Weak End

I wish it were more of a weekend.
I wish I hadn't had to work after lunch with Bruce & Julie on Saturday.
I wish Kristin had gotten more of a break from Claracare.
(I wish I remember what we did Saturday night.)
I wish I'd had more than a forty minute nap on Sunday.
I wish we'd been able to watch another segment of Pride & Prejudice with David & Bonnie. (Though the dessert was tasty.)
I wish I'd had another day to relax before heading back to the office.

Maybe next time it won't be such a weak end.

Driven to....

Some people's jobs drive them to drink. My job drives me to Five Guys. A snapshot of my day yesterday:

7am - head to bus stop
8am - arrive at work
Before lunch - phone call alerting me to problem that could impact huge launch we have planned for that night, triggering phone calls, meetings, worried conversations; work on slides for big presentation; coworker calls in sick.
Lunch - return two books to library; grab Subway; scarf down.
Lunch to 4pm - deal with fallout from issue; board slides; photo shoot; meeting with Big Bad Boss Woman; issue resolved by IT team - huzzah!
4pm - head downtown for big bad launch.
5pm - system launch begins.
Launch until 9:30pm - wait to test system; start using Facebook (look me up and add me as a friend); blog a little; talk to various folks I haven't seen in years; wait to test system.
9:30pm to 12:30am - test system; deal with problems; test system; deal with problems; test system; all in all, a normal large-system launch.
1:32am - finish pulling reports, compiling list of test activities, sending to relevant parties.
1:47am - cab picks me up.
2:17am - cab arrives at house.
2:18am - fall into bed.

7:12am - Clara wakes me up.
7:30am - wife mercifully allows me to sleep.
11am - woke up for the day. Called Bruce & Julie from bed; recapped above.

Noonish - Met at Five Guys; indulged in greasy goodness.

Getting My Head Shot

"You look annoyed."

I heard that no less than thirty times today. Whitney, a girl from our photo department, is taking my headshot. I need one for a speaking engagement next month. We are in the photo studio, I'm on a stool, turned way to one side, two lights are set up, all the other lights are off, and SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! Whitney takes pictures.

"Too bright."

It takes a while to adjust the two light sources, but eventually she gets an exposure level she is happy with. And now I have to smile, not look weird, and sit up straight.

"Annoyed again."

After a bunch of pictures she tells me to come look at what she's taken. I turn my body the other direction, start sitting up straighter, smile a little more than I was. Flash. Flash. Flash.

"That was a good one. That one was annoyed. That one was good."

After over twenty minutes we decide we have one that will work. I thank her and walk out of the studio. After sitting in low light for so long, the sunny fall day startles me. For a moment, the world looks a brighter place. Then my eyes readjust.

I guess I have an annoyed resting face.

Let me know which one you like best.

Bonny Blue Eyes

Just a few pictures I've been meaning to post for awhile. These were taken on Labor Day and show off baby's blue eyes.

Welcome To: Blair & Julie and Natalie

Blair & Julie came to visit a few months ago. We had a great time showing them our favorite haunts and playing killer bunnies. A few weeks later, we saw them while in Minnesota. They are expecting their first child in December and FINALLY STARTED A BLOG!!!

So welcome, Blair & Julie.
Readers of the blog: Go! Give pageviews.

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I first met Natalie eight years ago. We ran in the same social circles, chatted a couple of times, and relished in the fact that we are both tall. We ran into each other a few times over the years. At one such run in, at a church event, she mentioned that she'd been keeping up with the blog. We ran into each other a few weekends ago at Costco and she mentioned that she was still reading the blog. A couple of days later she posted a comment and left the URL to her blog.

So welcome, Natalie.
Readers of the blog: Go! Give pageviews. Read her blog.

Morning

Last night as I sat on the couch in the family room I heard a sound that I hadn't heard for some time: a good evening rainstorm. Lightning and thunder followed, flashes illuminating the interior of the house with incredible intensity.

Walking to the bus this morning, cool humidity hung in the air. Jacketless mornings are soon to give way to the humid chill that cuts through layers of clothing like a Xenon army knife. (Which reminds me: I REALLY need a new jacket.) Wait. Xenon army knife. What do I know about a Xenon army knife?

I so enjoy fall. The dark mornings, the cooler air, the relief from summer, the reprieve before winter. I love leaves changing and falling. I love apple cider. I love turtlenecks and sweaters and the chill you get when changing at night, when the cool air hits your skin that has been toasty warm all day. I love cool, clear mornings.

This fall will be even more interesting as Clara will turn one. She will likely start walking this fall. Speech will follow. And all too soon it will be spring, then summer, then nursery at church, then running, then preschool.

What was once a simple cycle that obscured the passing years – oh, just another winter, another fall, maybe I’m a little old, but I can’t really tell – now marks the definite changes is the life of my little girl.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Man, I loved this book. Written from a fifteen year-old autistic boy's perspective, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-timeby Mark Haddon is Christopher Boone's history of the death of Wellington, a neighbor's dog, and the detective stylings that uncover the story behind two deaths, one that happened and one that did not.

Christopher likes prime numbers, thus chapters are numbered 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, etc. Christopher has a flawless memory - drawings, schematics, and sketches accompany most passages. Christopher hates yellow and brown. Christopher is extremely logical. Christopher is very literal. Christopher doesn't like being touched. Christopher's mind can be overwhelmed when there is too much information to digest. Christopher is great at maths and physics, and loves machines and computers.

There are themes that apply universally - conquering fear, pushing oneself outside of routine, and unrelenting effort to achieve a goal. And moral could be drawn. But for me, the book wasn’t about all that. The book was about Christopher and Christopher’s mind.

And it was delightful to live in Christopher's mind. The story moves very quickly. An interest byproduct of Christopher's perspective is that any overly emotional act appears intensely irrational. Conversely, logical people, those who always mean what they say and say what they mean, are preferred. You learn very quickly that Christopher never lies.

I loved this book. Please note, a few characters use strong language, but the book is free from adult situations and is a worthy endeavor for anyone looking for a different perspective on life and a different perspective on autism.

The Kite Runner

Next month my book group will be discussing Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. I went to the library last week to see if they had a copy, put it on hold, and was surprised when very quickly I received a notice that my book was in. I immediately started reading the book. I was quickly taken by the imagery as well as the story. In my mind's eye, pictures of Kabul and the characters, especially Amir and Hassan, quickly formed. It is a story that draws you in.

I finished the book today, so three random thoughts for now:

• The story is rich with emotion, haunting at times, but ultimately about friendship and atonement. Interestingly, forgiveness and restitution are not part of the discussion. Hope does have a reoccurring guest role, but with large gaps between appearances.
• A friend went to Kabul for work a while back, and I remember the pictures he posted, the tales he told of the city. Having just finished Genghis Khan: And the Making of the Modern World, I found myself more and more intrigued by those parts of the world that, until a few years back, where faceless countries where Other People lived.
• I used to eat lunch at a small Afghani restaurant near my old office. It has since closed, but I found myself longing for lamb and spinach and spices. As the characters walked through shopping districts and bazaars my mouth also watered as the author described the smells, sounds, sights.

The Kite Runner will be released as a major motion picture on November 2nd. It will be discussed in book group in our October meeting.

Headline Haiku

Slate V, a new site.
The true news source owns them, too.
Found this vid. Enjoy.

Nine Months

Well, I've now spent more time as a mama than a I did as a pregnant lady. Clara was nine months yesterday, and it's hard to believe that time could possibly pass so quickly. Wasn't it just yesterday that we brought our little immobile munchkin home from the hospital?

Clara had her nine-month well-baby visit today, and I have to say I was completely shocked by her measurements. Based on her past growth trends I was expecting her to have grown about 2 inches in length and gained about 2 pounds. But not so. She's 30.25 inches long (off the charts) and 22.5 pounds (95%). That's a gain of 3.25 inches and 4.5 pounds in three months. No wonder my arm feels like it's going to fall off when I have to carry her for more than a few minutes. I guess solid foods agree with her.

She's growing ever-increasingly mobile every day. She has perfected the pull-to-stand and is cruising around the furniture. Yesterday she let go and actually stayed upright for a few seconds before collapsing to the floor. She has mastered stair-climbing (tonight she made it all the way up a flight of stairs twice), but coming back down is still something of a problem. Eventually she'll learn that you can't just fling yourself head-first down the stairs and not get hurt. And just two days ago she abandoned the commando-crawl for good; she's been practicing a true crawl for a couple of weeks and finally decided it's her preferred means of locomotion:



Clara loves interactive games now (peek-a-boo is a favorite) and likes to play chase and wrestle with us. She still likes to play independently, but every so often she'll drop whatever she's doing, crawl over, pull herself up, and pat my face or rest her head on my leg. Then it's back to business. She has started clapping whenever she's proud of herself...like when she intentionally drops pieces of food onto the floor or unplugs the television for the sixteenth time in four hours. It's hysterical to watch her look at me with this mischievous glint in her eyes and then start clapping. Just so you get an idea of what I'm talking about:


It's been a fun ride thus far, and I'm looking forward to what the next three months will bring. Stay tuned!

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A few stats from Oliver:

Baby Gates

It's no secret that I hate pressure mounted baby gates. Such a gate protects Baby Clara from the stairs going from our second level, which is our primary living space, down to the first level. When coming or going, climbing over the gate involves near death experiences while trying to maintain your balance as you get over the gate.

We bought some hardware mounted gates a few weeks ago and tried to put them up only to discover that we needed molly bolts. With the procurement of said bolts yesterday, the gates were ready to be installed today.

After a Clara nap time similar to this post and dinner, David, Bonnie, and Michael came over to help with the installation. David has this great cordless drill that totally puts my corded model to shame. (Nothing says "suburban male" more than a weekend involving hardware stores and power tools.) We measured, plotted, drilled, and installed the new baby gate. It is glorious. Clara already tested it to make sure it holds (it does) and I can open it with one hand. Sweet bliss.

Unfortunately, the pressure mounted gate now guards the stairs from the second floor up to the third. Will I never be free of that thing?

From a Not-so-random Blog

Was on the blog of a second cousin that I don't really know that well and found this picture from a wedding they attended.

I had to post it.

First Family Cold

Well, it has happened. That moment every parent dreads: the day that everyone in the house has a cold.

Clara started with it first. A runny nose. A little cough. Then it moved to Kristin. Same runny nose. Sneezing. Then it moved to me. Tuesday I was constantly thirsty and my throat felt funny. Yesterday at a team lunch, I felt great. At 2pm I felt it coming on in force. At 4pm I left work early for the day. I popped drugs, went to Mutual, then came home and crashed.

This morning I woke up with intense sinus pressure, sneezing, runny nose. I called in sick and am doing minimal work from home. Kristin is sneezing like crazy. Poor Clara looks like a faucet was turned. Poor thing.

Hopefully the biggest baby of them all won't upset the primary caregiver too much by acting like a big baby.

Welcome iPods

Earlier today Apple announced a complete overhaul of the entire iPod line. At an event titled "The Beat Goes On" (click here for a live blogging of the event and here to watch the event), Steve Jobs presented: a new ringtones option for iTunes and the iPhone; new colors for the iPod Shuffle; a totally redesigned iPod Nano with new colors, a video screen, and a new interface; larger disk sizes and a new case for the renamed iPod Classic; and a brand new iPod Touch, which is basically an iPhone without the phone. Also they cut the price on the iPhone by 1/3 (from $599 to $399).

A few thoughts about the changes:

• At this point, Apple has refreshed the great majority of its product line this year: new Mac books, brand new iMac, now the iPod line. Hello Christmas retail season.
• I'm not sold on the colors for the iPod Shuffle and iPod Nanos (see pic below). Gone are the neon colors that defined the line for so long. The muted tones ... it remains to be seen if consumers will embrace (read buy) them.
• The Nano looks a little boxy. Mind you, the product is 6.5 mm think (or thin as Apple likes to say). That slimness gives it some serious SQ.
• The iPhone still wants for GPS and enterprise e-mail and calendar integration. Once those two are there, I'm sold on the product.

Regardless, Apple came out with a VERY strong update to an already strong product line. As always, kudos to them for constantly innovating. If you were to ask Santa for one for Christmas, which would you chose?

Really Cute

Everyone thinks that their child is adorable. But tonight Clara gave us two reasons to convince any detractors that she is so incredibly beyond adorable it is sickening.

Reason #1
Everyone knows we have a thing for Chipotle. We eat there on average once a week. The people behind the counter recognize us, and love talking to Clara. Today, as we split our burrito bol (10 points apiece), I was holding Clara. The entire time she kept looking at the people behind the counter, smiling, laughing, and waving. It was quite cute.

Reason #2
As I was driving home, I saw something white flash in my periphery. I turned around and there was Clara, with a burp cloth in hand (clean thankfully) raising it up in front of her eyes, then lowering it so she could see her reflection in the little mirror we have in front of her car seat, then repeating. At one point Kristin asked, "Where's Clara?" and when the burp cloth came down we heard Clara start to giggle.

Decidedly adorable.

Welcome Smelly-Melly & Justin

Today we welcome a very special person to our list of links on the right. Though her birth certificate says Melissa Ann she is known to me as Smelly Melly. She is my very own sister-in-law, Melissa. And with her she brings the genial chap Justin.

But two years separate Kristin and Melissa. Where one is the homebody, the other is outgoing and adventuresome. Melissa always knows the cool spots in town, what exactly to wear, and why seventy pairs of shoes aren't enough. She's a good sport with the nickname and warmly welcomed me into the family when Kristin dragged me into the clan. She and Justin live in Seattle in a great little house with a big dog, who is featured prominently in their blog's opening post. Justin and I hit it off incredibly well, and is a fine addition to the family. Though we don't get out west to see them as often as I would like, every time we do see them we wonder where the time goes and wish that we had twice as much to hang out and socialize.

So go, visit their blog. Leave a comment or two. And don't hate on Hunter. Even an anti-pet-ite such as I thinks the pup is pretty fun.

On Holidays, Regulations, and Really Good Music

"Drive Away (End Titles)" from Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events is playing on my iPod. 100% Thomas Newman goodness. What a wonderful way to start the morning.

It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining, the air is fresh and cool, and I just picked up a few last items for our Labor Day picnic today. As I walked through the aisles at Wegmans, I saw Halloween decorations out in force. Combine that with the Christmas music Matthew was playing Sunday afternoon, and you have the makings of a rant.

On Holidays

I love holidays. Each is unique and brings a special feel to a particular time of the year. I love the candy and David & Bonnie's party at Halloween. I love Cadbury's mini eggs at Easter. I love the music and lights at Christmas. I love the fireworks on the Fourth of July. I love all these things.

But to all things there is a time and a season. Why can't retailers see that having holiday decorations out for three months before the event only causes me to tire of the holiday? Am I alone on this front?

Which is why I've put together the following calendar of holidays and when stores are allowed to put out items for them. All I ask is that all retailers everywhere adhere to this calendar immediately. I believe that all people will be happier, holidays more holidiforific for it.

Holiday - Day Decorations/Items Appear in Stores
Valentines day - January 14th
St. Patrick's day - February 15th
Fourth of July - June 1st
Halloween - day after Labor Day
Thanksgiving - November 1st
Christmas - day after Thanksgiving, not a moment before.

Wow. Feels good to get that out of my system. Now don't get me started on our election system.

Sleep, Interrupted

We made it home from Philly in two hours and twenty minutes this evening. We took a Google Maps recommended, back roads route that dumped us onto 95 just above Baltimore. As any east coaster knows, 95 near holidays is a disaster. We left at 9:20p and arrived home at 11:40p.

Clara slept a little in the car, but lost it as we were getting close to home. A little background: Clara has finally started falling asleep on her own. The first night we put her down she cried for half an hour. The next it was twenty minutes. Each night thereafter she cried for a shorter and shorter time. One night last week Kristin put her down and she rolled on her side and fell right asleep. Additionally, she's now sleeping much deeper and longer. Bliss for a mother and a father. Kristin had her first good night of sleep since Clara's birth the other night.

But tonight, with last night spent in a Pack N Play, and sleep in the car being restless at best, I doubt we're going to have much luck in the sleep department. Hopefully she'll get her groove back next week.

Sunday Afternoon

After church Matt & Honor drove us by their new house so Kristin, Jill, and I could see the yard and peek in the windows. Score 1 for 1970's decore that has definitely gone out of style. The landscaping, deck, and hard was beautiful, and the kids are going to love having space to play in after almost three months in a three-bedroom apartment.

The afternoon was spent playing games, talking, chasing an eight-month-old around, and trying to keep some semblance of order. Honor made enchiladas for dinner, and for dessert we had Ghirardelli brownies with ice cream. Honor is such a great cook that I never go away hungry. All too soon we had to head home and we bid the family farewell, wishing them good luck with their move this weekend.

Gratitude

This morning, while feeding Clara a bottle, Kristin asked me, "So did you bring you church clothes up from the car?" I looked at her. Church clothes. Car. Church clothes last seen on couch. Church clothes never made it in the car. Church clothes.location = Virginia. Oliver.location = Philly.

Sadly, this isn't the first time my church clothes haven't made the trip from the house to the car. When we went up to Boston for Joshua's baby blessing I put my body bag (my term for a garment bag) on the downstairs table so that the items therein wouldn't wrinkle. Well, everything remained wrinkle free as I forgot to load the bag into the car. Luckily Jared and I are the same size. I was able to borrow one of his suits.

So, I realized I was without a shirt and pants (of course I had church shoes, black socks, and my belt). Matthew and I are no where near the same size, and I wasn't in the mood to spend money on clothes. I was contemplating skipping church, but wanted to be a good example for the niece and nephews. It was then that I remembered Josh.

We met Josh & Julie the last time we were in Philly. He is my height and build; she, Kristin's. They have a son, JJ, who is close to Clara in age. Honor dug up his phone number - he is their hometeacher - and I re-introduced myself, asked how the family was doing, then asked if I could borrow a dress shirt and slacks. Josh came through with a shirt, slacks, and jacket that fit perfectly. If that doesn't count for a hometeaching visit for the quarter, I don't know what does.

So, today I'm grateful for people willing to lend clothing to someone they don't really know that well. Thanks, Josh.

Definition of a Couple (Updated)

There is a long standing feud in the Kristin/Oliver relationship about the definition of "couple". For example, when asking for something, "Could you grab me a couple _____?" how many is a couple? Kristin maintains that a couple is ALWAYS two. I maintain that a couple can be three or four. It all becomes very Seinfeldian when you hear someone retort, "Oh, a couple can be four."

All this as background to the statement: Kristin and I decided that we should head up to Philly for a couple of days. We haven't seen Matt, Honor & Family in a month or so, and wanted a chance to get away for a few days and play. And herein, a couple means two.

We took Route 15 north into Maryland to avoid 95. It was a lovely drive and we arrived at Matt & Honor's in just over three hours. We called Matt and told him to slip out of the apartment so we could surprise everyone. When we got upstairs, we sat Clara in front of the door and rang the doorbell. Honor answered, greeted Clara gleefully, and pulled her inside to play.

Jill, Honor's mother, is in town for the long weekend. We last saw Jill the Christmas we spent in Disney. I think that was 2003 or 2004. It's good to see her again. Tonight we introduced her to Farkel, Carcasonne, Killer Bunnies, Rita's, and chatted about this and that. Oh, the funniest thing happened. While driving to Rita's she was telling a story and - BAM - I realized where a bunch of Honor's mannerisms come from.

The afternoon included a dip in the pool - the water was too cold for Clara, bummer - complete with a few great rounds of Marco Polo. Every time Matt was it, and started coming after me, I would end up laughing as he weaved back and forth try to tag me, so hard that I would end up losing my breath, have to stop, and end up getting caught. Honor even got in on a few of the rounds.

The evening featured hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on the grill, a trip to Rita's, and some kids-in-bed-adults-only time. Matt and I stayed up quite late configuring his Wii to get online, talking, and watching bits and pieces of bad late-night TV. It's so nice to have them so close by.

UPDATE: This morning (9/3) Kristin asked me to get a couple of jars of baby food at the store. I asked, "Do you mean only two or do you mean more?" When she replied, "Six," I triumphantly replied, "A-ha! A couple can be SIX!" She glared.

Cleaning the Chapel

One of the Church's programs that I most respect is the member chapel cleaning program. For those not in the know, each week a number of families are assigned to come to the church on Saturday morning, perform some light cleaning, and set up the chairs in the classrooms and overflow.

This week it was our turn, so we delayed our Philly departure until later this morning and I headed to the chapel at 8am. Dan, our group leader, was already there and had vacuumed the halls, the overflow area, and the three largest classrooms. I took the job of vacuuming the rest of the classrooms and setting up the chairs.

In one classroom (actually the room I used when I taught the 7 year-olds in Primary), with the warm morning sun streaming through the window, I recalled all the reasons I like the member-cleaning program. Even though professional cleaners come once a week to do the heavy cleaning, having members involved in the care of the building not only helps each individual's appreciation for the physical structure increase, but also gives each member of the congregation a chance to serve, and be blessed for their service.

Five families showed up to help and I was on my way home after 42 minutes. I walked in the house awake and energized by the physical work, but also refreshed for having the chance to serve.