Twench's Web Log

It sounded good to start

2009-02-02T21:45:00.002-06:00

I recently decided that I didn't have enough time wasters in my life. I was perilously close to having to resort to work to pass the time. So, I gave crack a try ... or as the layman calls it, "Facebook".

Actually, I broke down and opened an account after the 1000th person chided me for not having one. I have been there ever since. Sorry about that.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T16:51:00.004-06:00

Welcome to 2009 people!

After all our holiday travels, we like to spend New Year's a bit more quiet than most. There was an early evening visit to a friend's house, with homemade pizzas and store bought cake. That soiree adjourned around 9 so we could get the kids to bed. Our evening was spent quietly in front of the TV watching a $0.99 rental of Iron Man (I love Amazon Unbox and Tivo!!!). It's a great movie with a ridiculously powerful cast for what was, ostensibly, an action super hero movie. The movie was so good, we forgot to pause it at 11 so we could watch the ball drop. We didn't even notice til my mom called a bit after 11 to wish us a happy new year.

For those that haven't heard yet, my dad lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on the 18th. It was a bittersweet moment, but I was glad to see he didn't suffer. We were planning to head to Detroit for Christmas on the 23rd. Obivously, that was delayed so we could fly to and from Baltimore for the funeral. I wish the weather cooperated a bit more. Our flight back was delayed due to a ground stop at O'Hare (surprise). Lauren and Eric were both wonderful seeing as we had to sit in the plane for an hour before it was allowed to take off. It would have been better if I had remembered the DVD player, but they were still very good. The drive to Detroit was marred by downpours for most of Michigan that limited visibility to about 1/2 mile.

I'm hoping to post this on the 2nd, but the hosting company for chrispy.net is having connection issues.

WTF?!?!

2008-12-18T11:11:00.002-06:00

Before continuing, please click the linka nd read the second to last paragraph.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/18299454/detail.html

Okay, WTF?!?!?! No, not the torturing with barbecue tongs. I just want to know where the hell this guy gets off calling 5'5" "very short"?!?! Dennis Ferrier better watch it or he may find a very short person's foot where the sun don't shine

For you, I'd consider it.

2008-12-11T13:30:00.002-06:00

On Saturday, Debbie and Lauren went to a mother-daughter event at our church. That left Eric and I home to cause all sorts of troubles. A few months ago, I joined Lifetime Fitness so Lauren and I could use their pool. They have a lovely walk in pool, so I figured Eric might enjoy a mid-winter swim. Lauren and I normally use the family locker room since children of the opposite sex are not allowed in the regular gender specific locker rooms. With Eric, I got to use the men's locker room.

I had always known my pasty, jiggly, rotund figure did not really blend well with the physiques on display at Lifetime. I didn't care though, I was there for my daughter. I had no idea how insulating the family locker room was for my self image. In the mens locker room, there are 4 sets of lockers in a U shape with a bench in the center. I picked one and started getting Eric and myself ready. At this point, a young man I could only describe as an Adonis walked in. This guy was tall, muscular (but not too much), square jaw, the works. So, there I stand, flubby (it's fatty with the flubber jiggle) and white next to a male super model. I'm not gay, but if this guy asked nicely, I would have to consider it.

Words you do not want your mechanic to say

2008-12-09T11:28:00.004-06:00

When explaining a problem the van is having, the mechanic had a reaction that did not inspire confidence. Four times now, when Debbie was driving, all the warning lights on the dashboard would light and the van would shut off. The mechanic's reaction: "Really? ... Huh." That prompted an internal monologue reaction of "Crap. Kaching."

My fears seem warranted when the follow up call came:

Mr Brown? This is Drippy the Grease Monkey. Um ... we're going to start with replacing the air control valve, updating the computer, and performing an induction service

This cannot end well.

Post Thanksgiving Wrap up

2008-11-27T18:50:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving at the condo went very well. My brother got his Vicadin, so he's doing much better now. Dinner was fantastic. My sister in law cooked the turkey, steaks, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, and crescent rolls while we went down to the inlet to walk the boardwalk and play some video games. Lauren and I had a blast playing a mini bowling game, another game where you roll 5 balls so they fall into these slots to make poker hands (she hit a full house!), and skee-ball. She loved all 3 and hated it when we had to head back. My niece, Alexis, is a riot! She would run around with a ball, throw it to someone (say Debbie), exclaim "I Trowed it to Debbie!" and repeat. Lauren got through dinner pretty well, especially with the promise and threat of dessert. Eric kept running and running until we put on the Peanut's Thanksgiving Special. As with all things TV, he stopped dead in his tracks and watched that for a while. I watched closely to see if he would undo the button of his pants, belch loudly, and fall asleep. Alas, only dad did that.

Obligatory Happy Thanksgiving Post

2008-11-27T10:00:00.004-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Hope yours is as uneventful as mine. So far, we've traveled to the hospital where my brother was admitted for a kidney stone. Have you tried finding an open pharmacy on Thanksgiving morning? It's not easy. We're back at the condo now, where my sister-in-law is going to start preparing our Thanksgiving feast of steak, crab cakes, Turkey, homemade mashed potatoes, puppy chow, and other traditional Thanksgiving food items. While she cooks, we are required to vacate the premises, so we're going to get some breakfast (finally!). Then it's down to the inlet to play video games and skee-ball at Marty's Playland. Tonight, we're going to the Winterfest of Lights. We saw a sampling of it last night with Lauren. She was thrilled and cannot wait to tell her friends at school. She saw Santa Claus, Snowmen, reindeer, penguins, whales, starfish, seashells, mermaids, and octopi. So, a typical American Thanksgiving.

What?

Forty-one Months

2008-11-20T22:55:00.004-06:00

Forty-one months! That's almost 3 and 1/2 years. That's the last time gas in my area was below $2.00/gallon. Today it was $1.97. Now I can finally afford to get that H2 I've had my eye on. ;)

Sometimes, shouldn't the carrot just be a carrot?

2008-11-04T09:48:00.004-06:00

While I think voting is our civic duty, I also don't mind a little carrot to entice some people to the polls. However, I would prefer that, in a country where the average scale now has "DAAAAAMMNNN!!!" as a reading, perhaps we should be offering actual carrots instead of free Starbucks Coffee, Krispy Kreme Donuts, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. How about a Weight Watchers meal?

I'm not ready for surprises

2008-11-03T21:10:00.003-06:00

This weekend was marked by several surprises.

The first was the weather. It was absolutely gorgeous outside! We spent a good deal of time playing and enjoying one of the last few days before the cold really sets in.

The second surprise was the amount we got done. There was a ton of stuff we had to do to get ready for Lauren's party next week and we managed to knock a huge chunk of it out.

The third surprise was Eric playing with his circus during nap. Why was that a surprise? Because it's not in his crib!!! During his nap time, Debbie noticed there were odd sounds of playing. Playing with items he should not be able to reach from the crib. She rushed upstairs and peered under the door. Sure enough, little feet made their way in front of the door and out of sight again. HE'S ONLY EIGHTEEN MONTHS OLD!! Lauren was in her crib until 2 when we moved her to a toddler bed. She never attempted the Houdini-esque feats the Eric exhibited this weekend. Fortunately, we have a little bit of time. After leaving Eric in his room to play for the rest of what is now "Quiet Time" instead of "Nap Time", I was able to lower the crib mattress down to the final notch. That should give us about 1-2 months before he's able to do this again ... I hope.

Best Election Blog Post to date

2008-10-30T13:21:00.004-05:00

I just found what I consider to be the best election blog post to date. Regardless of your affiliation, you should enjoy this one:

Say Something Nice About the Candidate You Don't Support

The author is spot on. It brightens your day a bit to look on the positive side of someone, even if you do disagree with them.

Conflicted

2008-10-20T22:05:00.003-05:00

I don't know if this is a good thing or bad, but Valparaiso is the top headline right now on Fark.

My opponents suturing skills suck!

2008-10-18T22:00:00.002-05:00

Did you know that coroners are elected officials? I didn't. I figured that a qualified medical professional would be interviewed and hired. Instead, I'm seeing re-election signs for a coroner. Re-election? Is he worried? What exactly are the campaign offices of a coroner supposed to do? I can see it now:

*sinister voice*Dan Reed says you can trust him as your coroner, but can you really? The truth is Dan Reed prefers butterfly sutures, just like Osama bin Laden. We can't afford a coroner that irresponsible with suturing. This November, vote Eddie Brown for coroner. He will treat his subjects with the care they deserve. He uses a patriotic (whatever the hell is different from a butterfly suture) suture.
I'm Eddie Brown and I approve this message.

Home Ownership with all it's suckitude

2008-10-08T22:34:00.003-05:00

A while ago, we noticed the basement seemed a little more damp than usual. Then, water stains started appearing on the baseboards in my office. This is one of those things you just don't want to know. If you investigate, you know it's going to cost some mucho dinero. Finally, though, we felt we had to get to the bottom of it.

In my office is a gorgeous wood shelf that was placed inside an alcove. Well, there WAS a shelf. I had to rip it out piece by piece since that seemed to be the focal point of the water stains. Once that was done, we had someone stop by to give us an estimate. After looking at my demolition work, he thought there might not be a crack in the foundation at all, it might be coming over the top of the wall somehow. Oh how I hoepd he was right. Alas, no. Today's rains showed water emanating from a hole in the middle of the wall. One leak found.

While looking outside, I noticed another crack in the foundation that seemed significant. Its location could not be worse. 1 foot to the left and it's in the unfinished basement. 1 foot to the right and it's accessible by a drop ceiling. Unfortunately, it's right where our ceiling had to be built around an I-Beam. So, more demolition for me as soon as I figure out how to put the computers somewhere functional. I'm not going to live without my computers damnit!

And we're back

2008-10-08T16:07:00.003-05:00

Two weeks! That's how long my blog was out of service. At best, I could get blogger to post in one of my feeds, but the main page was never updated. There are a lot of updates to talk about, but I need to earn my paycheck now.

It's apparently easy being me

2008-10-07T00:35:00.000-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
7,404
people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

*sniff* and here I thought I was special.

Depression sets in

2008-10-03T16:32:00.001-05:00

The city is awash in depression. The Cubs better pick it up or there is going to be mass suicide.

Techincal Difficulties

2008-09-29T22:34:00.001-05:00

Been having problems posting via blogger for the past week. Still working on it.

test

2008-09-19T21:38:00.008-05:00

Stupid blogger refuses to make me post. It's censorship ... I know it.

Eating everyday is overrated

2008-09-19T10:03:00.009-05:00

Last night was the first night this week I had dinner with my family. This has been just an insane week due to both work and home schedules. Obviously, a little recap is on order.
Monday was occupied with swimming, or so we thought. Lauren started her swim lessons last Saturday and I feel it's important that she practices what she learns at least once between each lesson. So, off we went to the YMCA. Since the open swim time is 7-8, my night was basically show up at home, grab Lauren, head back out. No dinner for me. We get to the Y, tell the desk attendant we're there for open swim. She hands us a lock for the Family locker room and off we go. We change into our swimsuits, take a quick shower and head out to the pool. The lifeguard, who knows us because she's there at the swim lesson time too, seemed shocked. Turns out, there is no open swim on Monday Night. In fact, the only open swim on a week night is Tuesday 7-8. GAH!!! There's Lauren, wrapped in her towel all excited to go swimming when I have to break her little heart and tell her we can't. Poor thing just stood there not saying a word, wearing a slight pout on her face. I explained that the pool wasn't open for practicing swimming, only for people in class and that we would have to come back the next night. I also said it was alright to be sad or disappointed because I was too, but we still had to leave. She understood and we went back to the locker room to dry off and change into our clothes. She took this so calmly, I decided a little reward was in order. I told her that because she was so good when I said we had to leave without swimming, we were going to get an ice cream. That seemed to lift her spirits and she began talking again. You gotta love phrases like "I a little disappointed, but it's okay" coming from the mouth of a 3 year old. After a quick call home to explain what as going on, it was off to Colonial Cafe for a little sundae. In lieu of dinner, a Peanut Butter Fudge Chipper Sundae shared with Lauren was a nice substitute.
Tuesday brought actual swimming. Again, it was a get home, grab Lauren, head back out. Again ... no dinner for me. Why diet when you can just not eat? Lauren loved swimming, jumping into the pool, practicing her sit dives, and kicking off the wall. After swimming was over, Lauren asked if we could get another ice cream. How do you tell a child that we could go get an ice cream, but only if she never wanted to see daddy again. Because mommy would kill him.
Wednesday brought tutoring math at the local library. I did manage to scarf down some KFC, so that's 1 for 3 on actually having dinner. this particular session had to be the most stressful of all the ones I've done. There were NINE kids!!!! NINE!!! There were 2 tutors. Because I'm better at switching gears between the different subjects (trigonometry, geometry, algebra, geography, and basic math), I took 5 kids while the other tutor focused his efforts on the 2 kids who needed close supervision. It worked, but I was exhausted after 2 hours.
Last night, while I get dinner with the family, it wasn't be at home. The PTL at Lauren's preschool is held a family picnic night. KFC was on the menu again. Nothing like variety in one's diet to make skipping dinner seem not so bad. :P They had little signs marking the spots for each class. I managed to forget plates and silverware while at KFC, but the parents there were extremely helpful. One ran into the school's kitchen to get us some plastic ware. I think we're going to like it here. The best part of the evening was watching Lauren run around with the other kids. We don't often get to see her interact in this way, but it was quite enjoyable. She joined up with about 5 kids and they began running around in a line. Starting at the fence, going to the trees, around the soccer goal, and back. Eric loved running too. It's always hard to judge your own childrens development, but several parents seemed quite impressed with Eric's running, considering he's only 17 months old. I'm sure I can guess Lauren's favorite part. The giant dessert table filled with cookies and brownies and cake. It's always a nice excuse to make several visits to the dessert table under the guise of "getting stuff for your family". "Why of course Eric likes Lofthouse cookies! That's why I picked up 4." Maybe this not eating dinner thing is a way to gorge myself on those days I do eat dinner. Hmm ... have to study this one further.

Shhhh.

2008-09-12T01:24:00.003-05:00

Work has kept me incredibly busy. As evidenced by this post, I guess. Just logged off so I can get some sleep before taking Lauren to preschool tomorrow. Since today kind of sucked, I felt the need to post what Lauren told me this morning.

Daddy, we got you cake but I not tell you cuz it's a secret.

Brings a smile to my face even at 1:30 in the morning after a very long day.

The Good, The Bad, The Sobbing

2008-08-27T21:42:00.003-05:00

Even though Lauren's first day of preschool was short, it went fairly well. She was shy most of the time, but did play a bit and even managed to talk to a few of the other kids. This evening, she even told mommy she wanted to go back to the school.

The bad was on the way back to daycare. I made the mistake of saying when she got back, it would be lunch time and, probably, a nap. She immediately realized that outside play time had passed and she wasn't there for it. That started a host of issues. She began to cry, which makes her clingy, which forced me to carry her downstairs at daycare. That then caused Eric to catch a glimpse of me, so I had to hold him for a little while. So, she's crying, he's crying, and the daycare provider is doing their best to help me. In the end, I just handed Eric off and ran out.

Hopefully, this transition will get better in time. I just need to remember to keep my big mouth shut.

Going Insane

2008-08-27T09:41:00.003-05:00

Waiting for one thing is nerve wracking enough. Waiting for two will drive me downright batty. Today is Lauren's first day of pre-school. It's a really short day to serve as a Meet & Greet. Class starts at 10:30. It's no 9:40. I want to leave now, but that sets the arrival time about 30 minutes too soon. Don't want to look like a freak the first day. I really need to save that for the 2nd day.

Also, we recently ordered a new camera to replace our now dead-as-a-doornail Canon A80. The package requires someone to sign for it. UPS tried to deliver it yesterday but no one was home. If they come in the next 20 minutes, we'll be here to sign for it. We do have a backup plan (disposable cameras were on sale for $2 at Meijer), but it would be nice to make the first pictures on the new camera Lauren's 1st day of school.

Guh! This wait is killing me.

A Close One Averted

2008-08-14T08:42:00.005-05:00

Tragedy almost struck early in this trip. While driving to Ocean City, Debbie came to the horrific realization that our camera had gone to the great pixel screen in the sky. The LCD on our Canon had been acting up, but we were always able to take pictures. This time, though, we couldn't even take pictures. Debbie was inconsolable. This great family time would not have any photos to remember. Plans were made to run to Walmart to get a new one when my mom made an astounding announcement. My parents, the people who recently developed a roll of film that took it's first picture at Christmas 1997, recently bought a new digital camera. Not only that, but they actually remembered to bring it with them! Our trip was saved. And thanks to that good news, Debbie was able to take a video of Lauren's very first wipe out in the ocean. [Quicktime needed to see video]

A Day of Firsts

2008-08-11T20:37:00.002-05:00

A ton of milestones were reached today:

Lauren's first round of miniature golf.
Lauren getting knocked down by a wave for the first time.
Eric walking into the ocean for the first time (immediately followed by his first retreat from said ocean).
Lauren's first trek into the ocean with daddy.

Ocean City is a ton of fun, as usual. We got hit with some thunderstorms yesterday, but tons of sun today made for a good beach day.