Stephen's Life Blog

Alexander's First Day of School

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:55:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Alex. I'm 5 and a half and today was my first day of school in kindergarten. I got up and had breakfast. I had shredded wheat and Fruity Cheerios mixed together with Almond Milk. I put my clothes on and then we got in the car. After my Mommy got her coffee for the day, we went to my school.

After I got to school, I went into my classroom. I have nine kids in my class. I colored my Franklin picture. We then did our calendar for the day. We read books and had goldfish crackers for a snack. We then had recess outside and then had lunch. My Mommy made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I also had some applesauce with cranberry in it.

After lunch we had our Centers part of the class where we read books. After Centers it was time to leave. I met some new friends and I saw an old friend. His name is Luke.

I felt good about my first day of class. I got a lucky star for "free star day" today. If I get ten stars I get a prize from the prize box. The prize box has candy and toys in it.

I am looking forward to going back tomorrow to see Luke and my other new friends.

The Power of Public Performance

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:21:00 +0000

There comes a time when most people have to stand up in front of a large group of others and speak. Sometimes it's a hastily written toast to your friends at a wedding; some other time it might be a presentation to a client or the like. It is a skill that is rife with anticipation, paranoia and at times exhilaration. I started out in theater in high school wanting to be in the "big play." There were moments that were embarrassing - leading off my first line with a terrible accent - other times were fantastic. One of my two favorite moments in theater happened when I was asked by a friend of mine to appear in a talent show when she sang a song from Phantom of the Opera. I would come out of the darkened wings dressed as the Phantom about 2/3rds of the way through her song and then at her crescendo, envelope her in a cape. I didn't want to distract the audience from her performance so this is how we wanted to play it.

The best moment came for me when I appeared in mostly black (with the correct white mask) from the dark. Because of the mask I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't see the audience. But when I stepped onto the stage...there was a loudly audible gasp from the audience. They were surprised, shocked and thrilled. I think I might have had the white flash of absolute "in the moment" at that point. I had power over the audience and I hadn't said a word.

My second favorite experience came from a point of disaster within an improv act. We were playing a coffee house and the game was a story with five different genre books. I was gothic literature. I committed the ultimate sin in this game for when it was my turn I said:

"And then I died."

That pretty much ends the story no? My friend John Flores who was running the game looked at me with this expression of disbelief that I would submarine the whole thing like that...but then I followed with:

"but only figuratively..."

and the room roared. It was the biggest laugh of the night and the timing was great.

I use those skills in my everyday job when I talk about planning to neighborhoods, when I speak with potential developers, homeowners and business owners. It's something to have the ability to speak, to listen, and to provide enough timing that your audience is captivated and not bored with what you're saying. I miss being in the theater. I don't have the time to devote to art as much as I would like. I praise my good friends John and his wife Christie and all those who I was in theater with in both high school and college who've been able to make it their vocation as well as their avocation. I've found where my talents lie and how I can still command the stage.

Wired Article

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:20:00 +0000

I received my new issue of Wired yesterday. Going with the ultra-cool meme that everything must have lately, it has Brad Pitt on the cover. There is a funny joke on the cover with Pitt wearing a bluetooth headset: the caption: "Ditch the headset. He can barely pull it offf - and you are not him."

I enjoyed that. The article inside was about good/bad advice on changing behaviors in a digital age. One that particularly struck me was a small column:

Don't Work All the Time — You'll Live to Regret It

which I won't quote here but let you pop on over to read.

There are times where I know I've lived a life more frugally than most, which has done us well. But I still think of the prime learning part of my marriage (those first five years) when I worked 60 hour weeks getting a comprehensive plan and a development code completed - that we could have taken more (read: any) vacations. Perhaps it would have made a larger difference in how I view and take on stress? Perhaps it would have made our strong marriage that more stronger having had more powerful travel experiences together.

Perhaps this is fodder for new resolutions.

Lastly, the image associated with the article got to me as well.

Illustration by Jason Lee from Wired.com

Never Growing Up

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Just read an article about Kevin Smith http://www.newsweek.com/id/201655 on Newsweek. He is quoted in the article about never thinking that he couldn’t extend the childhood state that he’s been in while making movies. I really identified with that sentiment. I actively accept that I’m an adult and that I have adult responsibilities, but it is amazing and more than a little frightening to realize how much adult life is made up of attempting to “get by” and bluffing your way through to a semblance of competence. Maturity is the knowledge that there is much more to know than you will ever know. Then the real test is being able to personally handle it when someone points out that you don’t know it all.

I used to want to know it all. Now all I want is time to play, read, and drive to interesting small towns.

Grad School and Lego Store

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:52:00 +0000

Saturday, Meredith, the kids and I went to College Station for the day to see our friends from grad school. Bruce, who lives in Cambridge, MA was in Houston for a conference he was speaking at. Bruce drove up to College Station to see everyone. Since it was graduation weekend, we assumed that the entirety of restaurants in the BCS area were going to be booked up, a fact confirmed as we drove in and saw people waiting to get into Cheddars lined up out the door. We ended up having a picnic in Hensel Park. The rain held off for two hours. We had the whole park to ourselves. The kids had access to a playground and had a great time playing together. We cooked hot dogs and sausages and roasted marshmallows.

After the rain came, we all packed up and drove to the mall to allow the kids to play on the play structure inside while we all sat around and talked. It was a great day. The kids slept on the drive home. We were able to get back around 8:30pm so it wasn't a late night.

Then on Sunday, after washing the cars, Alexander and I went to Dallas, then to Frisco to the newly opened Lego Store. We went to North Park Mall, because Daddy was mistaken about which store was open. You've never seen the disappointment in the face of a five year old after driving all the way to North Dallas and then finding a parking space in the garage and finally getting to the store to see it all boarded up with a big Lego logo plastered on it saying "Opening Summer 2009."

After calling Meredith and determining that the open store was in Frisco (about 20 miles away), Alex and I had an hour and 15 minutes to get there before it was closed. As we rushed through the traffic on US 75 heading north, Alex could tell my frustration and aggravation with myself. He told me:

"Daddy, its ok if we don't get there in time. I have enough Legos to play with."

Waiting for my internalized sobs to cease, I then told him thanks for saying such a nice thing.

We did get there in time. We say the 8' tall R2-D2 and the life-size Indiana Jones made out of Legos. We looked at all of the different models they had there including specialty models of the Eiffel Tower, a 1960s Volkswagen Beetle and a $400 Death Star with 16 characters.

We bought an Anakin Skywalker Jedi starfighter to match Daddy's Obi-Wan Jedi starfighter. We came home and made chili and had a great evening.

42 MPG - Good, but not the emphasis we need.

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Today President Obama announced a new plan to force automakers to increase miles per gallon on new vehicles to levels of 42 MPG for passenger cars and 27 MPG for trucks by 2016. This is a good thing. Those who can afford the supercars won't be happy, but I think that they will make a new category for those rather than calling them "production" vehicles.

My concern is that the administration is still not concerned enough with finding alternatives for people to get out of the cars in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I love my new Honda Accord with its 27-31MPG and a peppy 4-cyl engine. I even like watching the adrenaline pumped, testosterone laced Top Gear.

But I also wish I lived within walking distance of a grocery store, and a bookstore. The closest grocery store is over 2.5 miles away. A bit far of a round trip carrying much more than one bag, plus the major highway separating me from it is deterrent enough not to do the walk.

We need to build more communities where public transportation is available. We need to build more communities where the choice of public transportation or bicycling or walking is an easier choice than the personal vehicle. I'm not for eliminating the personal car - far from it - what I'd like to have is the option on a more regular basis.

There are those who would then argue, why do you live in a State and community where lower suburbia causes these problems? Why don't you move? Truth is, that considering the housing market for those areas of appropriately designed density where I'd like to move my family, I either wouldn't be able to find an applicable job within commuting distance that would pay me enough to afford to live there. That's the frustrating thing. Well designed higher density just isn't affordable to government employees.

The fantastic Obama administration needs to look at how we are funding public transportation at a federal level and place more money emphasis on revitalizing infrastructure and housing to achieve a greater modal split, rather than focusing money on just expansion of the highway capacity.

That will achieve better savings of fuel over the long run.

New Car

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:29:00 +0000

After 10 years and 147,000 miles I have retired the 1999 Mustang. I did feel bad about letting it go. It was my first brand new car and I really kept it nice. It had a few scrapes and bumps along the way - all of which I had repaired by my Dad. I only replaced one major component - the alternator. It once let loose the exhaust system from the manifold and sounded like a Harley for a little while until I could get it welded back on.

But, it had replaced a 1993 Taurus which became more miserable to drive with each succeeding month. I remember the final straw with the Taurus was when I had loaded it up with all of the meeting materials for a Comprehensive Plan meeting and it died in the parking lot adjacent to the mall. I had to call my boss to come get the stuff while I waited for the tow truck to pick up the car and take it to the shop.

The Mustang was an object of desire for several years previous and when I bought it, my sister was really impressed with it - she was only 16 at the time.

But in the later years, it had its electrical problems - the windshield wipers would come on by themselves occaisionally, the clutch started making noises which could lead to a $600 bill - almost half of the value of the car itself by that point. Plus, my wife wouldn't drive it as she didn't like the rear-wheel drive coupled with its habit of breaking loose every once in a while. I couldn't easily take the family anywhere in it. It was just too small.

So, last Saturday I took Meredith to Huggins Honda in North Richland Hills and we test drove a 2008 Accord EX-L (the "L" stands for leather). We liked the sales guy and the car. He quoted a price that was quite reasonable. We went back to the house and I looked up the car on the dealership's website which was quoted for $2,000 less than they had quoted me at the dealership. I also compared that price with the average sales prices of other used Accord EX-L.

After much agonizing (hey, its me!) I went back to the dealership by myself and asked for my sales guy. His name is Jeff Fisher (look for him in the new cars sales area). He had left the dealership to go get a burger, but they called him back since I was waiting there for him. That kind of made me feel for the guy a bit. We then started talking back and forth with the used car manager. It turns out that the online posting price had been intended for an Accord LX-P and not an EX-L. The LX-P has the lesser 4 cylinder engine (177HP as opposed to 190HP), no leather or any of the other electronic extras. They told me they would let me have the car for that advertised price - which was a full $4,000 less than the Edmunds.com dealership price. I only found one other 2008 Accord EX-L with less mileage and a better price in the Metroplex.

So I came home with the new car. My parents-in-law, visiting at the time, were very impressed with the car. It's sporty - without feeling loose, and I can get the whole family in it without feeling cramped inside.

I'll post photos when I get a sunny day to take them.

It could be...

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:59:00 +0000

It could be that everything you know is wrong.

It could be that the shadows on the wall isn't reality.

It could be that they are not telling the truth.

It could be that the particles exist in all locations at once.

It could be that there is value to attempting to change it piece by piece.

It could be that the system is attempting to restart.

It could be that time is relative.

It could be that space is curved.

It could be that power and force are losing ground to thought and reason.

It could be that writing like this may be pretentious.

Or it may not.

Well, that was a bit crap.

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:21:00 +0000

So I've got the worst case of insomnia in a long time. I have got to stop drinking the Coke Zeroes during the day. They obviously have way too much caffeine. I was reading a rather tame book about how to be happy. It was a bit obvious and really insulting. Not an auspisious start to a book that's trying to help you feel better and make decisions for happiness. The main theme of the initial chapters I read was this.

The more intelligent you are, the higher probability of not being happy. Happier people tend to not be deep thinkers, tend to not dwell on the future or the past. They live in the moment experiencing joy of the present.

I suppose those lucky non-ambitious and rather frankly either lobotomized or only seeming so people may be happy. But even those people living traditional tribal lives who may seem happy from their subsistence farming have their own ambitions, worries and concerns for their lives and those of others. The book was alarmingly fatuious.

I don't believe in destiny. I believe in patterns and free will. We have the individual choice either given by grace of a higher being or by environmental nature (what you will) to either recognize the patterns of life or to boldly ignore them as creatively as possible. What I don't accept is the notion that failure is a viable option, that ignorance is acceptable as an alternative to thorough thought, and that the current time is 2:30am...wait, back up - scratch the last one.

I suppose that with everything, it is a moderation of these feelings - frustration, anticipation, fear, perfectionism some semblance of joy can be found. I love my family and my friends, however I truly believe that I am somehow, without realising it, distancing myself from them.

Andrews, Texas

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:51:00 +0000

I need to go to Andrews, Texas relatively soon. My father lived there during his pre-teen days through high school. His father was the foreman for the Auto Body Shop at the Ford dealership. He lived in a modest, but nice home near the elementary school on the west side of town.

It also turns out that my Assistant Director's father-in-law was a good friend and former roomate of my Dad's. Interesting connections. Smaller and smaller world.

Bored With Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:40:00 +0000

I like Facebook. However I also find it rather tedious. It interesting to read about many others daily lives, several of them are witty and catch your attention. However, I primarily find myself wondering: what interesting or witty thing could I write in my status update that would garner comments. The online equivalent of "Pay attention to me! I'm relevant!" I even posted as a status update some time ago that I was feeling rather irrelevant with an ellipse inserted within the syllables of the word irrelevant to symbolize a trailing off of relevancy.

I'm paraphrasing now, but I once saw written a comment about Facebook as the place where you go and confirm that your friends from high school and college are leading as uninteresting lives as you do. A bit cynical, but dangerously close to the truth, I'd say.

I don't think of it as an indictment of Facebook as a Web 2.0 application or as a networking device, or of the people who frequently read, write and contribute to their page on a daily, hourly or minute by minute accounting of their thoughts. I feel that as many of us journal our typically American and suburban lives, working, playing, eating, going to movies, raising children, going to church... that we're somehow dilluting the importance that our own existence brings to other people by distilling it into what is essentially powerpoint presentations of our lives.

Be relevant! Tell those people on your Facebook friend list what it truly means to you that they are your friend.

Hobbies, Conversations and Nostalgia

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:35:00 +0000

“Let’s move one place on.” – Mad Hatter, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

I need a new topic of conversation. I need a discourse that doesn’t involve city planning, work related activities…”Stephen, how is everything at the city you work at?” or the predominant topic of conversation…”Stephen, how are the kids?” Work is fine, if a little repetitive and stale, but that’s why it’s work and the kids are fine. One talks a bit too much and the other likes teasing the first. I am on a search for a different conversation though. Not one to replace the previous two as they are inherent to the life that I have, but one that may be interesting to share, learn from and advance different ideas with other people.

What I need is an active hobby.

I’ve collected many things over the years, Videos, DVDs Comic Books, Star Wars Stuff, Books, CDs – now digital files, but many of these things have been transitory for the most part and not very interactive. I’ve gone to conventions and the like, but while I’ve been a collector and enjoy reading, listening and watching the media I’ve collected, I’ve never been at such a level that I’ve made that to the exclusion of everything else – or been able to make a larger connection to a collecting community other than a few friends. Many times I find other collectors either extremely too involved and narrowly focused or they have a tendency to not be able to communicate about anything else at all. Again, with some very specific exceptions.

The long and short of it is that I’d like to find a hobby that gets me out and involved with other people on a regular basis that discusses other things ancillary to the prime focus in addition to the hobby itself. I’d like it to be creative and active rather than passive (like most of my collecting hobbies are now).

I used to build and paint model aircraft. I soon figured out that particular hobby is not very compatible with small kids. My anachronistic B-17G (one I painted with Normandy Invasion Stripes – no B-17s were used in the invasion) was an early casualty in the child rearing aspect of our lives. One of my sadder childhood regrets was the accidental damage and then subsequent destroying of a balsa-wood Piper Cub that my father built. Only years later did I find out that my Grandad had flown real planes like that and my father had built it as memory for himself. I suppose I really hate that aspect of exuberance of youth without the emotional maturity to foresee the consequences of value or history. I disliked it in myself and my peers and now I have to hold myself differently for my own kids.

Speaking of nostalgia, my wife and I have very different opinions about it. I have a higher concentration of nostalgia for places and specific things. Meredith has nostalgia for people and experiences. I make emotive connections with a place – walking up the many stairs to the top of Mont St. Michel in France – woe to that blundering idiot of a fellow A&M student I was walking with who could not place himself in 13th Century France – while Meredith needs the interaction with people to hold onto those emotive memories.

Bon Soir Ma Petite Chou

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:25:00 +0000

La Danse de Mardi Gras

Les Mardi Gras ça vient de tout partout
Tout l'autour au tour du moyen
Ça passe un fois par ans
Demander la charité
Quand même si c'est une patate
Une patate et des gratins

Les Mardi Gras sont su' un grand voyage
Tout l'tour autour du moyen
Ça passe un fois par ans
Demander la charité
Quand même si c'est une poule maigre
Et trois, quatre coton d'maïs

Capitain, capitain voyage ton flag
Allons su' l'autr' voisin
Demander la charité
Pour eux autr' venir nous r'joindre
Eux autr' venir nous r'joindre
Ouais au bal pour ce soir

A Long Walk Off a Short Pier

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:54:00 +0000

I have had a series of interesting and yet, disturbing dreams lately. The most interesting one came the other night where I was attempting to become a public speaker about relationships. The unique "hook" I had come up with was a basic analogy.

Our relationships are like bags of potato chips.

Are you done laughing? Don't worry... I'll wait.

Ok.

So the point of the excercise was that I would begin speaking about relationships, the stages of beginning - the fluidity of maturing the connection - and either the contentment or obversly, the ending of a relationship. Now, you're still asking why potato chip bags.

Once you find the right potato chip bag you have to open it - like beginning a relationship. Sometimes the bag is difficult to open and you mess it up spilling chips all over, sometimes it opens easily and you start with fresh, chips.

But sometimes you eat too many - too quickly and you're left with the crumbs. Other times you forget about the chips and they become stale. Many times you're looking for the right dip.

Then the dream became rather too capitalistic for me. It was surprising. I had negotiated a deal with Frito-Lay that I would be sponsored by Ruffles chips as long as they had exclusive rights to market and I would only use Ruffles brand in my lectures. I even went the Oprah route and everyone leaving the speaking engagement would get a bag of chips.

Of course, telling this all to my true friend and main relationship, brought guffaws of laughter. She even came up with all sorts of tie-ins to the catchphrases of chips. Relationships have Ridges - You Can't Eat Just One. Leave it to my wife to give it that extra amount of innuendo.

I won't EVEN go into the greasy fingers.

Perhaps I should go to bed earlier and get better sleep.

All Hail.

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Sometimes I amuse myself. A friend of mine wrote a "how are ya doing?" email this morning and I replied back with the following. He and I both are political science/history/urban planning nerds and make jokes about the future propensity of our progeny going on to win major Nobel awards or the like. Below is my rather pedestrian email updating our current life...until I was inspired by what to write about Ford. I giggled at myself for a good five minutes. I hope you like it as well.

Working at my new city is going great. Not much going on in the development review side of things…financing being what it is. But I’m keeping busy with working on a sign ordinance revision, gas well ordinance revision and attempting to figure out the Council’s direction in a masonry ordinance or to go all the way to architectural design standards.

In addition I’ve been working a bit on the consulting side, helping out a friend rewriting a Unified Development code and possibly will be working on a small town comprehensive plan for a suburb of Denton.

Meredith is doing well. She has three classes this semester including two sections of Business Law. I’m trying to get her interested in applying at the Junior College a bit closer to the house so she isn’t having to drive so much.

We’re working on getting Alexander into a private Kindergarten for next year as the local public school doesn’t offer full day Kindergarten yet, and the timing wouldn’t allow Meredith to teach during the day at all. There is an Episcopalian church school right behind the house…it may be our best option.

Alex is starting to really become interested in reading for himself. We work on letters and sounds during the day, but our reading at night is much more focused on story and comprehension. Currently, we’re finishing The Hobbit and have read A Wrinkle in Time and other fun fantasy works.

Ford has decided to screw the proletariat and set himself as dictator for life although he prefers the term “Great Leader.” With a support staff of Mickey as his Minister of Communication (propaganda) and Elmo as his Minister of Harmony (enforcer) he believes that in five short, but glorious, years the workers will enjoy nothing but bananas and freshly ground peanut butter in union with their brethren. Or else.

I didn’t get out to El Paso as my city is in austerity times with the travel budget. Although, Meredith and I are planning on going to Denver for the CNU conference in June and making it a working holiday.

Best Regards,

Stephen

I have nothing to say...

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:17:00 +0000

Quick note. Still here. Lots going on. Meredith has been appointed to the Texas State Board on Midwifery. She just got back from a flying trip to Austin and back (crazily enough she took the guys) and had a great, if tiring time. I got myself appointed to be a parish delegate to the Diocese of Dallas convention in October and I'm still working on a gas well ordinance.

I had a great time over at Justin's parent's house for his birthday and the Super Bowl. Fantastic broccoli and cheese soup.

And been watching old British Sci-fi shows on my new half terabyte hard drive. Amazing. To think I was awed by having portable 1GB drives.

South Carolina Days Four, Five, Six and Seven

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:24:00 +0000

On Tuesday we left Saluda County and drove south to Beaufort South Carolina, my Father-in-Law's hometown. His sister hosts an annual oyster roast for the New Years celebrations. Much of his extended family come to the celebration. We came down a day early so that he could help in the setting up during the day.

We stayed "aboard" the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort. They have an on-base hotel with very nice rooms that had kitchenettes (so we could have toasted eggo french toast sticks for the kid's breakfast). We had adjoining rooms to Meredith's parents. The entrance to the air station has a motto: "The noise you hear is the sound of freedom." It also has several aircraft including a F15, and a F4 Phantom. Wednesday morning, we took the van to Hunting Island and toured the state park there. Alexander, Meredith and I went up the 167 steps up the Hunting Island Lighthouse and looked over the Atlantic Ocean. Afterwards we toured the other buildings on the site. Alexander was startled when a motion sensor on one of the buildings activated an automatic voice to a manniquin that started speaking about the lighthouse.

We then all went on the beach and beachcombed for a while finding all sorts of treasures to bring home.

We had lunch at the Shrimp Shack - Meredith and I both choosing a shrimp burger. Lovely.

We had a nice evening for new years, the kids played football in the yard, the adults huddled around a campfire in the back or in the garage with propane heaters. There are lots of stars in the skies above the Low Country with so much of the local area either rural or marsh delta.

Thursday we spent at Meredith's Aunt's house watching the South Carolina Gamecocks get beat in the Outback Bowl - then drove back to Saluda in the evening.

Today we went out shopping and tomorrow we'll go visit some cousins and Granddaddy Rentz as well. Since we'll be travelling on our wedding anniversary, Meredith and I might go out to an early dinner and a frosty beverage with her cousin Laura tomorrow evening.

South Carolina Days Two and Three

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:14:00 +0000

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready to go to church. The Rentzes church is Saluda Baptist Church. Alexander went to Sunday School, Ford to the Nursery and Meredith and I to their parent's respective classes. The topic of the day was being called to mission and was backed by the story of Saul/Paul and his trips to Damascus and Antioch along with Barnabas.

Saluda Baptist Church is in the middle of a change in pastor. They had a guest preacher in who I really enjoyed listening to. He will be soon planting new churches in Calgary, Alberta. His most recent trip to Canada he witnessed -20°F. A bit cold no doubt.

After church we drove on to Greenwood SC, Meredith's mother's hometown and where her grandparents and great-grandparents lived. We had a quick lunch at a local buffet and then went to go see Meredith's Granddaddy, and our kid's only remaining great-grandparent who resides in a nursing home there. John Christopher Young (whose photos from the late 1940s you can see in my flickr.com account) was doing better than he has been doing in the previous several months. He is a bit hard of hearing, but he is still really with it and if you can get over the communication issues - you can have a good conversation with him. He and I talked about baseball and the kids. We gave him a digital photo frame with about 200 photos from us, the Holders, Brooksie's sister's family and some older Young family photos. He sat through the slide show of all the photos and commented on many of them. He didn't want us leaving the photo frame with him because of his concern that it may be stolen. So our compromise was to leave it with Meredith's mother who will take it with her on occasion to him and update the photos as well.

Afterwards we travelled to Columbia to see the Mewbourns including the new grandbaby Helena. We had a fantastic dinner, Meredith got lots of time playing with baby, and the guys roughhoused with Uncle Jerry.

Today has been a rest day. Tomorrow we're off to Beaufort and several days with Charles' family and the annual new year's oyster roast.

South Carolina Day One

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:41:00 +0000

I started this blog writing about our trip to South Carolina over Thanksgiving in 2006. We haven't been back to the state to see Meredith's family since then for the simple reason that Ford was a little too small to travel last year. This year's trip almost didn't look like it was going to happen because of the job changeover. However, due to the way more relaxed attitude and employee-focused atmosphere of my new job, I'm able to take the week off and be here for the New Year.

I was stressing a little the past couple of days because I was worried about the crowds at the airport, the amount of time it would take for us to check-in, getting on the plane, and handling the boredom level of the two guys for a two and a half hour plane ride.

We left the house at 6:30am this morning, picked up by my gracious father, and arrived at DFW. We had a long line that went fairly quickly - and only had to pay $15 for one checked bag, the carseat bag got a free ride! We were able to go through security easily enough and then found plenty of seating at the gate.

Our seats were towards the rear of the plane and we had a precocious seven year old named Michael sitting in the row behind us who was instantly enthralled with Alexander's Leapster. Alex offered Michael a chance to play the Star Wars game for a while without even being asked.

The real bummer of the morning was after we had pushed back from the gate, taxiied to the end of the eastern runway...and then waited for the thunderstorm squall line to pass through the the northern and eastern edges of the airport. This took two and a half hours. We were stuck on the ground with two bored kiddos for that amount of time. Fortunately, Meredith and I had enough snacks and entertainment, (books, DVD player, Leapster) for the guys to remain fairly calm during the wait.

After the flight we had another lengthy wait getting off of the plane after arrivial to Charlotte NC.

Alexander and Ford were really happy to see Grandmama and Papa and were really good on the drive to their home in South Carolina. The only further bummer was that SC is completely covered in dense fog this evening making the trip in the van nerve-wracking for Papa.

We had a lovely Christmas leftover dinner and I have spent the past hour or two fixing their computer and getting photos put onto a digital photo frame that we have bought Meredith's Grandfather for his room. Church, Granddaddy Young and dinner at the Mewbornes tomorrow.

Christmas Photos

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:15:00 +0000

Christmas pageant at St. Barnabas. Alexander obviously was a shepherd and Ford a sheep. We have had a good Christmas. We will be travelling to South Carolina for the new year.

We won a Leapster2 from Megan's Blog. Thanks Megan!

Arpeggios of chaos.

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 06:21:00 +0000

An arpeggio is a chord of notes played singularly. They act as individuals alone with the corresponding note close, but still separate. Never in an arpeggio will they coincide. Without strong leadership that brings the harmonies into close ties, the running of individual notes will be come more strained, less in tune and finally dischordant into true bedlam.

I see the strain. The looks on the faces of those in the grocery store. The running of the cars in the parking lot with tape holding the windows shut from the cold. There's always the slightly mistrustful and paranoid glance, the look of guilt, of defense, of defeat. Where does one turn to? Our success is now our shame - our isolation, once prized is now our burden as those willing to help have left to save themselves.

Are we a lost society? Are we doomed to be trapped within sticks and brick facades and homeowner's associations? Is the life only a lie? You can see it from here. The past, no longer envisoned in sepia - now the polaroid of fading colors into red hues. The softness in tone, the bent corner, and the faded pen markings on the back. Our past in faux wood grain and car hoods reaching for the horizon beyond the tempered glass. We've been here before. We've stayed in line, flown our flag and burned the fuel.

It is time to change. To look into the face of chaos and say no. I will stand. I will walk. I will be different. We cannot afford any less of ourselves and of our children or of each other.

"Art in the universe? None. Because art is the holding up of a mirror to the universe and there just isn't one big enough." - Paraphrased from Douglas Adams

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:51:00 +0000

POW. ZAP. SHOOOOSH. BANG.

My parents were always the ones who got technology last. I remember going to Sears with my best friend Chris and his Dad to purchase Space Invaders for the Atari 2600. He bought it for the astronomical amount of $50 in the late 1970s. We eventually got an Atari, but it took a while (at least in my prepubescent memory) to get cable and then FINALLY a VCR. These slow steps in technology were made by my parents in order for us to know the value of patience - of not purchasing things until you can really afford them - It was hard to take at the time, but was beneficial to my ability to evaulate needs vs wants.

My first computer at home was a Commodore 64 with a 300 baud modem that I saved up and bought myself. I used it to play games, write some work for school, but mostly I went online - tying up the one phone line in the house talking to people on some guy's personal BBS (Bulletin Board System) about time travel and Doctor Who.

I became somewhat of a luddite during my collegiate years as I did my undergraduate work on a Smith Corona typewriter/word processor. It worked. It wasn't until grad school that I went back to Macintosh, learned what Windows was, and started my first forays into the web through usenet groups and email.

Now, of course as I sit here on my Dell XPS with an (albeit Gen 3) ipod, palm zire 72, and numerous video game systems, dvd players and HDTV in the house...I wonder: Does my use of technology help my family or harm them eventually? I personally strive to research not the most expensive, or highest standard or most bells and whistle type of technology to purchase. I do my research and try to find the best value for the money I'm investing in. I keep technology around (well organized of course) and keep it working for multiple years and purposes. My 20G ipod is still very much in use. I just bought a new battery for it and installed it myself to keep it going for much longer. My desktop computer bought in 2001 is still the home computer and is working rather smoothly, even though the fan is a bit loud. And video games? I've got several copies of that Space Invaders game...although I purchased them for about a quarter a piece.

Technology to me is the social campfire in which we now gather as a society. Communal experiences occuring over wireless networks and down fiberoptic cable.

"Did you see that final drive for the touchdown?"

Yeah I did. I'm part of the group. I'm able to experience things that others experience and be able to be part of the conversation - of the greater tribe.

But, my life isn't exclusively about technology, nor do I wish my kids to participate solely within its confines. We go and play outside. Meredith is terrific at taking them to the park. Alexander has expressed an interest in doing sports next spring and summer. Meredith has him taking nature classes and art classes. His classroom doesn't have a computer.

The right balance for me is to let he and his brother know the fun of watching science fiction - to zap the alien invaders - to talk to their uncle living halfway across the continent, live and personal with video and everything but to also let them know that it's ok to turn off the tv and read A Wrinkle in Time or to play with Legos. It is technology that has increased our ability to live together through a wider communication. It is definitely with its dangers and pitfalls, but it can bring joy, creativity, escape from the responsibilities you know that you have to do when you turn off the machine.

One of the most important things I've tried to tell my son about technology, is that it is only as smart as what humans tell them to do. Otherwise, they're just metal and plastic. If we take care of them and repair them occaisionally, you can get the best value out of the technology you purchase.

Oh, by the way, I have that first VCR my parents bought.

It still works like a champ.

If you would like to read more about other parents and their view on technology and their kids, please check out Largerfamilies.com and their blogging contest about this subject.

Deadlines

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:31:00 +0000

Many times I have begun to write a blog entry attempting to get out some sort of feeling, emotion or other thought process that’s been rattling around in my head. I’m particularly proud of writing about the perception of time and my particular relationship with time-travel fiction. Too many times I’ve written something in my word processor fully intending to transfer the file to my blog setting up a rant about why I can’t seem to argue with other people correctly, fighting the dreaded procrastination monster, or some sort of other self-involved writing. Many people post blog entries with a few words and a link to an article, video, or some other information usually generated by someone else. Thus, showing that they read through the blogsphere / news-articles and can fins something interesting that other people might find diverting for a few minutes. Others, being more jaded and attempting to increase their income from blogs, I suspect, will deliberately find items to post that will trigger a better class of Google advertisements that will generate the ever-so important click-thrus for a higher return on their kickback checks. I attempt to either post photos that we’ve taken and post writings that I’ve made or thoughts that I’ve had. Not particularly mind-blowing, but cathartic in its own way.

My personal touchstone between true philosophy and pop philosophy (to anyone who’s been paying attention) is Douglas Adams. He died on a treadmill in Hollywood in May 2001. He had a saying that has been often quoted, but mostly joked about that he loved deadlines. He especially “enjoyed the whooshing noise they made as they went by.” Many of the things I agree with Adams as written in his books, the over-glorification of money in our society rather than the steady work/accomplishment/reward cycle that I now find myself in. Other things I don’t agree with. He was a renowned atheist. Not particularly militant like Christopher Hitchens, but his take was more of the satirical view such as the quote from Dennis Miller: “Hare Karishnas can’t be a real religion, because God made us in His own image, and I know He wouldn’t wear His hair that way.” The other item that I disagree with is the lack of holding to a deadline.

I love having deadlines for generating content. I will do the research; provide a report; generate an image – just tell me your basic parameters and the drop-dead time you’d like for it to be done. Make sure that the deadline has a built-in review period to it so I can make corrections that you have. I can meet or exceed those expectations. Tasking me and then leaving it open-ended causes me to have to create my own deadlines and then lower my own expectations because I have to have a perfect product within a self-imposed ticking of the clock. Not so good for the stress. It is a form of planning, control, even. Without a specific deadline (even if it is an arbitrary one) I personally feel a lack of control. I will focus on smaller goals like washing the car or mowing the grass rather than tackling the big item because it isn’t as pressing or as tactile as a deadline imposes upon it.

I’ve gained back much of the weight that I had lost over the summer from my stress episode. The blood pressure and sugar haven’t been so much of a problem lately, but I’m back to eating out much more at lunch and/or getting sandwich stuff from the grocery store and storing it in the fridge until needed. I need to find more time to move, to use the tools that I have including a walkable neighborhood, a Wii Fit, a tennis racket (do wish there was a close court nearby) and to just quit eating quite so much. I’ve been using food again for a sedative. Mainly in the late evenings when at midnight, and I’m still not tired, and boredom has brought me to deciding between watching reruns of earlier news programs or surfing around the ever-decreasing library of DVDs on the Netflix account. I haven’t been sleeping well since the stress events in July. Some nights I’ll wake up two or three times. The other night both boys woke up at 3:44am. Ford wouldn’t go back to sleep and Alexander wanted to argue whether it was close enough to morning time that he could stay snuggled in our bed or have to go back to his room. Ford, being rather crabby that morning, benefited from a nice warm shower to calm his mood. We then went to IHOP at 5:00 in the morning to transition from a crabby morning to something that was more family oriented and a treat.

Now that I have a job, I need a goal. The long-range goal had been to replace my 144K mile Mustang with a Honda CR-V, but in the shrinking economy, it doesn’t seem appropriate or wise to expend that amount of money (for the small return I’ll get for selling the Mustang) for a new car. Although, the clutch is starting to make a slight noise that I’m having worries over. I should set the goal of losing weight, but the hardest part I’ve found is the exerting control over the amount I’m eating. I wish I could just stop eating for a couple of months. Not feel hungry or deprived either. Just drink mineral water. So much of our social interaction with other people is set around food. The hardest decisions that many in our society have are not those about whether we should drill in the Alaskan north, whether we should have a stronger renewable energy policy, but most often: where are we going to lunch?

Photo Update

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Things have been busy enough for me that I haven't had time to write much, but I've got some new photos of the past month. Included in the slideshow are photos from our trip to the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound, Alexander's 5th Birthday and the guys hanging around the house. The job is doing well. We're planning on going to South Carolina in December after Christmas.

Photo Update

noreply@blogger.com (sacwho) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:58:00 +0000

Here's some new photos from the past several weeks of being with the family. We've got Ford eating chocolate, going to Six Flags and going to the State Fair. We've had a great time.