Wednesday, December 26, 2007

DDR

As my loyal readers (all two of you) will know, Ann got me an awesome new Wii for Christmas. She really wanted to get Dance Dance Revolution to play. Being the loving and accomodating husband that I am, I agreed and purchased it for her.

I'm ashamed to admit that it's totally my favorite game for the console. It's actually a pretty good workout too - my legs have been sore for a week from playing that game. And to make it worse, my favorite song is "The Sign," that horrible techno-pop song from the early '90s by Ace of Base.

Does liking Dance Dance Revolution make me a bad person, or less of a man? Probably so. I'd write more, but I've gotta clear Disco Inferno on Hard.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Tales of the Monkey

I've got a few more good stories to share about the Monkey, who just turned four last Monday. And believe me, he is in every way a four-year old.
  • With our recent travel to Canada, all of us being sick in some form or other, and other general busy-ness, we never got around to decorating the outside of our house. We put up our tree and other decorations inside, but we didn't do anything outside. We definitely live in the 'burbs, so our neighbors are quite prolific in their decorations, and our house tends to look a little bare. The other night we were driving home, and the Monkey was enjoying all the lights in the neighborhood, oohing and aahing over the decorations. Then he pipes up: "When we see a house with no lights, that's OUR house." As we turned the corner and saw the bare façade of our home, he said, "Yep, there's our DAAAARK house!" Next year, HE gets to put up the decorations.
  • The other night he said something about wanting a cat. I told him that, since we have Cappie (our dog), we're not going to be getting a cat anytime soon. He thought about that for a second and asked, "Will we die when Cappie dies?" I said no, we would still be alive when Cappie died. So he said, "Well, then when Cappie dies, I want to get a cat." It's good to see him have such loyalty for the family dog.
  • We took him to Chik-Fil-A for his birthday the other night. As we're going out to the car to leave, there's a guy leaning up against the car next to us, smoking a cigarette. I was just ignoring the guy, when the Monkey pipes up in a voice, loud enough for people in the next zip code to hear: "Pee-yoo! What's that stinky?!" I'm not sure if the guy heard us (although I can't imagine how he didn't), or whether he noticed me trying not to laugh hysterically, but about thirty seconds later he put out his cigarette and walked away. Ahh, to be as uninhibited...

Monday, December 17, 2007

Great news! Vanilla Bean's hips are doing much better and she only needs to wear the brace at night.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

The quest ends!

Today, the quest for that which I believed to be unattainable ends. I got my Wii!

About a month ago Ann offered to get me a Nintendo Wii for Christmas. I was excited, but knew they were hard to come by, especially this far into the shopping seasons. Store after store I went to said they were out and didn't know when they'd get more. Last weekend the Monkey and I happened by Fry's about half an hour before they were supposed to open. We weren't there to buy a Wii (no, seriously, we weren't), but there was a line of about 100 people waiting for the store to open. And they'd already handed out vouchers for all the Wiis they had in stock, and that was for the bundle pack, which cost about $240 more than the regular Wii. So half an hour before the store opened, they'd already sold out of the console bundle that costs almost twice as much as the regular unit! I pretty much gave up on getting one before Christmas at that point.

Then yesterday the Monkey and I were at Target and I asked the electronics person when they were getting more. She said they'd have them today when they opened at 8:00. So I showed up at 6:50 am, Thermos of hot chocolate in hand, and was 44th in line for one of their 96 units. By the time I walked out of the store at 8:30 I was cold and hungry, but I had my Wii! Hopefully it's worth it!

Sorry I've been late in posting again. It's been a crazy week. Vanilla Bean got croup on Thursday, but she's getting better now. Croup sucks.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Real women of genius

I had the privilege of spending last weekend with one of the most fascinating women I know. Ann's paternal grandmother, lovingly referred to as "Grandma Jean," is one of those people who has what can only be described as "spunk." When she was 18 months old, she contracted polio. The doctors told her parents she had pretty much no chance at survival, but through her mother's and grandmother's care, she pulled through. At the end of it, she was left effectively paralyzed from the waist down. When she was old enough, her father fashioned a pair of canes out of tree branches (which she still has today) and she learned to walk.

I can't imagine trying to live with a disability like that in today's world, much less 70 years ago when society was much less accommodating of the disabled. But it didn't slow her down one bit: she went on to have a career as a ham radio operator (not a hobby, a career), run her own seamstress business, get married, and raise two boys. Disciplining those two boys must have been difficult without being able to walk, but I'm guessing they received the violent end of those canes more than once.

So here's to a woman who, before women were allowed to do such things and with a potentially-limiting handicap, had a job, took care of her husband, ran a household, and corralled two kids.

Grandma Jean, you rock.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Open mouth, insert foot.

I was standing in the snack bar today and saw a coworker named Ron. Ron's a good guy, but he looked a little disheveled: flannel shirt untucked over nasty jeans, and he hadn't shaved in about a week. I said something to him about looking a little frumpy, and he mentioned that he was just holed up in his office doing programming. This confused me since Ron is an instructor, but whatever. I then threw a little ding his way about his not having shaved in a while. Keep in mind this was all in good fun, but for some reason Ron didn't seem to be taking it well. Then he said, "By the way, you know I'm Don, Ron's twin brother, right?"

Yeah, so here's this guy I've never met, and I was insulting his dress and personal hygiene. Way to go.