Twench's Web Log

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.

It smells yucky

2008-07-31T10:53:00.001-05:00

Can someone please explain to me why our entire town smells like the pachyderm house at Brookfield Zoo?

With Friends Like These

2008-07-28T14:32:00.001-05:00

What's the difference between a friend and a spammer?

The difference is when you receive an email with a picture attached and the only text is "Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?", if it's from a friend, you might actually open it. Thanks for the pic Stacey!

The Myth Maker

2008-07-22T16:46:00.002-05:00

I have discovered the answer to an archeological mystery that has stymied experts for centuries. How did the Greek mythologies get their start? Who was the first to tell of these stories? I have that answer my friends. All of Greek mythology was created by a parent of a 3 year old just to stop that infernal question "Why?".
I have now joined that great tradition of myth making in an effort to get my 3 year old to stop asking why. Honestly, how do you answer "Why is it raining?" Any scientifically accurate answer I could muster would almost immediately result in another why question. "Why does water evaporate?" "Why does water condense". Quite frankly, Lauren needs to be at least 5 years old if I'm going to lecture her in climatology (accreditation pending). So, I came up with this: "It's raining because the clouds are sad. Their friend, the sun, has left, so they're crying". Huzzah! That stopped the why questions! Of course, every time it rains now, Lauren has to repeat my newly created myth, but I can deal with that.

Growing up too fast

2008-07-16T15:54:00.002-05:00

It is amazing how fast the kids grow up.
In a matter of a few months, Eric went from crawling to running; gummy smile to 10 teeth; eating baby food to demanding my steaks for dinner. He also apparently suffers from PMS. I have no idea how this happens to a 15 month old boy, but it has. He can throw the most extraordinary fits imaginable. These fits usually include flinging his head into something hard. If you're lucky, it's an inanimate object instead of something animate ... like my cheek. What makes this PMS though is not the fit itself, but that in the middle of these fits, he laughs. This weekend, he was laying on the floor screaming like a banshee. As a concerned and caring father, I decided to pretend I was going to step on him. He found this hysterical. Each time I planted my foot on his stomach, he giggled and laughed and guffawed. Each time I removed my foot, he immediately resumed the tirade. No transition. No start up phase. It was Full Laugh - Full Scream - Full Laugh - Full Scream and so on. and I thought Lauren was moody!
Instead of throwing a fit, Lauren almost caused me to throw a fit. This morning, we cuddled on the couch and watch the Weather Channel. It was a great moment that I cherished, because earlier this morning, she did something that was a little too ... adult. Walking from Eric's room to ours, she tripped, got up and exclaimed "Awwww ... DAMMIT!" I froze in my tracks. I didn't know what to say. This was the first cuss word she's ever uttered. I wanted to chastise her, but I also wanted to compliment her on using it correctly. I mean, if one were to exclaim "Awww ... DAMMIT", that would be the time. I did gather my composure and explain that she used a bad word and she shouldn't speak like that. As with any parent, I then did a search of my mental data bank. I was worried that somehow I had taught her this exclamation and was going to pay the price when Debbie found out. I couldn't remember saying this around the kids, so I thought I was safe. Searching for a source, I mentioned the incident to Lauren's daycare provider. Her face said it all. One of the kids at daycare had said this phrase earlier. Phew! No retribution for me. I could safely tell debbie about the incident and not have my beating heart ripped out of my chest and, still beating, displayed for my horror. Now, that still might happen for Debbie's amusement, but at least it wouldn't be for a good reason ... well ... at least not THAT reason. There's reasons a plenty other than that, but I at least I wasn't guilty of teaching our daughter to curse.

Well, not yet anyway.

Gallery is back up

2008-07-09T16:59:00.004-05:00

Among other projects I've been working on the past few months, one of them is restoring our online photo gallery after a server crashed wrecked the hard drive. I used the opportunity to upgrade to Gallery 2.0 which has some nice features, like a random image as part of the web page. Anyway, the gallery is now up featuring photos starting in October 2007 going through February 2008. Still a lot of photos to post, but this will give you a nice start. The link is:

http://www.chrispy.net/~brown/gallery

It's my 2 cents damnit!

2008-06-09T21:27:00.004-05:00

I don't get upset very often. It's just not my nature. I like being jovial and making people laugh (or groan). Today, however, I got upset. In my typical style, it was a full 20 minutes after the event happened that I really began to steam, so not much I could do. Here's what got me hot under the collar:

We went to Culver's for lunch. After my meal, I indulged in a Concrete Mixer for $3.98. I give the teenager behind the counter $4. He then asks if I need the 2 cents back. Stunned, I state yes I would like MY change back.

So, here is what set me off. There were no "Give a penny, take a penny" bins. There was no donate to charity sign. This kid just wanted me to leave the 2 cents behind so he could pocket it. WHAT THE HELL?!?! Yes, it's only 2 cents, but who the hell is this snot nosed little punk to think he can just pocket it. You want a job with tips, don't work at Culvers! The use of the word "need" is especially offensive. No, I don't NEED 2 cents, but it's MY FARKING 2 CENTS!!! And what exactly is happening to this 2 cents? Are you going to use it to buy your girlfriend something nice, like 1/2 an M&M?

The more I think about it, the more steamed I get. So, I'll end with this: Lauren starts swim lessons tomorrow. I can't wait!

Band Meme

2008-06-04T15:57:00.002-05:00

Saw this making the rounds and thought I would try it.

1. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3. Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days" http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

So, please welcome the newest hit band, Karura, playing songs from their debut album "Is it's own punishment".

Best Headline of the day

2008-05-21T10:02:00.001-05:00

Obama wins Oregon; Hillary loses 3 oxen fording the river, and 2 members of her party have dysenteryAh memories.

It was nice quality time, til it wasn't

2008-05-01T14:13:00.003-05:00

Lauren has a little bout of pneumonia right now, so she and daddy had a day home together yesterday and today. I worked from home, but we managed to fit in some quality time.
Yesterday was lunch at the Cow and Ice Cream Restaurant (aka Colonial Cafe). I think I have found the perfect dessert buddy. Better even than Misss You Can Have the Ice Cream on the Molten Chocolate Cake. We topped off our lunch with a PBF Chipper replacing the peanut butter cup on top with mini M&M's. The sundae stands about 7 inches tall and Lauren, bless her heart, limits her entire experience to the layer of whipped cream and M&M's on the top. How great a dessert buddy is she? As I worked my way through the chocolate and chocolate chip ice cream with hot fundge and peanut butter sauce, Lauren opined

You can have the yucky stuff, daddy

Not only does she let me eat the good stuff, she thinks I'm a hero for doing it!!
Today, I asked if she wanted to go anywhere for lunch.

The CASTLE RESTAURANT!!!

Ah yes. The Castle Restaurant (known as the Village Squire to you and me Gus). On the way there, she realized what awaited.

Daddy, at the castle restaurant, they have POPCORN!!!!

Indeed they do have popcorn. And it is tasty.
With all this quality time, Lauren must have figured she was long overdue on making daddy look like an idiot. We had one more stop before heading home to get some supplies to fix a sink. Off to the hardware store we went. As we get out of the car, Lauren decides it's much too warm for jackets so she takes her off and asks me to do the same. I had to agree (it was pretty warm), so I took off our coats, put them in the car, locked it, and we went in to get the stuff. It was upon walking out that I realized what the pipsqueak was really up to. My keys were still in the coat. In the locked car. Great! I was able to get in touch with a locksmith friend to open the car, but that wasn't enough humiliation for the angelic looking imp. No, she had to let EVERYONE who walked in and out of the store know that daddy had locked us out of the car. Not just one or two people. EVERYONE! The twinkle in her eye and smirk on her face let me know this was no accident. She had set me up. And this was her time to remind me who's boss. I was never happier to see my friend then when he got there.
Next time, we're walking babe.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED

2008-04-29T21:58:00.003-05:00

Today, I get one of those scary emails about a recall. Surprisingly, this wasn't a spam, but a legitimate notification. More importantly, this recall affected the infant carrier we bought last year. I was very concerned so I read carefully what was wrong with the carrier and what I could do to fix it.

So what was the big problem with our carrier?

The phone number for the NHTSA on a sticker was incorrectly listed, so they had to issue a recall and send people a new sticker with the correct number. Boy am I glad they issued that important safety recall!

The Deal Hunter Strikes Again

2008-04-28T15:12:00.003-05:00

Score one for the internet!!

4 tickets to Baltimore, 1 rental car for 4 days: $695.

Not bad. I do, however, wish the trip were for a better reason.

Want to Feel Old?

2008-04-16T16:25:00.004-05:00

First the good news: New X-Files movie coming out July 25th! Current Title is "The X-Files: I Want to Believe".

Now, the bad news: The first X-Files movie was released 10 years ago. TEN!!! WTF!!! The series premiered SIXTEEN YEARS AGO!! Suddenly, I feel the need for a walker.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/16/film.xfiles.title.ap/index.html

Dad: One exceptionally good at embarassing you

2008-04-14T17:51:00.000-05:00

I'm at home today with a sick little one. Fortunately, it's the bigger little one. Lauren woke up screaming last night complaining about her ears. So, I stayed home with her and took her to the doctor. The doctor asked which ear hurt, but she clammed up tighter than ... well ... a clam. (My analogies are just horrid today). He took a look in the right ear and exclaimed "Oooh, I guess it's the right one." To be thorough, he checked the left ear. That led him to say, "Hmm ... I guess it's both!". Not only that, but the infection has blistered some. Based on his explanation, it was a shock Lauren hadn't spent the whole day just writhing in agony. Except ... other than the outburst last night, she's been her normal self.
To make for a special day, I decided to take her to a restaurant for lunch. Naturally, the restaurant chosen is more known for it's ice cream sundaes than food. After all, M&M minis, whip cream, and a cherry on top of a chocolate and chocolate chip ice cream smothered in hot fudge and peanut butter would brighten anyone's day. (Except for maybe billwith2js).
After lunch, we got her medicine and headed home. I had to do some work (what a lovely use of PTO), during which she was quite understanding. Once that was done, it was time for fun. We played with now half deflated balloons from Eric's party this weekend. That included her laughing hysterically as I tried to keep 2 balloons in the air by diving left and right and making mince meat of my knees. It was painful, but her laugh just erases any sense of pain.
At one point, I asked if she wanted to play keep the balloons in the air, but she preferred to watch and laugh.

Me: Ah! I see. You like seeing me make a fool of myself.
Her: Don't worry daddy! I know you can do it!

I thought I had a few more years before having to deal with a snarky daughter! She's just growing up too fast. Next thing you know, she'll be doing that tongue click/eye roll combo when I inevitably say something stupid or embarrassing. After all, what is being a father except doling out embarrassment as often as possible?