The Interview
Tomorrow is my job interview at Lanier Technical College. I'm nervous, still need to go over my mock lecture, and not so sure about a move from the sedentary lifestyle of North Central Florida to the hustle and bustle of big city life here in Atlanta. Listen to me, I sound like I'm moving out of 'Green Acres'. Still, the Atlanta is a lot more congested, crowded, and competitive. But it also has a lot more job opportunities, and its closer to family and some good friends. So, we'll see - keep your fingers crossed!
Sigh
Well, it was just such a busy week that Sigh just about covers it. Last weekend, the servers at Barrysworld kicked us to the curb. We had no warning, as I was having email sent to the wrong address, and lo and behold, our Blogs were gone. Facing the prospect of finding another free service or relying on Kristin's dad to host the blog, we elected to bite the bullet and buy own own domain. So, even as we speak, SepiaMoons.com is being born. It's a slow process, made ven slower by the fact that only today have I discovered that I neglected to purchase the name registration at the time he bought web hosting. So it might be another two weeks before we actually have a .com name. But in doing so I've learned a lot of info that should help me with future clients, and I've discovered subdomains, which I will be sure to make rampant use of in the weeks to come.
Parker has just gotten over a snotty cold of epic proportions. Last week he got to walk outside for the first time, in sandals no less. At first he seemed very reticent, but when I brought him back inside, he quickly shooed the cats from the rear French doors and began to beat furiously against the glass until I took him back out. Now he loves it.
Parker also discovered that his diaper pail makes a convenient pint sized basketball hoop and has proceeded to slam dunk his toys down its chute. S far we've been lucky - as he does it when the pail is empty.
Last week also marked a move to redesign our office area. Lockheed has made it a priority to use of backup sofa as an itinerant litter box. Over the last two weeks, pillows, throw pillows, and noe seat cushions have fallen prey to feline pee, and relegated to the clothes bn outside. Undaunted, we perservered until this weekend when we decided the sofa was a loss.
I don't know how we managed to get the sofa in that room, but getting it back out again was a BEAR!! Eventually, Kristin resorted to whacking the legs off with a hammer, and the interior wall corners were rubbed raw to show a steel frame underneath (who knew our walls were made of steel? or that one could actually bend steel walls?") Finally, after two hours of contorting and pushing, the sofa suddenly and without warning neatly slid through the door jam. If you moved it back in the room, I doubt we'd get it out again any faster.
So, the room is now rather bare, and plans were made to rearrange. And possibly paint. Now though, that plan is put on hold as I am now heading to Atlanta to interview for a teaching position. This would be a big change and a rather good pay raise to boot, not to mention being closer to family. Still, the cost of living would increase exponentially up there, but it would still be a good thing. The rest of this week, if I can catch up on s;eep, will be about training for the interview. Wish me luck!!
Had to make Lemonade out of Lemons
I discovered that my first full-color print job had a mistake on it - the web addresses for our web site were incorrect on the bookmark in four places! I quickly salvaged the situation on the site by creating redirect pages to the actual destinations. Upon reflection, I came up with a reason for the mistake. We can use the new redirect pages to actually measure how often people use the bookmarks to go to the site - after all, the redirect pages are not in the rest of the directory tree of the site and should only be accessed by people typing in the address from the bookmark. Now that I think of it, I planned it that way the WHOLE time. That's the ticket.
Parker in the Back Yard
I took Parker for his first walk outside the other day. At first he was very hesitant - as this was also the first time he wore shoes. I took him back inside, and to my surprise he joined the trio of cats at the back door, banging on the glass to be let back outside. We went out again and he took off all over the grass. Guess it was just overwhelming at first!
Since its unexpected and unheralded arrival in March 1999, this lavishly produced (for basic cable) space adventure quickly established itself as the most irreverent, unpredictable, sexy, intelligent and exciting sci fi show on TV. By comparison, Enterprise is a lumbering dinosaur...
Meanwhile, an inert movie like the latest blah Star Wars epic rakes in the bucks for no discernible reason I can think of, except for genre fans' lemming-like devotion. For Sci Fi to cite economic reasons for denying fans a final year of Farscape would seem to be at odds with the network's mission as an entertainment brand. This decision is likely to be compared years from now to NBC's short-sighted cancellation of the original Star Trek after a mere three seasons.
I bet that this would make a great night light. And it would be fun to watch the cats chase at night. My friend Steven was despairing about the possibilities for a threatening super-villain with stretching powers. Well, what about a villain with mutated glowing bunny powers?
Frell
Sorry, I lost my composure for a second. But what the frell are the honchos at Sci-Fi thinking??!??
I mean, look at that last sentence. I even curse now in Farscape-ese.
I used to be a devout practitioner of the Sci-Fi Channel. In my early college days, there was rarely a day that my set did not find its way to the channel with the little saturnine logo, with an offbeat collection of the best and the worst television that had ever been conceived, all dedicated to the themes of science fiction or horror. It didn't matter that it was quality or dren; what mattered was it was there.
Times changes, as so did the Sci-Fi channel. It became more commercialized, and, looking for a more mainstream audience, began to drop the Sci-Fi material that was not popular in order to bring the next big thing. Endless repeats of Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers, interspersed with made-for-TV science fiction movies. Several times they made great additions - "Alien Nation", "MS3TK" for instance, but for the most part it seemed they had lost focus.
Until the network began to produce its own programming. "Farscape", "The Invisible Man", "Third Wave" - all promising shows that showed what the Sci-Fi channel could be. And although two of these shows died premature deaths, the Sci-Fi channels' additions of old "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5" and purchasing of "Stargate SG-1" and "Outer Limits" showed the network was heading in a new and bold direction.
So, although original programming had once again shrunk from three nights a week to one, this season promised to be Sci-Fi channels' strongest ever. The abominable Lexx was gone and forgotten, and a truly strong full night of programming was unveiled: Stargate, Farscape, and the Dead Zone (I would have preferred I-Man to be given another go, but that's okay). And now...Sci-Fi has decided that Farscape is to expensive and must be given the axe.
Let's see...in the past year only one show on Sci-Fi has gotten the cover of TV-Guide, and done so twice...Farscape. Three actors on the show got the "Performance Not to be Missed" from TV Guide, and Farscape won the Saturn and several other awards for best Sci-Fi show on television. And the Sci-Fi channel is cancelling it.
Well, his could be the swan song for my relationship with the Sci-Fi channel. The Dead Zone also airs on USA, the brainless illegitmate half-brother of SCi-Fi, so I can watch it there on Sunday night, a full two weeks earlier. And unless they pull the plug on all the syndication outlets, Stargate still airs on umpteen other channels, albeit one season (and cast) back. Perhaps Sci-Fi channel should recognize the fact that syndication revenues could have offset production costs for many of their shows. Perhaps what they will put on next will be even better. But as of now, I sure won't be watching. I have grown accustomed to my Friday nights journeys into the Unknown Territories, and seeing what trouble John Crichton and his group of 'violent criminals' can get into week by week. And although this season was perhaps not as good as what had come before, I was still there, week after week. This was the only sci-fi themed show in my memory that could me cry- and it did so - three times.
Just Press Play
The music industry appears to be listening to the consumers. PressPlay, an online music subscription service launched earlier this year, has just launched Version 2.0. The first PressPlay had quite a few problems that made it unattractive to consumers. It limited the number of downloads and streams you can perform, the number of songs you could burn to a cd per month, the number of songs you could download from a certain artist for month, and when you cancelled the subscription, you lost access to all the downloads you had made to that point.
Although not perfect, Pressplay 2.0 is a much more consumer friendly platform. The tier-system has been replaced with a basic subscription service that allows you to make unlimited downloads and streams (if you have a computer at the heart of a home entertainment system, this would be agreat way to create a home jukebox). For an additional fee per month, you can make 10 'portable downloads', which are independent of the PressPlay program. Permanent Downloads can be burned to cds, transferred to portable devices, and, most importantly, remain on your system if the PressPlay subscription is cancelled. Artist restrictions have been lifted, meaning you have the ability to download an entire cd from an artist. If you need more portable downloads, they can be purchased in blocks at approximately $.85 a download. The basic service plus 10 downloads runs $17.95 a month.
Perfect? Not yet. The unlimited downloads must still be run through the Pressplay interface, which means your current cd tracks on the computer must be played in a seperate player. And I think the Portable Downloads must be kept in WMA format. Nevertheless, it's a lot closer to the free, truly portable music downloads that web consumers were demanding. What would be truly spectacular is seperating the services: an unlimited streaming/download service, a Portable Download-only service, and a combined plan.
Funny how these changes were never really advertised in any way. Come to think of it, the whole industry hasn't really mentioned or promoted PressPlay or MusicNet in any way, shape, or form. How do they expect these to become viable alternatives to P2P file-swapping if they do not advertise them? It's seems the labels are using these sites just to show they are committed to providing music on line without really doing so.
I tried to explain the new pricing system to some members of Generation Y I saw today, and how it is a significant shift in the industry's stance towards how to sell music. They rejected the theory, and said it won't make a dent in P2P usage at all. Time will tell.
Independent Producer 7 Aurelius, who has worked with stars including Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Lopez, expressed confidence that the show's best will find success.He pronounced himself ready to work with Nikki McKibbin, 23, of Grand Prairie, Texas, who just missed out on the finals. ("I want to sign her. Print that," said Aurelius.)
If the judges on Idol who dropped her chose to pass, it's nice to notice someone did see she was third out of 10,000.
LHS Titanic
Got the LHS back yesterday. The gas tank is repaired, and thanks to Kristin's parental units, the transmission has been replaced. Thank you for the Christmas gift - it is much appreciated.
However, as we drive home, we discovered to our dismay that the cruise control is no longer functioning. Did a wire come loose during repairs? Did unscrupulous mechanics do more damage as they were repairing a problem in order to get repeat business? Or is this because things always happen in threes?
Caught the MTV Video Music Awards this weekend. What a pathetic awards show that was. It exemplified the difference between music stars and actors - where actors' abilities rely primarily on craft, a successful musician's must also retain an image to their fans. Consequently, everyone dressed as rock stars, and looked pretty pathetic in doing so. (Except for Michael, above :) and Jennifer Love Hewitt, who People considered to be poorly dressed...go figure). The whole show was pretty lackluster, including the surprise appearance by Guns N Roses at the end.
The most electrifying performance of the night was midway through when the Hives took the stage. their lead singer had an air of quiet disdain about him, much like an early Mick Jagger. As their set ende, he prophetically quipped: "I know you want us to keep playing but our time is up. Go ahead and turn off the television." Well said, well said.
No Photos!
We were at Wal-Mart today and thought to get photos of Parker. In the end, we wasted aboiut twenty-five minutes trying to do so. We got a few good photos, but the photographer kept urging to ry something else, but she neglected to or was unable to save anything we had taken up to that point. The result: after passing on several good photos in search of the perfect one, we ended up with a fussy Parker who was not willing to sit AT ALL for any more pictures. Maybe next time.
Not Her Cup of Tea
Kristin and I have extremely different senses of humor. This weekend, inspired by the Video Music Awards, I decided to a little Jack-O to the home page. Of course, in my zeal, I didn't ask Kristin if I could do it. When she saw it, she failed to see the humor and thought it was stupid. Mea culpa. I should have asked - after all, it's OUR site, not my site.
So, in order to keep this from happening in the future, I'll be adding a humor section to the site where I can put little things like this that I find funny. And I'll make it clear that I find it funny, not Kristin. That way no one can ask her why she has such a weird sense of humor :)
I've finally started sewing our living room curtains. I need a special needle to sew the sheers (size 9 ... normally only 11, 14, and 16 can be found) without ripping them along the way. I also learned how to sew a french seam to finish the seams. Of course, I still have a long way to go. Wish me luck in finishing them before we deside to move. Hah!!
This was the weekend for booboos. Parker is an amazingly resilient baby.
1. While excitedly crossing the kitchen in my mom's house, he misjudges and runs into the corner of the cabinet.
2. My dad accidentally opens the refrigerator door on Parker (this was followed by the explanation that cats and dogs know to get out of the way, but babies think the opening fridge is neat).
3. While the tub was draining, Parker stands up at one end (which he knows he's not supposed to do) and tries to run to the swirling water and slides and bangs his head ....very, very scary for everyone but alls well.
4. Parker trips near my parents coffee table and gives himself a deep indent (about 1 inch long) in his forehead from the corner. We don't have coffee tables, and I'll be padding theirs from now on.
5. While running from the sofa to the television, Parker trips and twists his ankle a little. He refused to walk for the next 10 minutes (that's a long time in Parkerdom).
End result: tiny bruise from the coffee table incident which is barely noticeable.
I have commented in the past how I felt that I had somehow lost the essence of who I was over the past 10 years. I have felt more lost than ever the 5 years before Parker was born. Today, I was sitting here thinking and I realized something rather significant .... I am finally finding myself again! In high school, I felt strongly about a few things: music, the environment, animals, and crafts.
I've starting singing more to Parker, and I'm looking forward to pulling down my keyboard and introducing him (albeit slowly) to the piano. I wish there were a local choir I could join, but the only ones here in Newberry are associated with churches.
I have whole-heartedly thrown myself in to things to support the environment in some small way in my opinion. I am breastfeeding Parker, thus decreasing the waste materials associated with artificial baby milk (bka formula). I cloth diaper Parker (although even I don't do it 100% ... not enough Mother-Ease) to decrease diaper costs and solid waste (yes, it uses up water to wash them, but I do have a front loading washer). We are planning a vegetable garden and to start composting, and we've been really good about reusing containers or at least recycling them.
Animals. Well, plainly put, I know that I can no longer be involved in animal research. Don't get me wrong, they are treated well and I fully believe that animal research has many, many benefits for mankind and has saved and extended our lives tremendously. But I, personally, cannot be involved in the actual experiments. It has been a tough road of realization, but I know I can't do something I'll regret later in life, and I know I would.
I've also returned to crafty things, which is really fun, and it boosts the ego to finish a project!! I have many plans, but I've had a hard time finishing any. I am hoping to finally get my curtains done this weekend with my mom's help.
We are planning Parker's birthday party, and I asked Jeff to help me make some decisions on it. I understand and realize that men just don't (in general) recognize the importance of such events, especially for the mom, but it is still frustrating. After finally harping to the point where I decide to do it myself, he gets involved. We finally agree to a theme, or rather, a cake. I found in this American Baby magazine this cake that is in the shape of the number "1" covered with multicolored Nilla Wafers that I thought was cute. When Jeff saw it, he said, "Let's do that". Great, we finally have something!! So, now the invitations ...
Jeff is a freelance graphic designer, and even has his own business name. I wanted a card for Parker's invitations. Simple logic, right? Well, only when I started designing my own card does Jeff come up with a design. And we decided to go with Jeff's design. It doesn't really even matter when we can up with the idea (though I still think it was last Tuesday or Wednesday), but the fact that I had to again harp to get it done is frustrating! And then, the design he first came home with ... I HATED it! It honestly seemed quite amateurish and I was disappointed. Regardless of how Jeff felt, I knew it needed to change. He was upset that I didn't love it and wanted it changed. So, I get him to start changing it and he stops to do other things (watch TV and bid on E-Lance). Then he fell asleep while getting Parker to sleep.
I had wanted to send them out today once I got the second picture, so I knew I had to finish it. Luckily, by finishing it, I was able to make sure it had what I wanted on it. We never sent out announcements for Parker and I feel really bad about that (we had grand plans and no time to do them), so I wanted to include that information on this card. I had mentioned this to Jeff, but he didn't incorporate it at all. So, I did. I thought it looked pretty good, even though I was sure it could have used different fonts that I didn't think of.
Well, when he wakes up and sees that I've changed it, he gets pissed. He can't acknowledge that I did good, hard work. He stays up to change it. All he does is make the fonts more consistent and add a background on the front to make it more ledgible. But, he's happy, and I'm happy ... it is done. Now to finish it up and send them out tomorrow.
I'm very sad. It is playgroup Tuesday, Parker is not sick, but we can't go because my keys are locked in the back seat of my car because after checking the mail we left them in there.
I've been trying to cut our costs left and right now that we only have the one income, and it is pretty hard!! I really wish I had done this ages ago so we wouldn't be having such a hard time now. However, the up side is I've started cooking and planning (although there are times, like right now, that I just don't want to bother) and I made homemade honey mustard dressing yesterday that is very scrumptious. I also bought milk when it was on sale at $1.99/gallon and froze it. Unfortunately, I didn't predict how long it might take to dethaw, so I've had a frozen cube of milk in the fridge for two days now. Sigh.
Parker has been sick again it seems. He had a really runny nose and an awful cough. Just now, I noticed another slight rash at the top of his bum, nearest where the top of the diaper goes, which makes me think it isn't your normal diaper rash. It reminds me of the last time he was sick and got a pretty bad rash and we thought it might actually be roseola. He seems pretty fine now. He didn't have a temperature this time, though, so it might just be a rash.
Jeff and I bought a chest freezer. We used birthday money I got from Jeff's parents, my grandmother, and the rest from our pockets to buy this freezer. And we got it in a timely fashion, too. The day after purchasing it, our local grocer sold chicken quarters (legs and thighs) for $0.17/lb. So, I got 40 pounds for $6.99. Less than a meal at virtually any restaurant.
It has been an unusual morning for us. We woke up (and got up) around 6:45 this morning and ate a little and played a little. We watched the morning news shows (since our videos weren't on) and Parker has just been an angel. Parker sat in my lap and was abnormally still as I held his right hand over his heart and sang the Star-Spangled Banner and said the Pledge of Allegiance when they did it at the Pentagon. He just thought Mama was having fun. I wish he could always have that innocence.
There is just no winning!! On the way to playgroup, Parker slept for 30 minutes in the car. Then, when we left playgroup, he slept for the last 15 minutes. I actually successfully carried him into the house and lay him down in the crib. Then I decide I wanted a soda, and got ice, since the soda was hot. Damn ice maker woke him up. Just figures.
Jeff and I spent about 5 hours on Saturday trying to figure out menus for the next couple of weeks to try to only buy what we need at the grocery store, as well as make sure we always have something planned so we don't eat out. Well, it is only three days into the plan and we already have planned poorly. We are almost out of milk and all-purpose flour (though we have enough flour to last until the end of the week), and have more left-overs than anticipated.
I think the hardest thing to deal with is breakfasts, since Jeff is up at 6 a.m. and out of the door within the hour. This morning he awoke at 6:30 and Parker woke to nurse at the same time. When he came back into the room about 15 minutes later, Parker was restless and I was asleep, so he let us sleep and didn't get me up to make the muffin cake I was making for breakfast, so I made it when I woke up, about 15 minutes after he left at 7:15. He did have breakfast, but it was a PB&J sandwich, which is also what he had for lunch. Very poor planning on my part, so no more making in the morning what will be fine to make the night before.
My friend P. from high school is pregnant again!! This will be her third child but her first with her new husband, P. They will be celebrating their one-year anniversary in October and having their child in December. They don't know if it will be a boy or a girl, but since she already has two little boys, I'm thinking pink. Another high school friend of mine, S., is also having a new baby this year, this month, I believe (I honestly can't keep track). She and her husband are thinking pink as well, since she already has 2 boys and only one girl from a previous marriage. Babies, babies everywhere!!
We have three computers. The oldest one we got back in December of 1996. There was an advertised special for this 686 Cyrix computer, and since Pentium was considered a 586 (the last thing out there was a 486, after all), we knew it was top of the line. And it sure was a deal. We got it for $1000 (or thereabouts). Of course, we had to drive down to Ocala to get it, and the only one they had left was the floor model, but it was all ours. Great computer too. Just awfully slow compared to today's standards.
The second is a laptop, that we got in the summer of 1997, just before we got married. We were going on a road trip to see my cousin get married in Wilmington, North Carolina and then taking a brief vacation through the Outer Banks. We needed the laptop because I was also responsible at this same time for part of my written qualifying examination. So, in order for me to go to the wedding I needed to be able to work on the drive up. Ordered it from an online store and spent about $1800 (can't remember exact amount). Of course, we didn't expect that on the ferry ride, while leaving the laptop plugged in to the car's lighter outlet to recharge that it would so drain the car's battery that we would have to wait until all the other cars got off (including the ones stuck behind us) and get a jump from the ferry personnel. The laptop has served its function well. Of course, it is in the worst shape of any of our computers. The screen is screwed in with actual screws to keep it on and connected. The keyboard doesn't work so you have to have an external keyboardd attached. The battery is so pointless, that if the AC cord should become detached at any moment, the entire thing would lose power in less that 30 seconds. The cord itself is in such poor shape it can fall out at any time. The CD drive and floppy drive are supposed to be interchangeably attached, but the CD drive has been stuck for 4 years now.
Our newest computer is now not all that new. We got it back in 2000. We got it off of E-Bay. I know, we're dangerous folk. Risk-takers, etc. It is an Athlon AMD and has been great. It cost us about $1000 again, but it was way worth it, and was only like $30 more than buying individual parts off of PriceWatch and assembling it ourselves. Great computer, except for when one wants to install more memory or upgrade past Windows 98. It has also fried a card or two. Still, I love this computer. We would like a newer one regardless. We need one that can handle the graphic intense programs made by Adobe and Macromedia better than this one. And that can accept more RAM and the newer type of RAM.
Anyways, guess which computer I am currently using to type up this entry .... I'm betting you guessed wrong. It's the laptop. Yep, I have the keyboard and 19-inch monitor from our newest computer hooked up to the falling-apart-but-still-darn-good laptop. You know what is even more disturbing? The 56K modem that was in the newest computer would connect to our free University-funded internet connection at about 46,700 bps. This laptop modem (which is supposedly a 33.6K modem)? ... 115,200 bps. How crazy is that? How is that even possible? I just can't believe it, but I've double and triple checked it and when downloading AIM so I could talk to Jeff while he's at work, it downloaded pretty darn fast. Just wish we'd known this previously, you know?
Dr. V. and Dr. C. have offered me to bring home a microscope to look at slides at home ... first, I'm not sure where I could put it where it would be safe; second, I'm not sure when I'd find time to do it, since I have a hard enough time getting my Excel files done; third, I can't tell what I'm looking at!!! What have I gotten myself into?
Parker's daily fluctuations in appetite are a little hard to deal with ... how much food should I make? What will he eat? How much mess will there be as a result of our culinary experience? How much variety does he need. Needless to say, this is one aspect of parenting that they really should write a book, with daily menus over a month with what to prepare to have a good variety without food spoilage. His newest culinary conquests are: croissants, steak, banana bread, grits, cantelope, cheese nips, etc. We are still avoiding egg whites, berries, shellfish, tomatoes, citrus, and honey. We also try to give him natural versions of things, no added sugar or corn syrup and preferably little additives. We found some potato chips recently that are all natural: potatoes, vegetable oil (linseed or soyberan), and salt. No, we don't want Parker eating lots of greasy foods or starchy foods either. But if we want potato chips, we feel better if he gets one or two of these than your favorite brand ... just take a look at the back of the bag next time, and you'll see why.
We are at my parents' house for Labor Day weekend. Our LHS is finally repaired. It had a hole in the gas tank, and after that got repaired, the transmission cut out. $2000 later, the car is ready to go home. We will be a little sad to see the van go, though. It was nice to not have to get out of the car to get Parker out, leaving those 15 seconds or so of panic that someone might get in the driver's seat and take off with my child and car. Also, precooling the car was nice, since I didn't have to worry about leavikng the car again. Jeff will miss riding higher than most of traffic as you do in a van. And it had lots of seating (not that we used that aspect) and room for stuff. But, it will be nice to have the completely manueverable front seat back, and the easy access to Parker while driving and the climate control. Now Jeff has a ton of websites to design as payment. We are very, very grateful for their generosity.
So, I was able to clean out the fridge before we left for the weekend, but I had to cook some meat that was still in the fridge beforehand. I decided to broil the sirloin steak, so I scored the steak cross-wise and seasoned both sides and put it in the fridge for an hour. So far, so good. Then I put it in the oven on the top notch so that it is close to the broiling element and turn on the broiler. I wanted it medium-well, so I figured 25 to 30 minutes, turning once. So far, again, so good.
Well, at about 13 minutes or so (right before I was going to turn it), smoke started coming out of a burner. So I pull it out of the oven, and it is curled up and had touched the heating element. So I pull it out, flip it over, but it won't lay flat. So I cut it in two so it will. Okay, easily solved, no biggie. Next side. Put it back in and figure try for about 13 minutes instead of 15 on this side. 5 minutes in, Parker is really, really fussy, so I decide to nurse him. Well, he falls asleep. And I start to smell smoke. Sleeping Parker, burning steak ......
I quickly lay Parker on the floor (he immediately wakes up) and get the steak out of the oven. Burned. I don't even know if it is edible. I just let it cool, threw it in a freezer bag, and into the freezer it went. It'll be emergency rations I guess.
