Thursday, April 30, 2009
Busyness school
Whew. Sorry for the lack of updates lately, everyone. All I'll say is, if someone ever corners you in a dark alley and tries to convince you to enroll in business school, Just Say No, understand? Anyone who doesn't respect your desire not to be simultaneously stressed out and bored to tears isn't really your friend. Luckily(?) finals are next week, so after that I should have a little more time for frivolities like blogging and eating. Till then, you stay classy, San Diego!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Boys and Girls - Action
In our relationship, Ann and I each endure periodic moments of despair over the other person's ignorance of 90s pop culture that we both lived through, and thus should theoretically know something about. For her they're nearly always music related because I spent the 90s listening to 80s music, and thus am liable at any given time to confuse a Pearl Jam song for one by Soundgarden. Shameful, I know. On the other side of the scale, she apparently only watched two channels and saw three movies through the whole of the decade, making a good 80% of my pop culture references fly completely over her head. If not for us both being so damn attractive, I just don't know what would keep us together.
Case in point: this morning we were putting our lunches in the work fridge and Ann mentioned she was surprised I hadn't been eating any of the nutella we have at home. I answered that I just hadn't thought of it, to which she replied, "Mmm, not me, I'm looking forward to having some for lunch. I wanna dip these bananas in it." As you'd expect, I snickered and said, "Hey, that reminds me, did I tell you The State is finally coming to DVD?" She gave me this funny look and asked what on earth made me suddenly think of that.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid she just Doesn't Get It.
Case in point: this morning we were putting our lunches in the work fridge and Ann mentioned she was surprised I hadn't been eating any of the nutella we have at home. I answered that I just hadn't thought of it, to which she replied, "Mmm, not me, I'm looking forward to having some for lunch. I wanna dip these bananas in it." As you'd expect, I snickered and said, "Hey, that reminds me, did I tell you The State is finally coming to DVD?" She gave me this funny look and asked what on earth made me suddenly think of that.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid she just Doesn't Get It.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Brief Digression
Hey, everyone. I had an entry planned out for today about an exchange Ann and I had earlier that redefined "backhanded compliment." In brief, I made a funny comment, she laughed and asked, "Where is that from?" When I explained that it wasn't from anywhere, I made it up myself, she looked surprised and remarked that she just assumed I got it from somewhere because it was really funny. Yes, she's a keeper, ladies and gentlemen.
That's what I had planned to write about. Instead, I came home from class tonight to have Ann ask me to watch a very sad but moving video by a woman whose blog Ann reads, about her daughter who was born prematurely at 29 weeks but who managed to hang on and even thrive in spite of everything. This little girl, Madeline, died suddenly last week after 17 months of life. Her parents are understandably devastated, but have managed to both create the video I mentioned above, and to establish a March of Dimes donation page in their daughter's name to help children born prematurely. The initial goal for the page to raise was $3000; as of this posting, the total amount raised is approaching $27,000.
This is a little girl I'd never heard of until Ann mentioned her passing to me two days ago. I have no more connection to her than the natural empathy any human being would feel upon hearing of a child's death. But I don't mind telling you, I was emotional after watching the video. No doubt a lot of that is due to being a new father myself; I can't watch it without seeing Molly in a lot of the pictures. But I also can't imagine anyone watching this video and not being affected in some way, parent or otherwise. So in lieu of a funny (in theory) post by me today, I would simply ask that if you're so inclined, set aside 10 minutes or so and watch this movie. Don't do it if you've got a birthday party or a blind date to attend right afterward, obviously; but if you have a chance, give it a viewing and celebrate the life of this little girl who clearly brought so much joy to her family. And if you're of the spiritual bent, please offer a prayer of comfort and solace for the parents of Madeline and all other children who die unexpectedly or at an early age. May their brief but meaningful lives remind us to make the most of the time we have together.
The video can be viewed here. More information about Madeline may be found here.
I love you, Molly. Please don't ever leave us.
That's what I had planned to write about. Instead, I came home from class tonight to have Ann ask me to watch a very sad but moving video by a woman whose blog Ann reads, about her daughter who was born prematurely at 29 weeks but who managed to hang on and even thrive in spite of everything. This little girl, Madeline, died suddenly last week after 17 months of life. Her parents are understandably devastated, but have managed to both create the video I mentioned above, and to establish a March of Dimes donation page in their daughter's name to help children born prematurely. The initial goal for the page to raise was $3000; as of this posting, the total amount raised is approaching $27,000.
This is a little girl I'd never heard of until Ann mentioned her passing to me two days ago. I have no more connection to her than the natural empathy any human being would feel upon hearing of a child's death. But I don't mind telling you, I was emotional after watching the video. No doubt a lot of that is due to being a new father myself; I can't watch it without seeing Molly in a lot of the pictures. But I also can't imagine anyone watching this video and not being affected in some way, parent or otherwise. So in lieu of a funny (in theory) post by me today, I would simply ask that if you're so inclined, set aside 10 minutes or so and watch this movie. Don't do it if you've got a birthday party or a blind date to attend right afterward, obviously; but if you have a chance, give it a viewing and celebrate the life of this little girl who clearly brought so much joy to her family. And if you're of the spiritual bent, please offer a prayer of comfort and solace for the parents of Madeline and all other children who die unexpectedly or at an early age. May their brief but meaningful lives remind us to make the most of the time we have together.
The video can be viewed here. More information about Madeline may be found here.
I love you, Molly. Please don't ever leave us.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Let's All Go To The Movies...
As I've mentioned in the past, I have a real love/hate relationship with the cardio cinema room at the gym. Some days it is my good and loyal friend who makes twenty minutes on the elliptical fly by in no time; other days it maliciously casts me down into a sea of six-month-old economic and motherhood magazines. Just the other day I was privileged enough to watch the closing credits of Swing Kids, followed by eight minutes of the main menu screen for Swing Kids (magnificent in its juxtaposition of imagery), then five minutes of the scene selection screen for Swing Kids (overrated, not a satisfying ending), and finally three minutes of Swing Kids. So it's a real crapshoot. Today I ascended the stairs to find waiting for me... The Shaggy Dog, remade Tim Allen version. Ugh. I almost took a pass, but reasoned that in a couple of years Molly's going to be forcing this kind of movie on me anyway, so I may as well build up a tolerance. So in I went.
Fortunately the movie was just beginning, so I didn't have to worry about missing any of the subtle nuances that provide context to the rest of the film. The stars appear to be Tim "The Tool, Man" Allen, Rob Lowe slumming it in pre-Iron Man days, and as Tim's wife, I'm mostly but not 100% certain one of the chicks from Sex and the City. No, not her, the hot one. I won't embarrass myself by clumsily trying to explain all of the film's layers (some things you just have to experience for yourself), but in the final stages of my workout we came to the part of the movie where Tim Allen does, in fact, begin showing signs of becoming a dog. Thus I was treated to a quick montage of Tim waking up curled at his wife's feet; shaking his body to dry off after a shower; lapping up his cup of coffee; and finally sticking his face into his bowl of cereal to eat. At this point I had to leave because my uproarious laughter was disturbing the other patrons, but with some regret, because Tim had just started getting affectionate with his wife and I was wondering if they would actually show him sniffing her ass. My disappointment at missing out on learning about the finer points of human woman/man turning into a dog relations is tangible, though I imagine it as something in the vein of: "Oh honey, where is this coming from? Mmm, that's good, I love when you lick my neck. Oooh, yes, that feels... wait, what are you doing back- hey! HEY! It is NOT our anniversary, mister!" But such is life.
So in hindsight, not my best move. And also a bit inexplicable, because it's not like Wednesdays are Family Day at Golds Gym, right? I looked around in that darkened room and didn't see a single elementary schooler, so what was with the movie choice? I can understand if they don't want to show Basic Instinct (dark room + Sharon Stone's bajingo = too much temptation for some people), but I think we can eschew Hotel For Dogs and Hannah Montana: The Movie in the future, thanks. Although not Labyrinth, because that would be boss.
Fortunately the movie was just beginning, so I didn't have to worry about missing any of the subtle nuances that provide context to the rest of the film. The stars appear to be Tim "The Tool, Man" Allen, Rob Lowe slumming it in pre-Iron Man days, and as Tim's wife, I'm mostly but not 100% certain one of the chicks from Sex and the City. No, not her, the hot one. I won't embarrass myself by clumsily trying to explain all of the film's layers (some things you just have to experience for yourself), but in the final stages of my workout we came to the part of the movie where Tim Allen does, in fact, begin showing signs of becoming a dog. Thus I was treated to a quick montage of Tim waking up curled at his wife's feet; shaking his body to dry off after a shower; lapping up his cup of coffee; and finally sticking his face into his bowl of cereal to eat. At this point I had to leave because my uproarious laughter was disturbing the other patrons, but with some regret, because Tim had just started getting affectionate with his wife and I was wondering if they would actually show him sniffing her ass. My disappointment at missing out on learning about the finer points of human woman/man turning into a dog relations is tangible, though I imagine it as something in the vein of: "Oh honey, where is this coming from? Mmm, that's good, I love when you lick my neck. Oooh, yes, that feels... wait, what are you doing back- hey! HEY! It is NOT our anniversary, mister!" But such is life.
So in hindsight, not my best move. And also a bit inexplicable, because it's not like Wednesdays are Family Day at Golds Gym, right? I looked around in that darkened room and didn't see a single elementary schooler, so what was with the movie choice? I can understand if they don't want to show Basic Instinct (dark room + Sharon Stone's bajingo = too much temptation for some people), but I think we can eschew Hotel For Dogs and Hannah Montana: The Movie in the future, thanks. Although not Labyrinth, because that would be boss.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Why I'm not allowed to do chores anymore
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Ann's and my already busy lives became infinitely more harried upon the arrival of Molly. Not that either of us resents her because of it for an instant- Ann absolutely adores the little squirt, as do I. But she has made our lives quite a bit busier, and Ann, an anxious person at the best of times, has been feeling stressed out for months now. This is not entirely her fault -- I'm a much more low-key, mellow person who figures stuff will work itself out and am in my element when handling things on the fly. Translated, this means that I have no organizational skills... if I were in charge of our vacations I'd be trying to book our flight online a week ahead of time while yelling on the phone at some poor hotel clerk about why there aren't any rooms available. As a result, by default Ann ends up handling anything in our lives that needs to be scheduled in advance, like doctor's appointments, family get-togethers, ritual sacrifices, etc. (Just kidding, the cult we belong to is totally non-violent, blessed be the Leader.) One notable exception- I do pay the rent every month. And I'm pretty good about getting it out on time, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not occasionally lucky our landlord doesn't assess late fees for a couple of days over.
Anyway, the long and the short of it is that the poor girl is stressed out. So the other night she went out for drinks with a friend on a night when I didn't have class, leaving me to watch Molly. Which I did, but I thought it would be a nice way to ease Ann's burden a bit by also handling some chores that she usually does. She almost always cooks, but I made dinner based on the instructions she gave me to use the hamburger before it went bad; once I was done I washed all of the dishes; and I threw Molly's dirty clothes in the washing machine, then after they were finished threw in a load of Ann's and my clothes, and finally put them in the dryer and tossed in the last batch of clothes. Once that was all done I sat down on the couch, feeling moderately proud of myself. When Ann came home she was similarly pleased and thanked me several times before going to bed.
Cut to the next morning, where in the course of an hour Ann discovered three things:
-The hamburger she had wanted me to use, in the fridge, I had not used; instead I thought she said the freezer and used some hamburger we had frozen in there. The upshot of this is that we don't have the frozen hamburger for whatever we were going to use it for, and the fridge hamburger has now gone bad.
-Comparatively minor, but when washing the lid of the pan I used, I focused solely on the bottom of the lid, the part that actually touched the meat. You'd think that'd be enough, but apparently grease splattered on the top, which I didn't wash. Oops.
And most importantly...
-I forgot about the laundry after throwing in the last load. Which means in the morning we had a dryer full of wrinkled clothes that had to be re-dried, and a washing machine full of wet, possibly mildewy clothes.
And that's why I'm going to run away and join the circus.
Anyway, the long and the short of it is that the poor girl is stressed out. So the other night she went out for drinks with a friend on a night when I didn't have class, leaving me to watch Molly. Which I did, but I thought it would be a nice way to ease Ann's burden a bit by also handling some chores that she usually does. She almost always cooks, but I made dinner based on the instructions she gave me to use the hamburger before it went bad; once I was done I washed all of the dishes; and I threw Molly's dirty clothes in the washing machine, then after they were finished threw in a load of Ann's and my clothes, and finally put them in the dryer and tossed in the last batch of clothes. Once that was all done I sat down on the couch, feeling moderately proud of myself. When Ann came home she was similarly pleased and thanked me several times before going to bed.
Cut to the next morning, where in the course of an hour Ann discovered three things:
-The hamburger she had wanted me to use, in the fridge, I had not used; instead I thought she said the freezer and used some hamburger we had frozen in there. The upshot of this is that we don't have the frozen hamburger for whatever we were going to use it for, and the fridge hamburger has now gone bad.
-Comparatively minor, but when washing the lid of the pan I used, I focused solely on the bottom of the lid, the part that actually touched the meat. You'd think that'd be enough, but apparently grease splattered on the top, which I didn't wash. Oops.
And most importantly...
-I forgot about the laundry after throwing in the last load. Which means in the morning we had a dryer full of wrinkled clothes that had to be re-dried, and a washing machine full of wet, possibly mildewy clothes.
And that's why I'm going to run away and join the circus.
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