Yuck 2.0 (this time they mean business)

Yes, it's back and this time our contestant is a four and half year old with little to no vomit coping skills. This means we have a high maintenance puker on our hands. Will wonders ever cease?!? It's been a crazy two days and Ryan's illness seems to be the topper to my little cake of non-stop running about. He had a heck of a time going to bed tonight... every 2 minutes he sat up and said "I just know I'm goin' to puke THIS time!!" Grabbed a bucket and did nothing (not even a little heave) and laid back down and told me he was lucky... Lise and I think this is going to be a LONG night. ick.

Yesterday after work, I picked up the horrifyingly heavy playscape we bought two weeks ago. It fit nicely in the car, but I have to admit that I was nervous because I didn't have any bungees and had to tie the back door closed. The whole ride home I had these nightmare visions of lumber spilling on the highway causing cars and insurance rates to soar. I made it home without incident, but it took me a bit to get over my paranoia. Getting it out of the car took my mind right off my worries about accidents, and had me thinking more about the permanent hump back I could get if I lifted this sucker wrong...

This morning I was back in my old car, and off to the races with meetings until noon and then out to meet with my friend Paul, who I haven't seen in over a year. He seemed to be doing well, and our old company seems to have remained the same since I left there. In fact, from the sounds of it.... it's EXACTLY the same, and while I miss a few folks, it made me happy I had made the right decision to leave. We had salads and coffee, which does break from our old eating habits when I worked there, and although it had been a while, it was good to see Paul.

After that I headed back to work, (after chasing down an AWOL employee... I'll leave that for another time) where, out my window I saw a seal on the rocks below my office building. He was very happy staying right where he was and flapped his sealy tail off the rock after a good 2 or so hours of fish digestion. After work, I drove through the Fort Trumbull neighborhood next to my office. It has inspired me to bring my whole camera kit down there and take some pictures... It's not inviting, but it has this kinda ghost town feel to it... and I like it. A few snaps before they blow it up and use it to become a super-high-rise-condo-hotel-uber-complex that caters to people that don't live in New London. I am envisioning Reston town center or Tyson corners in Va. but I expect it will be more like a bad hotel and sundry shop, in the end... poor new London.

Back to the grind... kinda

I went back to work today and all was about as well as it gets when I got struck down with intense nausea. It never went further than that, but it took about 1 hour in bed to clear the cobwebs out of my head. I went back on my diet today, and I think it was a lack of food after so many days of binging in NJ. Phew. I totally thought I was going to lose it.

After the waves passed, I was pretty tired, but I snapped a few pictures to show you the new chandelier in the office. I hung it on Sunday and got a picture of it and the rug tonight. Now, when you see these pictures, I want to flash back to my old apartment in NY. I had a black rug, and entertainment center ...and couch in my stark white little room 2 floors above the main street in Hartsdale. Lise teased me all the time about my black and white house.... and then she chooses a black and white carpet, dark lamp with my dark desk. I have to admit I was stunned. When I brought it up to her, she acknowledged it "fit" and that the room was green which is better than my stark builder's white den with my clothes strewn about. :) The theme continued when Lise suggested we hang the relief I got from Cambodia in 1999. It was nice to see it hung up again, this time over the bed. I assume this room would be different if she had to spend every day in there, but I'm not complaining. Now this room is done except for the baseboards....
I brought back 3 of these images and this is the one I kept. I got the one I gave Lise back when I married. Good deal with or without the picture. :)

Get Drunk Sometime

There are days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. There are days when you just want to ask people what the hell are they thinking. There are days when you think you should probably just shut up before you get in trouble. I'm shutting up.

Howling

Ok... So it's been one of those high volume work weeks, where I seem to be checking off tasks but ending up far behind. Grr. I have plate full of easy stuff to get done.. but my pate runneth over. A perfect example was tonight, when I got home, I had to help Ryan out with a little project in his room, but I was missing a screw. (yes, a loose screw... go ahead.. comment away) I had some documents I needed to sign and send out, but the scanner/printer was off and moved away from Connor, the copy master, and my keyboard needed new batteries. They are all things that just took a little more time than I planned, and when added up, take away from when I can call it a day. I should create a huge Risk log and run my life by it. (end grumping)

Anyway... to feel better I took a chocolate (85% Coco) pill and a cup of decaf coffee and then took a break long enough to appreciate the moon. The lunar rays cleared my aching head and I donned my tinfoil hat and went back to work, signing, scanning, typing and checking lists. :) I know my mental howling really wasn't much of a brake, but knowing the moon is still there right now, peering over my shoulder as I type this out gives me the reminder to relax a bit and find the rhythm of my own pilgrimage to bed.

Work

One of the things I decided that I would not do on this Blog is spend any real time talking about work. While it's not the only reason not to, I have read several instances where people have lost their jobs, especially people who are foolish enough to criticize co-workers and stakeholders. It is also pretty boring to talk about what really goes on at work, and one always has to resist the urge to embellish the truth to entertain the reader. The problem then is that I spend about 10 hours or more away from home working. If it's such a big part of my life why not talk about it? Well... 'cause it's a good way to end up spending those 10 hours at home. :) I'll be brief.
It's the beginning of the year and this is a big time for my team. I am transitioning from my current role to a new one, and getting back to the job I was hired to do. That and taking care of things at home has been a real challenge. I also made a promise to myself that I'd do two things for myself every day. One picture with a blog entry and work out. I've been good, but not great at these and I'm doing my best to get this in before I pass out, so I can get back up at 5 and work out. I'm tired, but I am resolved to do this... Even if it kills you to read it. :)

Alas, poor Yoric Yuletide, I knew him well...

It was a pretty warm day and we have been out enjoying it. We had breakfast at the flamingo place and Connor had a half-sponge-bob-robot, half-bunny French toast thing that he gleefully ate, and Ryan, being 4 going on 15 ate his grilled muffin while griping but without incident. I still love sending the boys to the front to pay the bill. Today as to break up the week, we didn't go as superheros. It's fun no matter what happens, but when batman and robin show up to pay the bill, it's a special treat for the entire restaurant.

Like any other day, when we got home, the firemen arrived. :) Seems that dispatch heard the number wrong or assumed that problems with fireplaces on our street should be routed through us... After a little confusion, they left and checked out a CO alarm a few doors down. My neighbor just couldn't stand it anymore and had to call me and see what the heck was going on. I told her one of my girlfriends and Lise were fighting over me again... It's only neighborly to give the folks on the street a good story to whisper about at parties.

When we failed at naps, Lise and I packed the kids off to torture them at IKEA for an hour or two. Off to our second meal out (gotta stop that) and then home for lots of overtired playing (stop touching me, no you're touching me... MOM!!!) while Lise and I cleaned up and took out the Christmas tree. Yuletide and his dancing penguin friends were my first victim of the night, and although I did decapitate him, I still love love him and will revive him and his dancing Arctic friends early in the Christmas season next year. Now it's truly the end of Christmas (day 12) and tomorrow is Epiphany and I wonder what profound thing I can come to tomorrow so I can make a proper celebration of it. :) Who knows, maybe it will come to me when the fire department visits again. We do love it when they pop by.
-Mike

FIRE!!! SMOKE!! Drama...

Last night was a just a ripper. First my parents arrived around 9pm, and Ryan popped down from his bed to say "Hi". (I swear, I'm never telling him again about anyone coming after he's asleep.) Then, we stayed up late to watch the fiesta bowl and decided at 11:00, that we really weren't all night partiers anymore. So after stoking the fire a bit, we went to bed. (this is where the interesting part happens) At 4:30am, the smoke detectors go off. BEEP BEEP BEEP... Adults run amuck to find the source of the fire, and the children actually stay asleep. (NOTE: If I opened a frozen yogurt at 4:30am , in a soundproof room, in the basement, Connor would at least stir and mumble "yo-get", but a blaring fire alarm... nothing but snores.) I look... No smoke, no fire... no sign of fire or smoke anywhere(no hot walls, basement, attic, garage are all cold but smoke free), outside of the house looks nice... no real appreciable smoke from the chimney! I'm relieved but frustrated, and go back to bed..... until.... yes... at 5:30am BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. *sigh

So we decide to call the local authorities to check on my home in the morning. They arrive at 9 -- Nothing. Checked the house with heat detectors, smoke detectors, CO detectors, and thermal imaging. Nada.

Conclusion: "replace your batteries and blow out the smoke detectors, if that doesn't work... replace them all."

Anyone know where I can get good fire insurance?

-M

My HEAD...It hurts like this

My head is so stuffed tonight, I can barely stand it. I found out that Lisa's entire family is sick, Ant and Patti were sick and now Patti needs to see the Dr again, and hey you know Lise has a herniated disc. What's yer ailment, we can add it to a list and Lise and I will burn it on the fire.
Unreal. I blame too much work for all this illness... that and preschool are the petri dish of all infection. Even if Emily were to stop all smoking, I feel that we're all doomed to suffer from a work or preschool-born plague to make up for the lack of cigarette induced lung injuries. Although, I could be convinced that my sister is patient zero. She gets them all, mutates them, and sends them out to reduce the worlds population. :) All joking aside I am hoping everyone gets well soon...

I'm gonna dose up and go to bed...

night night, victims!
-M