I'll Tell You What I DON'T Want To Bring...

I just got back from a late night run.  A tree branch scratched me in the head.  Or on the head, rather.  The running is feeling good.  I want to get back to my long runs of '08, but I'm not sure I have the time for it.  Back then I used to run for like 2 hours at a time, but now I'm lucky if I can scrape together 45 minutes, and to do that I usually need to go before 6AM or after 9PM.

It's been weird lately, but not necessarily in a bad way.  The Dude has started Pre-K at the local Baltimore City Public School, which is 5 days a week, and he wears a little uniform, and it's a little bit less cushy than his old preschool was.  So he's still adjusting.  The days all start with him saying he doesn't want to go and end with him saying he had a great day.  And he likes his teachers, which counts for a lot.

My Dad has had some health issues lately, which is kinda sucky.  I've been watching these old Super 8 home movies that my grandpa took in the 50's and 60's that I copied to my computer while we were on vacation.  It's weird to see movies of my dad when he was in his teens and 20's and now think of him has a nearly 80-year-old.

I haven't had anymore million dollar ideas.  Believe me, you'll be the first to know when I do.

I could go for a G&T, but I worry it would send me right back to drinking them every night, and that wouldn't help the current kick I'm on.

Been re-reading an old fantasy book I read when I was 12 or 13.  A fun little stroll down memory avenue.  Or street.

Mr. Dad - a published, unfinished draft originally written

There are currently 4 children running around and attempting to destroy my home.  2 are mine, 2 are the babysitter's.  I am tasked with keeping them all alive, fed, and poopy-pantsed-free.  So far, so good.  It's almost time for the 2 wee ones to go down for a nap.

Getting ready to head out on a "vacation" to St. Louis in a few days.  I'm really looking forward to it, although there's still a decent amount of work to get done before we leave, and Jeannie's going to be bringing a big work job along with us.  So it might be less of a vacation than what we would hope for.  Oh well.  At least there will be other people to help play with our kids, which means the potential for naps.

Back Ridge Boys

I feel like a new person since returning from vacation.  I feel free from a lot of things I felt trapped by before - my phone, Facebook, G&T's, too much food, no exercise, my schedule, renovation inertia.

So I've stopped checking Facebook, I've stopped drinking G&T's every night, I've stopped eating exclusively crap, I've started getting up at 5 to run and not feel rushed in the morning, and I've started working on shit in our house.  It feels great!  I need the time away to reboot, I guess.

Since I'm not checking Facebook, I need an outlet for all my million-dollar ideas.  This blog will once again be that outlet.

First post-facebook million-dollar idea:  An Oak Ridge Boys album consisting entirely of Backstreet Boys covers.  Album title:  Back Ridge Boys.

Billion dollar idea:  Same thing but with the Backstreet Boys covering Oak Ridge Boy tunes.  But personally, I'd rather hear the Oak Ridge Boys do "I Want it That Way" than hear the Backstreet Boys do "Elvira."

Maybe a joint tour?

Adventurers

Just returned from a 'vacation' to the Lou.

Reminded of how wonderful my sister and her family is.

Working on a mashup of Radiohead and the Black Eyed Peas that I'm tentatively calling Radio Eyed Pea Heads.   The songs really only work well together for about a verse.

Took my kids to a local river today.  Good times.

Feeling motivated about all things except my job.

Ad Memoriam

What a weird week it's been.   Mostly work (and world) stuff, but personal stuff, too.  Is it just me, or does 2016 seem to be an extraordinarily weird year?   Like, a year that makes you start to believe the Book of Revelations.  A year that makes you feel like you're rounding a corner.  A year that feels like it's just getting started, and by the end of it things are going to be ravaged and fucked and blowing in the breeze.

At the same time, things feel pretty damned normal.  At work:  designing shows, building shows, taking care of building problems.  At home:  kids growing, developing, testing; working on relationships, Couple, schedules.  All that hyper-normal shit.  I think if someone was to ask me what my life was like, that's the word I would use to describe it:  hypernormal.

My mantra for the year has been "Let no fear enter this heart."  It's not really worked so far, but it's been a nice thought to come back to and to try to use to conjure itself into being.  I'm adding a corollary tonight:  "Return to Zen."  It's a place where I used to be but that I've felt very far away from lately.  Kids and job. mostly.  What does a Zen father look like?  What does a Zen TD look like?  I'm not really sure.

Jeannie's starting to snore next to me.  Mostly it's really just heavy nose breathing.  I should really be going to bed.

Samuel has a thorn/splintery thing stuck in his finger.  Damn if I know how to get it out.

Your Welcome*

A new post, for Aimee and BJ.








*spelling errors intentional

Doh! A Deer!

Last night, 11pm, while I was driving home from rehearsal in Ellicott City on Interstate 70, a deer ran out in front of my car.  I had time to think, "A deer?  SHIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!" before striking the deer at around 65mph.  It went flying up onto the windshield and then off the passenger side and back as my car kept moving forward until I figured out what happened, took stock of all the lights that came on on the dashboard and all the weird noises that the car was now making, and got the car over to the side of the road.   Fluids leaking (the car's, not mine), hood, grill, and radiator all smashed up.  I called AAA and requested a tow truck, called my insurance company, called 911 to let them know that there may or may not be a deer who may or may not be dead somewhere on Eastbound 70.  Waited for the tow.  Waited.  Got a call from the driver who was trying to figure out exactly where I was located.  He was having difficulties understanding.  I got off the phone with him feeling unconvinced that he would find me, but hopeful.  Couldn't get through to Jeannie because she was sleeping and her phone was in DO NOT DISTURB mode, and our landline's ringer is turned off because only telemarketers call it (and my parents, whom I always call on my cell phone.  We have a landline only because from our local phone company you have to have a landline in order to get DSL service.  Stop mocking me for having a landline.  When the apocalypse comes and I still have my good old corded phone that works when the power goes out and you guys are all whining and trying to call your friends and relatives that are still safely living in non-apocalyptic areas, I'll be the one who's mocking YOU.)  So anyway, I was worried that I was gonna be stranded on the side of the road until Jeannie woke up and realized I wasn't home on time and checked her phone.  But eventually, the very kind, poorly driving, English-as-a-second-language, AAA graveyard shift towtruck driver showed up and towed me home the 25 miles.  Got home around 1:30.  Went to sleep.

So today I am celebrating being alive, and I am celebrating the life of the poor deer who I hit and who is probably dead.  I'm sorry I killed you, poor deer.  I did not mean to do it.

Snipped

No more kids for Danny!

The Samuel Tapes

Samuel and I were playing around with recording "podcasts" the other day.  Some results posted below.



Tape 1

Tape 14

Tape 15

Taddyput

Jeannie and I are in the process of buying a new bed.  The mattress has been purchased, and is currently on our bedroom floor (a Casper mattress, one of those online ones you've probably heard advertised on Car Talk or The Savage Love podcast -- so far, so good, but I'm interested to see how it holds up over the years), and now we've got to pick out a big ol' grownup bed frame and maybe some bedside tables to go with it.  This purchase has Jeannie officially freaked the fuck out.  She's not good about spending money in big chunks.  I think we're at the point in our lives where we're starting to deserve nice things.  We work hard, dammit, and we're middle age-ish, and I want to have more than 1.5 feet of space in my bed when I sleep.

But, we did a bunch of shopping this weekend, and Jeannie found something that she thinks looks good, which was more than I was expecting to happen, so we might be getting close to completing this purchase.

Anna's #1 form of movement is now walking, which is pretty exciting.  She's totally pleased with herself, and she's pretty good at going up steps, too.  It's kind of amazing, I think, that it doesn't take kids long to figure out steps once they've started walking.  At least, it didn't take Samuel or Anna a long time.

Almost done with the R&J student matinees, which means I'll be done taking down and putting up the Macbeth set all the time.  Which is great.  Although, it really wasn't that bad.  If ChesShakes decides to have student matinees year-round, and switching sets becomes just a daily part of my job, I think I could live with it.

Gotsta poo.

For Patrick (or, Women Who Know How to Ride a Cock)

This post is for Patrick, who was checking my blog at work the other day, thus revealing to me that there are, in fact, people who still check this blog.  So, for everybody who's still checking:  this post's for you!

Life feels pretty good right now -- Macbeth has opened (a play that, for a variety of reasons, I was scared of) and looks good, the R&J student matinees are up and running and require little work from me (except for switching the set over from the MacB set a few times a week)  Jeanners and I are gettin' along, Anna has taken her first steps, and Samuel is still a good kid (albeit a pain in the ass sometimes [like last night]).

Jeannie and I have ordered a new bed, king sized, because I got tired of having to cram into a one foot wide space when there are children in our current full size bed.  So I'm looking forward to that arriving.  We're also making plans for maybe getting a big fence installed in our yard, and other general home-improvement type stuff.  Plus, it's springtime, and the weather is perfect, and the trees and bushes are blooming, and all feels right with the world.  

Of course, the Jeanners and I could both use a little more sleep, my body is feeling creaky from overdoing it while getting ready for Macbeth, and our house is still a big ol' pain in the ass.  I'm ready for a vacation, but still have 2 shows to go before I get one.  

Jeannie and I got to go on a date last Saturday.  Got some fancy, overpriced Indian food at the Ambassador Dining Room (overpriced food, but the ambiance is great).  Jeannie drank sangria.  Would've been a real nice date, but then my stomach started bothering me a bit (I don't think from the Ambassador food) and so our walk around Charles Village got cut a little short.  Jerns has lined up 2 more dates for the end of the month, which I am very much looking forward to.  Plus, we've got Samuel's 4th birthday coming up next week, for which we will probably go out to eat (I'm guessing maybe he'll pick the Bonefish Grill?).   Can't believe he's turning 4.  Age 4 is when I remember starting to feel like an actual human being and having real thoughts.   Then I stopped having them around age 35, har har har!

I'm done.  

Cry Baby

There's been so much I've wanted to write about lately and just haven't been able to find the time.  Here's some of it:

1.  Been listening to the Hamilton cast album.   Lovin' it (just like everybody else, I suppose).  Samuel loves it, too.   But I'm not gay.  (Too early to call for him).

2.  Been crying at least once a day for like a month.  Not sure what's going on there.  Not sure if it's the music I'm listening to, or the podcasts I'm listening to, or what.  But it's not like blubbering crying, it's more like Native-American-sad-about-litter-with-a-single-tear-running-down-cheek crying.

3.  Our kids have, every now and again, been sleeping through the night.  It's like a miracle.  As I was writing this, Anna just woke up crying.

4.  I found out that my favorite actor on St. Elsewhere, Ed Flanders, shot and killed himself just a few years after the show ended.  This fact has really been bothering me.

Alright, I'm gonna go try and get Anna back to sleep.  Perhaps more nuggets later.

Shepherd's Pie

Here's what's happening....RIGHT NOW!

I am feeding Anna lunch.  She's eating some leftover shepherd's pie that Jeannie/Jeannie's Mom made back when Jeannie was having surgery.  I really like the shepherd's pie (so does Anna).  I think I could eat it 2 times a day, 4 days a week, for the rest of my life.

I think Anna's going to be a dentist or orthodontist when she grows up.  Her favorite thing to do with me is to pry my mouth open and start touching my teeth.  She's enjoyed this for several months.  I hope she grows out of it because I fucking hate dentists.  No offense to dentists.

That's about it.  Anna's been sick for 2 days so I've been home with her during the day and then going in to work at night for the Wild Oats previews, during which I sit in my office and drink Sprite, listen to Stars of the Lid, and design Macbeth.  I also light my spanish-language virgin mary candle.  Hopefully I should finish the design tonight, send it off tomorrow, and then, if approved, order lumber on Monday.

Jeannie and I need to figure out a daycare situation for Anna soon, as her babysitter is gettin' out of the babysittin' business at the end of March.  Should Jeannie quit?  Should Jeannie not quit?  Don't know.  Stay tuned.

Haiku

Watching the round moon
Outside my bathroom window
Diarrhea-ing.

T-Shirt Idea:

I HAVE A DIARRHEA GERM.

Daddy Mac

Stressed out about designing Macbeth.  Working with Jeannie on a resume and cover letter.  Grammy went back to St Louis today.

Jeannie's doing well.  Pretty much back to normal except for her big incision on her neck and the restriction on lifting anything over 10 lbs, including the kiddos.

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Boom Shacka Locka Shacka Locka Shacka Locka

Alright, dammit, I'm gonna write more in this thing even though I don't have anything to write!  And then you'll all be so fucking sorry that you stopped reading it when I wasn't writing!  Cause you'll come back and see that there's SO much to catch up on, and how could you possibly have the time to catch up on it all?, and you'll start to cry and fall to your knees and bang your hands on the ground.

And that's when I'll approach you and stoop down, and take your chin in my hand and draw your face upwards and say, "It's OK, my child.  You don't have to read it all right now.  Just read a little bit every day and eventually you'll be caught up.  Because I couldn't possibly write enough to post things faster than you can read them."  And we'll both have slow smiles that spread across our faces, and they'll eventually erupt into huge swells of laughter, and the sun will go down slowly over the ocean that's behind us and it will turn everything a soft incandescent yellow and orange and then eventually red.  And then go out.

I filed our taxes tonight.  Big ol' hunka cash  be floatin' our way.  Probably will eventually make its way into the hands of certain unnamed Johns Hopkins surgeons.  Or endocrinologists.  Or maybe the Quik-E-Mart down the street because I discovered tonight that they have 1.75 liter bottles of New Amsterdam gin for the same price as the liquor store that I had been driving to, previously.  But anyway, in all seriousness our tax return will probably be spent on cabinets and a stove and a refrigerator.  And hopefully some of it saved.

What else?  Not a damn thing.  Samuel wen back to school today, which was GLORIOUS, but I kept Anna at home because I didn't want to dump her on the babysitter, who's own children were still home from school and who therefore would have like 25 kids at her house.  Samuel's been having tantrums at dinnertime, which are a pain in the ass for everyone.

Is there a difference between a stove and a range?

The outside of a pineapple is called a rind.  My mother-in-law asked me to google it today.

David Bowie died a couple of weeks ago!  I wasn't sad, exactly, but it feels harder to breathe in a world with no David Bowie.

Also, a person who worked very closely with the theater company died unexpectedly a few days ago.  Like, really unexpectedly.  Younger than me.  We weren't best friends or anything, but he was the type of person who was liked by everybody, and over the last few years, he's definitely shaped the way we do shows.  So his loss will be felt by a lot of people, and the work will be less fun without him around.

Thyroid rage

Sittin' in a big ol' Johns Hopkins waiting area, while the Jeanners is getting her thyroid delicately chopped out by a doctor who seems very nice, concientious, and competent.  Still, it's scary.  She was supposed to be done about a half hour ago, but the Doc said it could take longer and not to worry if it did.  Still, it's scary. 

I hope that she feels OK when she gets out of surgery.  I hope that she's able to get the rest she needs for the next week or so while she recuperates.  And I hope there are minimal long-term effects from this whole deal. 

We got about 29 or so inches of snow dumped on us over the weekend, so I'm glad that the surgery was able to take place at all.  And I've been kind of amazed at how smoothly the cleanup has gone.  Some years we never see a plow on our street, but after this huge storm I was able to drive to Annapolis with no problems 2 days after the storm ended. 

Ooo, she's done!  And Ok!  Just talked to the surgeon...

Shiteaters of the World!

Well, maybe I just don't write very much in this thing anymore.  So much has been happening, it's a little overwhelming.

First off, Jeannie was diagnosed with thyroid cancer sometime -- October?  November?  Don't quite remember when.  It was the day that I wrote about in here as 'not the best day ever'.  And the first doctor that we saw was pretty terrible and pretty much just said, "You have cancer, it'll be OK, go see a surgeon."  So we were freaked out for a few days, then went to see the surgeon (same guy who did Jeannie's throat surgery back when we first got married -- awesome, awesome person) who spent an hour with us explaining things, explaining that it's super treatable, and that if you're gonna have cancer it's a good kind of cancer to have, and that it shouldn't affect her life expectancy.  So, all the good news that the first doctor could have told us but didn't.  So we've been less freaked out since then.  Surgery is scheduled (with a different surgeon - long story) for January 26th.  So we're just kinda anxious for it to be over and then get on with whatever sort of long-term treatment happens for somebody without a thyroid.

Then we had a big, long trip to St. Louis over Christmas which was actually pretty awesome.  We got to see nearly everybody we wanted to see (holla to the Schluetermetz' and E. Elz and Uncle Rico!) and got to spend quality time with each of our families, and the kiddos got to play with their cousins and cuddle with their grandparents.  And we stayed a few days at a particular house and then moved to a different house -- so right around the time when we got tired of being in a place (and the place, and its inhabitant(s), got tired of us being there) it was time to move.  Which worked out well, for the most part.  The kids' schedules got all fucked up, and everybody ate a lot of crap, and Anna got feverish for a couple of days, but all-in-all it was a success.  And damn if our kids aren't really good in the car on long car trips.

Work is rolling along, being all worky, but not especially stressful right now.  I'm trying to get everything in place early to prepare for being off after Jeannie's surgery.  Her mom will also be coming out for a week or so, which will be helpful.

Anna is turning into a toddler quickly -- she doesn't crawl yet but does scoot around on her ass.  She seems totally ready to walk and loves to stand up while holding onto things.  She also seems totally ready to talk.   Sleep can still be challenging but at this point I think that Jeannie and I are just used to not sleeping, so whatever.

Samuel is maybe, just maybe, maybe (I don't want to jinx anything here) starting to come out of the terrible two/three's thing and starting to move towards four.  Although he is, still, definitely terrible at times.  But for the most part very sweet and a good kid.  He got some legos for Christmas which have been a bit life-changing.  We've got this little table set up in our living room that is his "work table," and he now will spend an hour or so each night working on shit at his work table, and if you tell him to come put on his PJ's or brush his teeth or something, he will tell you, "I can't right now, I'm working on something."   But he's pretty danged good with the legos, building helicopters and planes and trucks of his own design.  It's fun to watch.

My current crusade is to rid our home of shit we don't use.  And try to keep things from getting cluttered.  My current New Year's resolution is to "admit no worry into this mind."  Another resolution I thought about adopting was to always have enough change in my pocket that I could give every homeless person downtown who asked me for money at least a quarter, but that resolution was never passed.

I had a dream last night that Jeannie and Samuel and I were renting apartment, and I took a standing shit of rabbit turds all over the floor.  And then gave Jeannie an "Oops, my bad," sort of shrug.

Also, I should add that Anna is not eating shit in that picture at the top.  Black beans and lettuce.

Warm Coins

Another Christmas Carol has opened.   I didn't have to build it from scratch, which was nice, but it still took a decent amount of work.  I'm looking forward to going in tomorrow and fixing things and cleaning up and then coming home.

Now that the show is open, I'm just ready to head to the Lou for the holidays.  I'm sure that after a few days of being in St. Louis I'll be totally ready to head back home, but right now I just want to get out of here and not think about work and have extra people around to help pay attention to our kids and maybe just turn off my brain for a few hours a day.  We have plans to stay with the Schluetermetz' in Ohio on our way to Missouri, which should be great, and I can't wait to sit and talk with my buddies, and see their kiddos.

Been watching St. Elsewhere on IMDB.   So many reasons why I like that show.  #1:  Dr. Westphall.

Fuck it.  That's all I got tonight.  

Not the best day ever

Today has not been the best day ever, but I did enjoy a lunch date with my wife and a 2.5 hour nap and the way that the wet, brightly colored leaves stuck to our front walk and the street and the sidewalk and my shoes.

Like Father, Like Daughter

My little girl has been squirting out a ton of poop lately, and worrying the babysitter that she might have some sort of bug, so I got to stay home with her (the daughter, not the babysitter) for half of today and bond a little bit.

She's pretty much the perfect kid, especially since she's been sleeping better lately.  Moving her out of our room and into our back bedroom has been a positive experience, thus far.  

Samuel, however, has been a tremendous pain in the ass at bedtime lately.  When he doesn't have a nap, things go pretty smoothly, but when he has a nap (and he naps during the 3 days a week he's at school), bedtime drags on and on and on.  But, other than, that, he's pretty damned good.  He really only has problems when he's at home.  At school and whenever we're out of the house he is absolutely perfect.  At home he can be a dick.  Not sure exactly why that is, other than familiarity and maybe boredom.  Not sure.  Something to work on.  

Work is fine right now.  I'm in a 3 week not-super-busy period.  Just normal busy.  Which is nice.  Feels a little bit like a vacation.  

Jeannie is crashed out next to me on the bed.  I should probably go to sleep, too, but I'd like to have one more drink.  At least a half.  I woke up last night and couldn't get back to sleep, I think at least partly because my brain wasn't melted enough and was thinking about work stuff.  

Alright.  Gonna go.  

Bring Out the Gimp

Samuel got his cast off last week.  He now walks with a fairly pronounced limp, like a WWII veteran or something.  It kinda breaks my heart a little bit.   But he's able to walk around, and can do stairs as long as he's holding on to a railing or a hand, and he's been enjoying his re-acquired freedom.  He got some new, light-up shoes yesterday, which is one of the things that he's always wished for.  He's also always wished for a toy trash boat (he sees the trash boat when we go to the harbor and the boat is driving around pulling trash out of the water).  I have looked, and I think that a toy trash boat doesn't exist, so I don't think he'll be getting that one.

Finishing up a long, crazy-houred week at work.  Hopefully next week will be less crazy.  But yesterday we discovered that the building next to ours is replacing a damaged transformer at exactly the time that our next show is opening, and that when they shut off the transformer is will cut power to our building.  So that's a bit of an issue that we need to solve before Friday.

Nothing else to report.  Tired mired.  Ready to join the Jeanners in bed.  

Sometimes a Doogit Comes.

We opened Much Ado last weekend and I felt just about dead at the time.  I have since had a couple days off work that I spent with Anna (doing a lot of napping together) and I'm feeling much more like a human bean [that's being, jackasses].   The show turned out well, I think, and pushed me to do some good work.  Or, at least, to not quit giving a shit at my usual spot and to keep working for a few extra days after I stopped giving a shit.

The fam had a fun dinner night with the A-Train last weekend, hitting Belvedere Square for some pizza and then chatting at home.  Aimee got a fun introduction into Samuel's world of doogits and boogits and schnoogits.

Samuel's been doing remarkably well with his cast.  He's fully adapted to it at school, he scoots around on his ass everywhere he needs to go, and it really only seems to bother him sometimes at night when he's trying to sleep.  I'll be glad when the cast comes off, though, because trying to get him into school with his backpack and lunch box and while carrying Anna is a big ol' pain in the ass.  But, again, really just glad he's alive and am so happy that he just had a broken leg.  

Anna is really starting to grow up.  She's reaching for thing, and a lot more vocal than she used to be.  Starting to be a little fussy at times (I think because of teething) and having some trouble sleeping (which has been making Jeannie feel like a zombie pretty much most of the time), but still so smiley.  I can be in a terrible mood, dead tired and sick of pretty much everything, and her smiley face puts me in a better mood every time.  

Things to do:  schedule a doctor's appointment and schedule my massage.  

Samuel Vs. The Automobile

So Samuel got hit by a car yesterday.  Scary, scary stuff.  He's OK, he's got a broken leg with a big ol' cast that goes from his toes up to his mid-thigh.

We were going to his first soccer game, and we parallel parked across the street from the soccer field.  Jeannie got Samuel across the street to the field, and then she and I went back to the car for Anna and her stroller.  For some reason, Samuel decided he wanted to be back at the car with us and ran into the street.  A nice old(er) lady was driving by and hit him (neither Jeannie or I saw it, so we don't know exactly how it happened), and she stopped, and the car going the other way honked their horn to get our attention, and then Samuel started crying, and I looked over and he was sitting in the road, starting to cry.  And Jeannie went over to him, and I went to talk to the lady who had hit him to reassure her that he would be OK and that she hadn't done anything wrong, and then Jeannie said that we had better take him to the hospital to get checked out.  So I picked him up and that's when I noticed that his ankle was cut and that his soccer shoe and shin guard had sort of disintegrated in some spots.

So Jeannie drove him to the ER and I drove home to get bear and night-night (don't ask).  We had driven 2 cars to the game because I had to leave from there to go to a work function.  I met them at the hospital as they were going into an exam room, and the doctors and nurses were all great, and Samuel did a really great job except whenever anybody tried to actually touch or examine him or do anything to him.  And then he would scream and thrash and if he knew curse words he would have been cursing us all out.

But anyway, X-rays, blah blah, he needed a cast, blah blah.  Him freaking the hell out as they tried to put the cast on him.  Wrapping him up like a burrito and holding him down.  Him telling us all that we were doing bad things and that we were bad people.   And then totally crashing and falling asleep and snoring and sweating.

So that was our morning yesterday.  Just wanted to journal this experience in the ol' Logos de Capitan.

Radio Free Samuel's Room

Today Jeannie and I took an old bookshelf stereo that's been gathering dust in our room and set it up in Samuel's room.  I made a mix CD of all his favorite songs and marked the "play" and "stop" buttons with red tape.  When I was showing him how to use it, I said that there are 2 rules for the radio:  1)  no radio at bedtime or naptime, and 2) don't play it too loud.  He totally loved it.  He spend an hour in there this afternoon, listening to music and reading, then he would bring his potty chair into his room and listen to music while he shat (his room totally stank after that), and sing along.  The singing along thing is relatively new, and I totally love to hear him singing along with songs, because about 80 percent of the time he's making up words that sound somewhat like the actual lyrics but make no sense.

Anyway, the track listing of his first mix CD is:

1.  Matamoros - The Afghan Whigs
2.  Where the Streets Have no Name - U2
3.  Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus
4.  Style - Taylor Swift
5.  Pink Rabbits - The National
6.  Wild - Beach House
7.  Marriage Made in Hollywood - Bonnie Raitt
8.  Blue - First Aid Kit
9.  Every Breaking Wave - U2
10.  Firework - Katy Perry
11.  I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
12.  One Day Soon - Luluc
13.  Sweet Nothing - Calvin Harris (feat. Florence Welch)
14.  Emmylou - First Aid Kit
15.  I'm Not Your Hero - Tegan and Sara
16.  With or Without You - U2
17.  Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
18.  Red Hill Mining Town - U2

Yesterday after work I went and saw "The End of the Tour," which is the new movie about David Foster Wallace.  I didn't think the movie was great, perhaps because I'd already read the book it's based on, but I did come away from it feeling inspired.  It was just nice to kinda see and hear DFW again, even if it was just Jason Segel pretending to be DFW (I think he did an admirable job, by the way, especially with the voice).

My New Years' Resolution is to have more confidence.

The set I'm working on has been taking up a lot of headspace, but I'm trying to keep my life as balanced as possible.

Samuel stayed in bed until 7am this morning for the first time, like, ever.

Birbaglia, Herbaglia, Herbaglia Doggy Bag

The fam took an extended weekend trip to the woods of Massachusetts to visit Katie the North American Traveler.  It was a weird drive up (about 8 and a half hours, stopping every 45 minutes or so because nobody's eat/sleep/shit/piss schedules were lining up), but a good visit and fairly relaxing, and then a fun, normal drive back with a long lunch stop at a mall in New York and a restaurant that we first thought was named DADDY but was actually called DADDY O's.

Katie has a great ability to choose dwellings conveniently located next to raspberry bushes where you can just go outside and eat raspberries right off the bush until you get sick.

Also, we got to meet Katie's parents, who were lovely people and drank G&T's.  So you know they were OK in my book.  Although I wasn't drinking that night because the day before we left on the trip I had developed some weird sort of vertigo that left me feeling slightly off for most of the weekend but seems to have gone away on its own.  When I would get up after having laid on my back, the room would spin as though I was very very drunk.  But, like I said, it seems to have gone away on its own.

Work is gearing up for Season #2.  I should be pretty busy from next week until the end of the year.

I would like to have some popcorn.  I'm probably gonna make some popcorn and have a G&T.

New Bloom

Well, the best news that I've heard in awhile is that there are going to be new Bloom County comic strips.  Bloom County, as I've said before, is one of my favorite pieces of art ever.  One of the things that has shaped my sensibilities and tastes.   It is very strange to experience something that I very much associate with my childhood and young adulthood in a modern setting -- on the internet, on Facebook, of all places.  Makes it seem somehow less weighty and real.  Something is definitely lost in the transition from analog to digital.  A lot is gained, but there's some sort of mystical connection between the bottom of the brain and the fingers and the stomach (and maybe the pit of the butthole) that's lost.  No news there, I guess.

Work has been pleasantly slow.  Hopefully summers will be that way for awhile, but I'm guessing they will fill up in future years.  But I've been enjoying some quiet and relatively e-mail-and-headache-free days.

Samuel is a handful.  Super sweet and wonderful one second and a nasty little terror the next.  I think he'll end up OK.  It's like his little molten psyche is still cooling and forming and there are little fireballs that randomly shoot out.  It's weird.

Anna is cute and totally smiley and pretty damned chill.  Jeannie and I worried that easy baby Samuel was going to sucker us into having another one who would turn out to be the spawn of Satan, but so far this does not seem to be the case.

Two kids is definitely tough, though.  I'm hoping that as they get older it gets easier.  From what people have told me, ages 4 through 11 or so seem to be somewhat stable, so maybe it'll get easier in a year or so.

OK, Samuel wants to see a sea plane video now so I must surrender the computer.

Shitwasher

Woke up this morning and went to unload the dishwasher and it was showing some sort of E15 error message.  So I have just spent the better part of two hours doing some online research and trying to get the damned thing working again.  Knock on wood, it seems to be running again now.  But relatively brand new appliances shouldn't be giving us trouble.  And I haven't been crazy about this dishwasher in the first place.

Oh well.  It's just a thing.

Comedy of Errors has opened and it made some tremendous progress in its last week of rehearsals and previews.  I'm pretty pleased with how the set turned out, I think it's probably the best set that we've had out at that space.  The show itself turned out OK.  I'm glad it's up and running and I can stop sinking time into it.

(...time passage...)

I wrote the paragraphs above yesterday, and now I'm writing the rest today. 

We went to Ian's wedding yesterday evening, and it was a nice wedding, but damn if going to parties with kids isn't just a big ol' pain in the ass.  When I picture in my head going to some sort of party or event with Samuel, he's always sitting on my lap or playing peacefully or having polite and cute conversation with another guest.  But the reality is that he's just CRAZED the entire time.  It's like taking a cocaine addict to a party and expecting to have a nice, quiet evening.  It doesn't work.  Highlight of the day was when Anna took a nice, long nap on me, which she never does. 

In about 2 weeks, the whole fam will be descending on the Lou, and we'll be driving, which should be quite the fucking adventure.  Keep us in your bedtime prayers. 

The Cocktail Hour

Is this blog dying a long, slow death?  Maybe.  Maybe it's just going through a slow period.

Katie the North American Traveler is here visiting with her boy, Micah.  Good times.  We are currently enjoying "the best time of the day," when all the kids are in bed and we sit and drink G&T's and talk and look shit up on the internet.

Been busy getting the set ready for the summer show.  Trying to get things finished amid daily rain showers.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Been listening to the Savage Love podcast.  Not sure why that's relevant but I have.

Time to refill.