Being all growed up

Life is swarming all around right now. It hasn't stung me directly, but it's constantly shifting shapes and actually seems to be taking little stabs at family and friends in a lot of ways. At the same time, I'm finding lots of opportunities for change and new challenges amid the chaos.

First the fun. Let's see, I joined a softball team with some co-workers. We lost both games I played in, while they won the first game I missed. So I'm obviously having a huge impact. It's a co-ed team, and my friend Kimberly is playing with us since Annie finds softball about as interesting as she finds, well, sport. The first grounder I got at shortstop was hit by a dude, and kid was getting up the line quick. I thought I had a chance so I whizzed one over to first - to Kimberly - but the throw was low and somehow eluded her glove. It did manage to find her tibia, however, and made a thud the left fielder could hear. Kimberly bravely shook it off, but I saw her a couple days later and the bruise was pretty much from foot to knee. Glad she's my fiance's bff, because otherwise I'd probably have to pay her medical bills or something. I followed that up with 2 more fielding errors, while making maybe 2 putouts. In a related story, I played left field in the next game.

Preston is in soccer this summer, and the improvement from last fall is amazing. He's scored two goals already - in the two games I missed - and is quite the goalie as well. Zoey decided to call it a career, since last fall her involvement in soccer was a mix of chasing a boy named Noah and asking out of the game so she could snuggle with Mom on the sideline. At least she knew to walk away while she was at the top of her game.

At work, on the same day I found out my marketing coordinator was not returning from maternity leave, I found out my boss was leaving. She is a super dynamic businesswoman, a great leader, and I learned a lot from her. She's taking a job with a company that sells skincare products - a brand Annie happens to love, too, so she's on the list for free samples already. The question most people have is "do you get her job?", to which I respond "they wouldn't offer it to me, and who needs that kind of pain anyway?" It will leave a gap for a while, but I'm excited to work directly under our President, who has major marketing savvy developed under some big name brands.

Annie has an exciting potential opportunity that would involve us moving across the country if they offer her the job (they will) and if we accept (we'll see). My initial reaction to a change like that was my standard hemming and hawing and general skepticism. But the more we talk about it in realistic terms, the more used to the idea I become. I mean, I did pick up and move across the country once, it should be that much easier if we do it as a family, right? Yikes. Speaking of family, I'll be excited to finally see them in about a month when I head back to G.R. for Jr. P's wedding. I miss my nephews! I heard them on the phone a few days ago, and they sound like they're growing so fast. I think the oldest has a beard now.

As a new (almost) stepdad to school age kids, I have a bond with them that grows and grows, but obviously lacks the depth that must come from your own blood and the experiences of having a newborn. A number of friends and my sister have at least given me a vicarious glimpse of that bond. It saddens me then that I've received news in the past month from no less than 4 friends or family involving struggles with newborns. From miscarriage to genetic disorder to infant trauma and pregnancy risk - it's just a flood of reality checks for one who still imagines having his own children someday. My own family had unique experiences with my autistic sister and some of her complications as a newborn. It's amazing how frequently families face these types of situations. Does anything have a greater risk/reward dichotomy than pending childbirth? The comfort is found in witnessing these families rally around each other, as they face their challenges with love and selflessness. I need reminders at times that life is not only delicate, but precious - something to be enjoyed as much as possible while we are lucky enough to breathe.

Sorry for the dramatic tone! I do funny better than reflective, but it's what's on my mind. Quickly, then, I switch to sports: Go Pistons! Those of us who have followed the NBA for the past 20+ years think Detroit-Boston playoffs and drool. The chowder eaters have an abundance of championships lately between the Pats and Sawx (plus I heard they got a no hitter tonight - from a dude who beat cancer, no less!). Motown has a lot of almosts and inflated expectations lately (not to mention a thug-mayor scandal), but no "'Ships", as 'Sheed would say. If the Pistons and Wings both make their leagues' finals, I may have to fly to Michigan just to sit in a BW's on one of those nights they both play and get my fanhood on. Where have those days gone, boys? Oh well, at least I have a little thing called "DVR". Soccer game? Softball? Neighborhood kid scooter drama? No problem. Just don't text me and spoil the ending, Parents. That's right - my folks are texting like pros, LOL.

Wake Up Call

I'm in Dallas, and not for the reason you might think (finding out who shot JR). For work. I'm in one of those hotels that will make you an expert in various fields just by staying there. But it hasn't made me an expert in anything. It has, however, made me very frustrated.

Last night, a gas line broke next to the hotel, in front of a Waffle House - seriously. Naturally, this caused the water to go out in the entire hotel. Huh? I did not realize we had no water pressure until immediately after I had used the, um, toilet. So that was an interesting discovery. The polite person at the front desk was busy handing out bottles of water, and explaining it would surely be back on in the morning. Which it was.

BUT -- the water did not come with the most important feature for morning usage, heat. So after a night where I used bottled water for tooth brushing, and couldn't flush the toilet, I had to endure a freezing cold shower. Then - and as far as I can tell, this is not the hotel's fault - as I was carrying a case of thawed beverage mix to the meeting room (part of some training/sampling we're doing), the condensation inside the box somehow poured through a crack and ran all down my dress pants. Fortunately, the hotel room did have a functioning hair dryer. For pants. I can't wait to see what DFW has in store for me tonight, what with my scheduled American Airlines flight on an MD-80 plane - safety & peace of mind! OK, off to the meeting...

Would you light my candle?

I've been in 3 states outside of this one since my last blog: Nevada, Connecticut, and Massachusetts - each progressively newer to me and harder to spell. It's late, and I can only really summarize one of the states. My Nevada experience occurred in Las Vegas, and per Las Vegas CVA mandate, my story has not left the city limits. Connecticut was nothing but a pass thru on the way to Northampton, MA, site of Murray-Esener wedding activities.

Before I get to that, I've also been to another planet recently. Moab. It took a second trip to that place for me to understand that it cannot simply be a part of Utah, United States, Earth. The Slick Rock Recreation area - where dudes in Jeeps compete for knobbiest tires - is one of my new favorite places. We hope to camp there and ride some mountain bikes, or just climb around the strange rocky mounds. Here are some pics. And a video that my lady will enjoy seeing on the Interweb. Yes, we are jamming to the Rent soundtrack.

Murray's wedding was an excellent reason to descend upon the unique town of Northampton, MA - home of Smith College, a naked sculpture park, a beer can hall of fame, and tons of boutiques and gift shops that are WAY more enlightened and clever than you, Mister Man. It was my first trip to what my brain imagines to be the typical "northeast" town. The weather cooperated by being primarily cloudy & rainy, but as often occurs, gave way to sunshine on Saturday, the big day. St. Mary's cathedral and the Hotel Northampton made excellent backdrops to a fun and memorable time with lots of my friends from childhood, high school, and college. A few pics here, and I'll refer you to my friend Megan's blog for more detail and better pics. We did pretty much all the same stuff as her, except the red eye and yoga.

Now that I think of it, something awesome DID occur in the great state of Connecticut. It involved salad, a state trooper, an awkward glance or two, and... well, I don't know if I should share the rest. But I could write a new entry: "Something came up on the way to Hartford Bradley airport"...

Vegas Idea

Dudes, dudes, seriously, dudes: This is what we should do in Vegas. Just look at how much fun they're all having! That side shot is reminiscent of the Beatles on Abbey Road, so you know it must be good. I wrote a song about it to the tune of Ode to Joy:

Segways Segways Segways Segways
Segways Segways Se-egways!
Segways Segways Segways Segways
Segways Segways Se-egways!

Vegas Segways Ri-di-ing Segways
Dudes o-on Segways su-per rad!
Watch us rock those safety helmets
Flowered shirts and Se-eg-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaays!

Even though you knew - just by glancing - that the entire first verse was just the word Segway over and over again, you still had to sing it in your head to get through to the next verse, DIDN'T YOU! Ha! And that, my friends, is the magic of song. Good night now.

The Adjective Subject

Well, Mom & Dad made it back to the mitten state from the rectangle-with-corner-missing state, having survived 4 nights at elevation. I'll evaluate their enjoyment of the trip by comparing impressions. These are my opinions and have nothing to do with what they told me about their stay: "It was very nice."

Mountains: Very impressed. Our neighborhood: Mildly impressed. Our house: Mildly relieved. Our cars: Frivolous, but slightly impressive. Smoggy air quality in the valley: Not impressed. My parenting skills: Incomplete (the kids were only here for one night and I can't take responsibility for their behavior after a weekend at Nascar in Vegas with their grandmother. No offense Grandma K.)

Annie's hostess skillz: Mui impresivo. Disco Kitty: Impressed as you can be with a feline, and now they understand why I actually like a cat. Rock Band: Entirely unimpressed with the song selection (they're old-ish), but reluctantly impressed with my fake drum & guitar skills and "Welcome to the Family"-impressed with Annie's vocal stylings. Dinner at Annie's Mom's house: Impressed by both company and food, but slightly jealous that her family spends more time with The Steven now than they do. Mountains again: Hugely impressed (I use that word purposefully - people 'round here use the adjective (adverb?) 'hugely' too much, it's kind of a sloppy word, isn't it? No offense, Utah.)

Why am I thankful my buddy Matt is getting married? For one thing, I can finally stop worrying about his penchant for wearing short shorts and shaving his body. Aside from the fact that he's a pro-level triathlete, I couldn't think of one good reason for doing either of those things on a regular basis. Weekends only for me. But more importantly, it means I get to fly to the great state of Massachusetts at the end of this month to celebrate his wedding! I can't wait to pahk my cah in Hahvad Yahd! Actually, I won't be anywhere near Boston, but who cahes, you gawtta problem widdat? And most importantly, it means me and a bunch of dudes are meeting up in Las Vegas this weekend, ostensibly for a bachelor party celebrating Muzza's pending nuptials. But let's be honest dudes: this is the culmination of years of adolescence + young adulthood where we've been told that a dudes' weekend in Vegas is the capstone of our reckless manhood! So naturally, let's take it easy and not all go broke at once - we've got wives, kids, and almost those to consider - oh, and someone's gotta buy our bus passes home. In the immortal words of Butthead: "This will be the coolest thing we have ever done."

This Blog Post: They were more impressed with my 2nd grade Young Author's book, entitled "The Black Corvette." Or was 2nd grade "The Big Blizzard"?