Children Are Our Future...

Facebook status updates today reveal that Cale's wife Amy is pregnant again – their third child! Cindy and I are deeply happy with them, though quite content with the two we have, and are staying put. Still, children are a miracle, and as this video I came across today makes clear, you just have to always love and believe in your child, no matter what challenges he or she may face, what obstacles they have to overcome.

Meanwhile, in Aidan's Mouth...

Anyway, while Cindy and I are off to New York for a break, Aidan's first loose tooth (she's been wiggling on it for several weeks now) finally gives way and pops out in the midst of a lunch with Granny down at Subway. As Granny Lynne tells it, Aidan was just eating her sandwich, then got a funny look on her face and suddenly noticed she her tooth was gone! And that she'd swallowed it!

I tried to convince Granny to maybe pick through the stool to look for it later in the day, but she wasn't buying it. She's no fool.

And somehow, despite Cindy and I being in New York, the Tooth Fairy managed to come all the same, leaving a mostly crisp one dollar bill. Perhaps the Tooth Fairy is a Freemason...

Spirits of Vacations Past...

Couldn't resist posting this one from days gone by...August 2001...

New York Minute

Hey, we went to New York for like 5 minutes this past weekend. A much needed break, and a lot of fun. The girls stayed home with Granny, and we ran out east and ran all over town, mostly touristing it up, but it was nice to see the town and not be just exhausted from working 22 hours a day. From my usual stool and the Mulberry Street Bar over to Jacques Torres for chocolate, up to the Empire State Building to lope around like the giant ape I am, and then out to dinner, it was really a love time and the first real vacation Cindy and I have had in a long time.

Tourist-y couple-y photo on the south side, looking towards the scene of a real tragedy, the project Rooks and I worked on in January...though it looks better now.

The big building just to the right of Madison Square Garden there, with the big red 1 on the side, that's the New York office where I worked for much of 2007.

One Thousand Days

On July 5th, 2011, I'll turn forty. By then, I'll be deep into what I suspect is the "second half" of my life – I'm currently not banking on longevity, unfortunately. But I'd like to hang around to see the girls get married and see a little bit of the world. And if I'm going to do that, I better stop being such a fatass and get it in gear and get healthy.

On October 8th, 2008, there was exactly one thousand days until that not too far off birthday. One thousand days to feel better. Do better. Be better. A lot of the challenge is physical. But let's not discount the mental and spiritual aspects, either. I've got a lot of work to do.

And frankly, I'm not off to a good start. After a crushing schedule this summer, it's as if the ol' body say "Screw it, we're through!" and spent October punishing me for past abuse. We've all been sick and slow here, and only now are we starting to get back on track.

But lets get this whole show on track, and make use of these 1000 days. Hopefully, this isn't like the Meat Diary, or the Mexican Adventure, or any of the other big ideas that percolate to the surface of life and then evaporate like so much else. Hopefully this isn't the only time I'll have something to report on this front.

Lot of talk about hope lately. And change. Let's get going.

New York is a Go-Go

Okay, so while Cindy and Reese are out for Wave 1 of this afternoon's trick-or-treating adventure, hitting the Uptown shops with Granny in tow, it looks like we've got our New York trip fully booked and ready to go.

What trip, you ask? The one we were supposed to do two weekends ago for Cindy's birthday that we cancelled at 4am on the day of travel because Aidan had pneumonia. It's how the parent thing goes, doesn't it? Well, I suppose, technically, we could have gone – people do that all the time. Then you tend to hear about them on the news after DCFS comes knocking...

Anyway, it looks like we're finally a go. Early morning flight, lunch in Little Italy for Ms. Italian, some shopping and touristing through the afternoon (for all the time I more or less lived there at the end of last year, I never did do the tourist thing...) and a nice late dinner after a nap. Should be a nice, quick, much needed getaway.

Of course, I've probably jinxed the thing by writing about it now. Hopefully all goes well.

Oh Hey! Spooky Halloween!

Halloween here again. The girls make it fun, and I'm looking forward to hitting the streets with them tomorrow afternoon.

But something about the holiday bugs me. I'm not sure why. It's just never resonated with me. Probably because the folks never made a big deal out of it. "Halloween is from the Devil," they'd use to say. "Now enjoy yourselves!" And they'd send us out the door wearing the same costume every year. This one:Hard to get excited breathing through the same sweaty plastic for 10 years.

Writing From Aidan's Kindergarten Class...

Look at that! Another two months gone by in a blink. Damn.

Anyway, posted this over on Facebook last night, but will doubledown here to keep some of our audience in the loop:

-----------------

Every kid in Aidan's kindergarten writes a story a week in what they call "Writer's Workshop." The stories are collected into little books and shared with the parents. We have Book 2 tonite, and includes some real classics. Here's one of my favorites:

-------------
ANIMALS IN MY HOUSE
by Luke, Age 5
I said, "Animal, get away from me!" I went upstairs and there was an alligator living on my stairs. I went in my room and there were foxes jumping on my bed. I went downstairs and there were chipmunks eating my dinner. I went down in the basement and all I saw was bunnies jumping all over and eating the sofa! I got an electric fence in the basement but the bunnies jumped over it and got eaten by alligators. Then, the bunnies in the stomach of the alligator ate the alligator. The foxes ate the chipmunks and from inside, the chipmunks ate the foxes. Then there was no more things.
The End
-------------

I know, right?! It's a bit expected right up until those bunnies start eating their way out of the stomach of the alligators. Then it's a scene from Cormac McCarthy. Delicious. Here's another:

-------------
THE DARK KNIGHT
by Anthony, Age 5
The Joker is fishing and catches Batman. And Batman pulls the fishing rod into the water while the Joker was holding on to it. Then Batman swims up from the water to the surface. Joker gets eaten by a shark. Batman goes back to the manor.
The End
-------------

All in day's work for Batman! And I bet ol' Heath Ledger would have preferred being eaten by a shark. Most of the boys' stories run that way – lots of action, followed by a violent ending with a twist. Just like college.

Most of the girls' stories involve walks in the sun to the park or through a garden or to Antarctica to frolic with penguins and their parents. Still, in time for Halloween, one girl offers up this chilling tale of ultimate horror:

-------------
SOMETHING IS IN THE CLOSET
by Kelly, Age 5
I was outside my closet and I wanted to go inside.
I heard a laugh inside my closet.
I was afraid to go inside.
I went inside anyway and I saw somebody else inside my closet!
And then I said "Mommy, look, there is someone inside my closet!!!"
And it was my baby brother. And my other baby brother.
The End
-------------

Ah, good stuff.

First Day!

Aidan headed off to her first partial day of kindergarten today! Her first full day is tomorrow. Reesie starts her first day of preschool this coming Tuesday.

Back At It

Alright, me hearties...let's get back to this thing...

Actually, let's do that after breakfast. Arrrr...

My Neighbor's New House is a Real Pile of Shit

I think that every time I see it. Poorly designed. Poorly executed. Grossly oversized for the suburban lot it is on, grossly out of context and out of alignment with the overall 50s modern vibe of the neighborhood. And it keeps getting worse. Today, the dumb bastard had his crew trampling all over our yard to install their 5 foot high base for their Greek-temple of a patio. I don't know if the dummy is just cheap, or he's running out of money, but the pile of patio pavers he's had these guys stack up look like ass. After 4 days away, coming home to see this latest insult to good taste and discernment sprining up basically on top of my back yard, it was all I could do not to march over next door and just smack the dipshit in the face with a shovel.

This Job of Mine

What a day...

As today began, I was awake and working in a hotel room in Miami. By 4am, I was at MIA, waiting for a plane to New York. 6am, I slipped into my magically upgraded to first class seat and passed out, waking a 915 in New Jersey. An $80 cab ride later, I was at the offices of the Wall Street Journal, looking down on the WTC construction site. An evening stroll through Chinatown and Little Italy, and then more work until midnite again. The day ends listening to this as part of my job:



It's a hell of a job indeed.

Happy Easter!