ben.parmeter

Internet folks.  It’s hot out here in California.  I’m so lethargic, I can barely type out these words.  I know it said 108, but my little digital thermometer said 110 around 7PM last night.  That’s hot by my standards.  Fortunately, it’s a dry heat, meaning the humidity is low.  So at least we can breath.  Thank you science, for bringing me my air conditioner and my refrigerator.

Suzy and I are surviving.  There is hope on the horizon.  I see a cool, breezy 98 degree day is forecast on Friday.

Happy fathers day everyone. Kinda feels like this day was created just so dads wouldn’t feel left out of the whole mothers day thing. But dads surely do deserve a day to be revered as well. I love ya Dad, and I hope I can do as good a job at raising my child as you did with us kids.

As a celebration of fathers day and of my own impending parenthood, I’m posting some videos from our most recent ultrasound. This was the appointment where we found out that little Gizmo was going to be a girl. I have to say that it was a pretty awe inspiring experience to see my little progeny-to-be fluttering around inside my wife.

Since YouTube only allows ten minute videos, I had to cut this up into two parts. And no comments about the music, this was all part of the “experience” that we received at the place we had the ultra-sound done.  This was done right around week 17 of the pregnancy, so Gizmo still looks like an alien monkey.  Frankly, a bit creepy.  But also cute and awesome at the same time.  (Gizmo – I’m sorry, in advance, for posting a video with your naughty bits all over the internet – it’s really hard to see them anyway.  Some day you will will understand)

My gas guzzling days are over.  I have shed my unnecessary extravagance.  The end of an era, so to speak.  This weekend was a big one in many ways (more about that later), but in particular it was a significant in our vehicular history.  This weekend, Suzy and I pulled the trigger on a new car – which spelled the end for the big shiny Ford F150.  You see, we’ve been talking about this for some time, our vehicle situation.  The truck, even though I love it to death, is just not practical as a family car.  It’s beautiful, it’s comfortable and quiet inside, it’s easy to drive, powerful as heck (V8 5.4Liter), but it has plenty of downsides for practicality.  Besides the fact that it’s downright expensive, it also consumes petrol at an alarming rate, it’s too tall for us to get a car seat in-out of, it’s not good for more than two people, etc…

And so, we began the search for a new vehicle.  I have a strong aversion to mini-vans.  I know, I know.  They are great for families.   Sliding doors are fantastic for kids.  Having three rows of seats is great for getting the grandparents in the vehicle too.  But they just carry that stigma – the soccer mom stigma.  (Don’t get me wrong, I fully intend to be a soccer dad)  Blech!  No mini-van for me.

And at the end of the day we found ourselves a great compromise.  We eventually settled on a gorgeous little cross-over SUV – which is really just a slightly larger than a station wagon.  In reality, it is a station wagon with a SUV-like gait.  It’s waaay more fuel efficient than the truck.  The payments are way less.  It’s safe, it’s quiet, it’s comfortable.  All said, I’m really happy with the purchase.

I was definitely sad to see the old truck go, but it was a good run.  We had some good times together doing truck-like things, camping, road-tripping, hauling loads and just driving to work.  Alas, these days are over.  Farewell dear truck.  We’ve embarked on a new era.

I wasn’t really sure how I was going to announce this grand, splendid, and joyous news to everyone.  Of course it was going to always be announced through this very website.  But I thought that maybe some cleverly written blog post that ever-so-subtly dropped the hint would be fun for my readership.  As I sat down to actually write said blog, the words escaped me.  And my mind started to wander off to other topics, like getting ready to have a baby in the house, and all the books I am going to have to read, and all of the things that I should be doing to prepare.  Focus.  Write witty things. <mind wanders again>

And since it is impossible to maintain a steady stream of thought right now, I figured I just come out and say it.  I’m going to be a dad.  And Suzy is going to be a mom.  And collectively we will be parents of a child (sex to be determined).   And we will do our best to raise this child, even though I feel like I am still a kid myself.

In the meantime, pregnancy is going well.  Being the ever supportive husband, I’ve gained many sympathy pounds so that Suzy doesn’t feel like she’s in this alone in this.  Yup, I’m super-awesome in my supportiveness.

Since we don’t know what the sex of the baby is, and we quickly got tired of referring to it as “it“,  we decided to come-up with a place holder name.  After tossing a few boy/girl-neutral names around, we settled on Gizmo.  You know, from the movie Gremlins.  Don’t feed it after midnight.  And never get it wet.  I’m sure our little Gizmo will be twice as cute though – and hopefully less hairy.  I’ve added a new “gizmo” category in the blog so the many future posts (and hopefully the live-blog of the birth) will be here-to-fore categorized as such.

How’s that for a randomly slapped together entry?  Well, who can blame me – my mind is wandering and I’m going to be a dad!

Well, we were on a boat recently.  A really, really big one.  Suzy and I recently went on a super-cheap cruise from San Diego to Catalina.  This was indeed, our first official cruise, ever.  The old adage “you get what you pay for”, held true for us.  And while we were a bit underwhelmed by the experience, I would say I would definitely do it again.  But it would have to meet some more stringent cruise specifications.

Enjoy some of our pictures here in the gallery.

I’m on a boat.

Time for another hop farm update.  I’ve been meaning to post these pics for many days now but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. The hops are doing OK, despite being ravaged by insects and other wildlife (probably a cat interested in the string I’m using to train the plants).

 

They’ve actually progressed a bit more than what is shown in these pictures.   Go hops go!  And yes, those are pencils.  They make perfect little stakes.

I know I did.  Square Dancing was a required part of our curriculum where I grew up.  It was a yearly staple in our gym class that everyone seemed to recoil from.   Even the instructors seemed to be less than enthusiastic about it.  I specifically remember kids in school that would pretend to be sick on the days that we had square dancing.  They were afraid of catching the well known pandemic known scientifically as C00T1E5.  Gasp!  An activity that actually forced you to dance and hold hands with members of the opposite sex!

As I travel through life, I’ve remained curious about Square Dancing and if it was just my little schools in Oregon that required this, or if this is some kind of national conspiracy.  So every once and a while, I’ll ask friends and family in my age group whether they were required to Square Dance in school.  Surprisingly, the answer is usually ‘yes’.  Indeed they were forced to do-si-do and promenade, etc. at school during their tender years.

This set off an alarm in the conspiracy theory department of my mind.  Perhaps this was some sort of vast government plan to preserve our American heritage and culture through a national school Square Dancing program.  What a bizarre requirement to impose on the youth of America.  You’d think they might have chosen some other types of dancing as well, or in it’s place.  Or perhaps some day someone in some little government office will push a button which will send subconscious messages to the citizens of the United States turning us all into Square Dancing zombies.  Perhaps… but how would I ever know for sure?

As it turns out, in my family network, I happen to have someone that is involved with shaping and molding the minds and bodies of our children in the great state of California.  She is an actual physical education teacher and was able to articulate exactly why we were all subjected to form of dance – at least in California.  Apparently Square Dancing is an excellent activity to teach coordination.  And it apparently teaches social interaction, forcing the boys to interact with the girls.  And so, it shows up as a required curriculum across the state for these fine benefits.

I personally just think its a really strange thing.  Although, thinking back, there were a lot of activities in gym class that were kinda weird.  But most of them were a lot more fun than Square Dancing.  Just a quick poll – were you forced to Square Dance in school?  Comments welcome.

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I thought some of you might be interested in the progress that I’m making with my little backyard hop farm.  Check out the latest here:

 

So it happens that my truck recently sprung a small leak in the rear differential.  I noticed some spots of fluid on the garage floor, which typically means its time to take this thing to the shop.  My truck is relatively new (2006), so it’s still under warranty.  Thankfully.

I took the truck into the dealer to have it serviced on Thursday this last week thinking the job would likely be done in a day.  Which in hindsight is always a foolish assumption.  However, I got the inevitable call from the dealer that they didn’t have the parts that they needed to repair my truck and would have to keep it overnight, until they arrived in the morning.  Additionally, there were no rental cars available at the rental place so I’d have to wing it on my own.

In a last minute snap decision on Thursday afternoon, I worked a deal to borrow my friend Dave’s old Ford Explorer for the next day or so.  This would alleviate Suzy from driving me too and from work – which would have been quite a hassle as it is way out of her way (especially when I needed to a catch a plane in the wee hours of the morning on Friday).

There are some caveats to Dave’s ride.  It’s not the oldest vehicle out there, but it’s seen its fair share of hard times.  When picking up the car, Dave went through all of the potential issues with me, including the non-working driver side door latch.  I was so pleased to have a vehicle, in my desperate time of need, that I dismissed these issues without a care and happily took the keys.  It was shortly after this, as I was driving back to the office, that I realized the rolling safety hazard that this vehicle is.

Dave, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry… this is tough love.  Consider this my plea to you, to purchase a new vehicle as soon as humanly possible.

Where do I start?  Oh yes.  As I pulled away from Dave’s driveway you can instantly identify the sound of an exhaust leak sputtering from under the hood.  Putt-putt-putt-putt-putt… Not that big a deal but potentially a real environmental hazard.  As I rolled down the street at a slow 25 miles an hour, it felt like the suspension was in control of the car, not me.  Like I was floating on a cloud which in turn was skating across ice.  Hitting a few bumps on the road the suspension actually pitches forward and then backward in a dizzying see-saw type motion.  It’s the kind of feeling that makes you want to just hit the brakes in fear, immediately.  Dave, I know you’re probably used to this type of suspension, but let me tell you, this is not normal.  I’m no expert in the ways of automobiles, but I think this is dangerous.

Braking.  When you touch the brakes and they start with a low squeal then move into a solid low and grinding groan, it’s probably time to get them checked out.  Not to mention the fact that they feel so spongy that I was in fear that they were actually capable of stopping the weight of the vehicle at all.   I adjusted my braking style, so as not to careen into the cars in front of me.

Given that the driver side door does not work, the fear of being in a gnarly accident from the aforementioned suspension and breaking issues is amplified by the fact that I would potentially be trapped inside.   And that emergency personnel would not be able to free me from an almost certain fiery death.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I did not mention the “shame” component of driving this vehicle.  You are instantly identifiable on the road when driving this chattering, squealy, and puttering bucket of bolts.   When I pulled into the work parking lot after picking up the vehicle, a friend walked past me and took one look at the driver side door, replete with exposed door panel, wiring, and the controls hanging from a harness.  He immediately said “Is that your car?!” in an incredulous tone.   After I explained that I was only borrowing this car from another friend he scoffed that it would be better to not have any car at all.

Ok, so it may not have been all that bad.  I may have laid it on a bit thick for the benefit of my readers.  And don’t get me wrong, I am extremely grateful to have had a free vehicle to borrow while mine was out of commission.  Thanks for helping a friend out.

But Dave, sorry, it’s time for a new vehicle.

I’m actually looking forward to this weekend.  Not because I’m looking for a rest from the brutal work-week.  No, in fact, I am looking forward to some free time to do some much needed house work / yard work.  It’s officially spring time and I need to get this place all cleaned up.  There is much to do around the house, inside and out (particularly outside).

And so I will throw on my work jeans (old jeans re-purposed for work around the house), a tattered t-shirt and enjoy the California sunshine while trimming some hedges, cutting some grass, weeding some gardens and digging some ditches.  How domestic of me.

In other news, I think my Nugget hop Rhizome has finally sprouted!  Hopefully I can confirm later today.  I noticed a thick shoot protruding up from the ground where I planted the rhizome almost two weeks ago.  I didnt’ have much time to investigate this morning before heading out to work, so I’ll get back to this tonight when I get home.  Maybe it’s another plant taking root or maybe it’s the new hops!  Exciting!

Over and out.