There goes the neighborhood

Good Daddy

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:09:00 PST

You know you have them... those days when you wake up early ready to go, you are going to arrive early at work, maybe leave early too, and then.... it happens. Somebody takes those plans that you had for the day, crumbles them up, and leaves them in a wad, while you are left wondering WTF?!?

That person for me is a very cute, innocent (looking) 3-year-old. Now she doesn't mean to be "that person", she probably doesn't even fathom what "that person" is... but she is "that person" for me. You see it all started over a pair of socks and a bagel. Doesn't it always? Yeah, so the socks were too thick, thus causing a problem with the shoes. Rather than fight with her (my 3-year-old) I just went upstairs and got a different pair of socks, put them on her feet, and I didn't even make her pick up the old ones... because I thought I could still make it... I was wrong.

Next we move on to the bagel. A strange request, because usually it is a yogurt or an applesauce, but on my way upstairs, I ask my wife, who let me sleep, and has been up off and on all night, what is the deal with the bagel? She (the 3-year-old) says she wants a whole bagel, my wife said, hell to the no, give her half and then break it in half, that is what I always do... Well you can see there are conflicting reports there.

I bribe my way out of it. I tell her she can have a cheese stick (which she has everyday anyway) if she will take the half. She agrees, and everything is said and done right? Wrong. We get to daycare (what she calls "school") and she proceeds to tell anyone that will listen... "Daddy only gave me half a bagel."

So now who cares about getting to work early? I just want to go back and give my kid the whole bagel, let her waste it, and be the good daddy again.

The Beard (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:49:00 PST

I am getting a lot of comments of my beard. Some are not very positive, other are very positive. It is funny, simply because I didn't grow out my beard for anyone to say anything (good or bad). I grew it because I wanted to try something different. Now if I sport the ZZ Top beard or the handlebar mustache, then obviously I am seeking attention. But I'm not, not yet anyway.

My daughter says she likes the beard (the 3-year-old) she seems to think it is soft, which I guess it is in comparison to a face with a bit of stubble on it. My oldest seems unaffected by it, and my youngest knows nothing else but me with a beard. My wife offers me encouragement, she seems to like it, so it is going to stick around for a little while.

Confusion

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:50:00 PST

So I want to share a picture to share with you all. Basically it is of a face, a confused face. My 1st one did it, my second one did it, and now my third does it too. It is one I am used too, and one I tend to reciprocate. Just saying'. Damn kids, Damn adults.

Classic Film Friday: A Ticklish Affair

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:29:00 PST

The wife and I were watching TMC and this movie popped up. I think the funniest thing is how life imitates art imitates life. In this case it was the balloon-boy. Anyway, that is the end of the movie. Amy Martin (Shirley Jones) is the mother of three young boys, and the widow of a sailor. She is just going about her business when her son Grover is playing with signal and sends an SOS to the Navy Commander Key Weedon (Gig Young) unknowingly... you know how kids don't really think before they do anything.

So Key and Amy hit it off, and we are whisked away in a romantic love story. Uncle Cy (Red Buttons) and Tandy Martin (Carolyn Jones) provide some comic relief in this affair, but ultimately it is Grover who saves the day... by floating away on weather balloons. One interesting side note... I didn't know the San Diego zoo had a baby elephant and a Galapagos tortoise in there petting zoo. That may just be Hollywood... also they bough Mickey Mouse balloons there as well. Who knows. This is a fun movie, for kids and adults and we are glad we happened upon it.

I Didn't Vote

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:25:00 PST

I must be honest. I didn't vote. There is a reason why, not that it matters now, but it didn't matter anyway. I didn't vote because the last time I voted it didn't count, or what I mean is... I was supposed to vote for the town council, but didn't and the town and the state didn't care. Maybe if I would have made a stink then , maybe I wouldn't have that opinion, but seriously, who cares? Not many.

Maybe I will some other time, but for now, I am happy in my own little world, with my wife and 3 kids and the business of all that... to worry about the city council, and after all, my vote doesn't count anyway.

Maybe if the candidates would have made their intentions known, or maybe if I bothered to look for them, but I honestly don't believe them anyway, so I didn't vote. Will I vote again? Surely. But they need to get this whole thing figured out, and they need to instill voter confidence. I'm still waiting on that. I have a feeling I'll be waiting a long time.

Cooler Than You

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:37:00 PST

Wash Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:08:00 PST

So my wife told me that the dryer makes everybody's clothes smell like mildew. I take a look, because that is what husbands do, and I do find a bunch of lint, but no definite problem of where the mildew smell is coming from. I take the hose (that is metal, because a plastic one would be a fire hazard) and clean it out, plus clean out the actual dryer. It is now completely clean.

Next comes the hard part. Putting it all back together again. It took the efforts of Chinese contortionist, plus a healthy dose of muttering and curses, and it finally got back together. Sorta'. I mean, it is not like the days when I was a kid, and we had a little separate room just outside the back door. Sure you had to worry about getting attacked from flying roaches (this was in New Orleans), but at least there was enough room to do what you needed to do.

It is all done now. I think. I mean I will have to run a few loads, see if everything stays together and see if the mildew smell ever went away.

3rd Shift

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:30:00 PST

It is no surprise that the major "thing" round my house is the new baby. It is hard, to do things the right way. Like for instance, get any sleep. That is not to say, the baby doesn't get enough sleep, I think she is doing fine... It's the parents I'm talking about.

I get off pretty easy at this point. I don't have boobies, at least not boobs that make milk, so I'm safe for now. But I do try to watch her (the baby) while her mother (my wife) gets some sleep. I can't really figure out who sleeps, or how much, because of everything else. Like the toot factory my baby has become. And if she is not tooting she is pooping. You hear a difference of tone and substance... thus you know you have a "winner".

Anyway, I first thought that this was a carbon copy of my second daughter, I was thankfully wrong. Especially when it comes to noise, she takes all noise, even crashing dishes or... a sneeze, in stride. The second one would have a meltdown if anything (noise wise) upset her in the least. But when you talk about my 3rd if you ever want to visit with her, she works the 3rd shift. Which is fitting, since she's the third kid.

Gas or Something Else?

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:09:00 PST

So.... I am just wondering. When a newborn, like mine is smiling at you... is it because of something deep that he/she will learn later.... or is it just gas?

Just wondering.

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:05:00 PDT

Well, to everyone that is celebrating... Happy Halloween.

Classic Film Friday: White Zombie

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:39:00 PDT

So this film is pretty old, 1932 to be exact. Bella Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre, a Haitian Plantation owner with mystic supernatural powers to enslave the locals. The sound is kind of crappy, and the story a little too slow, but for what it's worth the whole movie is in the public domain, you can watch it right here.

What would you do if you or someone you loved was turned into a zombie? Not the brain eating kind, the more historically correct voodoo kind?

And Now... We Go to Work...

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:35:00 PDT

Well it has been an "interesting" week. My wife had the baby, that is obvious, but then we had some difficulty. The TTN thing, that I have already talked about. But also, they (the hospital, or more accurately my daughter's nurse) gave her too much D5 (A drug that contains 5% dextrose) . So it made my daughter's blood sugar go nuts. What a bunch of dumbasses. Thankfully, it was only 45 minutes, and she went back to normal fairly quickly. But then she was jaundice. And we had to take a bili-blanket home. Which is a whole 'nother thing.

So you think that is all. But it isn't.... My other daughter, the teenager may have the flu. Never a dull moment I tell you. And the work has just begun...

Caught in the Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:32:00 PDT

Baby Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:58:00 PDT

This is second hand information, but the story is good, and none of it really happened, so here goes. My wife was telling me about this dream she had. It went something like this: We were all at her childhood home, and my wife was arguing with my 14-year-old about how the baby (the one not born yet... or will be by the time you read this) needs a hat if she is going outside. So my 14-year-old gets a tennis visor. Well that goes over like a fart in church, which is to say, not too good.

My wife insists on a real hat and of course my 14-year-old does, what 14-year-olds do... gets mad and in a huff, and puts a real wintertime hat on the baby. So she (my daughter) takes to baby for a walk, but before she goes, she has to take out the trash, which she does (in a huff) and when she returns... the baby is gone.

She explains how she left the baby in this box. Why in the world she would do that? So my wife goes outside with my teenager and shows her where she left the baby, and there are all kinds of baby dolls, and my teenager say, just take one of these. I have no clue, this is not my dream. And the baby? We never found her. Who leaves a baby just laying around? These guys think it is ok...

The System

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:59:00 PDT

Ok, this is written a week ahead of time... for obvious reasons, but anyway. My wife said we would be ok on money with her being out of work for the pregnancy. She up'ed her disability insurance to compensate for it. That was almost two years ago. So when it comes time to collect... umm wait a minute... They don't want to pay us shit. They said it had to go to their doctor, and he would have to say yea or nay about whether or not it was a "real disability" and whether or not they would pay.

A friend of mine once said, insurance is nothing more than a gamble, they are betting that nothing will happen to you, you are betting something will happen to you. Either way you lose, which really sucks. Because even if something does happen to you, the insurance company can find a way out of paying you anyway, then you are a double loser.

It took the disability insurance company 6 weeks to pay us, 7 if you really want to be strict about it. That really, really sucks. I mean my wife is the "bread winner" of our family... by 10 or 15 bucks a paycheck, but you get the point. Take away 6 weeks of pay, and suddenly we are not ok with money. Now we had money in savings, so it really didn't hurt us. But it could have and this whole health insurance reform does not address this in the least.

One company makes it look like, if you get hurt or whatever, you have a duck take care of everything, while you concentrate on feeling better. Nothing could be further from the truth. (that wasn't my wife's insurance anyway) You have to prove that you are hurt or can't work, to them, and that can lead to stress. Now if my wife would have had the baby prematurely, it would have been paid for, cost a lot more, but paid for. Sometimes I wonder about the whole system and what if anything I can do about it.

I Endorse The Shot

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:50:00 PDT

Just to let you know... I took the annual flu shot and the H1N1 (swine flu) "shot" the mist up the nose the other day. And I can say, I feel nothing, which is what I'm supposed to feel. There were/are some reports of "hey I took it and now I'm bald", or "I did it and I grew a third testicle", or whatever. I really don't know what they said, but it was a bunch of hooey anyway.

If anyone is a prime candidate for having something bad happen to them, when it should be good, it is me. I came, I took, I went about my day, the end. I would say that unless you like to gamble or you like being sick, go take the shot. It's easy, it doesn't hurt, and it will if not make you immune to the flu, it will certainly make you better off than if you had nothing.

I had the flu one time, and that is not an experience I ever wish to repeat. I have been in healthcare pretty much my whole life, via my work, or my mom's work, or as a patient for different things. I have seen the insides of doctor's offices, emergency rooms, and various other clinics, go take the shot.

Well an Update... Sorta'

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:43:00 PDT

Well, I really don’t know how to say this, but anyway, our baby spent some time in the NICU. She is still in there as you read this. It is hard, because I thought everything would be fine and I would have time to post this…. Now I can’t really leave the hospital, and the hospital has no network, so who knows when I’ll get around to posting this.

My daughter has TTN. Basically it is a common problem, ok not common, but they do see it with C-section babies. She is breathing too fast. It was pretty bad in the beginning. She had to be put under a O2 hood, she had a tube going up her nose down into her stomach as her stomach was distended, had an IV, ECG leads, and a pulse oximeter on her foot. To look at her it was worse than her actual condition.

From the beginning she started out at 40% O2, and she has improved to needing only 25%, normal “room air” O2 is at 21%. So we are hopeful. And that is all we can do, is wait and hope. She is getting better, it is just a question of when and how much.

Classic Film Friday: Conrack

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:36:00 PDT

This 1974 movie sparked my interest immediately when I realized how close to home it hit. Based on the autobiographical novel by Pat Conroy, it tells the story of a young teacher heading out to an isolated barrier island in South Carolina which is made up of a small black community most of whom had never been off the island, not even to nearby Beaufort. In the movie the island is called "Yamacraw Island" but as I suspected it was the fictional name given to our very own Daufuskie Island.

In his ventures, Conroy (Jon Voight), or as the kids call him Conrack, has a lot to learn about this population of kids. There is a 2 room school house with as the kids call her "bitch woman" on the other side. She talks down to them and belittles them and they don't like it. The principal/other teacher doesn't like Conrack and the whole thing goes round from there.

Conroy seems to be making headway until a couple of visits from the superintendent heed his disapproval. Conrack, having really bonded with these needy kids now, goes head to head with him and loses. There were some very telling moments about the way people thought in a small southern town in 1969. One that comes to mind is when the superintendent warns Conroy, "You keep those kids on that side of the river....don't bring them over here (Beaufort)."

This film, nominated for an Academy Award, captured me from the beginning. Yes, I am a teacher and yes, I lived in Beaufort, South Carolina for 8 years, so of course I'd feel connected. But putting that aside, it's a good teacher overcomes obstacles for the sake of the children kind of flick. You can watch a clip here.

Today is the Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:56:00 PDT

Well today is the day. I am shocked and amazed that she made it. I really didn't think she could go the whole (ok not completely whole 37 out of 40 week is good though) time. I foresaw trips to MUSC and all that. I was wrong, and I never could be more happy to be wrong in my life. We welcome a new life into ours. Whoa Nelly.

I am writing this ahead of time, for obvious reasons, but come Thursday around 7:30 am, we should have a new little girl. Thanks to everyone and way to go Mrs. MadHatter, I didn't think you could do it, but you did!

Surf is Up!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:25:00 PDT

Different Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:58:00 PDT

The excitement and suspense is building. I really find it hard to believe that I am going to be a father again. But there is no magic like when my first kid was born... who I thought was a puppy. It is kind hard to explain, but I'll try. See she was a natural birth, and as she was crowning, and I could see was the back of her head. They don't really teach you or you really don't see that on TV, so I thought I would just go with it none of the nurses or doctor acted like anything was wrong, so I wasn't going to either.

My second kid, well, we thought it would be natural, and we went through everything to have it natural, but it just wasn't to be. The doctor cut my wife open, and bam, we had the baby. With this one, we still have the pregnancy issues, but there is a time scheduled, there is no randomness to it. That doesn't mean that once she is here I won't love her, because I will. It is just kind of... fake, though I know it is not. So this is a different experience. I think it's that there is no surprise in it, but I could be wrong.

Van Halen

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:04:00 PDT

So Guitar Hero has come out with a Van Halen version, which is kind of like of like GH's Aerosmith endeavor. I like "Panama"

while my wife likes "Jump"

It is all a David Lee Roth affair (meaning no Sammy Hagar or Gary Cherone) Which really isn't all that bad. I always thought Van Halen without Roth was never as good as with Roth. My wife concurs. Even though, "Jump" has got to be.... well it aint like any Van Halen song, and we could say that is a good thing, but I don't think so.

There Can Be Only One

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:46:00 PDT

Now I don't claim to be an expert or anything else, but I woke up early on a weekday and this is the second time it has happened, and my daughter, the 14-year-old was in bed, asleep. I think it is a case of proportions. Only one can wake up early. It is usually my daughter (except weekends) but every now and then when she oversleeps I spring into action.

My wife claims I'm full of shit, and that is not it at all, but I think it is so, there can only be one...

Nobody Gets Out of Life Alive

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:47:00 PDT

What an "interesting" week. On one hand, someone has died, and though I didn't much agree with what he had to say, somehow death takes all that away. I mean, it is hard to disagree with a dead man. It is just weird like that. I hope this person lived a good life and that his family will be ok. I guess, I mean my father told me, back when he had cancer (he recovered but it was touch and go at the time) nobody gets out of life alive. I'm sorry it happened to him, maybe there was something he could've done, but he is gone now, so it is time to worry about the living, as you can't do anything for the dead.

On the other, BT's "star reporter" which, you understand, I use that term very, very loosely got let go. She was the person who basically pushed me away from BT altogether and what caused me to to start this blog. (Look here.)

That doesn't really look good for her, and I really don't care. Now who will report on the "top dog" or see what this animal rescue group is doing or offer us all a great dog/cat/turtle/whatever a good home? I can see why BT let her go... I can't understand why they didn't do it sooner.

Now the rumors are starting in that BT is circling around the toilet bowl, that may be, I surely don't know, but the pool pooping is still going on around here. I mean, with vacations and all (I am going out next week... I don't know how much I'll post). So anyway thanks Steph, for pushing me away (via your editing my blogs on BT) and letting this blog blossom. Now if only I could locate like individuals...

Classic Film Friday: Crossroads

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:01:00 PDT

This movie is a part of my childhood, I mean who wouldn't (at that time) want to be Ralph Macchio and play the guitar? Eugene Martone (Ralph Macchio) is a budding guitarist who is studying classical guitar at Juilliard. (Some highbrow upper crust school in New York City)

But what he really wants to be is a blues-man. And remember, this is the time before internet, so to do all of the hunting and digging on old blues musicians took a lot of effort. Which leads him to Robert Johnson's (a blues-man to end all other blues-men) epic life, death, and deal with the devil.

Willie Brown, a musician who knew Robert Johnson and made his own "deal" is an elderly man, in a prison/hospital. Eugene gets a job at the hospital and befriends Willie. Eugene is looking for a "lost recording" of Robert Johnson. Willie says if Eugene will spring him from the jail/hospital... he will teach him the lost song.

So they strike out on the road, headed back to the Mississippi delta. Along the way they meet a hitchhiker, and there is a love interest for Eugene. They finally make it to the part where Willie is looking for... that is absolution and freedom from the devil. The devil is having none of it though. He will have Eugene's soul too and Eugene (not thinking that it is for real) agrees to a guitar contest. And that is where I'll end it, so as to not ruin it for anyone that has not seen the movie. This is a must see for anyone who has the Guitar Hero/Rock Band games...