Some things I miss

Some things I miss

I truly miss grocery delivery service. Peapod, Groceryworks, et alia were great services, at least for me. I don’t know why, but I just hate going into grocery stores. Even with the most recent trend of new upscale stores like Central Market or Rice Epicurean down in Houston, there still are some glaring similarities.

#1. You now have to walk through twenty different product displays to get to the actual aisles.
#2. Even the most basic grocery stores now sell the strangest stuff, like patio furniture, wood burning fireplaces, feng-shui consultants, etc.
#3. The ONE THING you’re looking for isn’t there. The stockers have never heard of it.
#4. There is always one product somewhere in the store that is way past its prime. Safeway select brand salsa is the primary culprit in our store close to us.

I’m ranting. I must stop and … go to the store! Laureen’s mom was kind enough to send us a juicer after our visit down there, and so now I know that any fruit, vegetable, or shoe can be turned into a small amount of liquid and a massive amount of crud (known to insiders as “crud”) that doesn’t get juiced and winds up in the special crud holder, which they recommend you line with a plastic bag from the grocery store, a non-recyclable bag once the crud is in it…I knew this health thing had a catch.

What’s in a name

What’s in a name

So, the process of trying to pick a name for our child is rapidly winding down.

Laureen and I were trying to determine name histories in our family. She was named for her father (Lawrence). I wasn’t really named after anyone, except for my middle name.

We’ve decided on the following:

Jacob Carl DeWayne Jones

Jacob – “the supplanter” – biblical name. The one who struggled with God and eventually became Israel.

Carl – named for Laureen’s grand-uncle.

DeWayne – my and my dad’s middle name. Just passing it on.

Jones – well, duh…

Kevin actually means “born beautiful” in Celtic. Laureen is “laurel crowned”. http://www.babyname.com is a fun site…

Happy Holidays, I Guess

Happy Holidays, I Guess

Greetings and salutations. The thanksgiving weekend is over.

Tidbit number one: we’re having a boy.

I’ll be posting the ultrasounds pretty soon, but I’m just happy to say that.

Tidbit number two: I don’t have a job.

I had a plan and a dream to get a job before Thanksgiving. It didn’t work out that way. I’m still looking, but I hate this process.

Ultimately, I feel a lot like a failure for not having a job. I mean, we’re going to have a kid in 5 months or so, and I have no way to provide for her. I’ve only had one interview, and I despise the process that is supposed to get more of them. I don’t know if it’s common to feel that way (like a failure), but I do. Even though, as Laureen eloquently put it, “failing to do something doesn’t make you a failure. It just means you didn’t succeed.”

So I haven’t succeeded and I still don’t feel any better.

Tidbit number three: getting to sleep at night has been difficult.

I don’t know whether it’s just been a lot on my mind, or whether it’s medicine related, but I’m not sleeping particularly well.

Tidbit number four: where do you start when there’s too much to do?

What is the best advice you have for learning how to plan to get things done? What is the motivation for doing them? I mean, let’s take the entire process of clothes. You wear them, then you have to wash them and dry them. Then, they have to be folded. Then, they have to be put away. For what? You just get to repeat the process. To me, repeating the process doesn’t seem like contentment and happiness, and a lot of daily living is simply repeating processes, over and over again. And it doesn’t feel to me like it’s a winnable situation. Bills, clothes, the kitchen, the house, all of it seems to just be for its own sake rather than for something greater….

Sigh. I’m philosophizing again. Stop me before I try to prove that black is white and get killed at the next crosswalk.

Been a long time, been a long time, been a….

Been a long time, been a long time, been a…

Contrary to what may have been said, I’m not dead. Just tired.

Let’s see…

My job situation – I still haven’t found one. I am not panicking, not yet.

Laureen – she’s OK. Tired a lot, but OK.

Our child – we find out the sex on Tuesday of this week.

Laureen – had a birthday on the 2nd of November.

My brother – had a birthday on the 29th of October.

My grandmother – had her 80th birthday on the 5th of November.

Racquetball – I tweaked my left knee about two weeks ago. It feels OK, but I’m trying to be cautious.

Church – it is what it is. Visioning is tomorrow. We’re writing our story that we’re supposed to live into.

Band – fun. Was loud last night. Really loud.

Baby names – hoo boy. Any suggestions?

TV – watching Survivor. Rupert is my hero, at least for now.

What’s on the DVR – Good Eats, 7th Heaven, CSI, MXC.

Networking – if any of you know people in software companies in the Metroplex, drop me a line. I’m trying to seek out advice.

Rice – went to 10th reunion last week. We traveled 218 miles to talk primarily with people who live in Dallas. Thank you David and Linda Peirce for allowing us to stay with you. Special thanks to David for his help in pumping up the queen-sized air mattress. Let’s not do that again any time soon.

Concerts – going to Barenaked Ladies on Sunday night. Going to Christine Lavin a week from today.

Recommendations – if you’re doing road trips, go to Cracker Barrel and rent their books on tape or CD. We’ve listened to Seabiscuit and The DaVinci Code while traveling. Both are excellent.

Browsers – try Mozilla Firebird. It kills pop-ups immediately without having to install a separate toolbar.

Websites – http://www.homestarrunner.com – Everybody! Everybody!
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/badgers.php – Badger, badger, badger, badger
http://www.colony1864.co.uk – Interesting game.

Where now – at home, contemplating the blog…

Lopey – in his castle, watching over the sleeping Reenie.

Spam – they serve it in McDonalds in Hawaii. The Spam McMuffin’s a big seller.

Legos or K’Nex – which is better?

Love – to all.

Kevin

First ultrasound

First ultrasound

1stultrasound (12k image)

This is our child.
10 weeks old.
The head is to the left, and arm and leg buds are visible to the right.

This makes me not worry about having a job.
This makes me hopeful for the future.
I’ve decided to nickname our kid “Yertl” for the time being. The turtlelike qualities brought it to mind. During the ultrasound, Yertl turned a somersault.

heartbeat (14k image)

The heartbeat is 158 bpm, which is within the range of normal.

Baby, baby

Baby, baby

Well, Laureen’s pregnant.

There, I think the world knows by now.

The supposed due date is April 19, 2004. The first ultrasound is the 24th of September.

We’re getting our garage door fixed. That means cleaning out the garage. Laureen’s been doing that. She found a fossil in the pre-cambrian layer of stuff…

Gotta run. Work is hard these days.

-Kevin