Now, granted, it’s a kick-ass mini-van, but still…
A close picture to the one we’ve decided on:
We’ve both test driven it, and we agree that it doesn’t feel like what we anticipated in a van’s driveability. It has a better sound system than I’ve ever had in a car (granted, that just means all the speakers work properly) and better gas mileage than I was expecting (21 or so based on the car’s computer - from test drives and such).
For longer trips, it will be a much more comfortable ride than the four hours we spent going each way to Kris’ parents’ this week. Each boy can have his own row, and we still have more storage space than I had hoped in the rear.
For day to day driving, the boys will sit in the same row, but we’ll have the added convenience of extra hauling capacity. Once they start playing the “He’s touching me” whining game, perhaps they’ll have their own rows for day to day as well.
I am a bibliomaniac, at least in training. I am 27 years old and I own over 700 books which are cataloged and on my shelves in my current home. I have a few boxes of books that still reside with my parents as well. Collecting books has always been a passion of mine.
I buy books as if there is nothing but tomorrows which will need to be filled with reading. In my personal library, over 120 books are labeled “unread” but I am eagerly awaiting at least one more book which I pray will be received within the next two days.
There is a fairly well-known challenge to read 50 books in one year. As of right now, I am at 46. Two of the books I received from my marvelous husband are already started. I should be able to complete them by this evening. (And no, they are not children’s picture books.) If I pushed myself, I could finish what I am reading to Gabe currently within two days. (Reading aloud takes a bit longer than reading silently.)
If I get the book I desparately want from Kris’ parents in the next two days, I’ll hole myself up in the bedroom there and hit the mark with a day or two to spare, even.
Have You Found Her is a memoir that reads like a novel, as though Janice Erlbaum created a roadmap for her story before beginning to experience it. It is a tightly written, engaging story of a woman’s dismal past and prosperous present, which draw her to reach out to a young junkie savant. Erlbaum falls in maternal love with Sam, wanting to teach, protect and drive her to success; she goes to lengths that seem unjustified, but never unbelievable given the strength of love that is portrayed through the words.
Addiction is a persistent theme, creating a mood that urges the reader on to the next paragraph, the next page, and the next chapter. As Erlbaum becomes more and more attached to Sam, the reader is bound by the same passion because of the elegant urgency of the writing and the reality behind it.
The harried relationship between Erlbaum and Sam demands that the reader choose a side. The emotional connections created for the reader by intimacy of the memoir demand a fairly constant fluctuation between the sides. The reader is forced to understand the struggle that Erlbaum faced in her relationship with Sam.
The truths depicted within the memoir caused a connection with the story to the point of audible gasps while reading and rereading passages. This reader could not give higher praise.
Bright sides of the bouts of insomnia that have been occuring after the 3 AM feedings?
- During the week, I can go to the gym at 5:00.
- I can take care of some chores that need to be done, if I so choose.
- Uninterrupted reading time in the most comfortable chair in the house.
- Pumping works beautifully in the morning. Today was 9 ounces of freezable gold.
Down side of the bouts of insomnia?
- I can’t stop saying it as “bouts of insanity.”
Gabe went to daycare for the first time today. As most any infant will, he accepted it readily. I, not so much.
I dropped the boys off at the school around 8:15. I finally got out of there, tears still streaming down my face, about 20 minutes later.
The office party was long and generous. The catering was provided by one of my favorite restaurants, Mesh. There was a cash booth, in which much money was grabbed (not by me, but I’m happy for the ones who did well). One of the employees was paid the rate I suggested of $10/curse word the owner had spoken over the past year during full-staff meetings. I really hope the woman needed that money, or puts it to good use. The costume party was amazing. My team really needs to put something together for next year. I think I’ll start brainstorming now.
At the end of the day, I was a mess from being away from my infant for a full day. There was some dilemma about my position in the company, and I let my emotions run too high, but I’m dealing much better now. And now I’m home, and ready to spend the holidays with my wonderful family.
I haven’t been posting much because I’ve been distracted by dad related activities and poorly managing my time, but I’ve saved a variety of geek related tidbits to talk about.
First, check out this wonderful poster created by Scott Johnson to display many of the varied geek types. Overall I fit in about 17 of the different categories in some form or another. How many do you fit in? Let’s see how many of these archetypes I can hit in this post!
I’d like to give a shout out to my former roomate and fellow geek Mike Ringenbach for working on bringing back online text games and getting noticed for it.
Also, a very geeky thank you to Coach for giving me my new favorite shirt (see below) and for lending me one of my new favorite comic series; Star Wars Legacy. If you like Star Wars or comics you should check out Cade Skywalker’s story.
Elsewhere in geekery The Hobbit is going to be made into two movies with Peter Jackson as the producer. He won’t be directing, but let’s hope that his presence brings about the quality seen in The Lord of The Rings. Hayden and I read The Hobbit for bedtime and eventually Gabe and I will as well. By the time the movies are done the boys will likely be 5 and 8 years old. Hopefully the resulting films will be something we can enjoy together.
Duke Nukem Forever, the longest running gag in video games (10 years in development and still no release date in sight) has released its first teaser since 2001.
Is this game/genre still relevant? The entire series revolved around shooting aliens with ridiculously oversized/Freudian guns, one liners ripped from They Live and the Evil Dead movies, and paying strippers to jiggle their various money makers. Duke Nukem is an archive of the days when the average gamer was still in pimples and tighty-whities who’s only interaction with girls was paper or virtual.
Now the average gamers age is 33. Most of us have grown up, met a few girls, discovered them to be rich deep individuals to be interacted with on multiple levels. Now we have games like Portal which is not only unique, beautifully designed, hilarious and well written, but also contains an all female cast with ZERO characters cast as one-dimensional sex objects.
Duke’s been outgrown, it’s time for him to lay down and go the way of the Atari; cheaply and overused.
Since I brought up Portal I want to point out this merchandise which I know want more than anything else in the world today:
Of course, if you haven’t played Portal, then you can’t understand my affection for the Weighted Companion Cube, but you should know that it loves me and speaks to me.
It’s been 4 days since I’ve been to the gym. Weekends are a bit tough to go, since I love spending time with my boys. Monday didn’t happen, as my car was in the shop. Tuesday didn’t happen as I was either bed- or bathroom-ridden.
I didn’t wake up in the best of moods. I wanted to skip today, too, but I made myself go. I feel so much better, and that precise scale they have? Yeah, it has me at 178.8!
I know I’m still far overweight, but I’m lower than my pre-Gabe pregnancy weight, even according to a scale I can’t manipulate!
(Don’t burst my bubble with, “Well, you were very sick just a day ago; you lost a lot of water weight which will come back.)
The costume party was amazing. My team really needs to put something together for next year. I think I’ll start brainstorming now. 
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