The Summer Has Begun

I realized this evening that this week marks the beginning of at least nine weeks where I won't be working more than four days in a week --
Week of:
May 28 -- Memorial Day, off Monday
June 4 -- Wedding in Boston, off Friday
June 11 -- Jury Duty, out of office Monday thru ?
June 18 -- RateBeer Summer Gathering in Minneapolis, off Friday
June 25 -- RateBeer Summer Gathering in Minneapolis, off Monday
July 2 -- 4th of July, off Wednesday
July 9 -- Family Vacation in Maine starts, off Friday
July 16 -- Family Vacation continued, off all week
July 23 -- Family Vacation ends, off Monday

And given that it's two months off, there's still plenty of time to plan something for the week of July 30. ;)

Update from a Slacker

Not writing for a few days that turns into a week that becomes over three weeks leaves lots of things to tell, which makes it hard to know where to begin, and what to leave out. Emelia is crawling, is pulling herself up, eats solid food, screeches far too much, and has two bottom teeth that are plainly visible but that she never shows. She doesn't like going to bed, and often she pulls herself up to standing position in the crib and cries for us to get her. She hasn't mastered how to sit down, so at least once we've heard a thump followed by genuine screams. It begs the question of how one babyproofs a crib. The nanny is working out well -- Emelia seems very happy when we pick her up at day's end.

Work isn't as bad as I remember from before my paternity leave (which is not to say that it's good). I figure it's either because the time away served to refresh me, or the emphasis on the family helped to adjust my perspective.

May 5 was Kathy's birthday, and for the weekend around it Kathy's mom and two aunts visited. On the birthday itself, we, along with various parts of the families of three of Kathy's first cousins, went to a restaurant that's owned and run by one of the cousins. Emelia was introduced to asparagus soup, which she absolutely loved.

And we had an altogether great time, which makes me wonder why we almost never get together with these cousins despite the fact that they all live in Silver Spring, less than 30 minutes from us. I mean, I sort of know why -- Kathy isn't good at keeping in touch with people, then gets embarrassed about not keeping in touch, so she decides that she shouldn't keep in touch. Sort of.

The following weekend was Kathy's first Mothers Day. We didn't do anything amazing -- instead we met up with Shizuka (also celebrating her first Mothers Day), Eric, Kaz, and Mac (someone who went to college with Kathy and Shizuka and who was in town on business). We walked along the Mall, and enjoyed a beautiful day. Kaz and Emelia are starting to interact, but there's still not that much of it.





For a week I resumed my sporadic jogging. Two days in a row I got up early, walked to Lincoln Park, and did four laps around the park, which I estimate to be a little more than 1.5 miles. I took a day off, then went three more days in a row, the last one pushing for the fifth lap. It's not the most exciting thing to jog in circles, but it was good because I don't have to cross streets, which lets me leave my glasses at home (my vision's not wretched enough to prevent me from functioning without them in such situations, but I'd never drive or read without them). What made me stop was soreness in the joints where my feet and legs come together. It could be from jogging on bricks, as those aren't the best running surface, but whatever the cause was, I stopped nearly two weeks ago, so any increase in stamina or physical condition has long since ebbed to nothing.

May 16 was Kathy's and my 8th anniversary. Kathy ordered sushi in -- yum!!

On Thursday I got a call from Kathy, quite panicky, that Nora had bitten Emelia. (For those of you who don't know, Nora is an over sized Shih Tzu, making her all of about 18 pounds.) Emelia ended up with quite a cut just below her eye, but she's fine -- she'd be perfectly content to play with Nora again, if we'd let her. Nora has never been fully comfortable around children, with their hands that poke and grab fur. At the same time, she recognizes Emelia is part of the pack. So Nora dances between keeping her distance and getting close, especially now that Emelia is eating (and dropping) solids. We can't have Nora biting Emelia, but we also know there's no viciousness -- she just didn't like Emelia's reaching at her. We're not sure whether there's a solution, other than that if it happens again, Nora will likely end up moving to a new home, either to Kathy's parents or to Tom & Anna's.

I think that brings things near up-to-date with our lives. With luck I won't let that much time go by before my next post.

The Transition

Wednesday was the best of times, and the worst of times. I might have had the most wonderful day yet with Emelia -- she was so interactive, and stayed in good spirits most of the day. She hit a couple of milestones as well -- in the morning, she was able to stand using her activity table for support, rather than be supported by a person; and in the afternoon she sat up on her own for the first time (as opposed to sitting when someone puts her in the proper position). I felt as close to her that day as I ever have.

When evening came, and I put her to bed, I was in tears, realizing that my paternity leave was over, and that we wouldn't have another opportunity to be alone together. I understand that we will, but it'll be a day here and there rather than the block we've had, and which made it so great. When I started paternity leave, I saw it as an opportunity to bond with my daughter, but also to avoid a workplace where I'm not very happy, to provide Kathy with the opportunity to figure out the sort of work schedule she wanted, and to keep both Kathy's and my incomes flowing for a little longer before she might reduce her hours. On Wednesday evening, all I cared about was the bond with Emelia -- none of the other reasons mattered in the slightest.

Thursday was a difficult day -- Kathy and Emelia walked me to the Metro, but that didn't make things easier. I was back at work full-time, and all I wanted to do was be home with Emelia. I think I whined about that to two dozen people in the office. When I got home Emelia was already in bed, which saddened me even more. Fortunately she woke up a little later, which meant I got to see her before I headed out to the DC United game that evening. Her smile lit me up, as it always does, but this time it did even more for me. It pointed out the obvious, that I'll still see her every day, and that doing so will still be special.

Somehow Friday it didn't hurt as much.

Good News/Bad News

Last night Emelia slept eight hours straight, easily her longest stretch at one time. Unfortunately, her night of sleep began at 5:30pm.

Eastern Market

Weren't you there when the carousel burned down
The fire and confusion, the smoke and the sound
I swear you were there when the carousel burned down
We were all around
The rings charred and tarnished all over the ground
And the heads hung down
And we all left town the next day

-- Todd Rundgren, The Night The Carousel Burnt Down

On days that I walk to work, I pass the main building of the Library of Congress, the U.S. Capitol, House Office Buildings, the Botanical Gardens, the Museum of the American Indian, the Air and Space Museum, and the Smithsonian Castle. The first landmark on my journey, however, is Eastern Market -- housed in an historic building and operating continuously since 1873, it's part of my neighborhood and it's the only market left in town. While the other sites on my walk are attractions for everyone, few tourists know of Eastern Market. They don't wait in line on a warm Saturday morning to get a stack of blues (blueberry pancakes) at Market Lunch, get great cheeses from the curmudgeonly cheese monger, or attend the outdoor weekend markets filled with arts and crafts. Off the top of my head, I count eight pictures we've bought at Eastern Market that hang in our house.

My first date with Kathy started at Eastern Market -- it was my first visit to Eastern Market, even though I had moved to Capitol Hill about a month earlier. I'm not sure I knew it was much more than a Metro stop the five years I lived in the Virginia suburbs, but now it's the center of my community.

In the wee hours of this morning the South Hall, which houses the food merchants, was badly damaged by fire (fortunately, no one was hurt). I felt compelled to see the horror for myself this morning, and here are the pictures I took (and here are some photos by the Washington Post). The mayor and other city officials and representatives have already promised to rebuild, and to find alternate places for the merchants whose shops were lost in the meantime.

Still a Work in Progress...

...but I wanted to share something that's mostly done, namely, the front of the house getting painted.

Here's a taste of what our house has looked like since we moved in (the one with the cherry tree in front of it, not the one with the flag) --


We'd been talking about painting the house for several years, but never had gotten around to it until this year. This was partly due to laziness, partly due to expense, and largely due to not knowing what color we wanted to paint it. The fact that neither of us were home during the day also played a role in it.

The work started almost a month ago, but with the bad weather, we'd been stuck with just the primer on it for a couple of weeks. Color started showing up this past Friday, and today they got most of the visible details finished (though most of the wrought iron still needs painting, as does the trim around the door). Now it looks like this --

Solid News

Kathy swears that some of the cracker ends up in Emelia's stomach, but I'm skeptical. Still, as you can see we've started introducing solids to Emelia. She wasn't too keen on Cheerios, but she really seems to enjoy the salt (or something) in the Ritz crackers.

We've found a nanny, for far more than we planned on paying. She interacted very well with Emelia at the interview, and all signs are that she's very good -- Kathy and I decided that these, and not the expense, are the things that are really important. The nanny's name is Avery, and she starts May 7, the day Emelia turns six months. It's almost like we're saying, "Happy half-year birthday -- you're officially old enough to be left with a stranger, so see ya!"

Kathy went part-time (Monday through Wednesday) as of last week -- she's already much happier with the balance between work and family.

While Kathy was home this past Thursday, I returned to work for the day. I'm also going in this Friday, then I return to regular schedule on May 3 (and with Kathy off on the 3rd and 4th, that's why we don't need the nanny until the 7th).

But, But -- Republicans were in Control When It Passed

After reading this letter to the editor, I have to conclude that newspapers don't have any responsibility to protect people from themselves.

Update 4/25/07

Flags at half-mast

Over the weekend as I drove around town, I saw that flags were at half-mast all over town. Since then, I confirmed that President Bush had ordered flags to be flown at half-mast through yesterday in honor of the Virginia Tech dead.

While it's sad that those 32 people died, and while I don't have an objection to their being mourned nationally in such a way, I was struck by the lack of similar recognition given to the American soldiers, many the same age as the students who died in Blacksburg, who are dying every day in Iraq, and to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. The Blacksburg 32 get a week of such recognition, while the 3,000+ who have died over the past five years in the service of their country are recognized as part of a day of national mourning (Memorial Day) along with all other fallen soldiers from all other wars.

It's not my call to decide when flags should be flown at half-mast nationally, but it is for my blog. So in honor of the American soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, I've added a flag at half-mast to my blog, and will continue to display it for as long as we have combat troops dying in these countries. If you click on the flag, you'll be taken to a Washington Post site that provides information on all the American casualties in these two countries.

Meme 4

Egad, Dave tagged me. I think this is the first time in a while I've been tagged, but maybe not -- I haven't been too good about reading everyone's blog lately, so another one could have slipped through the cracks (so if anyone out there tagged me and I didn't respond, please let me know, so I can at least have the choice of ignoring you rather than merely being ignorant).

FOODOLOGY

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Ranch (easy when I don't have to change the answer from the previous person)

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. I'm not really a fast-food person, but I do enjoy hitting Taco Bell every year or so.

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. Nam Viet in Arlington (this was a tough one -- there are a lot of restaurants I really enjoy, but Nam Viet is probably the only one I've been frequenting for over a decade).

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. Probably about 18% (again, just like Dave).

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick off of?
A. Back in the summer of 1985 I think I probably did live off of Little Caesar's for a couple of weeks when i worked there, but I'm not sure I could do that again, even if I got to pick a different pizza place. Now, I'd be more inclined to go with sushi.

Q. What is your favorite type of gum?
A. Dunno -- it's been at least 20 years since I bought any.

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. This one (though I need to put a more recent one up).

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. 2 (one is unplugged and due to be left at the curb for whoever wants it).

BIOLOGY

Q. What’s your best feature?
A. My eyes (so says Kathy).

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. My adenoids, wisdom teeth and frenum.

Q. Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
A. Taste or touch.

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. 18 years ago, or so.

Q. What is the heaviest item you lifted last?
A. What a silly question -- the heaviest item I last lifted is by definition the last item I lifted. The last "item" I lifted was Emelia.

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. If being strangled into unconsciousness counts, then yes, otherwise no.

BULLSHITOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. Yes, but I'd rather know the year than the exact date.

Q. Is love for real?
A. Yes, on many different levels.

Q. If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
A. I wouldn’t change it (gotta agree with Dave on this one too)

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Green

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Not that I remember

Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. No

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. Not that I'm aware of, other than my parents by taking care of me when I was unable to care for myself.

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
A. Yes, if (a) the question is about public embarrassment -- in other words, there wouldn't be additional consequences such as being arrested for it; and (b) the weather was ok for walking around nude (don't want to scorch my feet or freeze to death).

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. Sure, if I got to pick the person.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Yes.

Q. Would you pose nude in a magazine for $250,000?
A. No -- I'm worth more.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
A. Yes, though it's not like I watch much anyhow. That being said, maybe I'd use some of the money to fund some DC United road trips.

Q. Give up MySpace forever for $30,000?
A. That's easy money -- I've never gone over there, and even if there might someday be something that interested me at such a place, odds are that a new website will show up in a couple of years that'll become the new MySpace.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?
A. Keys and receipts.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. I didn't think so.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A. Both

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. "Dumbology" seems like the appropriate category for this question. I stand.

Q: Could you live with roommates?
A. I used to all the time before I got married, and even since then we've had long-term house guests (6 months), so yes.

Q: How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?
A. 1

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. About a year ago -- a cop decided to pull over the person in front of me in a turn lane -- she was in the straight-ahead lane, and when the light changed she tried this wacky maneuver to go after him. When she stopped him, she got immediately got out of her car and stopped me, accusing me of interfering with her efforts and threatening me with arrest if I ever did it again.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. If I knew the answer to that, I might have done something about it by now.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Friend you talked to?
A. Tom

Q: Last person you called?
A. Elisabeth (the person we're doing the nanny share with)

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?
A. The bathroom, but if we're talking outside of the home, CVS.

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A. Wear shorts -- the weather here really stinks this Spring.

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A. Borat, the day Kathy went into labor.

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A. Yes, except when I'm grumpy.

As for tagging others with this Meme, that's not really my style, so anyone who wants to answer these questions go right ahead. That being said, if either Kathy or my brother wants to use this meme as an excuse to revive a dead blog, I'd be delighted.