Nix Blog

Another Comcastic Experience...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:58:00 +0000

I have to give myself props for posting my conversations/frustration with Comcast back in July of 2008. And why is that? Oh, well, you'll have to read further for an explanation.

I recently moved into a basement apartment of my friend Mike's house. He already has Comcast, so as a result, I just called into Comcast to get my account at my in-laws cancelled. Let the rigmarole begin.
First, I called into their toll-free number from my work phone. I went through the prompts to cancel my account. Something like, option 4 for downgrade/cancel, then option 1 for cancel. It then asked me if my account phone number ended with 2252. That isn't my phone number, and I assume that someone else at my company has called comcast from before. I hit option 2 because it wasn't my number. It then asked me to enter my phone number, which I did. It then kicked me out to the main menu again. So I again had to hit option 4 for downgrade/cancel, and this time it said option 2 for cancel, which I hit. About 10 seconds later... Dial tone. Here we go.

So, figuring that the agent answered and accidentally dropped the call, I repeat the process. Same result. That reminds me of a definition that I once heard. To repeat a process that you know the result of expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Call my psychiatrist, I'm sure he'll be happy and mutter something about "I told ya so..."

So, still needing to finish the process, I decided to go in and just hit option 1 to confirm my phone number was what I was calling from instead of going into my phone number. After I hit 1 to confirm, it asked me to confirm the digits of the address where the service was located. Well, since it wasn't for my account, I tried to enter my work's address, but that didn't work. After 3 failed attempts, it sent me to an agent. Finally!

I spoke with an agent who gathered some information about what I was trying to get completed. I told her what was going on, to which she asked for my phone number. Which I had to provide several times before she got it right. Then she asked what city I was calling from. I wasn't sure whether to say the city I worked in, the city of my previous residence, or the city of my current residence. I decided to go with the latter. She then asked what state that was in. Utah, I replied. She then informed me that she couldn't access my account and that she would have to transfer me to an agent in my "market." So.. she transferred me back to the IVR. Le sigh.

So I followed the prompts to cancel my account, then entered my phone number, but instead of hitting option 2, I went with option 1 to downgrade my service, hoping that the individual I spoke to could either help me, or get me to someone who could. It asked me for the last 4 of my SSN (No dial tone! Woot!) which I entered. It then told me 2 times in quick succession that there was high call volume and extended wait times. There was no hold music or anything, so I thought that maybe their IVR had put me into another loop. But, after hearing the message twice, a nice agent answered the call.

The cancellation conversation was fast, thorough and he was sharp as a tack (Cake), which was appreciated. He then said that everything was set, but I would have to return my cable modem to the nearest service center to avoid being charged an equipment charge. *Screech* Hold the phone.... Wha?! "Oh, but sir, I own that modem," I responded. "Ahh, but it says in my system that you don't," he replied. Oh no. Here we go again.

Now, to complete the full circle, you'll have to return to my July 2008 blog posts about how this happened when I first got the account setup, and it took several painful chats/emails/phone conversations to get the situation resolved then. I was able to tell the agent about my previous experience, exact dates, names, etc. Unfortunately, that didn't exactly solve the situation. He opened a ticket with the equipment investigation team to have them figure out whether I owned it or not. The agent guessed that the person who "solved" my problem a couple years ago, likely just took off the charge for the modem lease, but didn't in fact, "solve" my problem.

So. Now we wait. Wish me luck.

Movie Review: The Ghost Writer

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 08:04:00 +0000

The Ghost Writer: 2.5/4 stars.
The Ghost Writer is about a writer who is tasked with taking someone's memoirs and write a book about their life. Ewan McGregor plays the part of the ghost writer writing an "autobiography" of the former prime minister of England (Pierce Brosnan).
I didn't realize until the credits rolled that The Ghost Writer was a Roman Polanski film. I'm not afraid to say that kind of put a twist into my perspective of the movie. Although, I'm going to try to avoid spinning this into a moral argument, I do think that Roman is a waste of talent. If he would (or would have) faced his accusers, paid his time and gotten his (really effed up) mistake behind him, he could get back to making films without having to worry about where.
Moving along.
Great acting on the parts of Ewan McGregor and even Pierce Brosnan(!). I had a difficult time understanding the dialogue however, likely due to the poor sound system I was watching on, and the thick accents of the 'brits.' I had to review some scenes to make sure that I could understand what was going on.
I was glad to view a movie that didn't treat the viewer like an idiot, because it really kept me guessing. In fact, there were a few times that I felt downright lost (perhaps because the accents?). But, in the end, the suspense created when you found out the main character was in trouble was very intense, but I was confused because I didn't really know why he was in trouble.
The cinematography was artful, and the location where the movie was shot was beautiful. I am confused though, it was supposed to have taken place on an island off of Maine. But, I don't know how it's possible that it was shot there, at least with Roman directing.
Overall, it was a good film, one worth seeing at least once.

Movie Review: The American

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 02:27:00 +0000

Well, I haven't really established my preference for a scale when rating movies, so I'll stick to the standard 4-Star system...

The American 2/4 Stars

The American showed a lot of promise to me before I saw it. All I had heard about it was that it was a quasi-action suspense drama film starring George Clooney. That was a half truth. It was a quasi-suspense drama film with little action starring George Clooney.
The film starts out building reasonable suspense and questions in the mind of the viewer, and at times, that suspense is re-captured, but I found myself bored for most of the movie. The picturesque village in which the movie takes place was second only to the acting job of George. He, and the scenery, however, were the only shining stars of the film. There were far too many shots of George staring off into the picturesque distance wishing for a life different than his own. You could put a camera on most people in America and get similar shots, and perhaps that's why the film is called 'The American.'
One common theme in the film was the amount of nudity. There was quite a bit, and some lengthy sex scenes. I don't know how to comment about the directors choice in this except two things: he picked his female leads very well, and he has an unhealthy obsession with showing their asses. Like seriously... A lot of ass in this film.
In the end, there was not enough story development as to who certain characters were, nor their motivations. The story also ended abruptly with no followup as to what happened after the climax. I assume that this was an artistic nod, but, therein lies the problem. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this was a major studio release, but it felt much more like an independent film and as a result, I was left wanting. It's not that I don't enjoy independent films, I just think I was mislead.
I would be surprised if George Clooney didn't get a best actor nod at the Oscars, which might be deserved, but as for the rest of the movie, I hope against seeing any nominations.

7/18/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:28:00 +0000

7/18/10
- Slept in!!!
  - Don't get to sleep in often enough
  - Thanks to Trisha for watching Ryan while I slept.
- Had to tidy up again for another potential home buyer
  - Took longer than expected
  - Always more to do when you're looking for it.
  - Ryan was much more cooperative about cleaning today
- Dinner to celebrate Trisha's birthday at my parents
  - Chicken Enchiladas
    - YUM! One of my favorites
    - I had an "alternate" version with no tortillas
- Played Canasta
  - Haven't played in ages
  - Different rules than I remember
  - Ryan was horrible during while we were trying to play games
    - Teething?
    - Wouldn't go down for a nap even though he was exhausted
    - Wouldn't sit in the high chair
    - Wanted to be held
- Drove home and put Ryan to bed
- Watched an episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
  - Included some theories that I was previously unaware of
    - Mind blowing
- Went to bed too late for my own good
- Didn't have time for journal update
  - Because I stayed up too late watching TV

7/17/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:26:00 +0000

7/17/10

- Got to sleep in a little bit
- Got a call from potential home buyers who said that they wanted to come see the house today
  - Had to get the house cleaned up
    - Difficult to clean when Ryan is crawling around getting into everything
- Nielsen Family Reunion in Salem
  - Didn't make it because we had to get house presentable for potential home buyers
  - It sounded like a lot of fun.
- Got in a nap in the afternoon while waiting for home buyers
  - Difficult to sleep when it's so hot.
    - Even with the swamp cooler on high cool all night and day, the condo still gets up to 78 during the day
    - Can't wait until we live in a house with central air
- Trisha's Grandma's pool party
  - Missed because the potential home buyers still hadn't arrived
- Potential home buyers finally showed
- Chilled at home with Trisha during the evening
  - Played COD:MW2 while Trisha was napping
  - Watched some movies/TV
  - Goodnight

7/16/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:22:00 +0000

7/16/10

- Car problems in the morning
  - Altima has been having a tough time starting occassionally
  - Had to get it towed to the shop
  - Starter replaced
- Lunch while waiting for car to be fixed.
- Got to work in the early afternoon
  - Got a few tasks done that I needed
- Picked Trisha and Adam up for the surprise birthday party for Trisha's Grandma
- Dropped Ryan off at my parents for babysitting
  - Thanks Mom!
- Surprise party catered by Magleby's.
  - Tenderloin, Halibut, Salad
    - Delicious
  - Lots that I couldn't have
    - Fruit
    - Rolls
      - Magleby's rolls are epic. :(
    - Dessert
      - Magleby's chocolate cake is also epic. Looked so yummy
- Drove golf carts around the course
  - Way too dark to really see the course
  - Sprinklers were on
    - Got soaked
    - Still fun
- Went to go see Inception
  - Full review to come
  - Amazing movie... Definitely in Top 5. Needs further review
- Picked up Ryan from my parents.
  - Got there at 1:00 AM
- Bedtime
  - Too tired for journal update
    - Completed later
  - Goodnight

7/15/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Journal

7/15/10
- Got up on time (!)
- No Breakfast
  - I think I'm going to stop saying this. It is beginning to be redundant
  - From now on, unless I specify breakfast, assume no breakfast
- Drive to work was... Well.. Great
  - Listened to X96 radio from hell (like usual)
    - Jeff Vice (Deseret News movie review guy) was reviewing movies that came out this week
      - Sirus
        
        Want to see it.
      - Mic Macs ;
        
        Want to see it
        
        Can wait until it comes out on DVD
      - Sorcerer's Apprentice
        
        Don't really care to see it.
        
        Maybe when it comes out on DVD
      - Inception
        
        Want to see it.
        
        Now!
        
        I was getting so mad to hear how good it was because I want to see it so bad.
- Lots to do in the morning.
  - As always, didn't get everything done that I wanted/needed
- Lunch at Burger King with Ryan Werner and Steve Snyder
  - Low carb burgers and a side salad
  - Not doing as well as I had hoped on not eating lunch (out) this week.
    - Still... It was only 6 bucks or so. Not terrible.
- Got a lot done in the afternoon, nothing very noteworthy
- Drive home was tolerable.
- Played some COD:MW2 when I got home with Adam and ate some dinner
- Did the dishes
  - A LOT of dishes
  - Had to hand-wash a bunch because they would not all fit in the dishwasher
- Bedtime
  - Too tired for journal update
    - Completed later
  - Goodnight

Happy Birthday Cameron!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:19:00 +0000

My oldest nephew on my side of the family, Cameron, turned 12 today. Holy macaroni.

Congratulations on the achievement, Cam-dawg...

I'm glad that everyone in the family had the opportunity to test their broken parenting methods on you before their kids came along (including mine)...

How did you turn out to be such a good kid?!

Now... For a little birthday embarrassment. That's Cameron on the right.

7/14/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:40:00 +0000

Journal
- 7/14/10
  - Snoozed too many times.
    - Again.
    - I am a snooze button whore.
  - Had to hustle and get ready for work.
  - No Breakfast
    - No surprise
  - Traffic was tolerable
  - Work in the morning was hecktic.
    - Didn't get everything done that I wanted to.
  - Went to lunch at Thai Drift
    - Got my "usual"
      - Green Curry, Beef, no rice
    - Delicious
    - Thanks to Ryan Higgins for paying me back from when I paid for him a couple months ago.
  - Tons of work to do in the afternoon as well.
    - Didn't get everything done that I wanted to.
  - Investigated a few other free options to use for mind mapping on my PC other than Freeside
    - Tried Novamind, which was promising, but from what I could tell, you could not draw arrows.
      - Lame.
    - Settled on Freeplane, which is an offshoot of the freemind project.
  - Drive home was tolerable. Was able to stay awake with no problems.
  - Trisha prepared a DELICIOUS dinner
    - Baked chicken
      - AMAZING
    - Green beans
      - Good. Had to add tons of cheese and some butter. The brand I bought is kind of bland.
        
        Too bad I still have 4 more pounds of beans in the bag I bought
        
        Curse you Costco.
  - Watched some TV
    - So you think you can dance
    - Should have been cleaning
  - Played an addictive little game on my iPhone until bedtime
    - Angry Birds
      - Simple.
      - Pretty fun.
  - Goodnight

7/13/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:22:00 +0000

Journal
- 7/13/10
  - Snoozed too many times and was a few minutes late to work
  - No breakfast, traffic wasn't terrible
  - Morning was busy and chaotic. I felt like I didn't get anything done.
  - Worked on James' wife's computer for a bit during lunch
    - Had to go buy a mini screwdriver set to open it up
    - Got a fresca on the way back
      - Delicious
      - Regret spending the $1.37 because we have diet coke and bottled water at the office
        Stupid that I regret spending a buck, but reality is just that
  - Got a couple awesome songs downloaded
    - Velvet Revolver
    - White Stripes
    - The Dead Weather
    - Crash Kings
    - 30 Seconds to Mars
    - The Temper Trap
    - Cake
    - 311
  - Worked on daily tasks during the afternoon
  - Had weekly staff meeting. Things looking up. Working towards stability.
  - Caved in on no lunch at about 4:00. Had some low carb hamburgers from mcdonalds
  - Tried to find correct RAM for the computer at staples and best buy. No luck.
  - Drive home was agonizing. I was exhausted and could not keep my eyes open. I was lucky to have made it home unscathed.
  - Nap
    - Required.
    - Very nice
  - Trisha made a yummy egg scramble for me for dinner.
    - I couldn't eat much due to late lunch.
    - Saved for breakfast
  - Watched good guys on TV
    - Ok show.
    - Premise surprisingly not getting old
      - Yet
  - Watched cupcake wars on TV
    - Good show.
    - Interesting new trend towards cupcakes
    - Watching was a Mistake
  - Went to the store with the change jar to get treats
    - Cupcakes
      - I did not eat any
    - Doughnuts
      - I did not eat any
    - Milk
      - Also for cereal tomorrow for Adam and Trisha.
    - Graham crackers
      - Amazing combo
        I did not eat any
    - Peanut butter
  - Took medicine
    - Forgot yesterday
  - So tired
    - Don't know if ill survive my nightly update routine.
  - Goodnight

7/12/10

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:16:00 +0000

Journal

7/12/10

Trisha slept at Jan's house with Adam.
Woke up relatively on time.
No breakfast. Traffic sucked
Lots of work to catch up on because of missing Friday.
Lunch at chili's with Ryan Werner
- He introduced me to ithoughts and freemind
Afternoon went by too fast, didn't get everything done that I wanted
After work, went to the Lindon aquatic center with Trisha, Ryan, Adam, Jan, her 2 boys and one of their friends
- Had a blast. Ryan did really well and loved the water.
Drove to Trisha's parents after pool
- Fixed their TV. Again.;)
- Roger is in the middle of painting and self installing the remnant carpet
  - Paint looks good
  - Carpet... Not so much. Hopefully he can work out the seams and corner.
- Left before Trisha so I could get to bed.
Ate dinner of green beans and asparagus pan fried in butter with salt and pepper.
- Delicious
- Not terribly filling
- Not looking forward to the smell of my pee in the morning.
Watched a couple episodes of Tosh.0
- One of my new favorite TV shows.
Checked email, Facebook, Twitter, news, and then decided to start my journal.
- Considering making this part of my blog, but not sure how to translate mind mapping to blogging. We'll see.
Started several mind maps
- Mind racing
- Need sleep
Goodnight.

New Format

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:49:00 +0000

So I have come across (thanks to Ryan Werner) a note taking tool called mind mapping. I use an app on my phone which syncs with an app on my computer. So, no matter where I am, I can create or edit a mind map.

After thinking about it for a little bit, I figured that it could work as a good format for a blog/journal. My biggest concern is how do I convert an image with bubbles and thoughts branching off of each other into a blog post. Worst case scenario, it will be a good outlining tool for my daily activities that may be memorable.

This is a potentially bad thing, however. This means that I may include mundane tasks in my blog posts, simply because I was thinking about it at the time, or because it was somehow noteworthy to me, albeit not important overall...

I'll give it a shot in a little bit here and see how it translates.

Holy Absentia

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:03:00 +0000

If you have not noticed, I have been absent for 10 months. I'm gunna give this blog thing another swing. I have a new idea on how to organize my posts.. Probably going to include more posts, but shorter ones.

Wanna make a bet on how consistent I'll be? I don't...

Here goes nothing...

Heber 2009 - Ryan's First Campout

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:09:00 +0000

This last weekend we went to Heber with my family to go camping. We went up to the girls camp owned by the LDS church east of Heber. It's a nice little facility and fairly cost effective. You are able to get 4 cabins with lots of bunks in each and a covered pavilion with a fridge, running water, bathrooms, showers, etc. We have made it a family tradition to go every year at the end of the summer.

We weren't sure that it would be a good idea to take Ryan at such a young age (he hit 4 weeks while we were there), but he took it like a champ. He didn't complain much and he's starting to get on a good sleep schedule and we had some help from some family members taking care of him.
There was also some doubt as to whether I would be able to go because of a software release we were doing at work, but because of some of the circumstances, we were able to move it to Saturday night/Sunday morning so I was able to make it.

We played some fun games and ate some good food whilst up there. We had a good breakfast and Fettuccine Alfredo and lots of snacks. I was on my diet while we were up there, which was surprisingly hard. There were so many treats and good things to eat, but I did a pretty good job. I had plenty to eat and plenty of treats that are low-carb compliant.

We survived without too much contention, which seems to happen frequently when my family gets together for some reason. I'm a debater, and I, of course, had to bring up some recent political topics and some religious topics as well. Growing up, I never would have imagined that the political and religious range of beliefs would vary so much in our family. It's not like there's even enough variance of a different religion, but degrees within the same religion difference. Same politically, I wouldn't consider myself liberal, but I am much more liberal than some of my family members. But regardless, even with those discussions, there wasn't arguing or anything like that, just a debate.

We played tons of games, which I really enjoy. We played a game called the Movie Game that Trisha and I taught to everyone that we recently learned from our neighbors. We played Nertz, which is a solitare type game, we played a poker type game called "between the sheets" (no, it's not strip poker, you sicko). We played Pick, which is a scrabble variant and a couple other games here or there.

All in all, a great weekend.

Boy was I mistaken.

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:30:00 +0000

I was Was thinking at day 7 if ryan's life that despite the occasional choke that he had, my kid was gosh darn perfect. Everyone I know that has kids said that I nights were going to be tough. I thought that I wasn't going to experience that cuz Ryan slept so good. Boy was I wrong. It just didn't happen until day 10 or so. He sleeps during the day and is fussy at night.

So to all you out there that told me... No "I told ya so" needed. I got the point.

I would however appreciate any tips and timelines for his sleeping to get on track.

The little things

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:12:00 +0000

It's crazy how you notice the little unique things about Ryan and what things he has inherited from Trisha and me.
For example, every time Ryan sneezes, he sneezes, he sneezes not once, not twice, but thrice. Every time! (it seems).
Also, on my ring finger, my fingernail has a really unique shape. It's only on my ring finger on both hands. Ryan has the same thing.
One last example. One of trishas toes has a unique curl to it. Ryan has the same thing. It's cute and amazing at the same time.

Fear

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Last night, I was the most scared than I likely have been in my entire life. Ryan woke up for a feeding with his normal quiet babbling in his bassinet. I turned on the light and went and got him. I set him down on the bed in between me and Trisha and laid down next to him. The weight of my shifting body put his head a little below his body, and exactly at that moment he spit up a very tiny amount and breathed in or hiccuped. He started choking again. Ugh.. I hate it so much. Trisha ran and got the sucker thing while I was trying to keep him calm and his airway open. He was crying, so I knew he was breathing, but he was struggling. He would try to swallow it down, but it was mucusy so it was hard for him to swallow. It would build in his mouth a bit and then he'd cry and breathe more in. I started sucking out all the stuff with the bulb sucker, but I wasn't getting very much, and it made him cry even harder when I would do it. He was inconsolable and I was ready to call 911 or drive him to the ER because he was getting so red in the face and it wasn't getting better. I decided to call my mom (Thanks Mom!) to see if she had any suggestions. She told me to continue sucking the stuff out and he should work it out. I decided that him crying harder was ok if I could get more mucus out. I got out a little more, still not a ton in there, which I think helped.
What it took was feeding him so he had something to push the mucus that his lungs were producing down to his tummy. That did the trick.
He ate for a few minutes and then fell asleep with no other problems.

Trisha and I just sat there afterwards and talked about what we needed to do if it happened again and we talked about how much we love Ryan and it would absolutely devastate us if something happened to him. I spent an hour or so looking up things online to see what could be causing the problem and what other people have done to help the situation. There are a couple things that were prominent (acid reflux, cow milk in the mother's diet, cold/pneumonia, etc.), but none of them seem to match how it happens to Ryan. I guess that it just happens occasionally. It just scares me to death. Our biggest fear is that it will happen in his sleep one night and we won't wake up from his crying. I know that I would wake up, because I wake up to his little wiggles and moaning when he's hungry. But what if he didn't cry very loud, or what if he couldn't cry at all?

Parenthood is stressful! I never thought that I could care for a child so much. I would do anything to protect him. I just hope that this isn't an ongoing issue, cuz it freaks me out so bad. Ugh...

Home at last

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Wow, what an experience. And finally, we are home. What a great feeling to be able to get home with our baby and relax. Our stuff, our space, our home. Also, props to Penny for cleaning our house so well! You rock! Thanks so much!
Its so nice to be at home where we are more comfortable and able to veg out and relax. It's also really nice to not have to worry about someone coming in every 5 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we had the nurses to help out, but it kinda sucks to try to sleep when people are coming in to help, but their timing always seemed to be as I was falling asleep. It was uncanny.

Next, I want to thank our nurses at the hospital. We had some GREAT nurses (and a couple to remain nameless who left something to be desired.) By name, we wanted to thank Kathleen, Kristi, and Isabel fir their great work and for making our experience a good one. There were several other nurses that did a great job, but those 3 went above and beyond.

We also wanted to thank everyone for their support, love and prayers. For those that visited, thanks for the company. For those who couldn't come because of illness, thanks for being thoughtful about our baby's (and our) health. For those who couldn't come, but wanted to, thanks for the support and everything. We understand that it's tough to get out, especially with kids and on such a short notice. For those who weren't able to come and didn't want to, screw you, clown! ;)

thanks again! Come visit if you want! Love you all! Now we are off for baby's second tubby and some much needed sleep!

My "fun" diaper changing experience.

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:18:00 +0000

So there I was, thinking I was a pro, changing my 6th or 7th diaper. Ryan had a wet one and as I checked it out, he started to poop. So I set the diaper down over him and waited for him to finish his business. 10 seconds or so later he spit up pretty bad so I got out the bulb sucker thing. I started to try to use it, but he was choking a bit. So what do I do? I try to turn him over a bit to get it all clear and he starts flailing about and choking. So I promptly panic. I pick him up to clear his airway. Oops!! There goes the diaper! I pull him up to my chest and put my hand underneath him for support. I use the sucker and get things all clear.
Well, he was pretty upset about not breathing well for a few seconds and starts crying. All the tension from his cry tightens his stomach.
Out comes the poo!
Right into my hand!
At this point, I'm kinda out of available hands, so we call in the nurse to help me out.
I'm proud of myself for not freaking out and getting him breathing again, and even more proud for not puking with a handful of poo!

He's here!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:06:00 +0000

Wow. What a day this has been. What a week this has been. What a pregnancy this has been. And here we are enjoying the company of this beautiful new boy! What an experience. Lots of waiting. A little frusterating at times at the lack of progress. But with the support of family and friends and our AMAZING nurse Kathleen, we made it through. What a miracle!

In the coming days and weeks, you may notice the "Sears Nick" (come see the softer side of Nick. ). I'll probably be all cheesy and sugary over my baby boy. But, you can't blame me! He's so damn cute!!

I'll be posting some high quality pics soon for all to see. For now, Trisha and I are waiting for his first tubby and then off to bed.

Guess what?!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:57:00 +0000

I'll give you 2 guesses as to whether we're still waiting. You're only going to need one guess.

Ladies and gentlemen start your engines!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:26:00 +0000

They are starting the pitocen drip in her IV now. They put a scalp monitor on the baby's head and her water broke. That's right. She has been popped!

Waiting for our little miracle...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Here we are at the hospital. Trisha's blood pressure has been pretty elevated so far, only 1 of the readings came back in the normal range. I don't know why I expected this to go any quicker. I guess that there are other more pressing deliveries happening right now. It's looking more and more like he won't be born until tomorrow. Well. Here's to waiting.

2 months off is plenty!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:41:00 +0000

I have been shirking my duties. No more! Back by popular demand! Nix Blog!

I have been using Facebook a bit to keep everyone notified of Trisha and my state of being, but I figure that I should use my blog for that! Well, here I am. Of course, I thought of this 6 weeks ago, but I procrastinated until now.

So, the current status of things:

Trisha = Pregnant and ready to pop
Ryan = Stubborn and unwilling to come out to play
Nick = Nervous
Work = Going really well. Alianza is an exciting place to be these days. I'm SO blessed to have a good job (and one that I love!)
House = Messier than we would like, but overall, in good condition. Still need to get our tile floor fixed. The grout is all out again, and a couple more tiles have cracked because they shifted on the uneven subfloor. Boo!
Life = Good.

Mosquito Tally

noreply@blogger.com (Nicholas Fielding) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:29:00 +0000

I just marked each mosquito bite with a pen mark and counted them as I went.
My left leg has 72 bites.
My right leg has 78 bites.

That's right. 150 effing mosquito bites on my legs/feet. WTF?