Itchy eyebrow

I just finished mowing about 45 minutes ago, and apparently a mosquito got my eyebrow. AND IT ITCHES.

Itchy itchy... hungry... itchy.

Lots of stuff's been going down lately.

The good: Football season has started, the beard is looking quite nice, the Bean is doing awesome- she'll be 8 months old tomorrow.

The bad: The South's been invaded by an aggressor and Atlanta is besieged again... this time not by Yankees, but by water! I think it is safe to say that the multi-year drought we have endured in GA for the past few years is over. It started raining last Tuesday and continued pretty much non-stop for 6 days. A lot of Atlanta and its surrounding areas are flooded hardcore. We're fine over here to the east, but a great many folks are in a baaaad way.

Also bad news that I just got while typing this post up- my grandpa is in the hospital. No real details yet, but I'm kind of freaked out. My Pop has never really had any serious health issues- in fact, none of my grandparents have. I don't really know what to do here!

Summer time...

... is a strange time to try growing a beard, but I'm doing it anyway.  It all started with a move, of all things.  The wife and baby and I have moved out of our townhouse in the city (where we had been for over 3 years) to a rental house located in a small town about 30 minutes away.  I'm still adjusting to the longer commute, but other than that things are going pretty smoothly.  We wanted a place that was all one story, as we did not want to have the baby dealing with stairs once she learns to crawl and walk.  The house also comes with a great fenced in backyard that Bauer absolutely l-o-v-e-s.  He will bolt out of the backdoor and sprint after the squirrels. 

It's funny because the squirrel ends up dead.

Anyway, I was talking about my beard.  It all started when my electric razor and its cord were packed and I could not find them.  After a week, they were finally located, but by that time I had grown more facial hair than I ever had before.  So I decided to just go with it.  We'll see how it looks after 3 weeks or so, at which point I will make the judgment call as to whether Sir Beard will live or meet his fate via the blade.

Evidence of said beard.  And also evidence that my offspring is ridiculously cute.

I also realized (yet again) last night that I'm all grown up.  As I mentioned, we now are in a house.  With a yard.  That needs to be maintained.  Which means I bought a lawn mower a couple weeks ago, and last night I used it for the first time.  And I'm pleased to say that it was the easiest lawn mower I've ever used.  Started up easily with one crank, and everything was smooth sailing from there.  It's an assisted push Craftsman with variable speed control.  Took about an hour to mow the front, side, and back yards.  Next time, I'm going to crack out the iPod so I'll have something to listen to.

Which brings me to the topic of Podcasts.  I've never really owned an iPod- I have one that technically belongs to my office, and I haven't used it much.  But that is about to change.  Between mowing the lawn and commuting 30 minutes to work (and back), I've decided I'm going to begin listening to music and Podcasts.  Problem is, I don't really know where to start as far as podcasts go.  I'm going to being checking out the Bombcast from Giantbomb.com, and the Joystiq podcast.  We'll see if I like them.  Do you have any you would suggest?  I'm open for trying just about anything.

Shoop da woop!

So I've decided I need to update this thing a little more often, especially when it comes to baby updates.  Yes, this blog is now a baby blog.  You are allowed this one opportunity to point-and-laugh.  I've turned into a woman.

Ok no more laughing.

Seriously, cut it out.

Need another reason I've turned into a woman?  I very nearly just spelled "cut" as "cute."  Is Desperate Housewives on?  I can't wait to see what Bree bakes next!

Baby Update
Bean (as I will be referring to the baby from here on out) has recently figured out what bedtime really is.  Her bedtime is usually between 8-8:30pm, and whenever I start carrying her upstairs to a darkened room, I can feel her start to tense up a little bit.  We'll make it into the bedroom just fine... but once I sit down in the rocking chair she starts crying.  It's even worse if I try to lay her down on the bed.  It usually takes about 10 minutes to finally get her to calm down enough to think about falling asleep, and another 5-10 to actually make it to Sleepsville.  Thankfully, putting her down in the crib has gotten to be relatively easy.  For about a month, I had to be extremely careful in lying her down.  She would wake up at the smallest shift in her weight or positioning of limbs.  This was made even more difficult due to her refusal to sleep on her back.  For the first 4 months of her life, she slept in her car seat, which has about a 20-degree incline.  She'd be all bunched up in there, her legs and arms squished together like she was back in the womb.  Because of how she looked when she slept like this, we started calling her "Bean".  I like it as a nickname.  Whenever I get home from work, I call out "Hi Bean!" or "Howdy Beanie!" and I get huge smiles.  Smiling 5 month olds are awesome.

Game Update
Got Resident Evil 5 from Gamefly.  Pretty good action game.  It's not scary or suspenseful, which is a bit of a bummer considering how big of a part those two emotions were in the original Resident Evil games.  But this game isn't trying to be those, so it is okay.  I've almost completed the story mode, and so far I'd give it a solid B.  A quick note to the makers of RE: enough with the leeches.  I'm tired of them.  They're not scary- just annoying.  Leechmen do nothing for me.

Google Reader is awesome

I am a big fan of almost everything Google provides as a service.  It is my main, primary search engine.  I use Google Maps when I'm trying to get the directions for a trip.  I use Google Calendar to schedule many of the things going on in my life.  Froogle is a great tool for making shopping/wish lists, which I can then share with friends and family who ask for ideas on what to get me for birthdays or Christmas.  GoogleDocs is a nice little feature that acts as a sort of online Microsoft Office suite - it can handle text, spreadsheets, and possibly even Powerpoint presentations.  And, of course, Gmail acts as my main email account.

However, perhaps my favorite Google App is Google Reader.  I like to think about it as a sort of newspaper that only gives me the stuff I care about.  If I find a website or blog interesting, I just add it to my Google Reader.  And everytime that website is updated, it is automatically brought into Google Reader for me to check out.  So, when I wake up in the morning, I have nice series of articles to read.  Here's a list of the stuff I subscribe to.

Friends
Megan with the Egg Sound - A friend and former co-worker of mine who has moved out to Los Angeles.  Her little page here is a good way to keep up to date on what she's doing, and how close she currently is to conquering the movie industry.
Carrieoke's Knitting Blog - A friend and CURRENT co-worker of mine.  It's mainly a blog dedicated to her knitting, but she sometimes writes about personal stuff.  Apparently, this blog has been around for years and has gained quite a following in that time.  Seriously, hundreds of people read her blog.  She's a superstar.
From Paper to Polygon's - My friend Slamin's blog.  It's kind of funny- he first started his blog with the purpose of writing just random stuff every once in awhile.  He didn't want it to become a journal entry sort of blog.  But now, that is what it is!  Hooray!
Lady Homebody - My wife's new blog.  She writes about just about anything.  Check it out.
The d20Blonde - My friend Liz's blog.  I've actually never met her, though we first met online when I was 13 or 14.  She's a cool chick.  She claims to be the "Most Popular Girl on the Internet."  She should update more often.
the spaces between - Friend of mine from high school.  She hasn't updated in awhile either unfortunately.
Twenty-Something - My friend Greer's blog.  She is also new to the blogging world, and so far she's done a good job of writing funny little stories of her life.  She also just learned she's pregnant, so I'm sure the blog will start talking more about that soon.
Shrink Rapping - Greer's dad's blog.  He's a psychatrist, and an incredibly intelligent/witty guy.

Random
Video Copilot - A website dedicated to providing After Effects tutorials.  GREAT website for those interested in that software.  The host is very easy to follow, and they have tutorials ranging in difficulty from beginner all the way up to pro.
xkcd - A comic that comes out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  It's usually a very geeky comic, and sometimes some of the math/computer programming jokes are over my head, but man- most of the time it's hilarious.  Check it out, and don't forget to mouse over the image to get the alt text!
Expect Nothing! - this is a page I've been following since probably 1999 or so.  The guy who runs it used to run a Warcraft II, then Starcraft site.  He actually began using his page as a blog LONG before it became popular or common place.  He's always got fun links to check out.
Overseen in Athens - Pictures that people take in Athens, GA.  Some hilarious shots in there.  Some of the pictures are of things I have actually seen myself around town.
Overheard in Athens - People post quotes that they have heard while in Athens.  Most of these are from UGA's campus or downtown.
PostSecret - People from all over the country anonymously send their secrets written on postcards to this guy in Germantown, MD who then posts them on his site.  Some are funny, some are sad, and great deal are ohhh soooooo dramatic.

Sports
Jeff Owens: The Real Deal - A blog kept by current senior Georgia Bulldog Jeff Owens.  He writes about the football program from the inside.  He's a very articulate writer.  Keep up the great work Jeff.
Georgia Sports Blog - Kind of self-explanatory, doncha think?
Get the Picture - Focuses solely on college football, with a decidedly Georgia lean.  Great place to hear about what is going on both in the UGA program, as well as around the country.
Hey Jenny Slater - This guy doesn't really go into the strategies/match rundown of college sports- he writes from a fan's perspective.  He's a Bulldawg through and through, and he's absolutely hilarious.  In the offseason, his posts about politics, women, and Legoland are all top notch.

Tauntauns!

ThinkGeek :: Tauntaun Sleeping Bag


I really wish that this were real.  Happy April Fools Day everybody!

This is also a test of the ScribeFire firefox addon.  We'll see how I like it.

Make it (stop) rain

It's rained for the past 4 days. Make it stop.

Went to Gwinnett county for J's birthday party this past weekend, and had a really great time. We were able to see Moxa's new house for the first time- I was very impressed! We took the baby, and she did extremely well. Very well behaved as she was passed around from person to person. Moxa busted out the grill, and he cooked some awesome hamburgers and brats. Mmmmmmmmmm. So delicious. We followed that up with a game of Quelf, which is a board game I had never heard of. It is basically just a game of complete random tomfoolery. I had to talk like a pirate for the entire game, while Moxa had to regale the group with tales of his childhood in Sri Lanka caring for timberwolves. Silly silly game.

Baby is now 9 weeks old, and she's a beast. She's started regularly sleeping about 7 hours each night, which I am a huge fan of. She smiles big now, too!

The next few weeks are going to be incredibly busy for me. At least I shouldn't be too bored!

MaRcH MaDnEsS

Sorry, I know that headline is incredibly annoying.

It's official: the week from February 23-March 2nd 2009 officially was officially one of the most surreal, crazy, and frustrating weeks of my life. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Monday morning - Wife wakes up with intense pain in her abdomen. We're talkin' tears. After suffering through it for about an hour and half, her mother takes her to the hospital while I stay home with baby. After a series of tests, they confirm that she has gallstones and will need to have her gallbladder removed. CRAP. Surgery sucks. At least she'll get to have it done over her Spring Break, so she shouldn't have to miss any classes. This is major, since she already missed so much due to birthing the baby.

Wednesday - My uncle's house burned down. I feel so bad for my uncle right now. He's just gone through a divorce (he has 2 teenage daughters), was living with my grandmother, was having money problems since he is in the construction business and that whole industry is in the crapper, and now the house he built himself is no more. Nobody was hurt (not even the dog), so that is the good news.

Friday - This wasn't bad, just interesting. Drove down to Albany to film an interview. It's been a long time since I've been to south Georgia. It's a totally different experience than the one I'm used to. I borrowed my brother's GPS for the trip and man, that thing is AWESOME. I got there about an hour ahead of schedule and was hungry. So I whipped out the GPS, looked at the local restaurants, picked one, and the unit took me right to the store. Amazing.

Saturday - Baby done got baptized! Yay! Then we had a party! Yay! With my favorite flavor wings! Yay! Family and friends! Yay!

Sunday - Snow. Seriously. Snow in Georgia. We started that day with light flurries at the inlaws house. About 1pm, we went to spend a little bit of time with my parents before we headed back up north. The snow kept coming. We left my parents at about 3pm, and made it about 15-20 miles before we had to turn around. Traffic on the interstate was gridlocked; nobody knew what to do or how to drive in the snow, myself included. There was no way I was going to be driving 2.5 hours on backroads in the snow like that. And it was a good thing, because northeast GA got around 6 inches of snow, which is by far the most snow I've ever seen in my life. We made it back home on Monday, which was fine because my work was closed anyway. Here are some pictures. Not mine, but credit to The View from the Upper Deck.

Click to view larger size, which I recommend





My personal favorite

Babies, babies everywhere, and not a drop to drink...

Babies are crazy. The sheer idea that I'm a dad now throws me for a loop now every time I really think about it. I have a daughter. The idea is just so incredibly foreign. But cool at the same time.

Baby Thoughts

• Sleep is a precious, precious thing. I knew that babies are a lot of work. I've heard from other parents how rough night time is with a newborn. I'd read baby books full of tips on how to cope with lack of sleep. Man, it sure is different when you're actually going through it and not simply reading it. This is coming from a person who really has never had any issues with sleep like insomnia, night terrors, etc. So I had kind of just taken sleep for granted. NEVER AGAIN!
• Doing all of this without the support of family and friends sure would be rough. Luckily, both sets of grandparents have been incredibly generous with their time/money. Thank you parents, you guys are awesome.
  
• My baby is grunty. Whenever she finishes nursing (especially at night), she will go through a period of about 15-20 minutes where she is grunting really loudly. I think she's trying to fart or something. Sometimes it gets so rough that KT actually has to leave the room so she can get some sleep. Luckily, I can sleep through it =D
• Toothless smiles really are the best smiles. I've only seen a couple of them so far (hey, she's only 3 weeks old), but the ones I have experienced have been great!
• Laying on your bed with a sleeping baby on your chest = one of the best things ever.
• My baby is seriously lacking in the "other children her age department." I'm afraid she'll grow up without any friends. Somebody needs to step it up.
• Baby poop is yellow. Like straight up yellow mustard. It's a bit distressing sometimes. If I didn't know it was supposed to be like that, I probably would have called the nuclear power station and asked if we could use my child's poop for fuel.
• Babies do not like hard rock music. I thought I'd try it. It didn't work. =(
• The stress that comes along with having a newborn baby in the house doesn't just affect the parents. It affects the dog. And oh boy does it affect Bauer. I took him to the dog park about 2 weeks after SK was born.. it was his first trip to the park in probably 5 months at least. Looking back on it, it was too much of a shock to his system. He'd only had limited exposure to other dogs during that time. So of course he picked up a stomach bug while we were there. Stomach bug + Baby stress = Explosive diarrhea & vomiting blood. My dog is a mess... and now so is my carpet. =|
  

Those moments..

I was just watching some stuff on Youtube on my lunch break, and I came across a couple movie/television clips from the past that have really stuck with me through the years. For various reasons, these moments had an impact on me.

My apologies for lack of English. You get the idea.

This is from a scene near the end of probably my favorite movie of all time, Back to the Future. In the scene before this, Marty's attempt to unite his parents for their first kiss and eventual life together appears to have finally worked. His father, George, knocked out the school bully, finally proving to himself that he had the courage and determination to act like a man and go after what he wants... Lorraine. However, in this scene, George loses this new found self-confidence and, as a result, is about to lose Lorraine. Marty's parents aren't going to be together, and Marty is fading away. Just as all seems lost, George steps back up and gets his girl. This moment, which takes place at the 55 second mark, is orchestrated absolutely beautifully. Everything comes together perfectly: the cinematography (it's a beautiful shot), the music (building to a crescendo and just letting loose), the singer's voice/lyrics.. it's great. I remember thinking to myself "Wow!" when I first watched this movie as a child. I've seen the film too many times to count- really. But this moment always has an impact on me. I get goosebumps everytime.




This is really the only scene I remember from Pinocchio. When I was maybe.. 3 or 4, my parents let me rent this movie every weekend for an entire month. That's how much I loved this movie. However, this one scene absolutely terrified me. Monstro the Whale had swallowed Pinocchio and Gepetto. Their only plan for escape was to start a fire in the whale's mouth, thereby causing him to cough/sneeze them out. Just watching this again scares the crap out of me.




Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society... I call this story... the Tale that Makes BPW Pee in his pants. I loved this show when I was about 10-12 (also known as the Awkward Years... which, now that I think about it, should really extend to age 15 or so). I actually couldn't find the clip of the episode that stuck with me the most. That episode was about a restaurant that served a very delicious soup. Nobody knew that the secret ingredient was a liquid drop of fear. The restaurant owner extracted the fear from people by using a magical gargoyle statue that would force people to face their worst fears. As the person screamed and tried to get away, the Gargoyle statue would then drain a life force from them. At the end of the episode, the main character gets trapped in a room with the gargoyle as the restaurant owner laughs maniacally. Really freaky. Since I couldn't find that episode.. here is one about clowns. I remember this episode pretty vividly as well. Of course, it has a crazy scary clown. There's no way a scary clown video won't stay with me.

"Can't sleep, clowns'll eat me!"

Anyway, that is just a few of the things I remember pretty distinctly from my childhood. I'll probably do this again at some point. It was pretty fun.

EDIT: I found the clip of the Are You Afraid of the Dark episode I was looking for. Here it is.

Oh yeah. Call of Duty: World at War is AWESOME.