Monday, October 29, 2012

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Hurricane Sandy is having its way with our front yard right now.  Actually, it hasn't been too bad yet.  We still have power (knock on wood), and its just been windy as hell and rainy as hell.  I think the worst is still to come, though.  And they seem to be getting hit a bit harder to the north, in New Jersey land and New York. 

The Nobes was closed today, so I had the day off work (I was supposed to go in tonight at 5), although I did go to my doctor's appointment this morning.  Everything on the ol' bod-ola is lookin' pretty danged good, I must say.  Although I've put on 3 lbs since February.  My guess is that if I hadn't been dieting recently it would've been more like 5-8 lbs. 

Wow, that was big gust of wind that just gusted. 

Today I saw for the first time trees swaying at the trunk.  Like, big trees.  Kinda spooky. 

Dinner making time.  

Friday, October 26, 2012

6 Long Months

The little guy turned 6 months today.  Celebrated by passing an absolutely normal day.  Which really, if I think about it, isn't that bad. If I spent all my birthdays playing, eating, sleeping, shitting, and only occasionally crying, I'd consider myself a lucky man.  But this evening it seems like he might be coming down with a cold, and it seems like Jeannie might be, too (I heard her sneeze in the bedroom after I got home from work and was in the kitchen making myself a G&T), and to be honest, I've had a bit of a tickle in the ol' throat for a day or two as well. 

So they're saying that the East Coast is about to get slammed by a storm the likes have which has never been seen by man or beast, and I'll be honest, I'm a little scared.  I don't like storms.  I don't like the fact that we have big, old trees in our yard that drop branches when I cut a big fart.  I don't like having to cut up said branches after they are dropped.  And I don't want our cars, home, or son to get smashed by any stupid branches.  So, I'll probably spend the storm cowering in the basement wearing earmuffs. 

Had a meeting with the architects, theatrical consultants, and electrical engineers yesterday about the new theatre.  Didn't get the answers I wanted to hear about several semi-major issues.  Hmmmm.  Must come up with brilliant, million-dollar ideas to solve the issues. 

What else?  I really am looking forward to Sunday, when both Jeannie and I are off work, and we'll all get to hang out as a family, and hopefully the boy won't be sick and hopefully the storm won't be storming and the branches won't be dropping and we'll all be safe and warm and dry. 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Secaucus just below Zebellybutton.

I must've made that joke about 20 times as we drove through Secaucus, NJ yesterday.  I'm often surprised that I'm not divorced.

We were on our way to NYC to visit the Schluetermetz' while they were in town with their play, North.  It was pretty exciting to be driving into Manhattan, getting closer and closer to the theatre and realizing that it was in a really great part of town, a great location, close to Central Park and between Madison Ave. and Park Ave.

Sam is laying next to me right now, either cutting some long overdue farts or dropping the shit-bomb that we've been expecting for the last 2 days.

Anyway, the theatre is in a great spot, and we met Brad and Jen there and then headed over near Central Park and got some lunch, then spent the rest of the afternoon walking and lounging around the park.  It was a great day, but I wish we would've had more time.  I wish we had been staying overnight so we would've had time to visit and see the play (it sounds like things have changed and become more refined since I last saw it a few years ago) and have dinner go out for drinks and do more fun New York-type stuff.  Oh well.  Next time.

I have to go take a shower and get ready for work!  Immediately!


Friday, October 19, 2012

Crack Cocaine-ifier

Yesterday was a pretty terrible day.  The Jeanners and I have been trying to break Sam of his pacifier habit, and he's completely addicted to it.  So he didn't sleep very well the night before, and he didn't sleep very well yesterday.  And neither she nor I had slept very much for the previous few nights.  So it was no fun.  And then at the end of the afternoon he took a big shit (the biggest I've seen to date) which leaked out of his diapers and all over the inside of his clothes.  When I took off his diaper to change him, the diaper was wall-to-wall poop, from front to back.  I used about 1/2 a package of wipes. 

But then, miraculously, last night Jeannie and I had a date, and it was really really nice.  We've had tickets for awhile to go see Mike Birbiglia, and he was funny even though he did all of the same material that we had already heard on the radio and made us like him in the first place.  And we went to Ban Thai for dinner before the show, which really is one of my favorite places in Baltimore for a date-dinner.  Plus, Nyoka was babysitting, and we both know and like Nyoka, and Sam knows Nyoka, so we were able to go out and not worry and forget for a few hours that we have a kid who, at the moment, just for the day, was a pain in the ass. 

We are going to be buying fireplace doors and I am super-psyched.  I hope they are not too hard to install.  But once we've got 'em and it gets cold I am gonna be lightin' fires like a mofo. 

Anyway, today's been going a lot better than yesterday.  I should really take this opportunity (the opportunity of Sambone taking a nap, that is) to go make some breakfast. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

For Those Keeping Score

The boy likes:  squash and bananas and maybe oatmeal. 
The boy does not like:  apples.  Or at least he doesn't seem to. 

Today I've been working on getting him to kick the pacifier habit.  The first nap was pretty rough, and it took about an hour of crying before he would fall asleep.  The second nap was better and it only took about 10 minutes, although it seems like he's waking up from that one and it's only been about 45 minutes. 

Oh well, enough about baby boy. 

The Jeanners and I were awake last night in the middle of the night because Sam was being a little bitch, and we got to lay around talking and laughing and stuff.  It was nice.  Felt a little bit like courtship, in a way.  I both hope that we get to do it again sometime and I also hope that we don't get to do it again sometime, or at least that maybe we could do it again at, like, 11pm rather than 3am. 

We've got a date on Thursday night and then a trip to NYC to see the Schluetermetz' on Sunday.  So much to look forward to...

Friday, October 12, 2012

Lose Weight Fast!

I'm currently on a little bit of a diet.  Here's what my daily intake has been for the last few days:

1.  1 Cup of cooked black beans, salted.  About 2 Tbs of salsa.  3 fried eggs.  All mashed up in a bowl.  About 550 calories.

2.  1 protein bar.  About 250 calories.

3.  One package of Trader Joe's pulled chicken in BBQ sauce.  420 calories. 

Plus a lot of water.  And 20-30 sit-ups every morning and night.  When I put on weight, it's all in my gut. 

Anyway, who knows if it's working yet.  But I feel like it's working.  My belly doesn't feel quite so pregnant-feeling. 

Things have been going well.  The dude continues to sleep through the night, although every now and again he yells and one of us has to get up and pop his pacifier back in his mouth until he falls back asleep.  But that is so much easier than having to get up and either feed him or try and rock him back to sleep or just hang out with him while he's wide awake in the middle of the night. 

The Jeanners and I are planning to head up to NYC for the day on the 21st to hang out with the Schluetermetz' while they are there for their play, which is getting some really great reviews.  I hope their ticket sales are doing well and that the whole project is a tremendous success.  It sounds like they've put beaucoup work into it, so I hope it all ends up being worth it. 

One time when I had to go to the bathroom I said to Sam, "Daddy's gotta take a shit."  Jeannie was there, too, and we all had a good laugh about it.  It's become one of my favorite things to say.  I'm really going to miss saying stuff like that when he learns how to talk. 

Oh, speaking of --  when Jeannie got home from work yesterday, Sam got real excited (he gets excited every time she gets home - it's very cute) and totally said "MAMA."  Jeannie and I did a take to each other and laughed, and then he said it again.  Then he started going "MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA," so we figured it was just a coincidence (plus, he's been doing it all day today and I've been the only one here), but still, it was pretty fun. 

Monday, October 08, 2012

Everyone You Meet is Jammin' in the Street...

...All Night Long.

That is how long Sam is now sleeping, and it is awesome.  I don't want to jinx it or anything, but he seems to have started sleeping from about 7:30 at night until around 5 in the morning, with a little fussing usually around 10 or 11pm.  Again, let me repeat, this is awesome.

Life has felt really good for awhile now.  There seems to be many things coming up in the near future to look forward to.  I'm looking forward to heading up to NYC to visit with the Schluetermetz' and introduce them to Sam.  I found out tonight that I am able to go to St. L for Christmas this year, so now I'm looking forward to that.  My girlfriend and I have a date next week where we're going to go to dinner and then go see Mike Birbiglia, and I'm looking forward to that.  Looking forward to buying and installing some fireplace doors and burning up all of the wood that's been sitting outside our house for the last 3 years.

We fed Sam some solid food for the first time yesterday.  Pureed apples.  So pretty much applesauce but without the extra sugar.  He didn't really seem to like it that much.  Made weird faces that I've never seen him make before, and at one point kinda looked like a cat trying to cough up a hairball.

Got some pictures from Katie the Traveler of the World over there in Kenya and they are pretty damned amazing.  Her first day there and she's out among the elephants and lions and all sorts of fauna.  How exciting!

Took a cute picture of the dude today, and since I'm trying to limit my facebook posting of cute pictures, I will now force you to look at it instead.


Thursday, October 04, 2012

In the Still of the Night

The Jeanners and Sambone are in Detroit until Sunday.  They left this afternoon.  What this means:

1.  I am going to SLEEP the fuck IN tomorrow.  I don't have to be at work until 5pm tomorrow and I am going to take full advantage of that fact. 

2.  The thought "I should buy a pack of cigarettes this weekend" was in my head for about 15 or 20 minutes yesterday and wouldn't really leave.  It's gone now, but for awhile there it was definitely a little devil voice blaring in both ears.  I will not be buying or smoking any cigarettes this weekend. 

3.  This afternoon before I left for work, late afternoon light was coming through our front window and spilling onto the floor where Sam's blanket was spread and a teddy bear and some toys were laying, and it looked like a shot from a movie about a dead baby. 

4.  This weekend is going to be a mixture of relaxation and housework.  Also Chinese food. 

On an unrelated note, Jeannie got a haircut and looks young and sexy.  Seriously.  Stay away from my wife. 

More later. 

Monday, October 01, 2012

Australian Nads

The title of this post comes from a night quite a few years ago when I was driving around St. Louis and I passed a Walgreen's that had one of those billboard things outside, and on the billboard it said, "Wallgreens has Australian Nads!"  I had no idea what that meant, but I always thought nads meant balls - the genital kind.  So I thought it was a weird thing to put on a billboard.  Maybe a prank?  But apparently it is also some sort of hair-removal wax-type product developed in, you guessed it, Australia.  Still, a weird thing to put on a billboard.

I had a darned good day today.  Had a meeting this morning at work, then came home, and when I got home my ladyfriend was taking our boy out for some shopping with a friend of ours and her son.  So I had the afternoon at home to myself, and I decided to spend the day working on putting up a door and frame for our linen closet, a project that has been on my to-do list for several months now.  It's amazing how much I can get done when there's no stinkin' baby here.  It's weird:  I really really liked him being gone today.  And it also crushes my heart a little bit whenever I'm not around him.  Like, at work tonight I just spend the night picturing his little smiling face and wishing I was at home playing with him.  It's kinda fun that the missing him and enjoying his absence can kind of occur at the same time.

The Schluetermetz' have arrived in Off-Broadway.  If anybody's in New York during the month of October, go see their play, North.  It's pretty good!  Plus, I once wrote some music for it.  Including a song in which I had to sing in French, a language that I do not know and do not like.  I was digging through a bunch of old computer files about a month ago and I came across some of the files of the different versions of the songs that I recorded for that show, and they are all uniformly terrible.  Especially the ones where I had to sing in French.  Embarrassing.  But, luckily the songs got cut and if you go see the play in New York you won't have to listen to them.  Break legs, weinerslaves!

Katie the North American Traveler will, as of tomorrow, become Katie the Traveler of the World.  She is heading off to Kenya to live in some sort of tent for a few months.  The woman is braver than I, and I hope she comes back with stories of wonderful yet safe adventures. 

Tomorrow we will be entrusting our boy to a day-care person (the husband of a co-worker of Jeannie's), something that we will need to do about 1 day a month because there's one Tuesday every month where both Jeannie and I need to be at work.  I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm thankful that we were able to find somebody who seems like he'll be good, and relatively convenient.  Anyway, I hope it all goes well.