Life in Lebanon

Best thing

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:44:00 +0000

Now that I am back from vacation, and brimming with energy, I have made a few changes in my time management that are really paying off. One of these is that I have decided that I will not open my google reader during the day. This has really cut down on the time suck that thing has become. I've been doing this for about a week, and it has really helped to make my downtime more effective and keep me productive during the day. Hooray for getting more time back in the day!

No drinking problems

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:46:00 +0000

Just to clarify, 'oddly large' in the previous post is comparative, not absolute. I have 1-2 protein shakes a day. I am not on a liquid diet by any means.

Odd

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:48:00 +0000

Having recent done some sleep sitting for my friend's 4 month old, I am reminded that an oddly large percentage of my diet consists of warm drinks made from various powders.

At least I get chocolate flavor =)

Pacing

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:34:00 +0000

I did a 250ish meter open-ocean (sea) swim this week (it is hard to judge distance in open water (I rely on wikimapia's measurement tool)). This gave me a happiness boost because I am getting my pacing, form and breathing rhythm better balanced. Plus, the visibility was great so I had entertaining fish to look at.

In other news, here is the legally-required comment on family life:

Summer Media Buy

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 06:46:00 +0000

Given the horrible taxes here, we generally make a major purchase of DVDs, books, etc. in the summer. This also helps with making the long drives easier on the kids. So far, I've spent less than last year, which I consider a good thing. Of course, the relaunch of the DC universe and Daughter #1's affinity for comic books makes this a difficult goal.

Schizo updates

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 31 May 2011 12:24:00 +0000

Again, another mashedup post, rattled off days after the events. You're welcome.

First, as it required, the incredibly trite stuff: My new fitness routine has been producing decent results. I've lost middle fat, while retaining my previous strength levels, so hooray. My approach consists of alternating days of weights and interval training, with practice sessions for my micro-triathlon thrown in. I need to learn to pace myself on the swim.

Second, I had episode one of 'the talk' with the girls. Supplemented by the very helpful book It's Amazing. Thanks to the activity box precedent, this was extreemly easy to pull off. The kiddos were used to the idea of hanging out with Dad to learn cool new stuff, so it wasn't much of a stretch. There was none of the stereotypical freaked-outishness that tradition calls for. I believe it was a success. As as side point, I find the book to be a little text heavy for the age, but still give it 5 stars.

Third, we had to cancel our weekend excursion plans because of recent events, which was simultaneously very natural and super weird. The dialog went something like this:

Me: Sorry kids, we can't go to Tyre because there was a bomb in Sidon so we have to stay home.

#1: Well, why is that a problem, can't we just go around?

Me: Not really, we would have to go through Sidon to get to Tyre. We can still do fun things though, like go to the beach.

#2: Did someone drop the bomb out of a plane?

Me: No, they built it on the ground and then blew it up there.

#2: Oh, that's interesting.

On the one hand, this is waaaay easier to deal with than the bombs of 2005 or the war of 2006 (which #1 does not really remember being close to). Still, I half of me finds it totally normal to be changing my weekend plans because of bombs, and part of me still finds that very foreign.

In the end, we compromised by going to a beach that was half-way to Sidon and had a wonderful time.

Healthy

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 24 May 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Today, I introduced my oldest daughter to strawberry custard pies from McDonalds. It was well received.

About 2 days in my head

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:24:00 +0000

I really thought there had only been a couple of days since my last posting, but the date stamps claim it has been a week. I better get cracking or I will loose whatever momentum I have.

This week we found out that it will be very unlikely that I will be able to see my parents at all during our trip to the US this summer. I'm not really looking forward to letting them know that, but it is the reality. I am fairly confident they don't read this blog very frequently so I should have a few more days before the news hits.

As far as the kids go, I've been excercising fatherly duty #47 and brining home lots of new movies for them to watch. Turns out Daughter #1 loves the Final Fantasy series, which even I thought would be too much for her. I must say though, the motorcycle usage is really making me reach for my credit card. As a side point, I am gaining a great appreciation for Japanese film tropes such as: Gaya, demon germ particles, super beings who start out good and then fall, etc. etc. The artistry is quite stunning though.

Just this morning, Daughter #2, in her not quite well pronounced English mized with Lebanese inflection came up to me and said:

I really like how Hayao Miyazaki draws men's hair. He does a really good job with that.

Naturally, I responded. That's true but I like Sephiroth's hair too.

She then countered with someone else, but I missed who she preferred because we were behind schedule and the little weasel still hadn't put on her socks.

On a completely different topic, if my stakeholder caves on the 'having of the third child' issue, and it is a boy, I will push for serious consideration of the name Sephiroth. If he doesn't like it, he can shorten it to Seth. It is probably a good thing she doesn't know this, as it would not enhance my initial bargaining position.

Up to Speed

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:36:00 +0000

Blogger made me log in to my dashboard before posting a comment on another site, which presented me with the official date of my last post – two months ago. That is rather jarring but not wholly incredible. Much has happened since then, so I will attempt a wrap-up post in hopes that it might get my blog fires going again.

First, cello has been a bit rocky. I persuaded my teacher that I was ready for the Thais Meditation by Massenet, for which, shockingly, I was not actually ready. Who would have thought? After a month of denial, I am now working much more successfully on a different piece. My teacher keeps claiming that I keep ‘cutting’ the notes. He was somewhat amused when I told him it was his fault for not assigning me something from the Baroque period. Teachers love these little humorous moments (or so I am told).

Second, the kids have been doing well, although they have been up to their ears in vacation days lately. They don’t get any more for the next two months, so I suppose it all balances out eventually. They have been really enjoying their horseback riding lessons. Until last week that is. Daughter #2’s Shetland pony tried to buck her off and ended up kicking Daughter #1’s horse in the neck. No good came of this for anyone. Pause for a moment to ask yourself if you have ever seen a Shetland pony buck. I didn’t know if was mechanically possible. Turns out that it is.

Third, I have sort of become a gym rat. For various reasons, I am somewhat emerging from an intensive 10 week gym program, which was facilitated by MA (thanks honey). It was quite intense, and very time consuming (possibly impacting my Massenet situation) but generally successful. While my routine is technically over, I seem to have settled into a much higher level of gymliness than was my previous baseline.

Also, as a side-point, MA has become rather blog famous. She has had several people (strangers) recognizer as ‘that blogger’. One of which told her that she was famous, so that must make it true. Anyway, her blog is awesome and updated daily.

Finally, there is a new dance teacher at the local studio, so I am going to try and get MA interested in re-enrolling. She is still put off by the appalling narcissist we had last time.

Time to register

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:49:00 +0000

The summer festivities we are interested in have started opening their various registration periods, so we have be clicking, faxing and in some cases, getting relatives to hand-deliver forms. So far, so good. Looks like the summer will be fun all-around.

While we were looking for activities for the kids, this gem popped up:

2011 Ballwin Triathlon

I think this can fairly be categorized as a 'fun run' level triathlon, but I'm excited about participating. I've wanted to get into triathalons but there aren't very many in my neck of the woods.

glub glub

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:13:00 +0000

At the beginning of 2010, I set a goal to learn to scuba dive. Unfortunately, for various (somewhat illegitimate) reasons, I never accomplished that. Mrs. co-parent surprised me with the gift of a pre-paid open-water course. This Saturday, I'll have my first class, with dives to follow.

I'm really happy about this, particularly because I have been told that there is a sunken submarine off the coast of Beirut. I can't wait to go dive down to that!

Ummm, yes?

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:46:00 +0000

One of my projects at work is a custom developed piece of software which involves the input of a consultant. During the last round of testing, I noticed that one of the user prompts has been changed:

I think we may need to open a ticket on that one...

Yes, I am aware this only serves to confirm my archetype.

Which is an awesome power

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:25:00 +0000

I was doing some light sparring with kid #2 the other day, when she busted out an awesome little dodge. The following dialoge ensued:

***

Me: Wow, that was a really good move!

Her: (said with much chipperness and glee) It's my power of duckness!

***

"Power of duckness" has now become a running family joke. =)

Where's Waldo?

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:28:00 +0000

Mrs. Waldo is also present.

Also, the keen-eyed might notice my music stand is unnaturally low. Jr.s #1 and #2 broke it the day before.

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:50:00 +0000

Given the logistical challenges around here, I need to get Christmas well in hand significantly before December, or things don't go well at all. At this point, I think there is a moderately good chance that things will go well, even though there are a few stubborn items that are requiring some difficult arrangements.

I've noticed that my kids really enjoy toys that help them act out extemporaneous adventures and role-plays. Also, this year, my kids have really been enjoying the wide range of movies available from Hayao Miyazaki . Therefore, the answer is clear: Merchandizing!

Since the theme is obscure and foreign (BTW, the observant will notice a Totoro in the background of Toy Story 3 (at the nice little girl's house)), I am free to get on the merchandise wave while still feeling smug and superior to all those other parents who buy Dora, Disney and Barbie. They just don't take parenting as seriously as I do, obviously.

Fortunately, I can point and click my way to successful parenting. The mission is the fairly cuddly fox-squirrel from Castel in the Sky, and Nausicaa:

Through the power of ebay, I am presented with the following two options:

I think I'll take the one on the left... Who knew good parenting could be so cheap? Of course, it will be shipped from China to Washington, and then DHL-ed to Lebanon, so this stuffed animal will have the carbon footprint of a medium-sized hippo.

TMI

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:17:00 +0000

In recognition of the fact that I have not posted for far too long, I shall follow grand blogging tradition by posting too much information, in the form of a letter to my wife:

Dear Wife,

Now that we have finished moving to a new house, there are two small, scampering secrets I should tell you. First, about three months ago, I found your most hated bug of all time, the silverfish, in our apartment. It was hiding behind my cello case. Fortunately, I was able to kill it, hide the destructo-bugsmears and dispose of the evidence without you finding out about this hated intruder. Watching Dexter has its benefits.

Second, about a month ago, while taking a shower, I was joined by a cockroach about two inches long. This is one of the larger roaches I have seen. You were already asleep at the time, so my options were limited, and I didn't have access to the supplies at the time to properly kill and dispose of it. I trapped it in the bathroom trashcan with the lid securely fastened and took the trashcan outside. As soon as I set the can down, the roach ran out. I have no idea how that happened, but it got out (not in our house). I did check the trashcan to make sure this wasn't a second, decoy, hitchiker roach. It wasn't. It was the same individual, can-pass-through-solids roach from the bathroom. I think it is now living at our former neighbors apartment.

As you would find the discover and dispatch of these bugs highly unpleasant, I thought it best to keep it under wraps at the time. I only tell you this now, because we have moved out of that apartment, and the bug risk is much lower.

Therefore, I present you with a choice. Do you prefer me to continue to stealth-strike bugs you would not like, or do you want me to tell you when I dispatch interlopers?

Love,

Me

Results

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:48:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I spied a package of cocktail umbrellas in the grocery store. Knowing my kiddos, I decided to snap it up. One blender of super fruit smoothy later, and I had two very happy children.

I should probably also mention that the kids did an early morning raid on the kitchen to liberate the remaining umbrellas, which I discovered later that morning when I saw the stuffed animal beach party. Weeks later and there are still umbrella bits all over the house. I'm still counting it as a happily ever after story though.

Perfectly Safe

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:14:00 +0000

See, normally I would be concerned about Russian plans to float multiple nuclear reactors around the arctic, but fortunately:

"We can guarantee the safety of our units one hundred per cent, all risks are absolutely ruled out," says Mr Zavyalov.

Well, that's taken care of then.

Books

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:08:00 +0000

As a sign that the Universe reads and supports my blog, the RSS powers that be brought me this gem on kids and books... =)

Bookish

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:43:00 +0000

I've really been getting into kid's books these days, and thought I would share some useful links.

First, this resources is great for dads: http://bookdads.com/

There really isn't much available with a dad focus out there, so I really enjoy this angle.

Also, these two lists of books are really appealing to me and I look forward to getting more of them in the house:

175 Cool Boys from Children's Literature

200 Cool Girls from Children's Literature

Stuff my kids broke

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Kid #2 put a hair barret on the keyboard, and kid #1 closed the lid.

The effect was not ultimately in the laptop's best interests. Fortunately, it still works well enough when hooked up to the TV.

Almost ready

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:36:00 +0000

My book is nearing completion! Finally, the project has progressed to the point that the book is ready for readers, and the games are ready for play-testing.

If that sound fun to you, leave me a note in the comments, and we'll get in touch. Otherwise, keep your calendars open for the launch party =)

For those of you who are new to this, the book helps parents and kids talk about what it means to be a woman by showing historical and mythical figures who did remarkable things.

The games are loads of fun, and help promote learning, image recognition, and reinforcing the values described in the book.

Ah, parenting

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:38:00 +0000

Yes, it certainly feels like this some days.

On the other hand, you can just let the kiddos stay at the bottom of the slide...

***

Yeah, obviously the image was supposed to move when I posted this the first time, but blogger challenged me to a duel. After a strategic retreat, I declare myself the winner. I have moving kittehz. Blogger has nothing but billions of google bucks.

Parenting Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:11:00 +0000

This picture tells a tragic, but ultimately one-sided story. We had gone over to a friend's house to watch a particularly awesome sporting event, and took the kids with us. I had just handed my phone over to Kiddo #2 to play some video games, as she was getting a bit jumpy at the time. Unbeknownst to me, she took this picture showing her parents zoned out on the other side of the house and a cheetos bag in front of her.

Super-high quality parenting going on there!

These kinds of pictures keep me humble.

Fortunately, the real story is that we had already taken them biking and swimming, with liberal doses of story reading, Capsela building and other such generally redeeming activities. Plus, they also had benefit of friend-supplied art projects, toys and so forth.

Of course, those all happened off-camera.

Discrimination

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:06:00 +0000

Lovingly stolen from Surviving the World.