We attended a great wedding on Saturday. So even though LSU lost, it was a good positive evening. But maybe the best part of the weekend was that I finally painted the spots on Winnie, our van, where she was losing her paint. It was something I've wanted to do for the past year or more.
Some Fords are notorious for their paint peeling off, and our van was victim to this automotive malady. The spots I painted back on hardly look better than the gray spots that were there, because the color and sheen doesn't match exactly. But at least I got the rust off of the roof and sealed up all the metal to protect it more. Plus, as Papa Jeffrey says, "You can't tell a difference driving 65 down the interstate."
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
what to do, and the tots
My blood is O negative, by the way.
This weekend we'll be heading back to Louisiana for a wedding.
I am happy working with the school system I'm working with now, but I am also interested in getting my teaching certification, so I am working with an alternative certification program to do just that. Long-term, I'm thinking to teach for a couple years, work on a principal certification, and perhaps an EdD. I would like to stay involved with the school system which got me to Houston, a new school which just opened up to its first students as a college this last month, and will continue on to become a university in the next few years once we have graduates. The language school I teach for is a part of that system. Some of the students I teach now will go to that college to get their bachelor degrees. The school is proud to offer teaching only from instructors with doctorate degrees, so maybe down the road I can be involved with that. Or perhaps I'll be involved with the administration. We'll see.
The thing is, my love for Houston leaves something to be desired. Instead, I say, why don't we live somewhere with mountains and four seasons? Or somewhere not designed around cars. We'll see.
I didn't mention The Kiterunner yet, did I. The words I want to use are affecting or impactful. But for words which describe how something affects you, both of these words just don't do it. I keep thinking about the characters and emotions from this story, even though it's been weeks since I read it. While it's a tremendous story, I actually hesitate to recommend it on account of the depth of universal human emotion it roused, even from my stainless steel heart.
Let me tell you about the tots. Orry started drawing faces, people, and various things lately. He has a little magnadoodle style drawing board, on which he darws these things. The thing he draws most, I must admit, is a union jack or any of several variations. This comes not from the inspiration of the flag, but from the simple symmetry of the four lines in a rectangle. He is big on symmetry.
Isaac is talking more. Still his speech is quite incomprehensible, if it weren't for his antics which help even strangers understand his half syllabic words. "Dinosaur" sounds like "door", "Come on!" sounds like "Khan" and so on. He talks a lot, for being quite unintelligible. And now he seems to be less kranky than he was a few weeks ago. Next week he will undergo some anasthesia and a scope, and if you're more curious about him you can read up on our blog IBD In Our Home.
Annie started babbling in a new gurgly way yesterday, exploring the sounds she can make. She is our little laugher, and she also crawls around to wherever she can get the most attention. She started standing up next to furniture or things. And she's eating whatever food she can get.
Our family is interacting pretty well. We like to spend time at the park near our house and at the museums of natural science. We would like more play time outside now that the weather is agreeable. Food has become a bigger deal lately, as Isaac has a special diet, and of course, so does Annie.
Cheers. Thank you for staying current.
This weekend we'll be heading back to Louisiana for a wedding.
I am happy working with the school system I'm working with now, but I am also interested in getting my teaching certification, so I am working with an alternative certification program to do just that. Long-term, I'm thinking to teach for a couple years, work on a principal certification, and perhaps an EdD. I would like to stay involved with the school system which got me to Houston, a new school which just opened up to its first students as a college this last month, and will continue on to become a university in the next few years once we have graduates. The language school I teach for is a part of that system. Some of the students I teach now will go to that college to get their bachelor degrees. The school is proud to offer teaching only from instructors with doctorate degrees, so maybe down the road I can be involved with that. Or perhaps I'll be involved with the administration. We'll see.
The thing is, my love for Houston leaves something to be desired. Instead, I say, why don't we live somewhere with mountains and four seasons? Or somewhere not designed around cars. We'll see.
I didn't mention The Kiterunner yet, did I. The words I want to use are affecting or impactful. But for words which describe how something affects you, both of these words just don't do it. I keep thinking about the characters and emotions from this story, even though it's been weeks since I read it. While it's a tremendous story, I actually hesitate to recommend it on account of the depth of universal human emotion it roused, even from my stainless steel heart.
Let me tell you about the tots. Orry started drawing faces, people, and various things lately. He has a little magnadoodle style drawing board, on which he darws these things. The thing he draws most, I must admit, is a union jack or any of several variations. This comes not from the inspiration of the flag, but from the simple symmetry of the four lines in a rectangle. He is big on symmetry.
Isaac is talking more. Still his speech is quite incomprehensible, if it weren't for his antics which help even strangers understand his half syllabic words. "Dinosaur" sounds like "door", "Come on!" sounds like "Khan" and so on. He talks a lot, for being quite unintelligible. And now he seems to be less kranky than he was a few weeks ago. Next week he will undergo some anasthesia and a scope, and if you're more curious about him you can read up on our blog IBD In Our Home.
Annie started babbling in a new gurgly way yesterday, exploring the sounds she can make. She is our little laugher, and she also crawls around to wherever she can get the most attention. She started standing up next to furniture or things. And she's eating whatever food she can get.
Our family is interacting pretty well. We like to spend time at the park near our house and at the museums of natural science. We would like more play time outside now that the weather is agreeable. Food has become a bigger deal lately, as Isaac has a special diet, and of course, so does Annie.
Cheers. Thank you for staying current.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
O Positive
Let's focus on the positive.
Poison Ivy--or Poison Sumac, to be more precise--, I concede that your species is in some ways superior to mine. Our last head to head was not pleasant for me, and I'm wondering if we can bury the hatchet and call a truce? I have determined that with a light exposure such I experienced with you last, my body will react for just over two weeks. It won't be bad for a couple days, and then there will be a few days where I hope that I'm not really that infected. Then there is the acceptance period, where I realize I am affected, but remain hopeful that it's not going to be intolerable. Near the end I get ready to go to the doctor thinking that I better get some steroids before it gets out of control. But then it thankfully subsides before I go and my lesions fade into the usual pale pinkish color of the rest of my skin. I am glad to be done with that itch.
Our van has a new transmission with a year warranty. We have been driving it around this past week. It was really nice to get it back, even though we really don't want to be the family that needs a car. Especially with the doctor appointments and all, lately, having our private wheels helps alleviate some stress! We're glad to have the car back.
Anyway, there's more good stuff, but no need to overdo it.
Happy October!
Poison Ivy--or Poison Sumac, to be more precise--, I concede that your species is in some ways superior to mine. Our last head to head was not pleasant for me, and I'm wondering if we can bury the hatchet and call a truce? I have determined that with a light exposure such I experienced with you last, my body will react for just over two weeks. It won't be bad for a couple days, and then there will be a few days where I hope that I'm not really that infected. Then there is the acceptance period, where I realize I am affected, but remain hopeful that it's not going to be intolerable. Near the end I get ready to go to the doctor thinking that I better get some steroids before it gets out of control. But then it thankfully subsides before I go and my lesions fade into the usual pale pinkish color of the rest of my skin. I am glad to be done with that itch.
Our van has a new transmission with a year warranty. We have been driving it around this past week. It was really nice to get it back, even though we really don't want to be the family that needs a car. Especially with the doctor appointments and all, lately, having our private wheels helps alleviate some stress! We're glad to have the car back.
Anyway, there's more good stuff, but no need to overdo it.
Happy October!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
cosmic truths and inaction
My lingering cough must have weakened my immunity, and now I have a painful infection with a debilitating fever. Interestingly, in the wee hours of the a.m. after uncomfortably writhing all night, I found, in my delirium, some original cosmic truths. It has happened to me before, and now I wonder about the prevalence of such "revelations". It's not all that. The experience can probably be likened to drug induced revelations of the colorness of colors or the connectedness of the universe, etc. Two years ago, in a sickness induced delirium, I had a fantastic idea that resolved some problems I had been thinking about in astrophysics. This time, again, linked to the metaphysics of the universe, I developed an analogy which, again, offers an insight that resolves a lot of disconnectedness between the origins of the universe, God, science, the human mind, and so on. Now I hope to write it all down, but, like remembering a dream, it will be a difficult task of crystallizing some pretty vague and lofty ideas. So I won't do that now, but if I ever do write a book, maybe I can include these ideas therein.
Also lingering in the spirits of my now 11905 day year old self, is the tension in my life between deliberation and action. Or potential and realization. It seems like a easy line to cross. If you want to write a book, just do it. If you want to start a business, just do it. But the factors of life and probably other character flaw obstacles continue to stack up as excuses for not doing some of the things I want to do.
What we did last week was pretty fun. We went to the beach, this time as a morning sandcastle excursion. We also checked out some free places in Houston. The "action" of having a family is a delightful undertaking that easily consoles me from the inaction mentioned above.
Peace.
Also lingering in the spirits of my now 11905 day year old self, is the tension in my life between deliberation and action. Or potential and realization. It seems like a easy line to cross. If you want to write a book, just do it. If you want to start a business, just do it. But the factors of life and probably other character flaw obstacles continue to stack up as excuses for not doing some of the things I want to do.
What we did last week was pretty fun. We went to the beach, this time as a morning sandcastle excursion. We also checked out some free places in Houston. The "action" of having a family is a delightful undertaking that easily consoles me from the inaction mentioned above.
Peace.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Happy September
The penguins of Madagascar just mentioned that the sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. Interested, I googled it, and found that the scarecrow in the movie The Wizard of Oz delivered the line lo so many years ago. Sine then it's been used on the Simpsons, and now the Penguins as well. Of course, the only relationship between the twin legs of an isosceles triangle and the third leg is that the twins are each more than half as long as the third leg. In fact, the line is almost brilliantly wrong in each possible way (but there are, indeed, three sides of a triangle.).
I have had a nasty cough for a while. Otherwise, I feel okay, but when I have a coughing fit it's horrible. Earlier I was sicker, but now it's just the lingering cough.
We have explored around Houston some more. We went to the beach this weekend, but it was more like a driving tour than a beach excursion. We rode the ferry. While we were waiting for the ferry, our car battery discharged enough that we couldn't restart our van. Thankfully, a guy in a jeep nearby saved the day with some jumper cables. It all was resolved in such a quick manner that we did not slow down the line of embarking vehicles. But it wasn't completely resolved, of course, because as soon as we embarked, we had to turn off our vehicles' ignitions. And our Jeep friend was parked on a different part of the boat, too. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the van would start just fine. We watched dolphins and seagulls and waves, and at the end tried without success to restart the van. I quickly tried to get an attendant to see if they had a solution, but the attendants were all busy getting ready to unload the ferry. On the way back to our van I asked the guy in front of me (in a small car--I was sure the chance was slim) if he had jumper cables. When he said yes and jumped out of his car, I realized they'd have to be pretty long to be able to help out right away, since our cars were all arranged like a traffic jam. But, would you believe it, he was a mechanic, and his jumper cables were attached to a 12 volt jumpstarter, and it was all resolved in such a quick manner that we did not slow down the line of disembarking vehicles.
When we got to a convenience store, I poured some cola on the terminals to get rid of a bunch of corrosion that was helping to discharge our battery. Since then, we've been okay.
Life is good, but Annie just chewed off part of the cover of Bonnie's library book while I was typing up that story. So now I'll go and pay more attention to the young 'uns.
I have had a nasty cough for a while. Otherwise, I feel okay, but when I have a coughing fit it's horrible. Earlier I was sicker, but now it's just the lingering cough.
We have explored around Houston some more. We went to the beach this weekend, but it was more like a driving tour than a beach excursion. We rode the ferry. While we were waiting for the ferry, our car battery discharged enough that we couldn't restart our van. Thankfully, a guy in a jeep nearby saved the day with some jumper cables. It all was resolved in such a quick manner that we did not slow down the line of embarking vehicles. But it wasn't completely resolved, of course, because as soon as we embarked, we had to turn off our vehicles' ignitions. And our Jeep friend was parked on a different part of the boat, too. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the van would start just fine. We watched dolphins and seagulls and waves, and at the end tried without success to restart the van. I quickly tried to get an attendant to see if they had a solution, but the attendants were all busy getting ready to unload the ferry. On the way back to our van I asked the guy in front of me (in a small car--I was sure the chance was slim) if he had jumper cables. When he said yes and jumped out of his car, I realized they'd have to be pretty long to be able to help out right away, since our cars were all arranged like a traffic jam. But, would you believe it, he was a mechanic, and his jumper cables were attached to a 12 volt jumpstarter, and it was all resolved in such a quick manner that we did not slow down the line of disembarking vehicles.
When we got to a convenience store, I poured some cola on the terminals to get rid of a bunch of corrosion that was helping to discharge our battery. Since then, we've been okay.
Life is good, but Annie just chewed off part of the cover of Bonnie's library book while I was typing up that story. So now I'll go and pay more attention to the young 'uns.
Friday, June 11, 2010
well ballyhoo, we're in texas
Happy Birthday Orry, you were born almost exactly four years ago this minute.
We are moved into an apartment into Houston, where we feel like we're a little on the wrong side of town. But on the plus side (and this is why we live there), we live about a three or four minute drive to work. It's about a mile and a half, but what's funny is that it's really just across a road. But it's a big road, beltway eight. And actually, I haven't ever been on it, because it is a tollway, and it has service roads that go around it, which serve the purpose we need of crossing it.
I actually like Texas, so far. Maybe I was hasty to reproach the lone star state. Some examples for my second thoughts: service is considerably better, drivers are considerably better, people are considerably nicer. Some more good points about where we live are that the area is a sort of convergence of a few different international cultures. My job, by the way, for the time being, is a lot like teaching English in another land. All my students are Turkish or from somewhere similar (like Azerbeijan or Uzbekistan). Many of them are fresh from overseas. I like it.
We eat breakfast at the school each morning. And after the schoolday we also usually eat dinner. There are a lot of olives and cheese.
Annie rolls, Isaac babbles, Orry is four, yes, four years old. Sheesh, time flies.
We are moved into an apartment into Houston, where we feel like we're a little on the wrong side of town. But on the plus side (and this is why we live there), we live about a three or four minute drive to work. It's about a mile and a half, but what's funny is that it's really just across a road. But it's a big road, beltway eight. And actually, I haven't ever been on it, because it is a tollway, and it has service roads that go around it, which serve the purpose we need of crossing it.
I actually like Texas, so far. Maybe I was hasty to reproach the lone star state. Some examples for my second thoughts: service is considerably better, drivers are considerably better, people are considerably nicer. Some more good points about where we live are that the area is a sort of convergence of a few different international cultures. My job, by the way, for the time being, is a lot like teaching English in another land. All my students are Turkish or from somewhere similar (like Azerbeijan or Uzbekistan). Many of them are fresh from overseas. I like it.
We eat breakfast at the school each morning. And after the schoolday we also usually eat dinner. There are a lot of olives and cheese.
Annie rolls, Isaac babbles, Orry is four, yes, four years old. Sheesh, time flies.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
a May 30 quickie
My number two boy turned two yesterday, which means a few things. The precise day is passed when he is the age Orry was when he was born, although in two weeks they'll celebrate being half, or twice, the other's age for a year. The other milestone is that from this day forward, for now, Isaac will have spent most of his life in the USA again. He has really started babbling less incoherently, and has been seen jumping, singing, praying, and playing games which satisfy and delight us.
Annie is also developing well. On Thursday we'll move to Houston, and she will cross her first state line.
The Theobalds are coming over later today, and we'll have some fun. And we can show off our "finished" home. No, it's not turnkey perfect. But it is ready to rent out for the next year, and we signed a lease (hooray!) so it'll do for now!
For inappropriate quote use, see here. We have a dentistry pamphlet to submit. Seriously, after all that school, you send out a mailing that includes so many unnecessary quotes?! Seriously?!
Annie is also developing well. On Thursday we'll move to Houston, and she will cross her first state line.
The Theobalds are coming over later today, and we'll have some fun. And we can show off our "finished" home. No, it's not turnkey perfect. But it is ready to rent out for the next year, and we signed a lease (hooray!) so it'll do for now!
For inappropriate quote use, see here. We have a dentistry pamphlet to submit. Seriously, after all that school, you send out a mailing that includes so many unnecessary quotes?! Seriously?!
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