about the Pirate ride, and she said "Jenny said it was pretty scary - good thing I kept my eyes shut the whole time!"

Back to the Fair: We didn't quite enter the same state of food frenzy we have in years past: Something about 9am doesn't sound right for Pronto Pups (though that didn't stop me from having a Pronto pup at 10am). Also, Isaac was a bit of a handful: With the crowds and the litter and the animals, we had to either have him in the stroller, or carry him. And he's in a very "live free" mode now, so the restrictions were chafing him. So instead of running up to every food stand, I had to think "how will I eat this without him knocking it out of my hand?" More often than not, I passed.

Anyway, here's the score:
Jim: Egg+bacon Sandwich, Waffle with Strawberries, Pronto Pup, Strawberries and Cream, Beef Burrito (Tejas).
Pamela: Egg Scramble, Caramel Roll, Cheesy Hashbrowns, Deep fried pickles (which she loved, and would eat every single day if available).
Bella: TWO beef, cheese, and sourcream tacos. One brownie.
Isaac: 2 bottles. Almost a cigarette butt, but I was fast enough.

In the end, we did make it through 5 hours of the fair, and hightailed it home around 2. Isaac, having refused to nap at the Fair, dropped off JUST as we wheeled the stroller into the parking lot. Fortunately, he got a good 3 hours (30 min on the drive, and after a successful "transfer", another 150 minutes at home).

Into the evening, I mowed the lawn (and was eaten alive by the mosquitos), and Pamela good a good nap in, too. The kids all went to bed around the proper time, so we should have a good night of rest!

And that was the fair. Next year, Bella will want to do more things, and Isaac will be unstoppable. You may be reading about our visit on CNN.com.

Oh yes...

The kid pictures website HAS been updated: go Here!

Isaac has been an exhausted boy - refusing to nap during the day, sleeping fitfully in the night. But he remains a charmer. His language is now starting to take off - he's doing a lot of sound imitation, and can say a few words... "Up" when he wants to be picked up, and "Ball", his favorite toy. He can repeat "Bella" too.

Bella has been playing good and hard all week, and has complained of pain in her shins - she is growing so much: I was just looking at pictures from 2 months ago - she was in that pre-grow chubby state, and now she's a beanpole.

We'll see how we all do at the State Fair Saturday between growing girl and no-sleep boy. At least I'm going to be asleep before 10 tonight. Time to catch up!

Oh, and in workout news: I think I posted that because I was such a good cheerleader, I got us two 6am workouts a few weeks back... well that is going so well they are adding a third 6am - this one is Step. So I'll have two Weights and one Step a week, 3 hours of great workouts, getting me good and awake/alive for work. The 6am really is the only time I can work out without thinking i'm abandoning the family, since they are all usually asleep until after 7 (except when Isaac gets a crazy idea at 6:30).

The screw turns...

First, let me say that I do love my current gig. It is relatively low stress, I get to work with some very nice doctors, the tools I'm implementing have a direct impact on the quality of life of patients, I get to be downtown and take walks, and I can bus occasionally. I am trusted, I have authority, but things aren't all panicky.

Into this picture a rain cloud has appeared. On Tuesday, I gained an officemate. Now, I have a pretty large office, all told, and there's more than enough room for two. But...

This is a Temp who works for the software vendor: We are paying them to move all of our old data off of the old systems into their system. In return, they're paying this temp to sit at our site and click-and-move these studies one-by-one. It's not particularly hard work, but it does take an organizational mind. They needed a place for this temp to sit, and my office had room....

Alas, this temp is a talker. No matter what I'm doing - writing emails, reading a manual, headphones on... she just starts talking. About her nieces. About her previous jobs. About her desire to move to Dubai to work in "logistics". About her frustrations about not understanding what the dress code is. About seemingly anything, all with a sort of "authoritative" tone of voice, like "I know about these things"... despite the fact that any time she treads into territory I know anything about, she is quite far off base.

This wouldn't be so bad if I had confidence in what she was doing, but as of today, she couldn't even tell me with any degree of certainty exactly how many patient studies she had actually successfully migrated in the 4 days she had worked.

In short, I am sharing a now very small feeling office with a psychopath temp who doesn't actually work for me, and may not actually be doing the job we are indirectly paying her to do. My library of noncommital grunts and shrugs is expanding by the day. I have begun to relay my concerns to the vendor, and we'll see what happens.

This is obviously karmic retribution for my illicit viewing of Spider Man, and will take this lesson (this possibly four long month lesson) to heart. I am a changed man. Really, this time.

Those darn kids

Today, we pulled up to visit Dad and Karen, and he was on the back steps getting his beard and neck trimmed up. Pamela said "hey, Papa's getting a new hairstyle".

Bella called from the back seat: "Oh, is he getting more hair?"

You can't make this stuff up.

So tomorrow I finally re-enter the working world after a long week away... and tomorrow will be the first day in 9 that I don't put Isaac down for his naps, nor pick him up when he wakes... and I think in a way it'll be a very long day for that.

The last two nights I've caught up on two Marvel hero movies: Spidey 3 and Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer. The F4 movie didn't disappoint too much - it was pretty decent for what it was... and it IS a cheeze movie, for sure. Spidey 3 was a harder call: It really did feel like there was too much trying to be crammed into this movie, and in the end it really was the weakest of the lot. I wasn't sure what they were going for with Sandman... but unlike many of my peers, I actually liked the Venom stuff the best in the movie - it was good and creepy, and Topher Grace was fabulous. And I loved the Peter Parker with the bangs down and eyeliner look.

But with them both, I have to say, it's a total of 4 hours I won't get back in life, 4 hours I could have spent sleeping or something more edifying, like working on my Swedish pronunciation. But whatchagonnado?

Off to bed now.

Safe and Sound

Yes we are back at home: We hightailed out of town by 10:15 in the AM, and Isaac was conked out within a few minutes of hitting the road... and stayed asleep the full two hours home. It was a wonderful contrast to the trip up. Bella rode home with Jenny and the family around 90 minutes behind us. Alas despite feeling much better in the AM, she again succumbed to the ick during the ride home and made friends with the bucket.

Prior to leaving, I had a speed breakfast of blueberry pancakes and was able to say farewell to my Russian and Belorussian friends in the dining hall. They again complimented me on my excellent pronunciation. I tell you, I'm not sure why I felt this urge to bone up on my Russian this past month, but it was such a blast to be able to use it!

Once home, we did a power-unpack, just in case we were going to get sick ourselves. Bella felt better after a few hours at home and started demanding to play with friends - which just wasn't going to work - you puke, you're quarantined in my book. She got progressively sadder until she ran upstairs and climbed into bed with Pamela (who was taking a little nap) and conked out. Pamela napped from 4-8. Bella was out at 5pm.

One of the things we do when she's "bored" is she writes a comic strip, and I draw it. Tonight it was "a lion goes outside to draw, but it's so cold he turns to ice, and his drawing and pencil blow away in the wind". This was quite the challenge to draw, and I had to resort to some thought bubbles to illustrate the point... I do love these cartoons. The ultimate panel always seems to be something blowing away: Food in wind, or flower petals from a sneeze, or art materials in a gale... Alas, as noted above, our fun didn't last.

That left Isaac and I to be buddies until his bedtime. We went to Byerly's together and shopped for good "sick food" assuming we'll all get the ick sooner or later. Bread for toast. Applesauce. Gatorade. Chicken Soup.

My take on getting sick: If the virus is going to get you, it's not going to care if you ate crackers or cantonese, so doing a mild "preventative" diet is for the birds. I had Big Bowl sesame chicken for dinner. We'll just see what happens. Once you're sick, you do need the mild stuff, though. And we have LOTS of it. Perhaps this voodoo, this being prepared will ward off the virus. That happens, you know.

Anyway, Isaac and I had a lot of wrassle time, and we played with blocks: He's very good at knocking down stacks, at chewing on the blocks, and at tossing them down (not going for distance, more interested in seismic effect). I patiently would stack them again, showing different architectural principles. He played visigoth again and again, but with such glee, I had to keep playing along.

So now it's off to bed in my own room, without my kids within 5 feet of me in the same room, without both of us waking up whenever Isaac rolls over. It will be a good night to rest, and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Spoke too soon....

Well, poor Bella got the ick, and got pukey late afternoon, after a full day of arts and crafts, fishing off the dock, playing with Jenny, and over 2 hours of swimming. She's passed out next to me on the couch - I'm on bucket patrol, though by now there's very little coming out. Mae got it too, earlier in the afternoon, and us remaining "uninfected" are all warily clutching our stomachs, hoping we're not next. Well, Isaac's not, since he's happily oblivious.

It's just not fair - Bella's trip to Madison earlier in the summer also resulted in puke-age. She's going to build a negative association with lakes if we're not careful.

I realize in my updates I have been very Isaac focused: That's mostly because I've had to keep him in my sights so much: Bella has been off playing so much with Jenny, that I'm really only seeing her at mealtimes. Having a friend along really does make a vacation fun for a kid, and I think that even with the sickness, she and Jenny both can count this as one of the "fun" trips.

We've packed up the car and will be ready to hit the road tomorrow morning right after breakfast... assuming we're all roadworthy. We have something of a tradition of "lingering" on the last day, leaving at the last possible second. I think this time we'll try to time it with Isaac's nap and hightail it ASAP.

If you gotta puke, there's no place like your own bathroom.

Bad then good then ok.

Well, after that sun peeked through, we had a rough night where Jenny got a wicked stomach virus that had her puking all night. Bella was sleeping in the same room and never once woke up with all the ruckus. So we were steeled for whatever yesterday would bring... Would the virus take us all down one by one? None of us could recall her eating anything we all hadn't eaten as well, and a few other visitors had told us of stomach horrors in the past few days...

Which added a slightly dramatic pall over was perhaps the nicest day I've ever seen in my life on Wednesday. The sun was shining, there was a mild breeze, it was warm but not too hot, the lake was still, the birds were singing - it was a perfect day. But Bella was mopey because he best friend couldn't play. By afternoon though, Jenny was feeling well enough to play, and we all spent time at the beach. Isaac LOVES the lake, sloshing around and picking up handfuls of muck from the lakebed.

My head cold finally cleared up by afternoon, and I was a happy participant in all activities... In the evening we took a paddleboat ride, and bella showed us her fantastic skills at shuffleboard (it involves methodically pushing every single disc from one end to the next and stacking them neatly.) Into the evening, as the kids slept, Pamela and I played some "no-score" scrabble, which was too bad because I opened with the 7-letter "Blister" across the double word, which would have been around 140 points all told. But no score is no score...

Today, it's just sort of a BLAH day: Gray sky, no wind, light rain... but the girls are playing hearty - they're at the pool now and will likely be for quite a while. We are finding ourselves around 4 bottles short on Isaac's supply for the trip, and I took a trip to the local town, only to find NO soy formula of any kind. Once he goes down for a nap this afternoon, I'll be tripping to Brainerd!!!

So we got 1.5 beautiful days out of a 7 day vacation with a shrieking (but still loved) maniac, with some illness going around. Not one for the record books of wonderfulness, but oddly not the worst either. A neighbor told us: "with kids, it's not a vacation, it's a trip". So this was a pretty good family trip all told... there are still a few hours left in it (we leave Friday around 11), so we'll see what happens!

Hed Code

Today was a better day.... and a worse day.... The bad was that I have come down with a horrible head cold and feel like I have a 2 second delay forcefield around my head. Also, a nonstop runny nose, the accompanying sore nostrils, watery eyes, a hacking cough, and raging headaches. Started last night, still going strong tonight.

BUT on the plus side: The weather finally broke late this morning: We woke to no wind but a little drizzle, but we got full fledged sunshine by early afternoon. The girls went out fishing this am, swam in the outdoor pool before lunch, and played on the beach and in the lake all afternoon. Isaac was out on the beach as well - he loved the water.

Isaac woke up this morning with his volume set to 11: joyful shrieking was our soundtrack of the day, combined with the occasional complete meltdown tantrum - a new skill he's learned this week: The complete "drop to the floor" with huge tears. We're so very excited. Alas, our mealtimes are now 10 minute shifts between Pamela and myself: minding Isaac as he makes his rounds through the lodge, while the other eats... And speaking of eating:

Things he would not put into his mouth today:
Melon, banana, bread, pancake, cheerio, yogurt, chicken, pasta.

Things he did put into his mouth today:
Acorn (nut, top, both), rocks (various sizes), pine needles (short and long), leaves, sticks, lint, sand (dry), sand (wet from lake bed), lake water.

With that it's time for my sick self to be off to bed.

The windy cold lake...

Alas, we continue to be cabin-bound, as we're having unseasonably cold and windy weather here at the resort. We're still having a great time, but as we look out the window at the lake mere feet from us, there are whitecaps and gray skies and a general feeling that says "stay in - have some coffee... Read!"

I only just figured out last night that the wireless internet reaches our cabin, so here's a blog post from the lake.

The food is fantastic as always, and Bella and Jenny could care less about the lake - they have the indoor pool and eachother and that's more than enough for them. Bella has moved in over to Jenny's cabin and we see her occasionally... It's actually good she's sleeping there, since Isaac is proving to be quite the handful. On the trip up, he resolutely REFUSED to nap, screaming most of the 2 1/2 hours, and dropped off to sleep literally as we pulled into the resort. He's also holding to his twice nightly bottle and cuddle routine.

He's been a shrieker at the restaurant, so Pamela and I have taken turns eating and running through the halls with him. He's up to running now, and his game is to make a beeline from the dining hall, through the halls, to the pool, where we need to scoop him up before he goes headlong in. Along the way, he may pause to make friends or harass computer users (he just can't resist grabbing screens or mashing keyboards).

Even so, he is well loved by everyone here at the resort, who all coo over him... and we do love him too.

Today (and every weekday) Bella and Jenny will be at Kid's Club, with a whole host of planned activities, so us grownups can rotate around being the Isaac minder and get some R&R in. The weather is supposed to improve around Wednesday, so until then, I guess at least Isaac's not eating handfuls of sand!

The busyness

A quick update before going offline for a week up to a resort on Gull Lake... where the relaxing will be wonderful.

After the wonderful weekend away, we got good and busy to get ready for the resort: Well, I was busy at work and play, and Pamela was the packing demon: Our car trunk was ready to go a full 48 hours before our anticipated departure!!!

Work has been good: The glow is still lasting from our successful rollout last week: Comments from the CIO on down are filled with praise and amazement that things went as well as they did (they're not used to things going smoothly here). In the "education of Jimmy" department - I spent a few hours with one of the Cardiologists, who talked me through the entire world of Nuclear Medicine, which completely blew my mind. This is where they inject you with radioactive materials, and then take a 15 minute photograph of your insides, and see what parts of your body are getting normal blood flow, and which parts are "starved". A nuc of your heart will show the whole thing glowing, except for areas that have been "infarcted" - which means the muscle is "dead".

The whole science is amazing, and while I've worked around Nuclear medicine for years, nobody has ever truly explained HOW it works... So I'm just thrilled.

In another fun moment, an "emergency meeting" was called for all staff (it was a quiet afternoon), and we reviewed a portfolio of nature photographs one of the Cardiologists had taken to pick a few to submit to a contest (his pictures have been in the Kare11 weather watcher calendar in the past!) They popped popcorn, it was fun.

It was a week of movies and bonding for me: Tuesday one of my old co-workers at the previous client asked me out to see Transformers and get caught up. It was fantastic - literally the Citizen Kane of transforming robot movies. Wednesday our Manny Justin had another premiere - this one a Coen-brothers-esque double-triple-quadruple-cross thriller. These guys are making feature length movies, fully produced, in their spare time. It absolutely amazes me. And it was a really good movie!

Last night was yet another Scotch Avengers night - a bit later than usual. The truly bizarre moment came when Chicken revealed the following: 2 months ago, Ant had brought a truly rare bottle - a 12-year Lagavulin which had a very complex character and we all loved. But it was challenging - it needed just so much water, and so much rest... it took work, but was rewarding. We all basked in the glow of "discovery" on this bottle.

Chicken revealed to us last night that he had been rooting in his cabinet and discovered that HE had actually brought us that very same bottle one year earlier, and we had all rejected it, not able to figure out how to enjoy it. He had the 2/3 full bottle as proof. But the funny thing is even HE didn't remember this until he stumbled across the bottle, tucked deep into his cabinet (since he didn't like it either!!!)

It was a fun moment to realize just what sorts of scotch nerds we had become, and how we had come in the past year... and how far we could likely yet go.

Well, this is the last update for a week probably - we're off just after lunch to our week up north. Oh yes, and Isaac's 4th tooth finally cut and he's so relieved.

Toodles!

One week later

Again I remark on the fast-forward button being pressed in our lives... how can a week have gone past since the last update?

The week went very well at work: We installed the new system, trained the docs and techs, and had a pretty smooth go-live. This was just for one piece of the system, of course, and I'll be spending the next year putting in more, but this was important, AND it needed to go smoothly for us to have credibility and buy-in for subsequent phases. And we did well.

So on Friday, Pamela and I dropped the kids with Grandpa and Grandpa (as Bella calls them) and hightailed it out of town... to a bed and breakfast in Stillwater. We stayed at a beautiful Victorian mansion up atop a hill, looking down at the town and river beyond. We had early cocktails and dinner, and then settled in for a night in... whereupon Pamela passed out at 7:30... and didn't wake until 12 hours later! Oh did she need that rest.

I unfortunately had finished dinner with an espresso, and wound up awake until 1am or so. The problem was that I tried to go to bed by 11... so there were a few tossing and turning hours in there... Luckly I caught a nap the next day.

Saturday was a relaxing day of walking through town, antiquing, noshing, resting, reading, dining... We got caught in a summer shower on the way back from dinner and were happily soaked - it was so hot, and the rain was refreshing.

Pamela started and finished a book on Marie Antoinette. I got halfway through William Gibson's newest: A sci fi book set in last year (2006). It's surprisingly effective, and his imagery is just wonderful... If anything, removing the "well is THAT possible or unlikely?" reaction to technology imaginings allows me to focus more on his story and writing, which is very crisp.

I also continued my torrid affair with the Swedish language: As I may have explained over on Language Addict, I've been frustrated that I'm dabbling in so many languages but not feeling confident in any: So I've been focusing back on French, Spanish, and German. I'm also refreshing just a bit on Russian (mostly because I resent that I LOST the language after my college years - the goal is just to bring it back enough to... I don't know). So what's up with Swedish? Well, it's actually very close to English and German, and we have friends who speak it, so I thought it might be an easy "pick up"... and less than a serious week into it, I'm feeling ridiculously confident that this will be one in the belt within a few months.

But in terms of confidence: As I was walking in Stillwater, I passed an old German couple, and I understood everything I overheard. I even had right in mind a phrase to ask them if I could speak with them... but by then we had too much distance between us. I'm telling you, this multi-language way of working really is making ALL of them stick better.

I'll come back to the Asian ones in a month or two... but I really need to "own" my current languages better...

Ok - back to family: When we picked up Isaac this afternoon, we learned that Grandma had interpreted his 3am feeding time as "time to get up", so we had one TIRED little buster. He grabbed a tomato from me and started eating it like an apple... and seemed to like it. He also chomped many cheerios AND half of a go-gurt. So I think that he's starting to get into people food well enough... it'll grow. We played until 6:30 and then ZONK.

Bella played even harder this weekend: 3 hours at a pool on Saturday... And then zoning out to episodes of Scooby Doo... she was so catatonic that she completely ignored Auntie Carrie when she visited Saturday... But Bella has figured out the secret of Scooby Doo: The monsters are ALWAYS just guys in costumes. Therefore, it's not scary. She had an all-afternoon birthday party today... lots of playing and swimming... and yes, she's in bed now as well.

So it was great to get away for the weekend. We have a busy week ahead of us too! I have dates to see friends Tues-Wed-and-Thurs!!! I've got my 6am workouts Tues-Thurs. Full week of work, of course... and then Friday, it's off to VACATIONLAND with the family AND Jenny's family, for a whole week of all-meals-included family fun. Whoo HOOOO!!!!

Block Par-Tay

Yesterday was rainy and cold, which didn't dampen the kid's spirits for the Block Party - AKA running around for hours with all of the other kids in the neighborhood while the parents hide in a garage. We had the moonwalk, but it was soaked. Not that it stopped the kids from taking turns in there... So all things considered, it worked out ok. The firemen came too, and the kids loved looking at the fire engine. I actually took Isaac home around 7 for bed, but Bella stayed out until 10 playing tag in the dark, and other great games.

But last night around 10:30, Isaac decided it was time to PARTY. After an unsuccessful hour trying to get him back down, I took him downstairs and let him play his heart out. And he was so thrilled - he was shrieking with glee, laughing, cuddling, and being just the happiest kid. At 1, when he finally started rubbing his eyes, he went right to sleep. These things happen.

I am a little concerned: Isaac's joyful shrieking is just bone jarring, and he's been doing it for months. We try to get him to work on more "wordy words" like "dada" "mama" etc, but when he gets excited, he just let's fly with the sonic attack. And got in himmel help us when he is in a place with good acoustics - he lets fly just to hear it come back. I do hope he moves on from this however. My nerves can't take it!

The kids slept in until 8, but were still a bit groggy. After going out to get a haircut and playing at Eden Prairie Center, Bella announced that "Whoever is going to take a nap this afternoon, I'll join them". A nap? Wow.

Tonight was another Progressive dinner night, so Bella, Jenny, and Isaac were watched while we spent 4 glorious hours of grown up time. Upon our return, Isaac was still partying, and the sitter, a VERY capable young lady, was looking frazzled. It didn't help that the dishwasher decided to go crazy and make whirring sounds while blinking its lights in a seizure-inducing manner. So I got Isaac settled in my patented daddy manner, and then played with Bella until a later bedtime (the nap always resets her clock).

I was showing her words in different languages tonight, to get her used to the idea that things have different names to different people. She thought that was a pretty neat idea. I showed her colors and animals in Russian, Swedish, Japanese, and Chinese. She wound up really liking Chinese for some reason - those words were the only ones she was repeating and remembering - perhaps because they're a bit musical? I'm going to keep experimenting with that.

I got some Swedish flash card software because I thought it would be nice for the whole family to have some words to drop with our Swedish friends Annika, Sara, and Lisa. I'm just browsing now, but it sure looks close to German in some key ways... we'll see.

And that's the weekend update.

How can it be Friday already?

Good evening. Another week has passed by with me only vaguely being aware of it! Actually, so much happened....

The biggest news which has everyone on edge is the bridge collapse. We didn't know anyone directly impacted, though two people in the family had been nearly on that stretch of road within a half hour of the event - one missed a bus, the other left work late. So something was keeping people away from the area....

In non-tragic news, we had a GREAT week at work: The new system arrived, we got it configured and workstations started to roll out: Even though we're not going live until next week, we were able to use one of the workstations to help diagnose a case (reviewing a prior study that couldn't be read by any other computer)... There's been a lot of work to do, but I get to be hands-on, and I'll be working with the docs a lot from here on out... which you know I like.

We had guests this week: Pamela's cousin Rachel and her son Justice, who is almost exactly Bella's age. The two got along pretty well all week, though they were frequently on different energy frequencies. Still, movies and legos proved the universal solvent, and great fun was had by all. And it was wonderful to see Rachel. She showed us tons of pictures of archaelogical digs she's participated in: Turns out sometimes people start building a strip mall, and the road grader finds bones, and they have to call in the emergency archaeologists, to tag and excavate the site, and move it all out, so they can keep building that strip mall. The pictures were supermegacool.

Isaac Update! He has finally turned a corner: He prefers walking now to crawling. Sometime yesterday, the scales tipped, and he decided that walking WAS more efficient, so now it's closer to 70/30 walk/crawl. And he is so proud. He'd be happy too if there wasn't a massive pollen bloom causing him to stuff up, and another tooth starting to push through (leading to crying, and massive drooling).

Workout Update! Yes, I've still been exercising, just not telling you people about it. But my tireless efforts to get people at the 6am Tuesday class have been paying off: We're regularly around 10 people, which earned us a second class: Thursday at 6am. So I will finally be able to do two classes a week in the early morning, because truth be told, with Isaac and Bella, I've had a hard time justifying taking off after work for exercise - I just want to go home and see my family.

This weekend will be another slightly busy one: We have the Block Party on Saturday (which we are only attending - we don't need to DO anything!), and a progressive dinner on Sunday. So actually, it'll be busy with eating and conversation. I think I can handle THAT!!!!

More as it happens. Oh yes, I have been updating over at Language Addict, if you want to take a peek. Do Zaftra.