Last Few days

DSC_0967My last few days have been filled with a lot of stress and anxiety. But they have also been filled with much joy and laughter. I’ve been watching our three kids, ages 6, 4 and 3 this week while Kim has been in the hospital. Here are a few of my favorite experiences:

  1. Bathtub party at 10:30 pm
  2. Late night, Jack in the Box, Oreo shake run
  3. Watching the Smurfs together
  4. Taking Luca to school and soccer practice
  5. Running down the hospital halls together
  6. A dinner of cereal, string cheese, and “Pirates Booty”
  7. Listening to Anna pray that mom will “get better right now”
  8. Watching the kids laugh at my cooking
  9. Pillow fights and blanket fort building
  10. Piggyback rides

DSC_0980 DSC_0974We’re really glad Kim came home this afternoon. But I’ve had a blast spending so much time with three fun and wild kids. They are so optimistic and see the world as something to enjoy. There’s no sarcasm or pessimism. They wake up each morning happy to be alive and tackle the day. Their small bodies can barely contain all that joy bottled up inside.

Trust in Doctors

Kim started having contractions on Sunday night. Our baby boy isn’t due for another 9 weeks so we were concerned. Kim went to her doctor yesterday and he’s been attempting to stop the contractions for the past two days. When they hadn’t stopped by late this morning, the decision was made to keep her overnight to monitor her progress. While in the hospital, they are able to keep an eye on Kim and monitor the baby’s heart rate which has been “sporadic”.

I’m lucky enough to have a boss who is understanding and allowing me to do email from home while I tend to our three young kids. I’m convinced that one day with the three kids is equal to three days at the office.

This is one of those times where we are putting our trust in people we don’t know well. Everyone seems to have our best interests in mind and I pray they will do what is best for Kim and the baby. I feel very blessed to have good insurance so we are not having to make decisions such as whether or not to stay in the hospital or consider alternative care that may cost less. I feel better knowing she’s at the hospital and under close observation during this time.

Our kids don’t quite understand what’s going on. Luca has a pretty good idea, but Anna and Lincoln are confused. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the meds will finally kick in and put a stop to the contractions and mom can come home tomorrow. One thing is for sure: Kim is tough.

Ballmer still having trouble understanding new stuff

I always look forward to Steve Ballmer’s take on anything newer than Windows and Office because it’s bound to include some great humor. Most recently he’s called Facebook a “fad” and compared it to GeoCities. Robert Scoble has a good write up and commentary on some of his more humorous comments. It’s better than last weeks SNL.

Ballmer represents what Microsoft used to be back in the 80’s and early 90’s. When they were able to bully about anyone around and get away with it. Along came Netscape which kicked them in the collective butt. I stopped taking Ballmer seriously years ago and so have most investors as the stock has been flat going on five years. 

Ballmer can mock Facebook and the like all he wants. But he should take this seriously: Myself and many others are spending a lot less time using Microsoft products.

Sure I still use Windows and Office on occasion but if Microsoft hopes to challenge Google, they will need properties and products that provide a platform for delivering advertising. head in sandI’m spending more time on Facebook than any Microsoft site. I’m spending more time in WordPress than all Office products combined. Other than Windows, the only Microsoft product I use regularly is Windows Live Messenger. See the problem here? Microsoft still thinks Windows is the “platform”. But for a whole generation of users the “platform” is Facebook or MySpace or LinkedIN or WordPress or Ebay.

Will Ballmer keep his head in the sand or will someone pull a Steven Sinofsky and send a “CORNELL IS WIRED” type call to arms to Ballmer and others to wake up and take notice of what is going on in the Web 2.0 space?

The Green Machine

Kim was organizing boxes full of photos this weekend and came across a picture of me on my Green Machine during the summer of ’78. A couple of weeks ago I took a picture of my son, Lincoln, on his Kett Car for comparison.

The Green Machine was ahead of it’s time. It was the ideal three wheeler if you liked to drift into traffic. The wheels were made of thin plastic and it didn’t take long before I’d worn a hole in the front wheel, making it even less stable which is really saying something.

My parent’s house was next door to a large apartment complex. There was a decent sized hill that cars would use to get to the 2nd level of apartment homes. It was a dog-leg left formation that I’d use to pick up speed before drifting out into oncoming traffic along our street. It’s a miracle I never got run over since the Green Machine was so low to the ground.

Lincoln’s Kett Car is much more nimble and safer to drive. It has a hand break you can see on the right and it’s wheels are much larger and provide at least some level of grip, unlike the skinny ones on the Green Machine.

I sure had fun terrorizing the neighborhood on my green machine. My Spiderman tank provides a nice and classy tribute to the times.

boystoys

 

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Obvious Survivor tip #2

Learn to fish.

Even if you’re terrible in the challenges, those first few weeks means near starvation for most of your tribe. By providing even the ugliest, sand covered fish, you’ll be seen as a saint.

It takes a bit of luck to win the reward challenge where Jeff trots out the fishing gear. But if you have the gear and can catch fish you’ll be safe for a while since nobody wants to go hungry. You don’t need to call out your fishing prowess to anyone either. Everyone knows you’re someone they need to keep around.

Just make sure you don’t break any of the fishing gear like the gal that broke the spear did.

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This Woman’s Work

I saw the movie, She’s Having a Baby, back in the early 90’s. It was released in 1988 but I was in Germany during that time and didn’t know much about the movie until I picked it up off the rack full of VHS films a few years later. Most of the movie is a light comedy until the scene below. It had such an impact on me that I’d watch it over and over. The lyrics fit the scene perfectly and Kate Bush’s voice is so haunting it still gives me chills today. Especially the part where a tear falls and turns to blood. I wasn’t expecting such a powerful and intense scene from a John Hughes movie.

Now that we’ve had three children with another one on the way in November, watching this scene is even more powerful. It accurately shows how helpless the father feels. He’s certainly not going through what his wife is, but his lonely and dazed feeling is something I can relate to.

Like many experiences in life, it’s nearly impossible to explain to someone what watching a birth is like. Words don’t do it justice. It’s intense, it’s hectic, and very confusing at times. But it’s magical too. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.

By a wide margin.