Three Weeks In...

Three weeks in on our new home. We assembled the bed frame today, and we're working on locking the sun room doors to prevent heat seeping in. It was over 100 degrees today! Shane's been determined to bull through the doors. As usual, he takes offense to anything closed (especially when he's been on the other side, or can see through it).  The doors have taken some damage as a result. Our son is very insistent and persistent.

There are times I look back longingly at my old apartment. The bigger the house, the bigger the family, the exponentially larger the task moving becomes. My friend, Dan, may move in to our basement, so that may help with repair funds. You see, our house was a 'flipped' one, and we find new shortcuts on a daily basis. It's a shame the people flipping our house weren't more skilled at what they did. I was admiring how stripped some screws were on a door. It's something easy to avoid with a small amount of care. Thankfully, the housing market is still good here and the house appraised for enough more than we paid that it's still not what I consider a bad deal.

I just finished a week long academy course to kick of summer break. It felt like a great idea Monday, but I was burned out by Friday. I had an interview at a secondary school for a tech job on Thursday, too. I received an email in the morning saying "Sorry, but we'll have to pass." The school's huge, so I suspect they had an internal candidate. It was good practice for me. I'm not used to corporate style interviews by a panel and no personal interaction.

After a stressful anniversary, Carrie and I decided we needed to start watching Voyager together again. How's that for a nerdy solution to relieving stress? We finished Year Of Hell Part 1 a few minutes ago and I'm trying to quickly hash out this post so it won't be a postless day. We bought a laptop for our anniversary! So far, it's fast and it's pretty.

Sleep beckons. Saturday Shane duty awaits.

Bamboo

There was bamboo in the backyard when we bought the house. It had grown above (and through) the back porch.

We are trying to get rid of it.

It is extremely invasive. The roots have crawled under the dirt, cracking and lifting the landscape, over a five feet radius from where they were initially planted.

I bent a metal shovel. I scraped up a finger. Carrie cut her foot.

Today, I bought an ax and a mattock.

Now I know why the Chinese never conquered the world.

Shane's Temper

Everyone has a vice as they grow, and I suspect Shane's will be his temper. When he doesn't get his way, he lets you know quickly and violently.

Yes, violently.

At first, it was head banging. Now, he hits things. Whenever he gets mad and starts swinging his right arm around, I say "No hit." Shane hates hearing the word "no." Normally he swings again at something, or looks me in the eye and raises his right arm straight up like he's going to whack something. If he does, I say "time out" and drop him in the playpen in the living room and walk around the corner. Crying ensues.

Shane's a smart boy. When he looks me in the eyes and raises his arm, you can see the gears turning. I can see "Who's the boss?" flashing in his head. He then decides "I am!" and takes a swing. The cold splash of reality that puts him in the playpen upsets him and then he starts to protest to see if he'll get his way that route.

It's all part of parenting, though. This is just my quick "this is work and not all roses and sunshine" post. I love my boy, but his shit does stink. 

And so begins the battle for discipline that will last until Shane is fully independent and living on his own. I have to stay mostly positive and constructive, and he gets to test me whenever, wherever, and however he wants. It seems like the kids have a few advantages in this contest, doesn't it? I guess I worked all those to my advantage growing up, so it's only fair to be on the other side of the fence now.

Until next time!

My blogging promise

No more "I'm behind again" posts. I bet they're boring to read.

You can just assume that life is busy for better or worse if I'm not posting.

Korra Thoughts

I believe God has a sense of humor.

I feel like I see a glimpse of it whenever something incredibly ironic happens.

Carrie was working, so I had to DVR Korra. After her riding lessons, she came home to watch with me. My wife was on the edge of her seat the whole time. Then, right at the very end, the recording stopped. It took a second to register. Carrie's eyes grew wide and she yelled out a "NOOOOOO" as I started cracking up. There could only have been a few moments left, but it cut out at such a cliff hanger. Triply so, because it was about to resolve something that brought my wife to tears an episode prior.

The situation was so ironic, I couldn't stop laughing. This didn't make me popular with my wife, btw. She spent several hours trying to watch the last few seconds online and probably collected several dozen different malwares in the process (Carrie couldn't bear the thought of waiting until Nick posted the show legitimately a day or two later, ha ha).

Without any spoilers, I wanted to post a few thoughts on Korra.

1) Loved it! I'm looking forward to season 2.

2) That said, I prefer endings where there are hints of the truth throughout. Whenever there is a twist, but there is nothing to foreshadow the twist it feels a little weak to me. I love the effect of pulling off a twist and watching people's reactions as previous information clicks in to place. "How did I not see it!?!?" To me, that's the mark of a brilliant twist.

3) My wife will forever be a fan-girl. There were tears in her eyes at the end of one episode (as I mentioned earlier). She gets so into these things that it makes it more fun for me, as well.  Excitement can be contagious.

4) They could make a great game out of this world. RPG, action, paper and pencil, computer/console...., but I bet they won't. Oh, I'm not doubting they'll make a game. I just bet it won't be a great one.

Lightning Update

I got behind on blogging again, but it's not wholly my fault! The law of irony struck again.

Thursday was my tech interview.

Monday, my work laptop died.

Tuesday, the school interviewing me requested some samples of work I've done.

No laptop = no access to the school server. Thankfully, I'm good about saving my work on the server and not on my laptop. Otherwise, I'd have been royally screwed when the hard drive blew.

Weekly Bullets:

Fraudulent Blogging?

The Norton security on this computer keeps warning me that my blog is "a known fraudulent web page."

I didn't think anyone really knew about my blog, much less it was infamous. Then I clicked around and realized all the blogspot blogs got that warning.

Go figure.

Veteran Dad Tip #1

When your child is about to puke, hug them close.

Clothes are easy. You throw them in the laundry. Carpets require you to actually clean them.

Shane had his first nibble of Chinese food tonight (No, it wasn't from me). It didn't last long, and the laundry is already loaded and washing.

Korra Reaction

It's good to have Carrie home again. We went for a long walk with the boy and marveled at the different style of houses and update decisions and found a path to a park. I really like this neighborhood.

We also watched Saturday's Korra episode. I wasn't allowed to watch it since Carrie was out of town. It was an emotional one. Without giving away any spoilers, my wife finished the episode with tears in her eyes.

I bet next week's season finale is going to rock.

Father's Day 2012

Happy Father's Day to Dad's everywhere. This is my 2nd year amongst y'all.

Shane and I have spent the weekend playing, exploring, and running errands. Whenever Shane naps, I type/paste in a blog and then start working around the house. When he's awake, we play and drive around the area looking for new places to discover and explore.

I hate all of the work that goes into moving, but I love being in a new area. Yesterday, I had a few errands to run (picking up milk, dropping off a box with UPS, etc) and after each was done, Shane and I would drive up and down the nearby roads. On the way home, I'd turn left when I should turn right, or zig whenever a zag was required. It all helps me fill out my mental map of the area and locate points of interest. I found a hole-in-the-wall bakery with $2.50 loaves, a Wu-Shu (Kung Fu) academy, and a gigantic but mostly empty office park. I didn't want to leave Shane locked in the car seat for too long, so that's all I had time for.

Just now, I managed to meet both my neighbors (or at least someone associated with each house). I met one lady the day we dropped our stuff off, but I haven't knocked on any doors since. With school closing, unpacking, and Carrie going out of town Thursday we've been busy-busy. I never summoned the necessary energy to put on a smile and strike up an awkward, just-met-but-know-nothing-about-each-other conversation. Twenty minutes later, and the ice is broken. The neighbor who shares a driveway with me was outside, so I greeted her. Then, the daughter of our other neighbor knocked to see if I minded her retrieving some tennis balls that had flown into our back yard.

Crap. Shane's stirring. That's going to put a quick end to this journal. I need to call my friend Bill now. He and his fiance, Jill, were going to go with and help watch Shane while I get fitted from my brother's wedding in August. Hopefully, they keep Shane from breaking anything exorbitantly expensive. I'm looking forward to Carrie coming home tonight!