Blurred Thought

Looking for Persuasion

2006-09-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for the book Persuasion by Jane Austin for a while but non of the store I visited have it. Strange, very strange indeed. Anyway I did manage to find it on eBay. I will have to ask the seller if he will be willing to send it overseas.

Catching up

2006-09-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

I said it a million times, but I am about to catch up on my personal blogging. Though I didn't want to do it, I will write a few backposts just to get a few things in order. Not too far back, just the last few weeks.

Off we go...

A new kindergarten

2006-09-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

My son started going to a new kindergarten this week. Vacation is over, the old daycare is behind us, and he is off into the great public educational system. First day went by relatively well.

I remember when he started daycare it was pretty hard on him, he would cry every morning when I left him there for the first few weeks. He never seemed happy to go there, but by what we heard from the teachers and other parents he always seemed happy being there, just having a hard time letting us go. I hope this time it will be easier. Only time will tell.

Another month went by...

2006-06-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

Another month went by without a single post. As much as I want to post on a regular basis, it never happens. I'm sick of discussing it really, which goes back to my previous post... Well ... I'll try to be better next month...

I suck at blogging

2006-05-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

I suck at personal blogging. I can't write about myself or anyone around me. Or it could be that my life are one big BORE. In second thought, it must be it. Nothing is going on around here. Maybe, I just don't have a life, a lifeless person. Going to work every morning, comes back sometime at night, take a shower, eat dinner, blah, blah... And the same all over again the next day....

I gotta do something. Paaaahhhh ... Who am I kidding?.?.?.?.

Lost country

2006-04-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've just realized I lost my country music MP3 CD. This disk includes my entire country music collection. This means several things:
(1) I'm not really a big country music fan, since my ENTIRE collection can fit on a single MP3 CD. I only started listening to it a few years ago and to the lighter kind at that. The "deep" country music still gives me the chills.
(2) Now I have to dig into our warehouse fetch the CD boxes (which are at the bottom) where I keep the original CDs and rip them all over again.
(3) I'm probably not going to do #2 for a long time now... :-(

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2006-02-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Pondering

2006-01-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

I've stopped listening to the weatherman a long long time ago. Too bad he was right (so I’ve heard) about the rainstorm that's been going on around here for days on end.

So when I stepped out this morning to see it wasn't too bad I was relieved. I can take the trolley and not have to get stuck with the car only to drive one and a half blocks to teh daycare center. The little president sitting in his trolley and me pushing him down the street like the slave that I am. Things were all fine and usual until I stepped into his classroom or what should be now known as a pool. I didn't know it was a pool day or I would have brought a swimsuit.... The class was completely flooded with water. The manager meeting us half way directed us to another classroom where they will spend the day together with the older kids.

Too bad the little president doesn't like that second class too much. For him of course, it's like I left him at a totally new and strange place. Good thing his teachers are great and comforted him right into the current activity, which was mostly moving things around and settling two times the number of children as the class suppose to.

At least I know he would be cold...

15 minutes and a bright smile

2006-01-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

Time: 6:00am
Place: Bed
Background sound: "I want formula... I want formula... I want formula..."

I gather myself from bed and into the little ~~devil~~ president room, pick him up to our bed, almost falling back to bed myself. Unwillingly I haul myself to the kitchen to prepare his morning bottle. When I come back dragging my sleep deprived body back to the bedroom, I see him sitting straight up smiling, fresh and full of energy. As I hand him the bottle I drop myself back to bed trying to catch a little bit of sleep before it's time to leave. I fall asleep immediately.

A soft touch caress my cheek, I open my eyes to see my son's hand slowly moving along my cheek and side of the head with huge smile on his face, what a wonderful sight. How can you be cranky at that?

And here another routine day starts...

Meme of four

2006-01-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

I never like doing all types memes, it's seem artificial in a way. This time I got pushed, or let myself be pushed so here I go....

Four jobs you've had in your life:
1) Bouncer at a heavy metal club
2) Magazine reporter/editor
3) Webmaster
4) IT manager

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1) Bitter moon
2) Braveheart
3) Lord of the rings
4) Big daddy

Four places you have lived:
1) Daly City, California
2) San Francisco, California
3) A "non-existent" military base
4) Ramat Gan, Israel

Four TV shows you love to watch: *
1) Seinfeld
2) The West Wing
3) Law and order
4) Scrubs

Four places you have been on vacation:
1) Turkey
2) Jordan
3) Las Vegas, Nevada
4) Miami, Florida

Four websites you visit daily:
1) Google
2) Flickr
3) www.Techmount.com
4) CNN.com and other news sites.

Four of your favorite foods:
1) Eggplant in garlic sauce.
2) Creamed spaghetti with mushrooms.
3) Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes and some more potatoes.
4) Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate and some more Chocolate.

Four places you would rather be right now:
1) The Caribbean
2) San Francisco
3) Amsterdam
4) Out of here!!!

Four albums you can't live without: **
1) Every CD by Enya
2) Oliver Shanti - Well Balanced
3) Vangelis - Voices
4) Queen - Greatest Hits & Classic Queen

* I don't really watch TV, aside from watching the news, I watch about 1-2 hours a week, so all those shows are from a distant past, are they still on the air? (I know Seinfeld is not, I’m not THAT detached)

** There is so much more ...

And here I go again...

2006-01-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

This is becoming a routine - I stop writing for a long while, than come back again thinking this time I will not stop. Every time I come back with full intentions to stay, go through the motions and make writing (of any type) part of my life as it once was. This did not work so far.

So here I am again.

A little update on my previous post. I did not complete the work I started in Nanowrimo 2005, mainly because I caught a pretty bad illness right before my son caught one of his own. I pretty much knew it would be a hard and as it turned out it was impossible at the time.

Well, lets see how this work out again ... :-/

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2005-12-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

Nanowrimo 2005

2005-11-01T01:12:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot about this year's Nanowrimo. Actually, I forgot about it last year as well, and was reminded only after the two first weeks already past.

Luckily, this year I passed through Samantha's blog in time so I caushgt it right before the last moment.

I don't have a clue what I'm going to write about [brainstorming required]. This is going to be a very busy month.

Damn

2005-10-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

I hate Blogger, I just lost a very long post.... AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGg... I don't feel like writing it again. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ooh, my stomach

2005-10-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

I'm sick. I don't know if it's sick really but my stomach is turning and hurting bad. Actually my wife is in the same situation that leads to the obvious conclusion, we eat something bad. Question is, what is it? The little one seems to be fine, so it's something that only the two of eat. I can think of numerous things, but I can't believe any of them was bad.

Anyway, the little one woke up in a good mood and was very cute when I took him to the daycare center. He was only a little upset when I took potato-head’s hat from his hand and put it in the bag so he won't lose it there.

New Template

2005-10-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Blurred Thought has a new template!!!

This is something I wanted to do for a long long time. Change the very common Blogger template to something unique. As of now, I do not feel it's uniqie enough so I'll keep on customizing this template during the next few weeks (gotta face the facts, that's absulotely last priority when it comes to stuff I have to do).

Anyway, It's better than the last one.

Flat tire

2005-10-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Since I'm sick of writing about not writing I'll just write what happened to me this morning. Well, I had a flat tire. Changed it, got it fixed and change it back. That's it, hows that for an unusual morning? Not too much.... Blah.

Do You Know What It Means to Lose New Orleans?

2005-09-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post that here.

Do You Know What It Means to Lose New Orleans? by Anne Rice

Fixing the hair

2005-08-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

My wife took our son to the barber, to fix the mess I left on his head. No doubt he looks better now, though the barber could not finish the job. We need to take him again, during the week.

My baby looks like a big boy *sniff* * sniff*

First haircut

2005-08-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

Today we gave our son his first haircut. It was hard, it was emotional, it was strange, it was exciting, it was difficult. He didn't mind, we were heartbroken. He looks so different now, turned from a little baby to a child in a matter of minutes.

This was not the first time we tried. Two weeks ago we took him to a hairdresser but our little president refused to sit at his chair. The hairdresser suggested doing my hair before my son's so he would get used to the idea and will not fear it as much. We agreed. Since he didn’t have time at moment, we set an appointment to do it a few days later. The days passed and at the last moment we cancelled, I don't know why - It just didn't feel right.

Today we took a pair of scissors and while my wife occupied him with games and play, I started cutting his hair. I've never cut anyone's hair before in my life. I can actually qualify as the worst barber in the world. But we saw no other choice. The final outcome is well... how would I say, not as bad as I expected, but nothing anyone can be proud of. Later I corrected it a little and he looks pretty cute.

I will have to get used to his new look. It’s probably going to take some time, but I don’t know if I’ll ever stop missing his amazing soft curly hair.

Birthday

2005-08-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today is my son’s birthday.

Two years old today.

Gonna have a big party... I'm all out of air, too many balloons, not enough exercise.

Too much work... catch ya later.

I failed the test

2005-08-23T23:53:00.000-07:00

I failed the test. I started this place in order to write. I love writing and I want to do it as much as I can, but I don’t seem to find the time or energy to sit down and actually do so. Since I realized that long ago, I thought that at least writing here would be viable, “that shouldn’t be such a big deal” I thought to myself. It turns out I don’t even do that. What a sorry ass of a person am I? There are tons of excuses, I have a lot of work, I stay at work late, after coming home late I try to spend as much time as possible with my son, I try to do my share of the house chores, I try to work on some of my own projects, edit home videos (that I didn’t do for ages) and I’m not talking about having a decent social life.

So here I am trying to promise myself again to sit down and write some. I hate failing myself. Though I knew it was coming, it doesn’t upset me any less.

I will write again soon. No really I will, no promises, but a simple word should be enough, shouldn’t it?

The last 10 songs I heard

2005-07-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Since I'm in a writing mood but have absolutely nothing to write about, I'll just list the last 10 songs I heard. Corny, but it will have to pass for now.

1. Will Smith - Switch
2. Howie Day - Collide
3. Coldplay - Speed Of Sound
4. Foo Fighters - Best of You
5. Lifehouse - You and Me
6. 3 Doors Down - When I'm Gone
7. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
8. Moby - Lift Me Up
9. Kelly Osbourne - One Word
10. Backstreet Boys - Incomplete

Quite a mix, hu?

The little president is in the water

2005-07-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

We went to beach today (again) and had lots of fun.

The little president got in the water all by himself for the first time today. He is not scared of the waves anymore. From now on we need to stay an arm reach of him, just in case. I'm looking forward for the next day at the beach.

1 to 10

2005-06-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS:
Today the little president completed counting from 1 to 10 all by himself for the first time. WOOHOO. I didn't see it yet for myself but I'm as proud as can be!!!

My assumptions as of late

2005-06-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

A few minutes ago I replied to a blog post (which I just lost the URL for - The honest finder can reply to this post) with these words:

My assumptions as of late, are these:
A. 99% of people are insecure about themselves.
B. 99% of people have low self-esteem.
C. 99% of people have no Self-Confidence.
D. 99% of people are afraid of confrontations.

The fear of confrontations and the typical behavior that result from trying to avoid them, usually leads to unnecessary bigger confrontations. In conjunction with some of the typical behaviors of insecure, low self-esteem people it a recipe of disaster.

Weekend traditions

2005-06-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the beach again. This might turn into a Saturday afternoon tradition for the summer. Unless we go on a weekend trip - a tradition we want to start for a long while now but never really do.

I used to take 2-3 days hiking trips every other weekend years ago. We were a group of friends organizing it, and some other friends of friend would join. It was so much fun. After moving I lost touch with all of them.

Now we can't seem to leave the house before noon (even before we had the baby) so hiking is impossible unless we'll start taking it more seriously.

"I want"

2005-06-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know how much of a milestone it is. But today the little president said "I want" for the first time. Usually when he wants something he just says its name, Banana, Flex (cornflex as we know it), etc. But today he prefixed it with "I want" for the first time. It didn't continue for long but as everything else, it will take time to really settle in.

Why did I do that?

2005-05-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

A while ago I started taking the bus to work. My office is just across town so the bus ride is short and comfortable. I have less than one minute walk from my home to the bus stop, which is at the end of my block, and I get off right under the building where my office is. I have time to read, think, look around, and all the other things you do while using public transportation.

Yesterday I took the car. Why? Oh why did I do that? First, after almost two months of sunny days it started raining - all the dust on my windshield became dark mud smudged all over it. Second, I got stuck in a traffic jam right in the middle of town, I could have swore there never was one when the bus passed by there. If this wasn’t enough there was no place to park, sure, there is paid parking in the building, but with the amount they charge for a days parking I can take public transportation for a week. So eventually I parked two blocks away and had to go during lunch to shove some more coins into the coin monster.

Why did I take the car than? Well, we had to attend a wedding party that evening. The thought was that by using the car I’d save some time on my way back home. I don’t know how much time I saved but it wasn’t worth the hassle.

The wedding, by the way, was very nice. It took place here in the Sheraton, three blocks from my workplace.

The beach again

2005-05-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

This was quick. We went to the beach yesterday, had loads of fun, so why not go today as well? Actually we thought about that already last night.

So today, learning from yesterday experiences (like true lab rats), we left home earlier and reached the beach at around 4:30pm. This time, it was a lot more crowded than yesterday (as Saturdays expected to be) so we had to go further along to find a comfortable and relatively vacant spot.

Yesterday we reached the beach a little late to catch the really nice hours but today was very hot, actually, too hot. So the lesson for today: Go to the beach at around 5:00-6:00pm - Considering it's going to get even warmer in a few weeks (or less).

After the nice pictures of yesterday, I decided to take the camcorder with me as well. I didn't watch the pictures (or video) I took today yet, (but one (picture) will be here soon).

First time on the beach

2005-05-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

Summer is already here and we thought it's time to take the little president to the beach for the first time. He did see the beach before but only from the promenand, now it was time to get down and dirty.

We waited for the extremely hot afternoon hours to pass and got there only at around 7pm. It was still hot but not as we thought it would be. We found a nice spot on the yellow flowing dunes, set the little one beside me and gave him his bucket and tools. It was time for digging, turning, throwing sand (mostly on his own head) and every other fun thing you can do in the largest sandbox on earth. I was playing along and started digging a hole, haaaa, the simplistic fun of it all.

We just sat there enjoying every minute of it. The sun touched the water spreading a breathtaking orange glow, warmish breeze caressed our faces while the waves slowly reaching deeper and deeper into the sand.

I took some really nice pictures. (One will be here shortly)

It was getting dark pretty quickly and the wind was getting cold so we had to leave about an hour after we got there. We should go earlier next time.

Remote open

2005-05-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Ever walked toward your house or office door and pressed the car remote button out of habit? I did, more than once...

He knows his name

2005-05-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today my son said his name for the first time. That is, replied to the "What is your name?" question. yeeepeee.....

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2005-04-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Sunny days and rainy weekends

2005-03-13T19:33:00.001-08:00

Why after a fabulous springish week comes the freezing, rainy, dark weekend? Don't I deserve some fun time with my son at the park? aarrggg....

Anyway, there's nothing like resting at the comfort of your own rented apartment while it’s pouring outside. Well there is, but why ruin the moment…

Have you noticed

2005-03-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

1. I just posted things I wrote almost three weeks ago?

2. The extremely ugly graphical header I made for this blog disappeared? I wonder where it went... I didn't change a thing, I swear. hhmmmm.... Maybe it's better that way. I wish I had the slightest artistic talent.

Broken promises and broken deadlines

2005-03-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

On February 19th I said "I've made a promise to myself that no matter how busy my schedule is I'll update on a daily or semi-daily basis." Well, things don't really work the way you plan, do they? Not only my son got sick and needed extra care, but a huge and urgent project came upon me at my workplace. Now, this could have been all nice and dandy if there was the slimmest chance we will be able to make it on time. But two weeks before the deadline (which was right there near the time the project fell on my head) it was obvious it's not going to be finished on time. This didn't stop me from working my ass off every day until midnight. The deadline came and went and this thing is still not finished. Obviously, after we missed the deadline there was no point to keep on pushing it as hard, since we missed this opportunity. No worries, another one will come along soon.

New Shoes

2005-03-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

Today the little president got his second pair of shoes. The "First Step" shoes started to get a little too tight and it was time to get a new pair. The new ones are really nice, they are tougher and a more firm than the old ones. Seems like he will need to get used to them. He is definitely a happy strider.

Healthy and tired

2005-02-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

It was a really hard week. But fortunately my son is getting better. There is no more need for medications. He is happy and energetic as always. What a relief.

Can anyone help me find a magical why to earn back all those lost hours of sleep?

Emergency room

2005-02-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

It's funny how life has a habit to ruin your plans. The plans were plain and simple, my son would get better and I'll start to update here more often. So, yesterday started like any other, that is until we felt the little president well being is not only not getting better but getting worse. It was time to see a doctor. We didn't call one home (I don't know why) but went to the clinic instead. 15 minutes later we were on our way to the children hospital emergency room.

I wasn't really prepared to what we were going to see there. The emergency room was jam-packed with people. The two usually comfortable and cozy waiting rooms where full with children, babies and worried parents, people were sitting in the corridors next to the emergency room entrance, there was hardly a place to sit.

It took us almost three hours to see a doctor. Once we got to see one, she was very nice and checked him calmly to make him feel comfortable. The initial tests where not great but not too bad either. We had to take him to do some X-rays and other tests.

More than seven hours later we left the hospital, so tired and mad we just wanted to sleep and scream.

I'm so damn tired. Later.

Eight loads later

2005-02-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

After eight loads of laundry it's time for a rest. With that everyone can agree, everyone but the little president aka my son. It started four days ago, he started coughing and acting restless and sure enough we knew he was sick again. The poor thing is having a hard time breathing and a terrible congestion during the night. He wakes up every 20-30 minutes coughing and breathing heavily. For two nights he slept in our bad, last night he was in his own and I hope tonight he will too. No signs of getting better yet. Poor baby.

I've made a promise to myself that no matter how busy my schedule is I'll update on a daily or semi-daily basis. Writing is a skill you have to preserve. If you stop using it, like I did in the past few years, it's hard to get it back.

In case you were wondering about the laundry, I'll update about that tomorrow.

Where my good songs go?

2005-02-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here, catching up on some blog reading, listening to Winamp shuffle through my favorite 1137 songs (yes, I converted (almost) my entire CD collection to MP3's - hey it beats carrying around 300-400 CDs). For some reason it managed to find the crappiest, most boring and depressing songs on the list, the same ones you DON'T buy a CD for.

Ooh, and the working world DID drag me away.... umm.... I guess I'm still dragged... the next couple of weeks even more than before.... uuugghhh... Well, I got a few babbling mouths to feed. More on that later.

Parent lists

2005-01-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

Before returning to my regular scheduled posting I would like to link to this post by Geeky Mom.

Work-n-roll

2005-01-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

Time flies when you don’t have time to breath. The last few weeks were extremely busy. Nothing new really, same old wakeup-diapers-work-work-work-diapers-dinner-TV-project-sleep. I’m really putting a lot of effort into my project now. I hope to launch it by the end of February.

Seems like My son, wife and myself have been sick in turns the last few weeks, now it’s both of them not feeling well. I hope it’s about to end.

Anyway, thanks for the concern, I missed posting and missed a lot of blog reading, so I’ll have to catch up, and what a better time than now?

Who's happy at Toys R Us?

2005-01-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

Toys R us should be a happy place right? That’s what they show on their commercials. Happy kids in colorful outfits running around playing with stuff, enjoying themselves while a giraffe walks in between and introduces new toys and cheer.

How is it than that all we saw in Toys R Us this weekend was crying children and annoyed, if not angry, parents?

A Message to the Women We Love

2005-01-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

A Message to the Women We Love
* If you think you are fat, you probably are. Do not ask us. We refuse to answer.

* Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.

* Do not cut your hair. Ever. Long hair is always more attractive than short hair.

* Birthdays, Valentines, and Anniversaries are not quests to see if we can find the perfect present yet again.

* If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you do not want to hear.

* Sometimes, we are not thinking about you. Live with it.

* Do not ask us what we are thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as navel lint, the shotgun formation or monster trucks.

* Sunday = sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

* Shopping is not a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

* When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really.

* You have enough clothes. You have too many shoes.

* Crying is blackmail.

* Your ex-boyfriend is an idiot.

* Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work. Strong hints do not work. Obvious hints do not work. Just say it!

* No, we do not know what day it is. We never will. Mark anniversaries on a calendar. Remind us frequently beforehand.

* Most guys own three pairs of shoes - tops. What makes you think we'd be any good at choosing which pair, out of thirty, would look good with your dress?

* Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

* Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

* A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

* Foreign films are best left to foreigners.

* Check your oil. Please.

* Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

* If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

* Let us ogle. We are going to look anyway, it's genetic.

* You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done -- not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

* Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

* Christopher Columbus did not need directions, and neither do we.

* The relationship is never going to be like it was the first two months we were going out. Get over it. And quit whining to your girlfriends - like THEIR relationship is SO MUCH better.

* ALL men see in only 16 colors, like windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is. Fuchsia, however, is extremely ugly. Do not wear it.

* We are not mind readers and we never will be. Our lack of mind-reading ability is not proof of how little we care about you.

* If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

* Don't fake it. He'd rather be ineffective than deceived.

* Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out.

* Don't give us 50 rules when 25 will do.

* If you keep asking for flowers, it can never be a surprise when you get them.

* If he ever sees you kiss another girl and you appear to enjoy it, he'll remember that moment until he's been dead for 1,000 years.

* The best things in life may be free, but chances are they also have something to do with sex.

Not a new year resolution

2005-01-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

A new year started without any new resolutions. I usually avoid them since many more important things come along the way, by than those resolutions you made when you didn’t know what’s coming become meaningless. Besides, who fully remembers their resolutions comes February? If you do, you probably have much more free time than you suppose to.

One thing I do need to do this year is get our finances in order. Seems like our household accumulated some debt we really need to get over. So, beginning January 1st, 2005 every expense, may it be the tiniest of expenses, is listed and accounted for. Everything is going to be on Quicken. I don’t know for how long it will hold (this is not the first time we are doing this but well…. We’ll see…. Be tough, be aggressive….

But just like when doing a diet, eating less is only half of the solution, you have to exercise as well, which means we don’t only need to cut our expenses but also to bring in more income. As anyone who gone through a diet knows, exercising may be a much tougher job than simply eating less, the same as bringing in more money is harder than just spending less. In any case I do have some ideas. Details sometime in the future.

No new post

2005-01-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

I really don’t like the “Sorry for not posting” posts. They really have no purpose. None that I can think of at least.

So this is no such post and I will resume to regular posting tomorrow. Ha, what did you think?

No Pants

2004-12-28T21:37:00.000-08:00

I have no pants. That is, I've been wearing the same pants for the last three days, not only that but I might have to do the same tomorrow. Sheesh… I’m a real stinker. That’s what happens when you don’t do laundry. But this time, it’s not our usual laziness or tiredness. We have a really good excuse; we’re out of laundry detergent. Ok, so it’s not a REALLY good excuse but it will have to do since I’m too lazy to think of another one. Anyway, today we finally did some serious grocery shopping and got the detergent. Only thing left to do is the laundry. What am I doing here? The laundry is waiting.

Update: We didn't get a stain remover that we're also out of. Amazingly no stains on this load of laundry.

Three firsts

2004-12-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

While raising a baby, there are many firsts. Some are more significant than others, but it’s always wondrous to see them discover the world around them and watch them do things for the first time.

Today was one of the busy first time days. Actually, three of them. So today:
1. He climbed a ladder all by himself for first time.
2. He discovered and played with his shadow
3. And ummm… damnit, I’ll have to update it later. It was funny and admirable, anyone have a memory pill?

I had a dream

2004-12-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of mornings ago I woke up with the memory of a dream I had during the night. Actually it was only bits and pieces of it but that’s more than my usual blank memory.

The dream was kind of melancholic. It was sometime during the night, everything was very dark without any bright colors. I was in some kind of army, wearing very dark green uniform. We (me and my platoon) were setting everything to go on some kind of a live drill. We left the barracks on big Rio trucks driving over rough dirt road. I was sitting in the back of the truck with my fellow platoon members, crowded with our equipment. I don’t remember any specific face from the other people sitting in the truck with me; it’s all very vague. The trip was very short, taking only several minutes until we arrived at some shapeless structure. As soon as the trucks stopped we quickly got all inside. The rooms were all empty beside several two-story beds scattered around. I laid on one of them looking outside through the window in a sharpshooter position. Not more than a few minutes later I realized I forgot something back at the barracks so I just got up and went away back to the barracks. Alone…

That’s all I remember. Strange, very strange. I wonder where the whole army theme came from.

The Hulk

2004-12-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the movies (or a movie theater to be precise). Mostly because I think most movies do not need the big screen to tell their story. Does When Harry met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle need a big screen? They can perfectly tell the same story on my home TV screen. Watching them on the big screen does not enhance the experience. This begs the question, why would I go sit with a bunch of strangers in a huge dark room when I can lay on my own couch, hold my own popcorn and enjoy it in the comfort of my own home? That’s it, I won’t, I won’t go to the movie theater unless it’s really worth it. The worth it department includes films like Lord of the rings, Braveheart, Alexander (no I didn’t see it and probably won’t), you get the picture.

Last week, I saw The Hulk. This is the kind of movie I would go to see in a movie theater, or so I thought. It turned out to be nothing like what I expected. You hear The Hulk, you think Spiderman, X-Man, Batman and so forth, not so. The Hulk movie is comics turned into serious drama. No problem so far, many movies I saw turned out to be different than what I expected and still were very good films. The problem is, it’s not a good dramatic film.

One of the problems is that the movie is too long, much of the movie is a complete drag; either nothing is happening, or the Hulk is jumping around while the army vainly try to kill him. There isn’t much fun in watching people futilely attempt to destruct the indestructible. Another problem is that it lacks any emotional weight; after all it is a dramatic film. It’s hard to root for a big green monster who runs around destroying so much though doesn’t kill anyone (what is it the A-team???). The movie is not a total-loss, there are some good parts, like the cast, the CGI rendering of the hulk and San Francisco :-) . Good thing I didn't go to see it when it came out to theaters.

Buses

2004-12-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

I like riding the buses. No really, I do.

In the last seven or eight years I never went by bus more than two days in a row. In the rare occasions that I did use the bus, it was to watch special events in the city, like the pride parade or other major celebrations where the whole world and his wife showed up. So this week, when I had to go to work by bus for almost the entire week, on the account of my son being sick, It felt nice. When going by car you just get in your car, closed in a metal box with your music and the AC on, and no interaction with anyone whatsoever. You hardly walk outside (unless walking from the building entrance to the rare/side of the building where the parking lot is considered walking) and you hardly meet strangers. I’m not even talking about reading a newspaper or a book while someone else is doing the driving.

You’re probably reading this and thinking, this guy has gone mad, he WANTS to go by bus? But I assure you this is the least of the reasons why I might be considered mad (there are plenty of others). And I can tell you that I would choose to use the car over the bus any day of the week. There is however some favorable interaction in public transportation that does not exist in the privacy of your own car. When I was younger, I met people on buses. People that I had umm… relationships with. Sure, 99.99999999% of the people you see on buses do not care about you and nor do you about them but still.

After marching last night through the gusting winds and frozen rain to the bus stop and waiting for 20 minutes for it to arrive. I thought to myself that it happens sometimes. But after being jammed between a guy who didn’t bath for a week and don’t know what a deodorant is, an old lady who had to hold her shopping bag up in the air with the same hand that holds the rail so the bag would bang against my head every time the bus stopped or started moving or turn or do any kind of movement (I tell you these old ladies are strong, don’t mess with them) and another huge guy who probably didn’t brush his teeth since Monday. I think I’ll give up the buses for another while.

Baby update

2004-12-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

I promised an update on my son’s situation, so here I go. On our last visit to the doctor, she told us that when he will be able to hold food in, we should not give him the regular similac formula but the non-dairy one.

When I got home on Monday he was already sleeping. Tired from a day without eating. I didn’t stay for long before I went to the pharmacy to get him a soy-based formula and grab a pizza since we were both too tired to cook.

After leaving behind only two slices of a family sized pizza on the table, we went to bed. Just at that moment the little president woke up crying. He didn’t want to eat nor drink, he was tired and not feeling well, but wouldn’t go back to sleep. As in the last few nights he ended up with us in our bed.

At a round 3:00am he woke up again calling “amy, amy” (the non official baby-talk to English translation means: “I’m hungry feed me, I’m hungry feed me). So I handed him a bottle with the new Isomil formula and crossed my fingers. Please keep it in I thought to myself, if it comes back out again, there is no choice but to go to the hospital. He ate half a bottle and fell asleep again. I was nervous but fell asleep right after him.

I heard sounds. I opened my eyes and there he was sitting in between us. I felt with my hand everything around me, everything is dry, no vomiting this time, what a relief. He was hungry again so I went for another batch of formula. This time he almost finished the entire bottle. It was a good sign.

Though the vomiting stopped he still had diarrhea. But now, with some food and fluids, we know he will be ok. Yesterday he started eating some rice and mashed potatoes, not as he used to but enough to get him through this.

This morning we took some samples to the lab to find out if it might be worse than the every-now-and-than stomach virus.

Dyslexic

2004-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

I’m dyslexic. I found out about it only when I was in college. Truth is, I didn’t know much about it before than. I had some problems during elementary and high school but I guess no one in our incredible schooling system knew about it either (or care to). Let’s say I wasn’t a bright student most of the times (I had my good years though). Some of my high-school or non-high-school tales may find their way here one day (wink, wink).

Anyway, my dyslexia is kind of mixed, sometimes I may mean one thing and write something similar but different as it was in my previous post where I wrote “feather” instead of “fever”. Sometimes I will write something totally different like “truck” instead of “schoolbag” or something along those lines. The more common mistake however is when my brain is not synched with my hands. Obviously our brain works much faster than our hands (in most people at least) but they are synched so what we write (or anything else we do) will work in a timely manner.

Well, with me, sometimes my brains runs way faster, and when I type, I miss words, sometimes whole sentences. When I read it back to myself, I wonder where that great sentence had gone. One of the most common problems is when I mean to write “can’t” but write “can” instead. Now, I’m used to read everything I write before I do anything with it, not always, but most of the times. I caught myself writing things that look stupid because I miss letters or words.

Not that I need to comfort myself, but I just remembered that I read somewhere that on a grand scale, dyslexics are on average smarter than the non-dyslexics. So tongue out to all of you.

My boy is sick

2004-12-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

It all started on Saturday, he wasn’t feeling very well and we stayed home with him (it was a crappy grayish day anyway). He had fever and was agitated most of the day. Yesterday during the day it got a little better, the fever went away, he was happier and seemed more alive. We even took him out during the evening when we went to get some new curtains for our bedroom (which were on sale). Things started to get worse when we got back home. He was hot again, though it wasn’t fever yet, and he started vomiting. Once, twice, third and fourth times in 20-30 minute intervals. He was very tired and fallen asleep while I was holding him. We hopped he would wake in a better shape.

The hopes shattered when I heard coughing and crying from his room. I ran over and there he was sitting in his bed after vomiting again all over the bed and himself. I looked at him sitting there crying, his hand over his face, I was heart broken. It was almost 3am and we felt so helpless. We called a doctor for a night visit. By the time she got there he vomited two more times.

The doctor concluded he had a virus and that we need to give him fluids in small portions. If he will continue vomiting we should take him to the doctor in the morning and they will decide what to do. At around 5am we went back to sleep. He was sleeping in between us in our bed. So pure, so beautiful.

At 7am he woke us up as he was making vomiting motions but almost nothing came out. His stomach was empty, there was nothing left in there to come out. After that he was playful and alert, we hoped he would be feeling better and we will put it behind us. He was obviously hungry calling “amy, amy” which means he wants to eat. We gave him a bottle and hope for the best.

It wasn’t even 8am when he shot everything he ate just before out of his mouth and onto our bed and pillows. This time we took him to have a bath. There was no choice, we had to go to the doctor again. The good thing about the clinic that we use is that most of the time you don’t have to set an appointment to see the doctor. Simply because there aren’t many people going there, so we just go over wait 10-20 minutes and we’re in, doesn’t matter if it’s the family doctor or a pediatrician.

The doctor gave us this powder (I can’t remember it’s name), which we should mix with water and feed him. This should supply enough nutrition to hold him until he can take normal food. We drove to my workplace, said our goodbyes, and off he went with his mom home and I went up to the office.

As of the last report I got from home. He is not very happy with this strange liquid he is given and not drinking much of it. The problem is, if he doesn’t drink and hold it in, we can’t give him any other food. I hope he will start taking it soon or this will turn into a bigger problem we don’t want to face.

I’ll keep you posted.

Sorry cow

2004-12-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

Here’s one thing I bet you don’t know about me (whoever you are). I’m a vegetarian since birth. (Yes, I never tried meat, chicken or fish). What else can I say about it, umm… Well, I eat everything beside that.

Anyway maybe it’s time you carnivores or omnivores, or whatever you are, apologies to our cow friends who give us so much and get short miserable life in return. You don't have to, but still, don't you think it will be a nice gesture for the holidays? Especially before you jump on the steak, meat casserole or your other holiday dinner “delights”.

Just another long day at the office.

2004-12-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started just fine. I woke up at around 7:45am. My son woke only minutes later, all wet (what’s up Huggies? Your “new system” suck!). I went to work, late, as usual lately (though there is no real late or early where I’m employed, there is only work and lots of it). As soon as I got to my desk, I remembered what was bugging me going up the elevator. Milk. I forgot to buy milk. Luckily my co-worker, who I share a room with, did not. We had coffee and ate all through the day. It’s the Jewish holyday Hanukah and the office is full of sweets. Strangely at around 2:00pm I was hungry as if I didn’t munch all day.

So things went just as they did at any other day. Until 4pm. At 4pm I got a message that something was wrong with the last patch of our system (yes, I’m in the IT industry). Some recently made changes affected my part of the system and I had to fix it ASAP. This usually means “it should have been done yesterday”. No one could find out the problem at 9am, they had to wait to 4pm for that, damnit. In any case, I started the mini project on the spot only to find another issue three hours later. Though things progressed pretty nicely, I decided to order in dinner at around 9pm as I was putting the finishing touches and getting ready for some quick testing. At quarter to 11 the delivery guy arrived (one hour later than he was suppose to), just as I was getting ready to leave. Great, thanks a lot. I picked up the dinner (Pad Thai – Yummy) and went home with it. At least I’ll eat it at the comfort of my own home.

Hours later when I was under the blankets on the edge of falling asleep, I remembered I forgot to add some crucial part to my fix. Not that I forgot to fix it, I just forgot to move this specific file to the right place. I ran to my computer and sent a quick e-mail to let the guys know about it and help them find the right file.

Just another long day at the office.

Of ducks and babies

2004-12-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

Finally, after many gray and rainy days the sun decided to come out again. Like all good parents who’s son just started walking, we went to the park. The little president was running about in such a cute manner we were overcome by joy. As soon as we reached the lake we decided to sit down for his lunch. However, he was so excited that lunch was as far from his mind as we could imagine. Instead he was running in between the ducks and cats, which were gathering around us at the smell of his lunch. Since we did not want to hand them our dear son’s meal, I took out a loaf of bread we bought just before. The crowed of three ducks and two cats became ten times as large after the first few pieces of bread were thrown around. Minutes later we were feeding the ducks from our own hands. The president (our little boy) was so excited he was “running” in circles in between them almost falling occasionally. There, in between the ducks, we met another baby of about the same age taking his first assisted steps. There is nothing like being a proud parent showing off your baby boy. There is nothing in my life I was more proud of than my adorable son. We took some pictures during this whole “event” but again unfortunately, did not take the camcorder.

However, when we went to the marina yesterday, we did take the camcorder. Now we finally have live proof of the little president striding on two feet.

We managed to take full advantage of this nice sunny weekend before the clouds come back to cover the skies.

Houston, we have shoes

2004-12-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

After our previous failure to buy shoes for our little president, we went last evening to try again. The first store we visited yielded the same results as our previous attempt. Very bright red shoes, not much different than the ones we saw before. Again they didn’t have other models from the brand we wanted. I must say it was a little strange experience, I’m used to having problems buying shoes for myself since I’m a large size and many stores don’t have shoes up to my size.

We went on to a second store up the street. This one was one of the older specialty stores that’s probably in the same place from before I was born, well, almost. Not a minute later the-president was well on his way to have his first pair of shoes. Measure here, check there, and he was striding across the store with his new pair of blue shoes in no time. Oh the joy…

We left the store walking. The three of us!!! On the street!!! Walking!!! My little baby boy is walking the streets. Just a few months back he was hardly sitting up in his bed and now he’s walking beside me. I’m still excited!!!

Boring? Children? You must be kidding

2004-12-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

I’m becoming one of those boring people who only talk about their children. But, who cares! If you don’t have children you don’t understand, you can’t understand, you live in a different world than the ones who do. I have friends who have children, I have friends who don’t, but want to and friends who simply don’t or are not at that stage yet. If you’re over 30 and still don’t feel ready for children that’s ok, but if you’re still in the “I ain’t never gonna have children” thinking mode, you’re in trouble or were left behind somewhere along the way.

Striding the mini-mall

2004-11-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to one of those mini-malls to buy shoes for the-president (that’s our boy). At the store the saleswoman measured his feet and proclaimed, “he has wide feet” (like his daddy). They had only two kinds of shoes for his feet structure from the brand we wanted, and only one of them was with shoelaces. We want shoelaces because they hold the feet better. We measured them on his feet and they were a perfect fit. The-president looked down at his feet, tried to move a little and had a hard time walking. Than he decided he didn’t want them (not on his feet anyway) and let the whole store know it. Contrary to his desire we thought the shoes are great. One problem though, the shoes were bright red. Not that we have any problem with red, but still, we think his first shoes should not be bright red. Since the store was out of any other color, we left empty handed. But we left the store walking and he didn’t have it any other way. Holding my hand, the-president walked all the way from the store to the mall entrance. I would have let him continue like he wanted (and let us know about it all the way to the car) if it weren’t so cold (and dirty) outside and him being shoeless.

Sick

2004-11-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

I was sick during the last several days, I’m still a little, but feeling much better than before. It seems like some kind of virus got into my stomach and refused to leave. I was feeling really bad, and even worse when it continued into the weekend. Being sick during the weekend really sucks. On the other hand staying at home sick gave me a couple of days more to be with my son at home, though I couldn’t play with him the way I wanted, it’s always fun to spend more time with him. I really enjoyed seeing him become an adequate strider. Walking longer and longer distances. Now he can cover our entire apartment without falling or sitting down.

First steps

2004-11-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

WOOOHOOO, my son is walking!!!!

Today was the first time he took several steps on his own. That is, not one or two steps or walking around tables, walls, etc. He walked on his own, no tables, no hands, on his own two feet. I'm so excited!!!! I wasn't there to see it :-(. Now I made my wife promise she will take the camcorder where ever she goes. This is because the great event didn't take place at our home, but at her parents place. He feels very comfortable there, just like over here.

Got milk? Yes, a bad one

2004-11-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning, after finishing the diaper changing, teeth brushing, and the rest of the morning chores, I went to make my not-so-usual morning cup of coffee. I opened the fridge and to my dismay I saw two milk cartons. Both open, both half full. I picked up both, checked the expiration dates only to see they both went past it. One is six days past, the other only two. I throw the older one to the garbage and went ahead to make coffee with the two-days-past-expiration milk. Was great. And the point is? Nothing, just another morning.

Grayish mood

2004-11-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t feeling very well in the last few days. I’m not sick or anything just not feeling right. Kind of a grayish mood. I guess it’s one of those times when I look at my daily life and think, this is boring, oh this is so very boring. Waking up in the morning, going to work, come back home (or stop on the way for some grocery shopping (woohoo, how exciting)), play with my son before he goes to bad, eat dinner, sit with the wife, watch some TV and go back to sleep only to do the same thing the day after, and the day after, and the day after… Weekends are kind of all the same too. I remember when things were different. This makes me sound old and grumpy, but it’s not that at all (maybe just a little bit), mainly because I’m not old. Maybe to a five year old, I’m old, and for my one-year-old son, who doesn’t understand the concept of age yet, I’m ancient.

Bad music in my ears

2004-11-11T23:37:00.000-08:00

Do you ever get the feeling that you want to hear some specific music but you don’t know what it is? Just want to hear something good, something you heard before, but have no idea what it is, not even which genre. It happened to me several times these last few weeks, the same as now. What the hell do I want to hear? So I ended up putting on my assorted 80’s collection which for some strange reason decided to choose by random the worst songs in that collection. And I’m just sitting here with my headphones on and listening to this crap with no real idea why. Bob Sager – Shame on the moon, Golden Earring – Twilight Zone, why? Why I ask you?

Cellphone scare

2004-11-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

I had a total of seven cellphones in a little more than ten years. Most of them were either Nokia or Motorola. All of them were usually pretty simple, nothing special, of course today most of them would be considered antique. The last one I got, a little less than a year ago, was different. I wanted to have Bluetooth that can connect to my PDA, computer and a wireless earpiece. As the search went on, things weren’t becoming very clear. I ended up with the fanciest, most advanced model I found at the time, the Sony-Ericsson Z600, two of them. It was way out of my budget, and as these things go not worth the cost.

So here I am, almost a year later on my way to lunch and the phone rings. I open the clamshell, press the answer button, another ring, press again, “ring”, I look at it as if to scare it and press again. Poooooffffff….. The phone has shutdown (yeah, it’s not powering off, it’s shutting down like a computer). I’m baffled, the battery was almost fully charged. I press the on/off button. Nothing. I decided to go to lunch and deal with it later.

When I came back to the office I tried to wake the phone to life again, but nothing, no response. There was no resort; I knew what I had to do. Before doing anything drastic I took the battery out, and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I tired everything I could think off (including changing SIMM with my work phone) to no avail. I could not believe this is happening. In all my years of owning a cellphone, none of them ever broke down. How depressing.
At the end of the day I went down to the car, showing my wife the useless electronic rock that used to be my cellphone. And than ….Pooooffffffff…. The phone came back to life. No button pressing, no shaking, it’s just turned on as if nothing happened. Needless to say, I was very happy. But how can I trust it now? How can you regain the trust after ones betrayal?

Chronologically adept

2004-11-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

If you noticed that some dates are out of sync, this is because I wrote some stuff but didn’t post it, so when I do, I post it under the original time it was written at. But no worry, everything is chronological. No chance of reading something that actually happened after a newly published post. Everything is in order from the moment it’s posted.

While on the subject, did you ever read a series of books but not in the right order? Like reading the third book first, than the forth, after that the second, the first, the fifth and so on? I have a friend who have no problem reading like that, he just reads the books in the order he gets them, if he got the forth in the series first that’s what he is going to read. Personally, I don’t like doing so, it ruins the whole story.

Writing concerns unmasked

2004-11-07T18:16:00.000-08:00

Does it show that I’m not used to this kind of writing? Do I reveal my insecurities regarding this? That’s the way I feel. Part of not being used to writing about my own life. Part of not being used to talk about myself. I wonder if it’s ever going to change. I wonder if it really matters.

Breaking news from the laundry room

2004-11-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

A new washing machine has landed in the laundry room on Friday, thanks to two heavily muscled dudes. They also picked up the wrack of a machine we had before. Now the stage is clear for some new, clean action. It will probably be days before we can clear the two huge mountains of cloths waiting to be washed.
Well, with this latest model of a machine that has all those sophisticated “programs” and new options it’s gonna be fun doing laundry, not.

Washing machine blues

2004-11-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

Our washing machine is officially dead. Well, it's not completely dead but you wouldn't want to wear anything coming out of it now, so practically it's unusable. In order to still wear clean cloths we found the exact spot where we need to stop it and to where exactly we need to fast-forward the "program" so things would escape the torment chamber clean. I suspect it’s not way off from washing machine suicide.

Now we are looking to buy a new machine. Among the contenders are Maytag, Whirlpool, AEG and some others. We’re pretty flexible with what we want to buy, beside a few brands we will not look at. There are not many places to research the subject. So basically we let the salesman talk and every once in a while bug him about models recommended by a different salesman at a different store. It seems like every store is trying to push specific brands and models. For now, we have two favorite models by two different brands (beside the ones we can’t afford). One of the two is on an introductory sale due to end when the warehouse runs out of the first shipment. The salesman claims it will probably last until Friday, but since when do we believe salespeople?

Starting

2004-10-31T08:09:00.000-08:00

I have been writing for many years, since I was a young child. I wrote my first (now lost) story shortly after I learned how to write. I’m writing for magazines, websites, blogs and myself. Among them, stories, unfinished novels, articles, even poems for a very short while. It has been fun most of the times and still is. Anyone who writes for a long time knows that sometimes it's tiring, and occasionally there is not much to add. I can't count the number of times I sat in front of a paper or a computer screen and couldn't write a single word. The head is empty, the sheet is blank. This must be one of the most frustrating things an artist can feel. I do not consider myself an artist in the common sense of the word; though I think anyone who creates something new is an artist, which might be a painter, composer, writer, designer or a computer programmer.

Even with writing so much through the years, I never wrote about myself. It’s always about something or someone else, real or fictional. I was playing with the idea of writing a personal blog for a while, but never until now did anything with it. So I guess this is a new beginning. I don’t know how much I will write here, I don’t know what can I write about at all. I think I might have a difficulty with writing about myself, but we’ll have to see how it goes…