~ This MuDi Life ~

2007-10-05T11:08:00.000-04:00

jackie boy and me...

and I've moved... follow the link over...

-J

Now blogging elsewhere....

2007-10-04T08:03:00.000-04:00

Hey good people... please update your bookmarks; blogrolls; links... etc...

I'll be blogging at wiredmonkey.net

With wordpress goodness!

-J-

Three books, three weeks...

2007-09-25T08:25:00.000-04:00

Legacy of Ashes, The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

My Pet Virus by Shawn Decker

Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris

I am the wire monkey...

2007-09-25T08:01:00.000-04:00

Not too old to rock...

2007-09-06T13:28:00.000-04:00

I went to a concert last night. I must admit that I felt a little out of place when Flyleaf was playing, but was instantly surrounded by my generation when Collective Soul came on. I immediatly felt much, much better.

BTW... I'm only 33

One year later...

2007-09-04T14:25:00.001-04:00

First day of school 2006 - K

First day of school 2007 - 1st

I love and hate it how much he has grown...

Been there and there and there....

2007-07-29T09:22:00.000-04:00

One more week and I'll be home...

Cafe Cuba... or why I love hoodblogs...

2007-07-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

I was reading Hill and Heights and I came across their little blurb about Cafe Cuba (via Style Weekly) opening up in Stratford Hills so we immediately packed everyone up and headed cross' the river. I am deliriously happy that I came across that, because not only are the owners (Rene and Adis) some of the nicest people, but the food is as authentic as it comes.
It took me away to my days back in Miami... popping in to little cuban shops, having a media noche, a cafe con leche and some flan for dessert. It had been awhile since I have had an authentic cuban meal like that, and if you are into that sort of thing, then head over and say hi to them... I'm sure you'll love it.

Summer goodness...

2007-06-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

Lucy - Summer 07'

The first day of nothingness....

2007-06-25T11:11:00.000-04:00

Friday was my last day of work. As excited as I was, it felt like my last day of ninth grade. I was all excited, but it also held a deep feeling of sadness as I walked out the door and a little bit of nervousness at what is coming next.

I got over it by the time I got home...

The weekend was great... we hung out with new friends, read a great book, met new neighbors and
hung out and played with the kids. It's a nice feeling knowing we have absolutely zero we "have " to do. Other than some things that we want to do... it's pretty much open to whoever throws a good idea out there.

Today we thought about maybe going to the gym. Grabbing a few movies and vegging out is currently winning, but we'll see. I'd love to catch up on some reading... and for the next six days, anything is possible.

T-5

2007-06-18T11:12:00.000-04:00

Today starts my last week at my current job...but who's counting? I'll then have a full week off before I start my new job. To say I've been a little distracted over the last month is a huge understatement. Just about every major life changed happened to us at once, but now that the dust is clearing a bit, I feel like I am breathing again.
There's a good reason people give two weeks notice and move on with their lives. I gave them six weeks. That was probably five weeks and three days longer than my head could handle.
I'm looking forward to this next chapter in our lives... it seems that we have been trying to turn this page for awhile. There's lots to be learned and more changes headed our way and all I can say is that I am so ready for it all.

Changes...

2007-05-28T21:50:00.003-04:00

It seems it all came at once, but there have been some major changes that our family has been handed. First of all... that job that I have been alluding to has finally become a reality. The really good news (besides the job) is that we can stay in Richmond for the time being. Unfortunately, we had to move from WOTB, but did manage to find a house not too far away in Byrd Park Terrace. For the next year, we'll be experimenting with the new job situation. I get to work from home, which is absolutely awesome, but will have to travel a bit to meet with clients. If the travel gets to be too much, we might have to move further north, but hopefully I'll be able to make it work from here.
After accepting the new job (and dealing with the fallout at work...ugghhh) we scrambled to get our apartment rented. We listed, showed and had someone approved in a three day span, and also found our new house and started moving. It looks like a bomb went off in our old place; since we really didn't get to pack much, it was more like throwing stuff in the truck and in my pickup.
We've got a bunch of crazy days ahead. I don't officially start my new position until July 1st, so until then I have a crazy June left but allot to look forward too. Most of all I am thrilled we wont have to leave all of our great friends here in the RVA.

A small,tiny update....

2007-05-07T12:58:00.000-04:00

A tire on the trailer that I am towing to Fredericksburg just blew out... so I thought I'd use this time to write up a quick post. I'm blogging from my smartphone, so this will be short...

Because clayb asked, I will write later on about the interview. It went well, and I have a follow up on Thursday with them. I'll elaborate later.
Right now, I'm sitting on the side of 95... about 20 feet from my truck because i've convinced myself that one of these huge tractors will wipe me out if I sit in there. I love my life and i am not quite ready to go. As I made my way through the brush... a snake jumped out and scared the hell outta me. I'm sure that was fun for whoever drove by and saw me at that moment. If you dont know, I hate snakes. And spiders.
So here I sit... watching the cars roll by. In a weird way, its kinda nice, since this is the first time in weeks that I have been able to stop and not do anything.
I'll write some more later.... I have much catching up to do with my rva blogging friends.

My fortune...

2007-04-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened this past week. I've been staying up late nights working on a little side project which has consumed me, (more to come soon) and I was offered a new job.

As my Chinese food had informed me, this is a huge and important decision to make. I've been with the same company for seven years now and deep down I really love it. There are days (like today) when the stress and pressure don't help, but on the whole it's great. I like the challenge, the pressure and having something to accomplish on a daily basis.

Without getting too much into it yet, (as none of my coworkers know yet, or most of my family for that matter) I'll know much more soon. I have a lot to sort out, and also the owner of the company to break the news to. That happens in about 30 minutes, when we head out to lunch together.

Wish me luck! (And I'll post as I know more...)

I didn't know there were penguins in Africa...

2007-04-06T11:36:00.000-04:00

Mada and the penguins

It’s true (Wikipedia say so), there are penguins in Africa. There’s Madeleine up there hanging out with them. I don’t want to sound ignorant, but I never knew there were penguins in Africa. And I watch the Discovery channel. A lot. But this isn’t about the penguins. It’s about people I love that are in Africa, and the one I truly love wanting to go to Africa.

Carter, Madeleine, Jen and Dave are all in Africa right now. That blows my mind. Mostly because I imagine I might never get to see the things they are seeing. But it mostly makes me happy, because I know what an adventure they are having. Along with the adventure comes a deep love for people and an understanding of what is still not right with this world.

The day before we left Cape Town, we drove to the Cape of Good Hope where we saw wild baboons with babies on their back, a couple of ostrich, cape zebra and a huge whale out in the Atlantic. Earlier in the day the kids swam with wild African penguins at Boulder Beach near Simon’s Town. By the end of the day we were high from the sheer joy of it all. I have pictures, but no time to post.

We keep running into a lovely couple from San Francisco–Dave and Antonia–we were seated on the same section of the plane coming from New York. It feels nice to see a familiar face, and we laugh each time at the coincidence.

It’s so beautiful here in the Winelands, but a tiny bit sad. “I feel bad that only black people are cleaning and helping us,” Madeleine said. “No white people.” I feel the same, trying to unravel in my mind the complicated story of class and race in this country. Black or white, everyone we have met here has welcomed us with kindness and grace. We feel the blessing of warmth and the weight of histories not that different from our own as Americans.
From JenLemen.com

Back here in the states, Jen’s African adventure has re-stoked the wife’s lifelong dream of going to Africa. Amazingly enough, an opportunity has come along for her to go to Sierra Leone as part of a church outreach ministry and work at a child rescue center. She approached me about it without any hope of me actually agreeing to it, but you know, I don’t want to be the guy that kills his wife’s one lifelong dream. I’m really excited for her. It’s mind blowing really, to think she will be a world away. I’m sure the experience will be good for both of us. I hope everything falls in place, and if it does, she’ll be heading for Africa come September.

birthday boy...

2007-04-03T10:16:00.000-04:00

10k weekend wrap up...

2007-04-02T09:29:00.001-04:00

This weekend was a mad crazy rush to get things done. We had the 10k to get to, a house to clean up, and friends to entertain and hang out with. With a big sigh of relief we accomplished all and had a lazy Sunday to help recover from all the running around.

The wife was this year’s 10k participant. I did it last year and had a pretty good showing, but my knee surgery kept me out of this year's race. Not only did she do it, but she kicked some serious butt. I am so proud of her. She’s a bit like me… ultra competitive and driven. I know she wasn't exactly where she wanted to be in her running regimen, but she did awesome. It inspired me to get off my butt and back in the gym, and I am officially dropping my name in the hat for next year's race.

After the wife was done running, we had a good time cheering people on, and even saw some of our friends finishing the race. It was fun cheering other people on, and giving them that extra little push towards the end.

After all that, we headed to Fuddruckers for a post race burger, then headed home to clean up the house. It was a mad dash to get everything ready, but once everything was done, we had a great time hanging out with our friends. Food, beer, fun... it ended up being a great day.

Some pictures...

2007-03-30T08:07:00.000-04:00

Lucy - St. Patty's Day

Josiah @ the beach (it was freeeeezing)

Jackie-boy @ the beach

Josiah's first day of soccer... he scored two goals!

Lucy Joy

Pop tarts and video games

2007-03-23T11:11:00.000-04:00

Josiah, Jack and I headed down to the southern outer banks yesterday for a weekend without the girls. This is about as much as a boys weekend as it can get. I hurriedly packed for all three of us yesterday morning, not really sure if I packed underwear for the boys or if I was missing anything else. Sure enough, I didn’t pack their toothbrushes and I have nothing to brush their hair with. I tried to wet their hair down, but Josiah really didn’t want me to do that, so he voted to just shave his head. I guess this is what boys do, so I figure we'll make do.

The drive down was pretty uneventful, with the boys playing their Gamecube in the back while I zoned out to whatever was playing over the radio. Every now and then I’d look back at them through the rearview mirror and just smile. I can’t define exactly what being a dad all means… but this is as close as it gets for me right now.

We had a couple of emergency pit stops, but still managed to get down here in a good time. The realty company messed up our keys, so while we waited for the after hours person to show up, we headed down to the beach and took it in. The boys have been to the beach before, but it was like they had seen it for the first time. That’s weird for me, having lived all my life in Miami. The ocean was always there and it was always a part of my life. I miss Miami that way.

We finally got the keys and made it in, and the boys immediately discovered the Xbox in the house. I found my way into the other room to put the college ball game on and got settled in. During breaks we made our plans for this weekend. Kite flying, mini golf, sea shell hunting and maybe a dip in the water if it’s not freezing. I think we’ll make it to the aquarium at some point. After about an hour of hanging out I realize we had nothing to eat. In most cases this would be a problem, but mama packed chips, fruit roll ups and pop tarts for the ride down.

So video games and pop tarts kicked off our first night. We played into the night, watched basketball and pretty much passed out at about eleven. Today we’ll explore the town a bit and head to the beach a bit later. We miss our girls, but I’m really glad to hang out with my boys. I'm telling you, right now, this is what being a dad is all about.

Wii Day

2007-03-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

I just got back to work after taking a bit of an extended lunch break and heading to my buddy's house to play on his new Nintendo Wii. All I can say is awesome.
We played Tiger Wood's PGA Golf 07' and I absolutely loved it. I had heard lots of good about the Wii, but hadn't had the chance to actually play it. The controls were extremely intuitive, and it really felt like I had gone and taken a couple of swings at the golf range. (Complete with a small twinge in my shoulder)

Besides the fact I had to head back to work and eventually home... I could have easily spent hours playing it. Our family has gone from zero video game consoles in our house to having a Gamecube and a PS2. The irresponsible part of me would love to go and drop some cash on the Wii... but I just might have to make do with mooching off my buddy for now.

Duke who??? It's VCU baby!!!!

2007-03-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

WOW!!! Go VCU!!!!!!

Small minded people suck... revisited

2007-03-02T10:59:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago, I posted about an anonymous comment my company received on a website that "outs" companies who hire illegal labor.
The bad news is that we haven't had much luck in having the information removed. The good news is that Style Weekly got a hold of the story and did a great job digging some more information and helping us get our side of the story out.

Yea for Style Weekly and reporter Chris Dovi.

Jackie-boy's Valentine Day prayer...

2007-02-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

I swear, I just adore this kid...

Dear Jesus I hope you had an awesome valentine's day and i hope you had a great day too... ummm the end

Introducing my nephew, Nathan Clark...

2007-02-13T06:35:00.000-05:00

I know he's family, but damm he's cute. Welcome to the family, little buddy.

Coming to you from Atlanta...

2007-02-06T01:39:00.000-05:00

I'll be in Atlanta this week kids, doing some shopping, going out to dinners, and maybe catching a pro sporting event or two. No...I'm not on vacation, I'm working. Really.Hard. I swear.

I'm spending this week at our industry's annual convention, talking to all of our vendors and buying lots of stuff for our business. It really is a lot of hard work, but the upside is that our vendors love to take take us out for dinner and drinks at the end of the day. That's the good part, the bad part is that I have to be here in the first place. I usually bitch and moan about having to go on this trip, but there is a small little part inside of me that loves the schmoozing that goes on.

It didn't help that I was totally unprepared for this trip, but it really didn't help that my little guy Josiah had a bit of hard time when it finally hit him that I would be gone for the whole week. Nothing makes it harder to go on a trip that you really don't want to go on than your little guy hanging on to you and *really* not wanting you to go. Granted, it was pretty early in the morning when I was getting ready to go, so I'm sure he was pretty tired. But I could see in his little eyes how much he just wanted me to stay there with him. *Sigh*

My boss and I decided to drive down instead of flying, which really works out for me, because not only do I have a slight weirdness about flying, I also get hyper-emotional when I fly. I start thinking of all the bad things that can happen, and eventually the only thought that is running through my head is that I won't see my family again... Cheery huh?

But on to better things... our week down here started out pretty good. We got tickets to the Hawks-Lakers game. Which was pretty random, because we were talking about maybe trying to go see the game and not five minutes later a scalper walks by with tickets for $25.00 a piece. What a bargain, I said. Watching Kobe Bryant play was maddening, mainly because I can't stand the guy, but I can't help but be impressed about his skills. After the game we headed to McCormick & Schmick's for a pretty awesome dinner.

So eventually we will work pretty hard (even though to the wife it sounds like all I do out here is play), but mainly I want this week to fly by so I can get home back to my family and to the neighborhood that I love.

It took me eight years...

2007-02-02T08:50:00.000-05:00

"The reason that Dads shouldn't whine is because whether you're a dad or not a dad, your life stays basically the same. It's just a matter of increased responsibility. But once a woman has a baby, she's a mom, and the world demands a lot from moms. " - Neil Pollack

Ok... I get it. I'm sad to say it has taken me eight years of marriage to really get it, but I think I finally do. The wife and I have had the same argument for eight years now.. you know, I work so hard and I do this and you don't do this... I deserve a break because I've "worked" fifty hours this week. After so many of the same arguments, I see that I've been really whiny about this part of our relationship. And arrogant.

The wife usually raves about me because I do this amount of housework and take care of the kids this amount of time. I've let that get in my head. I think I do so much, but really, it doesn't come close to what she has done and continues to do on a daily basis. I realize that if I were to go tit for tat... I'll have nothing to stand on. That thought alone is pretty sobering.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not going to beat myself up. I think I'm a pretty good dad and partner. A pretty damm good one actually. But I don't want to be a whiner. When I read the above statement, It dawned on me that I really have no clue into the amount of work that moms do. And here I thought because I work full time and do some dishes every now and then that I should have some special exemption or something.

So we had the same argument a couple of days ago, not really because the wife wanted to, but because I pressed the issue. I'm not one for confrontation, but I felt like I had worked hard this week, I'd been watching the kids, I did the laundry... Man, did she clean my clock, and deservedly so. It finally dawned on me when she gently reminded me that it has been her that has done all of this for the past seven years, and although my recent contributions are very much welcome, she has been carrying the load for quite awhile. That's when it hit me and that stupid smile of recognition came across my face. I get it now. I think I really do.

The Buzz on West of The Boulevard News...

2007-02-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

Some snippets on the launch of WotBN.net

John Sarvay - "When whining makes a difference"
The 804 blog gives us the first round...
River City Rapids also give us the thumbs up...

And special thanks again to John for nudging us in the right direction. Also Ross for all the awesome design and coding!

Remember to keep checking in, we *LOVE* comments, and need tips, events, features, and questions to keep you guys informed about what is going on in our community. Send us your comments and questions to info@wotbn.net

A recap... three days too late...

2007-01-30T09:10:00.000-05:00

The online world and the real world came together for me this week when I met Lindsey's boyfriend during a meeting at my work. I spent most of the meeting wondering where I knew him from and finally asked him after we were done. The funniest exchange came when we both commented on how we don't remember much from our respective childhoods. Except the beatings. Somehow I always find that conversation kind of awkward and funny all at the same time.

I've decided to give up TV. Well, Not *all* TV, since I really can't give up The Office or Jon Stewart, but most TV. Our TV viewing habits hit a new low when The Real Housewives of the OC came on and I watched it. I wonder if God can tack that hour back on to the end of my life. Right now the wife is watching Engaged & Underaged on MTV while I silently die on the inside.

If I was a waiter or waitress and I saw us coming in to my restaurant, I'd want to turn and run. Much to their credit, most have kept their professionalism and done a great job. I'll go ahead and say it... I would have a hard time serving a table with three kids under six, specially when one of those kids is Lucy. I love Lucy to death, but man, she can just about ruin any eating out experience. It's not her fault, really. It's just that we forget. We forget how awful the last time was and we try to subject her to an hour of sitting down. It doesn't work. Just this past Saturday, we took a walk through Carytown, went to the toy store, and decide to go grab some burgers. The whole afternoon can be summarized this way: A lovely walk interrupted by the lunch from hell. Of course I'm exaggerating, but since I can't really remember what my burger tasted like since I wolfed it down trying to get out of there as soon as possible, I'll chalk it up as a not so good eating experience. We walked out of there a little more disheveled, and determined to give our little gets-in-to-everything mess maker a break from the restaurant circuit.

Although it is Tuesday morning, I am finally glad last week is over. Yup, that means that I am about three days too late, and now I'm a day behind on crap I have to get done for this week. I'm not sure how many more projects I can take on, but a little part of me is glad that I have an abudance of things to do instead of the usual three month brain drain that happens during the wintertime at my work.

And last, but not least, my favorite new site this week:

I did not know that yesterday! Because you can't ever have too much knowledge. (via Chris Glass)

Have a great week my friends!

A hoodblog is born...

2007-01-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

Ross (of Haduken and RVA blogs fame) and I have taken the challenge that was put out there by John (who runs a couple of great sites ) and are in the works to roll out a hoodblog for the Carytown and Museum District area. We are very excited about this project, and would love to see some more Richmond area bloggers take it upon upon themselves, specially since it seems the RTD is about to roll out their own neighborhood style blogs. As John pointed out, there are some serious problems with that scenario.

So... If you have any interest, please contact one of us. It's not as overwhelming as it sounds, and it will be a *huge* benefit to our communities.

Also, we would like to receive some input from Museum/Carytown people... or your help! If you want to be part of this, drop me a line at thismudilife@gmail.com.

And we danced...

2007-01-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you combine 100 elementary kids, the cha cha slide, the electric slide, limbo, some Outkast and The Black Eyed Peas? Well, only the most fun dance party that I've ever been to with a bunch of 9 year olds. (Not that I go to allot of dance parties that involve 9 year olds...) Anyways, Josiah's school hosted a dance Friday night, and he really wanted to go. This surprised me a bit, because between Jack and Josiah, it usually is Jack that likes to listen to loud music, dance with me, hang out at outdoor concerts and the like.

We dressed Josiah up in his handsome shirt, took the obligatory first dance pictures and Josiah and I headed over to the school. To say there was energy in the room would be a little bit of an understatement. It was ROCKING. The music and DJ were awesome, and although Josiah never ventured too far from me, I did manage to get him out on the floor with me to do a little dancing. The most fun part of the night was when we did the cha cha slide. If you've never done the cha cha slide, it's like an updated electric slide, only 100 times more fun.

The highlight of the night was when the 2007 dance champions were crowned. My inner fourth grader wanted to get out there and compete, but you know , it would have been a little awkward and all. Besides, the boy and girl champions were well deserved. It was a really fun night, and I'm looking forward to many more years of dance parties with my kids.

Two new bands I'm digging...

2007-01-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

Well, they may not be *new*, but they are new to me. Anyways, on heavy rotation on my station are The Weepies and The Decemberists. Thanks to the wife and Jen and Jeffrey Rowland for tuning me in!

Hey... I'm the DJ...

2007-01-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

If you hang around me long enough, It won't be long till you hear me say "I should have been a ________."(Fill in with pro football player, cop, referee, rock star, politician...) Not because I necessarily want to be those things, it's mostly because I have moments of genius when I think I can be better than those that do it professionally. The wife is amazed by the fact that my giant, inflated head can even stay up anymore.
Anyways, I've been scouring the net for a way to be able to stream my mp3's at home to my computer at work (or anywhere I wanted to have access to my music.) I tried a couple of different apps, but finally stumbled upon Mercora.
The cool thing about this is that it lets me setup my own radio station. I can have up to five channels playing at any one time. I can also create a play list and create custom channels. For now, I added my whole My Music directory. Anyone that goes to the Mercora website can search for my DJ name and listen to a sample of what I have on my hard drive. How cool is that? The best thing is that since I rip Cd's entirely, I forget what music I have on my hard drive, and this randomly selects music and streams it to me.
So now I am the DJ ( I can FINALLY cross it off my list) and I personally think it's better than anything that is streamed on the intertubes.
If you want to give it a listen, go to Mercora's search page, and search for jinric. You can also listen to other DJs, or listen to random mixes categorized by genre.

Recent Stream

PS... My music collection is all over the place, just so you know. Be kind.

For the more "eclectic" musical taste, check out David Byrne's radio stream. Great background music for those late night bloggers.

A weekend without mom...

2007-01-15T01:04:00.000-05:00

The wife (who is an amazing mom, writer, friend, sister, daughter...) has decided to add one more awesome thing to her growing list of things she is awesome at. To achieve said awesomeness, she took a three day certification course over the weekend. That means that I was left to to be wholly responsible for the care of the kids.

I was up for the challenge, although a little bit nervous, since this was the first time Lucy would be away from her for such a long time. The boys were great and so was Lucy. (Even though she goes nutty from time to time) No one was injured, everybody was fed most of the time, the house was cleaned up and I did a bang up job dressing my little girl. (The boys and myself, well that's a different story.)

The funniest moments were out in public, when moms would do a double take, probably asking themselves who in their right mind let him out with these kids by themselves. I felt out of place everywhere I went.(Except the park, there were plenty of dads there with their kids) I saw one lady glance at my ring finger. I wonder what she was thinking? Is it really that weird to see a dad out by himself with just the kids?

Anyways, we had a blast. Over two and a half days we wrestled, watched movies, went to the park, bought new legos, watched football, went to Target, ate at Baja fresh and Jersey Mike's and finally came home and collapsed. (Lucy was the one who watched football with me. She is the coolest baby ever.)

Incredible Beauty, Incredible Evil: The Harvey Murders One Year Later

2007-01-11T06:13:00.000-05:00

This heartfelt piece was written by my sister Jen Lemen. I've posted an excerpt here.

Something about all this broke my heart wide open. “Something has to be done, right?” I said to my sister the next morning. I could tell she felt like crying, too. “I don’t know how to say it, but if hate wins in this thing, if the weight of this evil stamps out the last shred of compassion–or the last bit of hope–then we’re in worse trouble than before, right?” We sat on the phone in silence. Neither one of us thought more killing or despair would solve anything, but it wasn’t our place to say. We understood that we did not know even in part what it felt like to lose someone you loved in such an incredible, vicious way. We knew nothing of whatever terror had brought Gray or Dandridge to this final moment.

Full text can be found over at jenlemen.com

My sweet girl...

2007-01-09T08:57:00.000-05:00

photo by Krissy

New Year...New Look...

2007-01-09T01:35:00.000-05:00

I figured it was about time to change the layout... I was starting to get bored with the old one. So... here's the new design... what do you guys think?

Jackie-boy is four today...

2007-01-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday little buddy!! You have brought so much joy to our family. I especially love how snuggable you are and your sweet little heart! Many blessings on another year of your life.

Love you,

papa

Edit:

Jackie-boy chose his birthday dinner... it consisted of:

Corn Dogs
Corn on the cob
Chips

It couldn't have been a better dinner!

Our New Year's Eve...

2007-01-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

To those young, carefree and more importantly, child free couples out there… listen carefully…. enjoy these days. I say this from experience. Not that I don’t love my kids. I LOVE my kids. I ADORE my kids. My kids are the world to me... you get the picture. But as the wife and I walked down to Carytown on New Year's eve with the kids in tow, we were silently envious of all the couples all dressed up heading to the parties around town.

It ended up being a nice night. A pretty sweet night actually. After hanging out in Carytown for awhile, we walked back home to make sure we didn't get rained on. We toasted the New Year's with the boys around ten with some sparkling juice. We got the kids off to bed, popped a bottle of wine, and watched the stragglers head down to Carytown to watch the ball rise. (Which, by the way, was a smashing success)

After watching the ball drop on tv, we tuned the gamecube on and proceeded to beat the crap out of each other while playing Fight Night Round Two. We were up till who knows playing on the gamecube, slighly buzzed from the wine, having a great time. So even though we weren't kid-free this New Year's, I have to say it was one of the sweetest and fun one I've had in a long time. I had a great time this New Year's eve... how about you guys?

Next Week...

2007-01-02T20:58:00.000-05:00

I will start eating better...
I will start going back to the gym...
I will watch less tv...
I will start reading more...
I will get organized...

The first week of the year doesn't count, right?

Richmond's own Ball Drop...

2006-12-27T12:18:00.000-05:00

From the RTD...

Carytown NYE
On the street in front of the Byrd Theatre (2908 West Cary St.)
Want to watch the ball drop and celebrate New Year’s Eve in Carytown? For the first time ever, Carytown is hosting its own New Year’s Eve celebration in the tradition of the Times Square. The street in front of the Byrd Theatre will be transformed into an outdoor theater and beer garden, complete with live sets by Johnny Cash cover band, Black Cash and the Bad Trips and local indie rock acts the OK Bird and Duchess of York. DJ Jack McHale from WRIR 97.3 FM will be spinning music and there will be vendor booths serving hot and cold refreshments. As midnight approaches, a custom-made, lighted ball will drop down and countdown to welcome in the new year. RVA Magazine and Carytown Merchants Association have gathered together to host the event to benefit the Byrd Theatre Foundation and in memory of the Harvey Family. 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Free.

Christmas Roundup...

2006-12-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

Wow… is Christmas really over? I hope everybody had a happy one. We had a great one here, with all the family getting together at our house this year. (We missed you Kate!) Now that the dust has settled, I can start playing with some of the goodies I got:

A cool photo printer/scanner that can print photos straight from the memory card. This is pretty cool and goes hand in hand with my desire to take more pictures. She also took her slr camera in to be cleaned up and got me some rolls of black and white film.

I also got some pretty cool shirts. The wife bought me an “inspirational” shirt. It’s about the size I can wear when I trim down, so I need to get my butt back in the gym again.

One of the best gifts that the wife got me was three guitar lessons from Guitar Works. Awesome!!!

All in all, it was a great Christmas, not so much because of the stuff, but mainly because we got to spend time with our families. I hope you and yours had an excellent one too!

Conversation with Josiah...

2006-12-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

Papa, Mama bought us beer today!

Ummmmm, what???

Yea, she bought us kid beer. Kid beer!!

Buddy, there is no such thing as kid beer. (At least I hope not, and if there was, where was it when I was growing up??)

Yes there is. She bought it at the store today. She said it’s special kid beer.

No. Really, there is no kid beer. Show me what she bought you.

He then runs to the kitchen and brings back a big bottle of sparkling cider.

OH…ok, this is not kid beer, this is like sparkly juice.

OHHHH…

You haven’t been telling your friends mama buys you kid beer, have you?

No answer… just a big grin….

Oh, well. I guess we’ll just wait for that knock on the door from child protective services now.

pooped...

2006-12-16T17:32:00.000-05:00

Goodbye White River Dolphin, I hardly knew you...

2006-12-14T19:47:00.000-05:00

It's always sad when something or someone is completely wiped off the face of our earth. In the latest instance, it seems "a rare, nearly blind white dolphin that survived for millions of years is effectively extinct..."

Honestly, I'm mostly worried about what shape we are leaving our planet for our kids. That's the kind of stuff you start thinking about when you start having kids... but oh yeah, I'm sad about the loss of another species... *sigh*

Some background info can be found at baiji.org

Our President reads... ???

2006-12-13T12:21:00.000-05:00

I came across this article that says George W. Bush has read 60 books this year. Sixty Books??? Really? Come on, by my calculations this means he has to read at least an hour and a half every day. I'm guessing most books have at least 500 pages, multiply that by 60, comes out to 30,000 pages. Divide that by 365 days, and you get 82 pages a day. At a minimum of a page a minute, that's about 1 1/2 hours per day. And that's if he started on January 1st.

I'm no literary giant, but I've read a couple of books this year, and the biggest challenge has been finding the time to read. I'm a pretty busy guy; family and work usually take up all my time. How can he find the time to read sixty freakin books??? The next question is do I really believe that he has read them. Ummmmm, I'm going to have to go with a big fat NO. I call BS on you, Mr. President.

From US News...

George W. Bush a bookworm? White House aides say it's so. The born-again president's literary interests start with the predictable, such as his daily readings from the Bible. But he also enjoys books about Abraham Lincoln, his political hero, and, of course, yarns about baseball-in a past life, he was, after all, the managing partner of the Texas Rangers. Staffers say the president is actually engaged in an informal contest with White House senior adviser Karl Rove to see who can read more books this year. The latest score card has Bush ahead 60-50.

Small minded people suck...

2006-12-12T08:44:00.000-05:00

This was posted anonymously online about my company:

Well to start with - they did not show up on May 1 to pickup all the equipment we rented over the weekend. That also happened to be day of the "boycott". I get home the following evening to find 2 people that speak only spanish and 1 american that is their manager/translator. Had I known they were to use non US labor I would have never done business with them.

This was my response:

While it is true that XXXXX hires "non US labor", we do so by legal means. Our workers are contracted for work for the season. We undergo a rigorous process that is approved by the US Labor Department. Our workers hold H2B visas, and are entirely legal. These gentlemen are hard workers, pay their taxes, are respectful and return to their families when the season is over.

Our not picking up on the referenced day had nothing to do with the "boycott". Our workers did not even realize that such a thing was going on. We simply had an abundance of work and had to delay their pickup. It is our opinion that it is a small minded point of view to think that because there are non English speaking people on a job site that they are illegal aliens.

We can see the benefit of a website such as yours, but the danger is that people can anonymously post information without any facts. That you do not contact that employer to verify such claims does not give an equal voice in the process. We understand that there are many businesses hiring illegally, but XXXXXX has NEVER hired anyone illegally and we can prove so with all our documentation. We ask you to kindly remove the post above, as it can negatively impact our business. You may contact me at XXXXXXX if you have any further questions.

Thank you,

XXXXXXXX
Director of Operations

The wife thinks I was too nice, that I should have given them shit for allowing someone to make a flippant comment without any facts. I'm giving them a couple of days before contacting a lawyer. On their site, they claim that anything posted there is "alleged." I have no idea on the legality of it, so I'm wondering what they can or cannot do. If you say something is alleged, can you pretty much write anything you want about anybody??

Needless to say, I'm pretty pissed off about this. It bothers me on so many levels, (I am hispanic, and also a US citizen) but mostly I can't help to think of how much of an idiot this person is, and how small minded. Anyone have any thoughts?

Charlie Brown would NOT approve...

2006-12-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

I think this is what Christmas is *not* about...

*good grief*

elf issues...

2006-12-08T11:35:00.000-05:00

Dave's workplace is having elf issues. Read all about it at Save the Elf.

I'm not going to jail today...

2006-12-07T07:37:00.000-05:00

I've had this court case hanging over me for about four months now, and although I hadn't thought about it too much, I finally faced up to it this week.

Way back in September, my company produced an event up in the fine city of Fredericksburg. We seem to have pissed off the the fire marshall up there (over something very small), because he refused to issue the necessary permits until someone from my company(me) showed up and made the necessary adjustments. What I didn't know is that he already had a summons written up and ready for me as soon as I got there.

Needless to say, I was very polite, figuring I could talk my way out of it. No such luck. Summons issued, and I had to appear before a judge to be arraigned.

In conversations with my lawyer, she tried to reassure me with words such as continuance, dismissal, not guilty... ALL I heard was "sure, there is a possibility of jail time, but lets' not think about that too much."

EXCUSE ME???

Long story short, she was able to work out a plea with the court where it gets continued, and then dismissed in a year, provided I don't piss off any more fire marshalls in the great state of VA. Woohooo. Way to go Mr. Public-I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO-official, thanks.

Updated movie list...

2006-12-07T01:02:00.000-05:00

Here we go: (after some great recommendations)

Love Actually
The Ref
Miracle on 34th Street
A Christmas Story ( I feel like a loser for never having seen this)
A Muppet Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Die Hard
It's A Wonderful Life
Scrooged
Meet me in St. Louis
Christmas with the Kranks

Whew... lots of movie watching. Still need some more, but this will get us through for awhile. Thanks guys!

The 25 days of christmas movies...

2006-12-05T13:36:00.000-05:00

It might be much, and we might be in holiday overload by the end, but we are going to try to watch one holiday movie a day.

So far we have seen: (In no particular order)

Elf
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Family Stone

So... twenty days to go. Any good holiday movies out there? We need recommendations people!

Carytown's Holiday Open House

2006-12-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check it out! Different events that run December 6th through the 10th.
Kicks off with The Byrd's Grand Illumination. More info at carytown.org

Help others read...

2006-12-01T08:11:00.000-05:00

If you love reading, then help others achieve the same goal... The folks over at Pharrout and RVAblogs are running a fundraiser to benefit the Virginia Literacy Foundation.
Every little bit helps... so give a little!

Give here.

Procrastination....

2006-11-30T23:59:00.001-05:00

I am waiting till the last possible moment to hit publish on this post, cause really, that's my style.

The end of NaBloPoMo is here... so many thanks to all my new eFriends (or is it iFriends), family and random bloggers and readers that came through to say hi.

Good night friends!

On holding Lucy...

2006-11-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

Before you go to sleep
Say a little prayer
Every day in every way
It's getting better and better

Last night, Lucy fell asleep in my arms. I sat with her on the couch, sunken into the pillows, in the dark. The boys were off in one of the rooms, playing the games that little boys play. It was just Lucy and me, one of those quiet moments that I long for. As I sat there in the dark, listening to my music, I had one of those dad moments that can't be easily explained. All I could think of was that I love holding her. I think of when she might not want me to hold her, and it almost, almost makes my eyes water up. I think of how fast the boys are growing up and how much harder it is to stop them for a second just to give them a hug.

I came across John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" as I was scrolling through my mp3s. It was a favorite song of mine to sing to Josiah when he was a baby. I love the words and how much assurance they have. I sang it quietly to Lucy, hopeful that she could feel that assurance in my arms.

Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient
'Cause it's a long way to go
A hard row to hoe
Yes it's a long way to go
But in the meantime

Before you cross the street
Take my hand
Life is what happens to you
While you're busy making other plans

Christmas fun in Richmond

2006-11-28T23:16:00.000-05:00

Not in the holiday spirit yet? Here are some events happening around Richmond this week that just might get you there...

Legendary Santa @ Children's Museum

Garden Fest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

12/1 Grand Illumination, Downtown Richmond

12/2 Christmas Parade on Broad Street

And if you can't get enough, there is always the Tacky Light Tour.

Have fun, and Happy Holidays!

EDIT: Matt sent me a link to the Tacky Light House tour Website. Enjoy! Thanks Matt.

An Inconvenient Truth - A Cartoon

2006-11-27T23:44:00.000-05:00

Small clip from the movie. We watched it tonight and think everyone should watch it.

( I need to sell my suv ) *sigh*

52 days and counting...

2006-11-26T23:35:00.000-05:00

It's been fifty-two days since I had my knee surgery and I'm still limping along on my crutches. Aside from the inconvenience of not being able to hold anything and being really slow, it has not been the end of the world for me. (Don't question the wife about this... you might get a totally different answer.)

I generally feel like I'm in the way of everybody. I was in Georgetown over the weekend, and after walking about five blocks to the stores we wanted to get to, I was pretty tired and specially slow. Most people were kind enough, but about half the people that had a chance to wait for two seconds for me to get out of the way or just let me through ended up making me shuffle out of their way. Oh, well. I guess I can attribute it to the holidays or whatever, but I hope that I have never made someone with a disability feel that way.

But on to bigger and better thoughts... I think I might be getting close to walking without the crutches soon. At least that's what I keep telling myself and the wife. I'm pretty sure I might have used up all of my "Baby, can you get me..." She has been insanely patient with me, so hopefully I'll be up on my feet soon and getting up to get whatever my sweet girl wants.

2006-11-25T23:30:00.000-05:00

I got my pinhole photo-camera kit today! I am sooo excited.

Here's an example of this type of photography:

I can't wait to put it together and try it out.

The day after...

2006-11-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

It's the day after thanksgiving, and it feels like I ate a huge can of sugar and came crashing down.

After being blessed with an afternoon nap by our sister, we headed over to Pirate's Tavern in Silver Spring. What a great way to cap off an after-turkey day celebration. Good friends, good food, lots to drink.

Now for some pictures:
Jen and I taking each other's picture

Aunt Kate and Lucy

Kate and Scott

Arrrrrr...

One more note of thankfulness...

2006-11-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

I love Thanksgiving. It's not all about the turkey and football, the family and the awkward conversations... It's also the day (nine years ago) that I asked my wife to marry me. How much more thankful could a guy be?

I'll leave you guys with a great video from Ze... Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful

2006-11-22T19:18:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for my family and dear friends (old and new). Your words of encouragement and support have meant the world to me. Thank you dear friends!

Thoughts on my mother...

2006-11-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

There's a dull ache hanging over our house, very much like a headache that's about to set in. I can feel it, right in my head. I can feel it starting to sharpen, and I know it will be getting worse before it gets any better.

My mother has unexpectedly dropped into our lives again. It has been a long, long time since I had heard her voice. This was not my choice. I believed I had given her every opportunity to do the right thing. By doing that, I sacrificed myself and my wife. I gave up parts of ourselves that were whole and good, and that resulted in lots of pain and heartache. I was wrong to do that, and I was wrong to give so much up for someone who was abusive.

With one call, thoughts and emotions that I have not dealt with in such a long time pounded me. I felt like I was five years old again, running to my mom after I had been scolded, looking only for her acceptance. I do not want to feel like this. I do not want her to have the control over me she has had for much of my life. I want to protect my family.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I always knew this day was going to come. I just figured I would be the one trying to make reach out to her. My mode of dealing with things is denial. If I pretend things don't happen then they can't hurt me. This is so in my face that there is no way to ignore it.

We had a brief break in the process when we took the kids out to see Santa and got home and watched a stupid movie. It was a good break, we had a good time, but through it all, I could feel that dull ache working it's way through my head.

What to do when you don't want to think...

2006-11-20T22:52:00.000-05:00

watch a silly ass teeny bopper movie like John Tucker Must Die.

2006-11-19T23:37:00.000-05:00

travel day is over. ughh. SO glad I'm home.

Out of the blue

2006-11-18T20:55:00.000-05:00

my mother, whom I have not seen or heard from in seven years, called me today.

I am emotionally spent.

Ze is awesome

2006-11-17T15:20:00.000-05:00

Do you know Ze? He is the founder of The League of Awesomeness.

I miss you Richmond...

2006-11-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

but check out the view out of my hotel room...

pretty awesome huh?

Off to Colorado

2006-11-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane
I don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go - Jefferson Airplane

Off to Colorado for a computer conference. Not one thing about that sentence excites me.
I really, really, *really* don't like flying, and the thought of spending five days away in below
freezing temperatures at a computer conference add up to one big zero for me.

I especially don't like the flying part.

Oh, well... I'll be home soon enough.

Did I mention that I don't like flying...

Have a spare six grand?

2006-11-14T23:40:00.000-05:00

How about ordering up Hardee's newest combo, available ONLY in Vegas.

C-R-A-Z-Y.

Quarter Million Bouncy Balls

2006-11-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

This is the coolest commercial I've seen in a while. I read that they launched 250,000 bouncy balls down a street in San Francisco. And the music by Jose Gonzalez is phenomenal.

Higher Res version can be found on the Sony Advert site.

2006-11-12T20:27:00.000-05:00

As I was reading Will Wheaton's post about his evolution as a geek, I started thinking back to my teen years and certain things that would definitely qualify me as having an inner geek.

Everyday in 8th grade, my friends and I would sit at our lunch table, dice in hand, playing a Marvel Comics role playing game that was a cheap knockoff of D&D. This is ALL we talked about. I remember that I was Hercules, and my friends were Silver Surfer, Thor, and The Hulk. I picked Hercules because I was enthralled with Greek mythology.

In 9th grade, I made it on my school's JV basketball team. I won the student-athlete award that year.

During my sophomore year, I could barely look a girl in the eye. I also started playing another weird spin off of D&D. This time it was at my church with our youth minister. We would gather at his house and roll odd shaped dice while exclaiming "My sword of righteousness beats your helmet of truth" or something like that. We would fight in the forest of apathy and in the mountains of insecurity. Weird.

I also made it to my team's varsity basketball team. Aside from my basketball skills, I think the coach wanted me on the team to help tutor some of the other players. I again won the student-athlete award.

My social awkwardness melted away during my junior and senior years, and I gave my little inner geek friend a respite. I know my little friend is still there though, rejoicing over obscure facts, new technology, and the knowledge that one more computer in the house can never be enough.

2006-11-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

No Title

2006-11-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

mainly because I can't think of one.

Tonight:

The incredibly hot wife is out on a girls night out with her equally good looking friend. I believe they will be breaking lots of hearts tonight.

Tomorrow:

Is the Richmond Marathon. My brother, Dave, has run it. He was encouraging me to run it this year, but I wouldn't commit to it. I wanted to run the 8K.

Oh , and by the way:

I am:

going to be sitting at home. Seeing as I have 6 more months before I can even jog, I can't help but to feel a little envious at everyone that I see running.

I am also:

turning to mush.

Barack, Bobby and me

2006-11-09T11:37:00.000-05:00

So there we were, last night in my dream, trying to get the kids out the door and into the truck. That's when the phone rang and when I answered, It was Barack Obama on the line. The wife was not pleased with me answering the phone, because any little distraction means that I will be that much slower getting out the door. So Sen. Obama starts chatting with me (those details are a bit fuzzy) but we talk like we are lifelong friends. I keep telling the wife to lower the radio, but when I turn around, there sits Bobby Brown signing "Tender Roni." And not cracked out Bobby, but smooth, suave Bobby. I ask him to sign a bit quieter, and as he heads to another room, I go back to chatting with the Senator.

What a weird combination. Any dream interpreters out there?

Boys say (and do) stupid things...

2006-11-08T11:13:00.000-05:00

This morning as I was heading out the door for work, I mentioned to the wife that I had traded a satellite radio for a Nintendo Gamecube. Well, I guess I forgot the conversation that we had a couple of weeks ago when we decided NOT to go the video game route, or at least hold off as much as possible to prevent the kids from falling into a video game addiction.

p: So you went ahead and did it anyways? That's fine, you just do whatever the hell you want to.
me: HA.. If I did whatever the hell I wanted to, then I would...
p: Go ahead... what would you do?

So I wouldn't risk saying one more stupid thing, I decided it would benefit all involved for me to just shut up.

Oh, by the way, we decided to store the game system until Christmas. Woohoo!

Geeked out over the vote

2006-11-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'll be watching our local results here, and the national stuff over at NPR. Get out and vote people!

I had a great experience at the polls today, with a strong showing by Webb supporters and No on 1 supporters. Everyone was extremely cordial and friendly, and from what I could tell, there seemed to be no problems with the electronic voting booths.

As I was crutching (my term for how I walk these days) towards the school, a group of older ladies approached me to speak to me about Webb. They were very sympathetic about my injury, and offered all kinds of assistance. They went on about Webb, complimenting me about how brave I was to come out and vote, and telling me how handsome I was. (And this was before I told them I was voting for Webb.) As far as campaign strategies goes, this was by far the best one I've ever encountered. So go out and VOTE people... it's probably the most important thing you'll do all day.

Girls Growl

2006-11-06T10:46:00.000-05:00

So the other day I'm having a conversation with Josiah in which he is explaining to me why he asked to be moved from his current table at school.

j: I wanted to move because H (a girl in his class) was bothering me.
me: how was she bothering you?
j: she growls at me.
me: (laughing) wha??? growls at you?
j: yea, she growls at me

I couldn't help but laughing, because, well, girls do growl from time to time. I explained to him that how he responds to that growling is what matters.

j: It's OK, she's still my friend even if she growls at me.

There's wisdom there my friends.

How is this for insensitive?

2006-11-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

Josiah's school celebrated grandparent's day this week. Well, his marmie and opa (grandma and grandpa) live in Miami, so unfortunately he wouldn't have them at his school on that day. He fully understood that they couldn't come, and was OK with that. So, the other day when he gets home he tells me:

j: I had a horrible day at school today.
me: Oh no, what happened buddy?
j: Well, it was grandparents day, and all the kids had a special lunch with their grandparents in the lunchroom but me and Jordan and Priscilla had to stay in the classroom and eat our lunch there. And I had to ask to be able to sit with Jordan and Priscilla because we were sitting at different desks.
me: wtf???? (I didn't say that, but it was what I was thinking)

What person in their right mind singles 6 year old kids out because their grandparents could not make it for whatever reasons? I can't think of one good explanation. They could have "adopted" a grandparent for the day, or even sat with the room mother, who is a little old lady and could have been their "grandma " for the day. We'll see on Monday what the teacher has to say about this genius move. Is it me, or was this totally inappropriate?

Hooray for naps!!

2006-11-04T23:40:00.000-05:00

What else can be said for naps other than they rock! I am not able to take naps very frequently, so when I do catch one, I am soooo happy. Today was that day, and the boys were "forced" to come take a nap with me. We all snuggled under the covers, read some books, and soon all three of us were snoozing the afternoon away. Hooray Naps!

Pictures from the back seat

2006-11-03T07:03:00.000-05:00

Photos by Jackie-boy

Yes Virginia, there is something better

2006-11-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

Tim Kaine,Barack Obama, Bobby Scott, Doug Wilder & Mark Warner

Virginia Union University hosted a rally for Jim Webb today, and the dems didn't disappoint. It was incredible to watch Barack Obama. I can honestly say that this man has single-handedly brought my faith back. It's time for change people!

Watching all the heavy hitters was like watching rock stars on stage. It was inspiring to hear Sen. Obama encourage us to use our voice to make a change, and to not let our cynicism about the system paralyze us into inaction.

Remember people, it's vote or die!

Post or Die

2006-11-01T07:45:00.000-05:00

It's NaBloPoMo... so come on, all the cool kids are doing it!

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T09:24:00.000-05:00

As a kid, my mother never let my sisters and I dress up for Halloween. It never made any sense to me, and I was always scrambling to make up excuses for myself around my friends. Nowadays, we have a great time with Halloween, with the boys talking it up for weeks beforehand, and until this year, we (and when I say we, I mean the wife) always made their outfits instead of buying store costumes. I must admit that Halloween has crept into my top three holidays, a close second behind Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's Day. The kids have a great time, we have a great time; it's a win-win. Oh, did I mention the candy? Have fun! (BTW, Jackie-boy's pumpkin is the middle one; it totally personifies him)

pictures by Krissy

Will the real George Washington please stand up.

2006-10-27T09:12:00.000-04:00

This article on NPR hopes to take the boring out of George Washington, but if you really want to be entertained, watch the video below. It is the best video on Washington that can't be watched by kids or your mother. (No,seriously, dont watch it if your mother would be easily offended; or your boss)

lust

2006-10-26T12:35:00.000-04:00

Leica D-Lux 3

Lucy is yummy

2006-10-23T12:16:00.000-04:00

Lucy...
is cute...
Lucy is wild...
Lucy is creative...

Lively
unique
cute
yummy

Words by Madeleine
Photo by Krissy

One of those days

2006-10-19T11:14:00.000-04:00

Ever have one of those days when you wish you were creative/inspired/artistic even? I am having one of those days.

Sitting on the couch for the last 288 hours is not inspiring, creative or artistic. Although, it is educational, as I've learned lots about knee surgery, why I shouldn't drink diet soda, conspiracy theories, and what the best kid's show on t.v. is.
Oh yeah, I've watched allot of old X-Files thanks to my tivo.

I was crazy to think that after having open knee surgery (not the fun kind, where they scope your knee,but the kind where they slice into it) I would be up and about after a couple of days. Oh no, I was completely drugged for the first week, and until one or two days ago, I couldn't get up without my leg feeling like it would explode.

Anyhoo, being laid up has given me LOTS of time to surf the web. Which brings me back to my original thought. There are so many creative, artistic and inspired people in this world. It is overwhelming if you pay attention. I'd like to mention a few that have made these last days for me by feeding my brain and soul.

My dear sister (in-law) Jen Lemen, Jeffrey Rowland, andrea @ Superhero Journal, Lifehacker, kenny @ atypical guy, Maggie Mason, the bloggers at RVA blogs and Brandon Rogers. That is such a small glimpse of all the goodness that is out there... thanks for not letting my brain turn to mush!

One day, when I grow up, I want to be like them. For now, I'd like to start thinking about things I'd like to do before I die... you should too!

The UM-FIU fallout

2006-10-18T16:23:00.000-04:00

By now, I'm sure the whole county has seen the UM and FIU brawl replayed endlessly on t.v. If not, you can watch it here. Should the seasons for these two programs be cancelled as some here in RVA have suggested?(Here and here.) I think not. Yes, they acted like thugs. Yes, the conferences should punish some of these players, even suspend them for the rest of the season. But to cancel a season? What will that accomplish, other than to penalize allot of players that were not involved in the fight. These players would loose their scholarships, their education, etc. These programs should be fined heavily, and the players that acted like thugs, be prosecuted just like they would be had they done that outside the football field. If every football program was cancelled on account of how some of their players acted, where would VA Tech be? or FSU? Colorado or even Harvard? Should Frank Beamer still have his job after this latest incident?
Don't get me wrong. The players should be penalized, coaches should be held accountable in some way. I don't pretend to have the answer, but I know cancelling these programs over this fight is not the answer. Obviously, there are major problems in collegiate athletics, but penalizing kids who are playing football to receive an education is not the answer. What do you all think?

BTW, I will admit to being a Golden Panther, so I am slightly biased in this conversation.

On Your First...

2006-10-14T12:36:00.000-04:00

Has it been a year? There have been years of my life that I could easily forget, but not this one, and not you. I love that everything is new to you, and how proud you are when you accomplish them. I love how you know your people, and how much fun you have bouncing around the bed with your big brothers, even though I'm terrified that they might hurt you somehow. I love how you let me hold you and even sometimes even fall asleep in my arms, even though right now momma is the preferred comfort giver. I love how you were immediately poppa's girl. I think you already know the power you have over me, and if you don't, I'm afraid I wont be able to hide it from you for much longer. I love you baby girl. Happy Birthday!

Josiah shaves his head

2006-10-01T12:10:00.000-04:00

Yea, my little beautiful haired boy decided last night that it was time to shave his hair. I have discouraged him from doing it for four months now, but last night he was dead set on doing it. Out came the scissors and the buzzer, and gone was his hair.

I have to admit that I was not too happy about it, not in an angry kind of way, but a sad to see such a big part of him go away. But that was just it, his hair was not his definition of himself. He was happy to see it go, in fact proclaiming that the new Josiah was here. I am so proud that he is willing to rediscover himself, all at the tender age of six. It makes me wonder how many times I haven't tried new things, major things, because some form of fear was holding me back. Thanks buddy for reminding never to stay the same, and not be afraid to try new things!

Oktober in September

2006-09-21T07:32:00.000-04:00

Oktoberfest at St. Benedict's Church. Corner of Belmont and Hanover. Also, St. James Armenian Church hosts the Armenian Food Festival at the corner of Patterson and Pepper Street. Have Fun!

My week of suck

2006-08-23T21:13:00.000-04:00

First, one of my employees shreds another of my employee's car with a company truck.

Exhibit A:

Then today, another employee decides to steal a beer from a convenience store while on duty. Not a six pack. A can. Of Naty Ice. This is after we spent an hour in a company meeting yesterday stressing the fact that we need to respect each other, our company property and our customers. I guess I forgot to mention convenience stores. Maybe he was excited about the many benefits of beer...I don't know, I just don't get it.

Around the Bottom

2006-08-19T14:50:00.000-04:00

Lucy @ River City DinerCafe Guttenberg

River City Inside17th Street Market

What the hell is in the water at Fountain Lake?

2006-08-19T14:21:00.000-04:00

Click the pic for story

It takes a knee injury to bring a village together...

2006-08-19T10:50:00.000-04:00

My current situation is not good. It pretty much sucks right now, although it sucks more for the wife, who has to pick up the slack while I sit like a lump on the couch and waste hours online.

I feel pretty bad about it, since I was supposed to help her out this weekend at her work. *sigh*

On a brighter note, my knee injury has brought all kinds of responses from random people on the streets of Richmond. It might be sympathy for a goofy looking guy trying his best not to fall over, or the simple fact that it takes me three times longer to do anything. Thanks Richmond for being kind to me! Kindness is not wasted on me, and I promise to pass it on as soon as I can.

Last night was fun, lots of Long Islands and Margaritas were consumed, and I forgot about my pain for once. (I swear I'll stop with all the whining... I'm really not that big of a baby). The wife's post about how the night went down explains our family in a nutshell. I love you family!!! Oh, and I apologize for any stress!!

Jon Stewart on George Allen

2006-08-16T18:22:00.000-04:00

I figured it wouldn't be too long before it made Jon Stewart...

(Youtube Link)

1 million ways to die

2006-08-16T10:57:00.000-04:00

For some weird, strange, f'ed up reason, I have a list in my head of ways that are acceptable for me to die. This is *NOT* one of them.

Highs and Lows

2006-08-15T13:29:00.000-04:00

Today's High: Eight years ago, on this date, the girl of my dreams promised she would spend the rest of her life with me! Baby, you are my other, you know me like no one does, and I love you for your kindness and unconditional love.

I love your vision of the future
Your hope that never dies
But it's your kindness that clears my skies
Yes I love your wisdom
Your knowledge of the past
Your willingness to listen
And taste for what will last
Your compassion for the suffering
And your solid happiness
But it's your kindness that I love best

D. Wilcox

Today's Low:

I screwed up my knee playing basketball last night. When I woke up this morning, I could barely bend it. I'm not as stubborn about going to doctors anymore, so I swallowed my pride an hobbled over to Patient First.

For a brief moment, I thought about heading here:

I figured that I could easily dull the pain with some thing there. But I made the right choice and ended going here:

And left with this lovely parting gift:

Arrgghhhh... so much for getting back on my running schedule.

Watermelon Festival Pictures

2006-08-13T17:34:00.000-04:00