Right, Then

I think I've mentioned this before, but the way it works is that I have about an hour a day, some days, during which I could theoretically record the day's events and/or thoughts in this blog.  What I like to do instead is sit in the basement and play video games.  My brain gets its one chance per day to relax the otherwise-required laser focus.  Then the Slammer* and I go to bed.

I'm at my mom's.  We're down for the weekend so that she and my stepdad can soak up the toddler time and so that I can install the wireless router I got them for Xmas to replace the steam-operated, cast iron wireless router they've been using for the last five years or so.  Despite the stupid, just-long-enough-to-suck drive between Portland and Eugene, it's very nice to be here.

The best thing: Plan C has been in a really, really good mood for the last week or so.  She's gotten over a developmental hurdle with language...there's still lots of undecipherable babbling, but every day there's more decipherable babbling along with real actual words.  It's fall-off-your-chair-and-hurt-yourself adorable learning what's actually going on in her head.  Statements like "two berries!" and "bear goes here!" and "more O's!" - that kind of thing.  I'm finding that the whole Stockholm Syndrome adoration of one's child gets a huge charge from actual communication.

We had our annual coast trip w/ the gang two weeks ago, which was great as usual, but it also brought home to me in no uncertain terms that babysitters are in C's future.

Here's a summary of the rest:

• Work: SAN with dedicated stacked catalyst 3750s, IPsec tunnel to the offsite facility, wireframes and project management.
• Band: Ransom and I realized that we were way better 11 years ago.  But then, 11 years ago we had time to practice once a week.  Still fun and sounding better as time goes on.
• Game: 4th level rogue, 2nd level fighter, bitches!  All of the essential archery feats along with two-weapon fighting.
• House: so comfy, so awesome.  Dinner parties coming up.  Trying to find good big storage racks for the basement so that we can start cleaning it up.
• Friends: as attractive and debonair as ever.

* This is B's new nickname.  I'm encouraging everyone to use it as much as possible.  Say it with me: "The SLAMMER."

Sartorial in the New Year

There are an awful lot of things that have gone down Chez Moi of late.  I survived the flights and got to see family back east before during and after my grandmother's funeral.  Plan C's babbling is rapidly turning into Plan C's actual talking.  I have an elaborate plan to be less stressed out in ought-12 as opposed to ought-11.  I keep getting sick - I'm on my third cold in about a month (could have something to do with the mold in the basement, I guess...gonna go after that shit with some serious bleach in the near future.)

But!  None of this matters to you, dear half-dozen readers.  You want to know what I'm wearing these days!  The answer: classy...stuff, dude:

Yep!  A fancy new pea coat that even came with a fancy scarf!  And yes, that's totally me in the picture.

Yes indeed!  New Dr. Martens wingtips!  They cost as much as my mortgage (roughly), but damn are they slick.  And comfy.  And slick.

In other words, I'm trying to start 2012 off in a dapper kind of manner.  I'm doing my part.  Ask yourself: are you doing yours?

Kicking Off 2012 with Dread

I don't usually like to post about anything personal, but I don't think there's a reason not to mention that my grandmother passed away the other morning.  I'm not going to say anything about that except that I'm very sad about it, but that sadness is mitigated in knowing that she had lived a very long, very rich life.

Needless to say, my brother and I are heading back east (New York) for the funeral.  This is where the dread kicks in.  I've managed to avoid flying anywhere since before Plan C was born, almost two years now.  This isn't one of those flights you can pretend is almost over the whole time, either; it's something like 7 hours from Portland to DC, then there's another hour-long hopper from DC to NYC.  I finally managed to break through my apprehension a little bit this morning and just try to be rational about it, but the fact remains: waking up at 4:45am tomorrow and spending all day doing the thing I fear and loathe the most in the world is bumming me out.

At least I never gave a shit about new year's, anyway, since I seriously hope I'm well asleep by midnight.

Further Notes and Observations

1. Plan C loves to play with the Maglite.  One must be very, very careful while one's baby plays with a Maglite.  
2. Speaking of my kid, there was an explosion of adorable last night when C + J brought over their tiny little girl (P: now 7 months old) and the two babies babbled at each other and stole each other's toys.  
3. I unfairly got a pretty bad hangover from the visit and couldn't sleep.  I ended up curled up on the couch in the basement at about 5:00am.  To repeat an old refrain: insomnia is proof that humans are defective.
4. I work hard for the money, so hard for it honey, so you better treat me right.
5. Band practice was solid last week.  I wrote a song that T suggested be titled "Sleepless in Cialis," but I think I'm going to opt for "Entry-level Position."
6. The slog on the house continues. Right after I finish this, I'm going to try to sort some shit in the basement (i.e. where I'm sitting right now.)
7. My class is done.  Could be the last one for a long time.  We'll see.

Honestly: This is Bullshit

http://www.wunderground.com/US/OR/006.html#SPE

I JUST WANT IT TO RAIN DURING THE WINTER IN OREGON LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO.

A Little Braggadocio

Sorry, but here it is:

MY NEW HOUSE IS AWESOME.  It has floors!  It has a yard!  It has garbage and recycling service!  It has space!  It has gas heat and a gas stove (new oven, new furnace!)  This morning I took the Max* in to work and it was basically door-to-door service from the stop two blocks from my house to the stop one block from the office.  I even have that which I have dreamed of for so long: a desk in the basement with a desktop computer hooked up (via a network cable, not wireless) to the interwebs.

My friends are a stalwart crew.  We had 14 people materialize to help with the move on Saturday and the whole thing was done in 4.5 hours, including refueling and returning the Uhaul.  We had so many people helping that we had bottlenecks loading up the truck and (on the other end) loading up the house.  Thanks, guys.

In addition, I am pleased to report that Plan C loves the new digs and that Pesto is happily running bunny sprints between the dining and living rooms.

If only me-living-in-Santa-Cruz could see me now...

* To non-Portlanders: the Max is the municipal light rail.  It is a speedy whooshing train of efficient transportationing.

Movin'

We're moving into the house tomorrow.  I have to drive yet another gigantic truck, although this time it's only across town, not from central California to the Oregon - Washington border.  Pics and crap to follow.

Striking Observations

Let's begin, shall we?

1. First of all, I hate daylight saving's time.  I don't care if you're springing forward or falling back, it's always a bunch of bullshit.  I have a hard enough time with the whole sleeping concept without arbitrary agriculturally-inspired clock maneuvers.  
2. My rap name is henceforth Duquan the Captivator.  Take heed, sucker MCs.
3. I really need to e-mail my scattered grad school homies.  I miss them and would like to hear about the goings on.
4. It's Audit Week '11 at work!  Today went well enough.  
5. But then the bus broke, so I sat in the cold and graded midterms until the next one came.  Then I was 10 minutes late to my own class and had to walk in, put down my bag, and start in on the Weimar republic and the rise of fascism...a-just a-like a-that.
6. Plan C is WALKING!  Today she was pretty much charging back and forth giggling up a storm.  Holy cow, it's pretty cute!