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Journal Entry: August 4, 2009

Last night I came home from work and played with AB instead of working out. Partly that was because I’m such an awesome dad, but mostly it was because we had uncertain plans for the evening that could have started as early as 5:30.

Specifically, we expected D–‘s mom to stop by on her way back to Wichita, and maybe or maybe not have dinner with us. D– called sometime before six and told us she’d decided to just go on home, but he offered to bring us dinner anyway, and showed up a little bit later with Little Caesar’s.

I spent most of the rest of the evening half-heartedly reading The Darkness that Comes Before while we watched Elf and Dude, Where’s My Car?

I know, I know, but it was better than it sounds. Actually, it was a really pleasant evening.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: August 3, 2009

Friday
Last Friday I got to work to find an email from the Deputy Secretary of Transportation encouraging all FAA managers and supervisors to support a (highly symbolic) DOT Telework Day. Any employees who wanted to were encouraged to try out telework (that is to say, working from home), in the hopes of more permanent adoption.

We got that email on Friday, when 2/3 of the office was out on RDO (including, I should point out, all the managers and supervisors). DOT Telework Day is today. That was the least useful Department-wide memo ever sent.

Anyway, contractors are not allowed to telework, so it never would’ve mattered to me. Still, bummer.

I got home from work a little early on Friday, which gave me time to work out before heading out to our July Poker Night. (Yep — just barely slipped that one in). My sister let us use her place again, and D– and K– both made it. D– brought with him ingredients for a vodka cocktail called the “O. G. Diddy,” and after his clumsy attempts to make it I took over bartending and we all found the drink remarkably good. So remarkable, in fact, that it directed the fortunes of all our evenings (and most of our mornings on Saturday, too).

We defied nomenclature and played Rock Band for a couple hours, until someone’s wild thrashing brought the XBox crashing off its shelf and engraved the Rock Band disc with a shiny silver line that rendered it worthless. Instead of being concerned, we probably laughed hysterically. It was that kind of night.

Then we played poker for two hours and watched Mean Girls. After that, a little bit past midnight, my little sister drove us all home. I stayed up for a bit playing Fallout and hydrating, and cursing myself for making the same fool mistake two weeks in a row.

Saturday
Saturday morning saw me awake a bit before nine, and I killed a couple hours working on the computer and playing with AB. Then, half past noon, we headed to Edmond for my niece’s birthday party.

That was at McDonalds, and we had family from Dallas up to visit, as well as my dad and brother-in-law (with all his little ones) from Little Rock. The party was two hours in an enclosed play area with, what, ten kids under ten-years-old. It was a lot of noise, with echoes. I gather from more reliable sources that it was a lovely party for a four-year-old. So I’ll leave it at that.

Afterward T– took AB to go swimming with the rest of the party guests, but I went back home for a nap. Ended up playing Fallout instead, but it was just as recuperative. T– brought AB home for a late nap, and when she woke up we headed back to Edmond for dinner at my sister’s house. There was pizza for all, and movies for the little ones. Dad got started watching The Incredibles, which he’d never seen before, and found he actually liked it.

Halfway through the movie, I had to leave to head over to K– and N–‘s place so they could go watch Harry Potter. Dad came with me, tearing himself away from the movie, but he was gratified to learn when we arrived that K– had a copy of it, too. They put the baby down to sleep, then headed to the movie, and all I had to do for the night was be there in case of emergency (and, of course, there was none).

While we waited, Dad got out his laptop and I borrowed N–‘s, and we watched The Incredibles and talked about getting published. Dad talked me into querying a new literary agent who’s specializing in science fiction and fantasy, and I talked him into starting a blog. We spent much of the next three hours doing the tedious work necessary to follow through on those ideas.

Then one o’clock rolled around and K– and N– rolled home, and we got their quick opinion on the movie and then headed home to get some sleep.

Sunday
Sunday morning we woke up late enough to skip Bible class but early en0ugh to grab donuts on the way to service. Or, as I like to call it, “the magic hour.”

I delivered unto Courtney her marked-up manuscript, then hastily took our seats before service started. We ended up filling the row with family, when my sister brought all hers and the brother-in-law with his, and N– had to sit in the row behind us.

Afterward, the whole family went to P. F. Chang’s for lunch, which was a mess. I’m just saying, that’s a lot of little kids. It was awesome as always, though. Then we said goodbyes in the parking lot, and the Little Rock folks headed home, and we took AB home for a nap, and then…I guess I spent the afternoon playing Fallout.

That game has to come to an end at some point, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. That’s okay, I didn’t really want to get a book finished this month anyway.

We’d decided on the way home from lunch that we wanted to have dinner at the newly-opened Freddy’s on north Penn., so as six o’clock rolled around, we called D– and K– and N– to see if anyone of them wanted to join us, and they all said yes. When we got to the restaurant, I heard a woman call out my name just inside the door, and we turned to find our stylist, Karen, there with her friends. She got to meet AB for the first time, and T– and I both got to fight down the urge to introduce her to D–. Then she went back to her booth, and we went to ours, and we had phenomenal cheesesteaks for supper.

And frozen custard for dessert.

And then when we got home we had just time to watch an episode of Leverage, and then put AB to bed, and then it was bedtime for us, too. We read for a while, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: July 31, 2009

Last night I came home from work and talked with T– a bit, then watched AB while T– went to pick up some groceries and dinner. While she was out, I heard from D– who offered to bring by some Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, and I told him sure! By all means!

So T– brought home Kung Pao Chicken and Sweet and Sour Chicken from some random Chinese place next to Homeland (read: not P. F. Chang’s), which surprised me by being pretty good. And D– brought me some Hot Barbecue boneless wings. And I ate way too much food. It was excellent.

While I ate, I finished up Triad, which is an expertly crafted novel. I recommend it strongly.

Then I spent most of the rest of the evening playing with AB while we watched Conan and Jimmy Fallon. AB was apparently the life of the party, though, because after she went to bed D– went home, and not long after that T– and I were both asleep.

Still, it was a fun night.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: July 30, 2009

Tuesday night I came home from work, did forty minutes on the elliptical, and then had dinner with T– and AB. It was a pot roast in gravy, with mashed potatoes, and it was incredible. Thanks babe!

After AB went to bed, T– and I retired to the room to read, and I found myself fast approaching the climax of Triad, so when I finished chapter twenty-two and should have gone to sleep, I didn’t (and the same again at the end of twenty-three). So it was late when I finally put the book down and fell asleep.

There were storms that night, and around 2:00 AB woke up screaming. T– went to comfort her, but AB cried and cried for me, so I went in there too and AB explained that she was afraid of the frog. I asked why, and she looked blank, and then she curled up on her pillow. As soon as we got back in bed, though, she was crying again.

We tried a couple times to comfort her, but the storm kept waking her again and again, so finally I went in there and curled up on the edge of her bed and she finally fell asleep. I tried twice to leave (and once to actually get some sleep on the thin mattress in there) and finally escaped around 3:45. It was a long night.

So Wednesday morning got off to a late start. Skipping work, I ended up spending the afternoon taking care of paperwork for my teaching stint at OC this fall. I signed up with payroll, turned in my signed contract, and got a big box of evaluation copies of textbooks to choose from. And I got to talk to half the English faculty while I was there, which was fun.

Then I spent a lot of the afternoon reading Triad, because I could.

D– and my sister’s family came over to our place for supper, and we all had pizza. Then I went to church with T– for the first time in ever (on a Wednesday night, that is), and got to see K– and N– and even squeezed in a few minutes to talk with Courtney about her book. I also got a copy of No Plot, No Problem from her, so I can make sure The Storytelling Process isn’t just retreading old ground.

Then after church we put AB to bed (which went much more smoothly than on Tuesday night, in spite of the rain), and I read another chapter before calling it a night.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: July 28, 2009

Okay, fine, no more fun with footnotes….

Yesterday after work I spent forty minutes on the elliptical and another twenty minutes after that in the Capitol Wasteland. Then D– came over for dinner, for which T– made up some cheese dip with taco meat that was phenomenal.

Afterward D– agreed to watch AB so T– and I could go fill out our baby registry for an upcoming shower. We went to Babies R Us (but, y’know, with the backward R), scanned in a bunch of stuff we’d like to have for free but wouldn’t necessarily pay for, and then came home.

Then AB went to bed, D– went home, and I went to the office to play another twenty minutes, maybe thirty minutes of Fallout, and three hours later I finally went to bed.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: July 27, 2009

Hah! You just thought I was the perfect husband.* On Saturday N– orchestrated a surprise party for T–, and I got her just what she wanted (SFW). In your face, Mister Darcy!

Ahem.

Friday
Friday was a long day at work trying to figure out how we’re going to handle the crippling documentation we got from Raytheon. Not fun.

Shortly after I got home, we went out to dinner for T–‘s birthday. We decided to try somewhere new, and picked a little pizzeria we’d driven past a dozen times up on May. K– and N– and D– joined us, and we each ended up getting our own personal pizza, trying all the house specialties (I think) and a plain ol’ boring half-beef half-pepperoni for AB and me. It was delicious.

Afterward D– came over to introduce me to a hilarious show called Three Sheets while T– went to see a movie with my little sister. Three Sheets is a travel show about a guy who goes to exotic locations (we watched Brussels, Champagne, Jamaica, and Costa Rica), tries all of the famous regional liquors while participating in the local night life, and then the next morning tests out the indigenous hangover remedies. That last part is made necessary by the sheer, absurd indulgence of the first part. It’s fun.

Anyway, T– got home late, D– went home, and I think I made it to bed while it was still Friday.

Saturday
Saturday morning I woke up around 9:30, worked out on the elliptical, and then ran up to Taco Bell to grab us some lunch. Then I invested myself in Courtney’s novel, and read through to chapter sixteen before AB woke up from her nap and we had to leave.

We had plans to be at K– and N–‘s place by 3:30, so that T– could go shopping with N– to help her find a frame for a painting T– had made her a year or so ago. D– joined us (because he and I were going to go hang with K– and probably play some XBox), we drove up there, and then N– took T– to get a massage. As a special surprise, several of her friends were there, too.

While she was doing that, K– got the kitchen decorated and set up for a surprise party, D– watched AB, and I ran up to Walgreens to get some wrapping paper and wrapped T–‘s present. When T– came back to the house, with Becca and E– and my little sister in tow, she was surprised again to find an actual party waiting for her. She loved it all.

When the party finally wound down, T– went with my sister to do some shopping at Hobby Lobby, and B– gave D– and me a ride back to our house. I read another two chapters of Triad so I could give some specific feedback, and then contacted D– to see if he wanted to go out. We ended up heading to Henry Hudson’s around nine, and we were there until they turned on the lights and kicked us out. In betwixt, too much alcohol and much talk of relationships and religion.

I got home around 2:30, and made the wise decision to stay up and do some hydrating, and while I was at it I watched Joe vs. the Volcano. Excellent flick. Finally went to bed a little after four.

Sunday
Sunday morning I woke up in time for church, took a Benadryl and two ibuprofen, and then crawled back into bed. T– called me at 11:45 to ask (doubtfully) if I wanted to join them for lunch, and I said sure. We had Schlotzky’s, which really hit the spot.

Then I spent the afternoon playing Fallout, which is an incredibly massive game. I got lost in it, and in no time at all it was after five. T– called me out for dinner, and afterward I decided I should actually do something useful with my Sunday so I mowed. Then I got a little too ambitious and pulled out the chainsaw to trim some of the trees along our front fence. The end result looks nice, though, and it should make mowing next time a more pleasant experience, though.

After that I came in and helped T– get her Cricut up and running, and she showed off just how cool it is (which is to say, very), and then we put AB down for a nap, and then we sat side-by-side on the loveseat with our various laptops and read through Digg for an hour (which was a little surreal), and then we went to bed.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

* no you didn’t

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Journal Entry: July 24, 2009

Oh man, I have got to be just about the perfect husband.*

As you already know, I got T– a brand new* car for her birthday,* but for practical reasons we had to pick it up two weeks early. So, y’know, I wanted her to have something to open on her actual birthday, so my special lady got to wake up this morning to find a package of peanut M&Ms on her nightstand.

Happy birthday, baby! Only the best for you.

Yesterday I spent all day feeling tired — by which I mean shaky, weak, and semi-transparent. I had hoped I was just hungry and lunch would solve the problem, but it didn’t (and I had a pretty hearty lunch). So I came home from work and took a nap. An hour and a half later, I felt a little better.

T– made me a very special dinner, by request, and then we tried to watch a Better Off Ted and play with AB at the same time. It was fun.

After AB went to bed, T– and I retired to our room for some reading. She’s on Pride and Prejudice and I’m on Triad, as I mentioned yesterday. We spent almost two hours on that, and then went to sleep.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

* not really

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Journal Entry: July 23, 2009

I’ve been reading Courtney’s fantasy novel, which is one of the better fantasy novels I’ve ever read. I spent much of my lunch break for each of the last two days working on that, and I find myself really regretting it when I’ve got to put it aside and go back to work.

Work this week has been a lot of wrestling with FrameMaker, which is an authoring tool for structured documentation (as opposed to a WYSIWYG editor like Word). I had some training on it way back when, but there’s just so much that it does so differently from what I’m used to, that I find myself floundering again and again. It’s frustrating, and could have been avoided altogether if certain higher ups had done their job when negotiating with Raytheon, but that didn’t happen and here we are.

I’m not bitter, I’m just unproductive.

Anyway, after work yesterday I wanted to take a nap, but we do our Wednesday night meals pretty early to get them done before church, so I spent half an hour playing with AB instead, and then we drove up to Arby’s to meet my sister’s family and N–. Then all of them went to church, and I went home to hang out with D– who, it turned out, was unavailable.

So instead I worked out, figuring it was too close to bedtime for a nap at that point. I also cleared out the village of Minefield and made a tidy profit in the process. Which is good, because I’d been running out of ammo.

T– brought home the missing second half of Courtney’s book, but I got distracted working on internet things (specifically my Google Docs account) and didn’t get around to reading any of it before bedtime.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: July 22, 2009

Yesterday was the twenty-first, so I fasted. We actually had dinner plans at 6:30 that I knew about, so to facilitate that I started early on Monday afternoon. It made for a long day yesterday (as it always does), but I got a lot done (as I always do).

I got home from work at five, looking forward to dinner at 6:30, and decided to work out to keep myself from snacking. I spent forty minutes on the elliptical, and accidentally killed some townsfolk in Fallout 3. The rest of the town was pretty forgiving, though, and I got a new shotgun out of it. So win/win.

Then we went up to Ole for dinner with the McElroys. We’d had them over for dinner back in…I don’t know, March maybe, when Rob read Gods Tomorrow, so that we could discuss it. When I finished Expectation I gave him a copy and he devoured it, but then they left for a three week vacation, so we’ve only just gotten around to having dinner.

Anyway, I spent most of dinner wrestling with AB (who just wanted to have fun), and consuming my meal with a vigor and dedication that is rarely part of my countenance. Afterward, though, they came over to our house for brownies and I got to talk more.

They’re good people, and it was a fun night’s conversation. It was after 9:30 when they headed home and AB was still awake, so once we got her calmed down and in bed, it was past our bedtime, too. So there’s my whole night.

Oh! And then this morning I had a dream that I think is worth sharing. I found myself sitting at a picnic table in the ruins of an elementary school playground in the midst of a post-apocalyptic hellscape. I had a…well, I guess I’d call it a dual-monitor laptop. It was a contraption that folded open along the middle like a book to create a base platform, and then from there two laptops rose up side-by-side. It was a very cool device, and I got the impression it was one of the last computers in the world. Alas, it was a Mac.

I’m pretty sure, all alone in the midst of waste and destruction, I was checking my email.

Then while I was sitting there at the picnic table a gang came sneaking up behind me. The gang consisted of a sixteen-year-old prostitute (their leader), and then four or five of the gayest contestants from recent seasons of American Idol (which have featured a fair number of gay contestants).

The girl wanted to know more about my MacBook. The guys were all scared every time something exploded in the distance, but I could comfort them by singing a line of some show tune, and they’d all launch into it with (again) vigor and determination. The dream ended on “Blue Shadows on the Trail” from The Three Amigos.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.

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Journal Entry: July 21, 2009

Yesterday I spent all day in a meeting at work, which was brutal.

After work, I did forty minutes on the elliptical machine while getting killed by fire ants on the XBox. It was…fun? Anyway, I did my workout, so that’s good. Then I helped T– hang some stuff in AB’s room — a mirror and shelf over the changing table, and some pegs for coats and backpacks near the door.

After that AB grabbed T–‘s laptop and showed me her new favorite games on the Sesame Street website. Her favorite is an Elmo game that lets her push keys on the keyboard, and Elmo names an item beginning with the letter she pushed. Up until now it had just been typing letters in a Word document, but she’d always end up getting distracted with the auto-repeat functionality and stop searching for new letters. So I think this is an improvement.

Then she went to bed, and T– and I watched Leverage while I typed up some pages I’d written during the day. That put me over 10,000 words (close to 11,000), and halfway through with chapter 4. I feel like the story is finally starting to flow, but it could easily prove me wrong in the next week or so.

Other than that, it’s just things and stuff.