Twisted ...

How evil are you?
... it's better than completely innocent, I guess. (Disappointed.)

And here's a shout out to Juggling Mother, on whose blog I found the evilness test.

Happy new year, everyone!

(Gulp!)

Raising my third infant, I've earned the title of experienced, professional diaper-changer. I'm inured to the smell. I can tolerate the painful sonic barrage of shrieking that sometimes accompanies baby's efforts. I can operate efficiently around wriggling legs with minimal smearage. But I still encounter the unexpected.

Yesterday I spotted a booger - a tiny dry flake (or so it appeared), right at the edge of her nostril. Ready to dislodge itself with a breath or snort, it would dive into anonymous obscurity on carpet or clothes, to be vacuumed or laundered to eventual oblivion. I spied it when I laid her down, and my eye was drawn repeatedly toward it whilst I wiped, coo'ed, and exchanged smiles with Saadia. Usually, I don't waste my time with these bits of dirt.

Usually I say, yet on this day I took the corner of my burp cloth and attacked the offending particle with zealous relish. I don't know why I did it - a moment of enthusiasm, perhaps infused with a tinge of guilt (having seen Michelle clean the nose of many a baby for less - she has been always the more fastidious in regards to the hygeine of our diminutive charges).

I swiped. I swiped again. The flake remained astonishingly steadfast. Saadia smiled agape at the new game. I gathered myself. I have seen Michelle be quite forceful, so: more gusto ... push up with the corner of the cloth, a bit of wrist action, and then ...

Oh my! I had seen merely the tip of the iceburg. Here was a veritable glob, now on the upper lip! No matter, one more quick dab.

Huh. Where'd it go? It's not on the cloth. Oh ... Saadia is beaming up at her daddy. Adoringly. Open-mouthed.

Please. Don't tell Michelle. She'll kill me.





Look at her, so innocent and trusting.







Updated with photos 12/18/06.

What do Star Wars and Mose Allison have in common?

I regisered with e-snips a few moments ago, and uploaded a couple of mp3's created by Star Wars fans. If you care to give an opinion, please let me know if you enjoyed "Star Wars in 30 Seconds" and "My Name Is Darth Vader." I assure you that they were downloaded for free. I don't recall exactly where I got them from, but I am sure they are not copyrighted.

I learned about e-snips from Stephen, who used it to introduce to me the music of Mose Allison. Mose's voice is like silk, he graduated from LSU in 1952 with a double-major in English and Philosophy, and he is a jazz legend! Stephen, I have to tell you that I have become an instant fan! Thank you so much for thinking of me.

His name is even Jewish - he feels like a soul-mate.

I don't know if any of the readers are Star Wars geeks like me, but if you are let me know what you think of the tracks. Also let me know if you didn't get the invitation, so I can send you one.

Fire in the subdivision

There was a fire in the apartment building across the street. I took these pictures from the bedroom window and the balcony. These are the first trucks to arrive.
Firefighters really are heros. What more can I say? You'd never catch me on the roof of a burning building. Maybe with training and a new back .... Anyway, I'm really thankful to these folks.

Another ladder truck. This one was longer. I wonder from how far away it came? I wasn't watching the clock, but I want to say it's been about 45 minutes since the first trucks arrived on the scene.

More and more trucks arrive. Gawkers gather in scattered groups from a safe distance, although you can't see them in any of these pics.

By the time the fire's out, I count seventeen emergency vehicles, including at least seven fire trucks.

It's good to be alive, and to have a warm, safe place to spend the night.

12/6/06 update:

The blaze was apparently caused by a second-floor tenant who set fire to some newspapers in the hallway. His reasons for so doing are unknown.

There were no injuries and no fire damage to the apartments on that floor, however the firefighters broke a bedroom window and something (?) on the roof to gain access.

Cost of the War

Here's a quote from th National Priorities Project (NPP) website:

The taxpayer cost of the Iraq War is broken down for various towns, cities and counties across the U.S. The breakdown is based on a total cost of $378 billion. That is $3,375 for every American household or $1,275 for every American or $2,848 per taxpayers. The money (already spent or allocated) is being spent at a rate nearly $11 million per hour and $255 million per day.

Just in case you haven't done so recently, I encourage you to click on the "Cost of War" link in the sidebar to learn interesting facts about the cost of the Iraq war.

I shudder to think about what the indirect costs are. Clearly, we will be paying for this over the long haul.

Retrospective, Prospective

I went back through the ol' archives last night. I'm happy with the quality of my writing generally; I just wish I could turn out a bit more of it! The first few months saw a fair amount of output. The past year has been sporadic, with a few good posts out there nonetheless.

Can't believe the blog has been around two years!

I don't know if I've written of it in this space previously, but my dad used to tell me: "Son, if you don't ever want to worry about making a lot of money, just major in English or Philosophy." Incidentally, his bachelor's degree is in English.

Interestingly, I predicted my current career situation during my very first month of blogging ("Amateur," January 28, 2005). Lately I've come to realize there's an element of self-fulfillment involved in that prophecy. I'll just say, I've learned a lot about myself the last year. There's been plenty of genuine hardship to boot, so I can't take upon myself all the blame. There was just no way of predicting some of the things that happened.

When I learned about the features available in the new blogger beta, I chose to convert to a private blog. When it all started, I freely and cheerfully distributed the address among my friends and family. I was secretly disappointed in the lack of response. Now I believe it quite probably that my in-laws have read it and will continue to read it. They have proven to be quite vindictive and I have no desire to have contact with them. I don't think they deserve to know anything about my family; and yet I find I do not wish to deprive myself of an outlet.

I toyed with the idea of changing the URL of the blog, but an internet search for my daughters' unusual names would undoubtedly unearth it. The only other option would be deletion, and I'm unwilling.

Here's to my new and lucrative career (whatever it might turn out to be), and to a time when I can once again publish in public, and to good blogging in the coming year!