Quote of the Week

The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.
Mark Twain

Pictures are easier than posts

I was going to try to write a post with words this time to accompany the baby photos, but really there isn’t that much to say. We spent most of the weekend trying to occupy our time while we waited. It involved sleeping at odd times in odd places, watching a tiny waiting room tv, reading, making bets on how high the contractions would go on the monitor, making bets on the baby’s weight, drinking lots of caffeine, and eating lots of greasy food.
When we weren’t at the hospital we did manage to see a movie, eat better greasy food, shop at a great mall, and replace the bathroom floor linoleum of our suite because Eliot had chewed it to pieces.

And now for more pictures.

David William

Sergio and I have been in Kansas City since Thursday night after rushing up there hoping to make it in time for the birth of our nephew. Little did we know that we would be waiting until 12:52 AM Saturday morning for his arrival. If you know Amanda personally, pat her on the back. He is adorable, if I do say so myself.


6 lb, 7 oz, 18 1/2 inches long

This is the first moment we got to see him.

Playing Monopoly with Mice

A major hurdle has been jumped in regards to the move. With just two weeks to go, we finally found an apartment. We were to put great thought and consideration into picking this apartment. Then we realized that it is really hard to do those things when you live over 2000 miles away from a place and have never even been there. So we went with the next best option. Take the apartment from the nicest sounding manager, otherwise known as, “the one who called us back.”
So that is what we did, and after much faxing back and forth of paperwork, overnighting of deposits, and stealing of work supplies, we were approved. And that makes the move seem that much more real. We can start imagining where we will put the few belongings we have bothered to keep. Couch - living room, bed - bedroom, boxes packed to the brim with yearbooks, tools, and books - extra bedroom closet. Done. Ok, so that wasn’t exciting, but the prospect of having a roof and the ability to heat and cool food is nice.
Actually we are pretty pleased that we were able to get a decently priced 2-bedroom apartment. This means that all of you have a place to stay when you come out to visit (glaring hint). We will just scoot those overloaded boxes into the corners for you. The apartment is 3 miles from the school and 31/2 from downtown, so even if we find dead bodies in the closets and rats playing monopoly behind the stove, it would be hard to leave such a great location.

Quote of the Week

Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Players

Sometimes we get together and play cards or board games. This time it was cards. No matter how much I like our friends, gatherings of more than four people make me nervous. I find hiding behind a camera to be a very useful way to avoid social anxiety.


This picture is blurred to protect identities. You believe me, right?











Clinton and Hannah















In an effort to be social I listen intently to Eliot's thoughts on global warming.

Quote of the Week

Sergio is in the mood to fish, but it is too hot to be outside. Here is a quote instead.

Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters.
-Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

Winning the insurance game

Sergio and I have health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, renter’s insurance, and car insurance. We pay or work for these faithfully every month. We have yet to actually use any of them. We were robbed once and I had a trip to the emergency room for 32 stitches and an x-ray, but these things conveniently happened before we had either renters or health insurance. So you can imagine our surprise and delight when we finally managed to use one of the insurance services we paid for.
Three years ago we bought a computer from Best Buy and tacked on an extended warranty (don’t be picky, it’s a kind of insurance). This was the single best decision we have ever made. Basically our computer never worked right and we were always taking it in to be fixed. And it turns out if your computer is screwy enough, they will eventually tire of fixing it and just drill a hole in it! But that is ok because if you are brilliant people like us then you got the extended warranty and they tell you to come by the store and pick out a brand new computer!
And the best part? Our warranty would have run out in less than a month.

Quote of the Week

The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.
-Theodore Roosevelt

Gunpowder and the Fountain of Youth

Bottle rockets. Evidently bottle rockets make otherwise normal 24 year old men turn into evil eight year old boys. Black cats, snappers, and roman candles are also effective at turning back the maturing process. Fireworks aren’t bad things in and of themselves, it is all the things that these overgrown boys think to do with them that is the problem.
Place three bottle rockets in a spent roman candle tube and shoot them at innocent friends riding four-wheelers? Sounds like a good idea. No matter that you hit one directly in the chest, only luck keeping it from exploding right then.
Throw snappers at your wife’s sandal clad foot? What a riot. (But this was at least one game that could be played both ways)
Throw lit black cats a foot behind a friend and laugh maniacally when it goes off and he jumps two feet in the air? Ok, I admit that one was pretty funny.
Light fireworks in close proximity to people and skittish pets and singe not one but two dogs fur?* Oops, I don’t think we meant to do that.

So you get the idea. We had a cookout at a friend’s farm full of food, fireworks and four-wheelers. I love alliteration. (I bet Sergio takes that part out.) And it is a good thing that firework holidays only come around once or twice a year. One of us would surely lose a limb if this kept up.

*No pets were really hurt. I don’t think Eliot even noticed he had caught fire except that I was patting him rather roughly on the head and he didn’t seem to be enjoying that.