Sunday, July 31, 2005

I just had a weird (kind of nasty) dream...

So I get back to my hometown and I'm at my high school. I'm not sure why, though. I walk in (it's kind of snowy, but flooding... I think the snow is melting), and this freaky lady is like, "Please go to the immunization table," and I was like, "Okay, I will later." I knew I wasn't a regular student and I didn't need any stupid immunization.

So I walk to the auditorium and there was some sort of assembly for people like me, but I don't remember any of that.

Then I went to the band room and saw my old band teacher. There was a little presentation on the band program and all of my old bandmates were there, along with the principal. I think I signed up for band. We were all standing around talking when my cell phone rang. I pulled it out and looked at it and it was one of Renee's friends. So I muted it and put it back into my pocket. Then I looked at everyone and they were all staring at me. My band teacher said, "Sean's been found out!" and my friend, Becky, said, "I can't believe you," and walked off after glaring at me. I said, "It's just a phone," and looked around and no one's expressions had changed. "I really don't understand this. It's just a phone." Still nothing. Then the bell rang.

I then realized that I was actually attending classes, but I had no idea what my schedule was. So I went to the office to get mine. Right outside the office, I saw a woman who writes for the local newspaper. She yelled hi to me and stopped me (even though I also remember being in the office for a while... maybe I got frustrated with the wait and saw her outside). Apparently I was there because they needed help with the summer day camp program and I'd been hired. And I had no choice.

So she was giving me details and I was following her outside asking more questions (she was walking pretty fast, but I needed to know what was going on). Before we got out of the building, the immunization lady yelled at me, "PLEASE STOP AT THE IMMUNIZATION TABLE!" and I was like, "I will later!" and kept following the newspaper lady. We got to the parking lot and it was flooding pretty badly, so I held her hand as she leapt over some pretty fast moving water to get to her car.

So then I figured since I'll be working here, I'll need my immunizations. I went back inside and walked to the immunization table in the cafeteria. One of the ladies who always helped in the nurse's office was issuing the immunizations, and she asked me if I wanted anything to numb it. I thought for a second and said no. Then she thought for a second and said some numbers and said ok. She took the needle and inserted it into my upper arm and injected it, and then I noticed another helper -- who was the same lady. She had a pen and wanted to write on my arm where the injection had gone in, and the other lady was like, "Hold on! I still need to do his hand."

I never saw her grab another needle, but this syringe was full, too. She stuck it in my hand, then pushed it with all her might. The needle went in all the way. I could see the other helper look a little worried and I bent my fingers and got pricked. I turned my hand over and the needle had gone all the way through my hand and it was dripping. Some of the fluid had gotten on the floor. The worried helper asked, "What do we do now?" and the injector lady said, "We let it bleed," in a really condescending tone. She grabbed two cotton balls for me to hold on either side of my hand.

And then I woke up.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

I hate Internet slumps...

I feel so... bored right now.

Every once in a while, I get like this -- where I can't come up with *anything* to do online and my favorite sites aren't updating very frequently.

I guess I'll give an update.

I registered for my next class at college, and it's paid for. I'll get an "A" for my current course and that'll get paid for, too. I'm thinking of getting an old iBook for college, which should help me out since I could do homework on my breaks at work.

Renaissance has the tickle pox. It's "chicken pox" from her vaccine, but it's really mild and she should be over it soon. She just acts really happy unless she's tired (which is normal), but when you touch her tummy, she laughs a lot.

Mason is growing. Renee told me tonight that he's 12 inches long, her uterus is the size of a soccer ball, and he weighs one pound.

I can't think of anything else right now, so I guess that's about it.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

A Lyric I Never Understood When I Was Little

Arabian Nights,
Like Arabian days,
More often than not
Are hotter than hot
In a lot of good ways.
-Aladdin

Friday, July 22, 2005

Everyone Should Read This

Renee just showed this to me. It's a PDF file, a bit long, and it may not interest anyone if they're not a parent, but I highly recommend reading it for when you may have kids.

Synopsis: DHA/ARA (the highly hyped fatty acids in more expensive formulas and other products) in formula are from fermented microalgae and soil fungus, respectively. Since they're not from humans, they do not function the same as DHA/ARA in human milk. There are no regulations as to how much DHA/ARA should be added, so it's different from brand to brand, and no one knows how much a baby needs anyway. DHA/ARA does not necessarily make babies smarter (the FDA states that, “There are no currently available published reports from clinical studies that address whether any long-term beneficial effects exist.”). Basically, the kids who are consuming this formula are guinea pigs. Also, powdered formula (as opposed to the pre-mixed kind) can foster the growth of bacteria which can be dangerous (as in death) for infants.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

My Wife Rocks

We just got back from Target and Renee added up how much all of Mason's bedding/bedroom stuff would've been had we paid full price. Turns out it would have been about $175.

We only paid ~$44. She's been going to Target every day to see if the stuff was there, since we were pretty sure it was marked wrong on the shelf. The bumper is $35 on Target.com, and it was marked $9.98 at our local Target.

They still don't have the boy version of the blanket that we need, so we bought the girl version so we can do an even exchange once it gets in (Renee thought ahead to when we paid for the bumper and they would correct all their prices). And she was right. The cashier radio'ed the people to redo that aisle before we'd even left.

Renee is so smart.

"C'mon, boots!"

I made Renaissance and Mason their own blogs. The URLs are, respectively:

http://shoekitty.blogspot.com and
http://masonworld.blogspot.com

Renaissance's blog is more exciting right now, just because we can't actually, you know, see Mason yet. There's not much to work with.

Perhaps I'll make some links at the top of this page later, but for now, that's all you're getting.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Today on Nickelodeon

The dad on Danny Phantom just said, "Hey, that's my song! Let's pogo!" and proceeded to pogo. That was awesome.

Friday, July 15, 2005

Yesterday was Mac evangelism day.

I gave my PowerPoint presentation in class on "Innovative Features of MacOS X." It was really cool to hear the collective, "Wow," when I showed them the video of Exposé. And Fast User Switching. And the Dashboard.

I know Fast User Switching was taken from Windows, but it's much more elegantly implemented in MacOS X, and I said that in my presentation too.

At the end of the class, the teacher asked for any comments on anything, and at least three people said they liked my presentation the best. I felt cool.

And the guy who said he sold Sean John clothing from the trunk of his car was a little creepy. I didn't really like him before, but now I really, really don't like him.

Then, at work, I told a co-worker about my iPod Shuffle and he wants one now. I even let him touch it. I deserve commission.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Just an example...

...of how I'm different from my co-workers:

While they're singing/quoting rap songs I've never heard of, I've got "Rock the Casbah" stuck in my head.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Stupid Gilmore Girls. Take a breath.

Last night, it rained a whole lot and there was thunder and lightning, too. The electricity went out.

So this morning, just to scare the crap out of us, the iMac was off and would not turn on. So I plugged it into another outlet, and it worked. Then I plugged it back into the outlet it was in before. It worked. I don't get it.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Doctors are weird.

I finally fixed the overhead interior light in our car. And I am so sweaty.

Renaissance did very well at her doctors' appointment today. However, I saw something that was slightly disturbing. I caught a glimpse of her file and I saw the word "crazy" (quotes included). That means our doctor writes down every little thing we say about her at her appointments.

So today, I assume she wrote the word "monster" because that was how we described the way she was walking (lifting one leg really high, then the other, and then hunching down, jumping up and screaming, "Raaaa!").

I really don't see why it would be a medical necessity to know that our daughter is a "crazy monster," but whatever.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

"Hey, Seagull!"

Michael Verdi's latest vlog entry is pretty funny. It involves a seagull. Check it out.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Renaissance Saying "Shoe"



It seems like every day, Renaissance is saying a new word. Today's new word is "shoe."

Renaissance Saying "Cheerio"



Yesterday, Renaissance said "cheerio" for the first time, when she saw a Cheerio sitting on the couch. Shortly thereafter, Renee got the camera out and recorded her saying it.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

My daughter is a monkey.

And that's cool because before she was born, I'd mentioned to Renee that I wanted our kid to be a monkey.

Today in the church nursery, there were three adults and they were changing a boy's diaper. For some reason or another, no one was watching Renaissance terribly closely. When they turned around, she was sitting in a walker. So she'd climbed into the walker with no help, and when they tried to get her out (since she's obviously above the age where she needs one -- her legs were all bunched up underneath), she screamed and wouldn't let anyone get her out. So that's how we found
her when we arrived to pick her up.

Just thought that was a cool story and I didn't want to forget it.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

RSS Video Feed

I just added a new video feed URL, because when I tried to change my old feed to RSS 2.0 with enclosures a while ago, it messed up the formatting a little and I didn't like it. I don't post videos that often, but maybe with the feed all set up, I'll do it a little more. But probably not.

Add this URL to iTunes 4.9

Renaissance Saying Wal-Mart



This is a video of Renaissance saying "Wal-Mart." Every time I play it, she says it again at the exact same time, and it's clearer than in the video.

But she won't say it again if I'm recording.

I love robots.

I just saw this on Engadget. It has a video of ASIMO teaching kids how to cross the street.

The end is almost depressing, but it redeems itself with an awesome dance sequence. Hehe.

Friday, July 01, 2005

Save the Ants! (when they're outside)

A few years ago, I made a web page that outlined why people shouldn't kill ants (and included a very scientific chart). I still think ants are all well and good outside, but when they come inside it gets really annoying.

I mean, I'm not going inside ant colonies and stealing their food and stuff, so what gives them the right to come inside my home and start getting all excited over Renaissance's Children's Tylenol? So, I admit it, I've been sucking ants up inside the vacuum cleaner. If this is a sin, God, then I'm sorry.

But they should really stay outside.